ECE497 Project - Motorcycle CAN Cape

Team members: Joseph A. Lemmond

Warning
The electronics in a modern vehicle all communicate using CAN. While a vehicle may have more than one CAN bus in order to provide a certain degree of safety, the operation of the bus is in no way guaranteed secure or tamper-proof. While receiving messages on a vehicle's CAN bus generally will not affect it's operation, sending messages can result in serious injury or death. Operating a vehicle with a non-OEM component connected to the CAN bus is absolutely not advised. Take every available precaution, as unexpected behavior on a CAN bus may disrupt normal operation of the vehicle, rendering a vehicle unresponsive or even creating uncontrollable, unprompted behavior.

Executive Summary
This project is intended to use of the PocketBeagle's small form factor as well as the necessary software to configure the PocketBeagle to view messages on the CAN bus of a motorcycle. While the CAN protocol on a motorcycle does not vary from that used on any other vehicle, it is somewhat more constrained by lack of standard diagnostic ports. All modern cars sold in the United States are mandated to have an OBD-II port within 3 feet of the driver--typically below the front dashboard in the footwell. Motorcycles sold in the United States do not have any similar regulation, and so may not have a readily accessible CAN bus.