kvaser_can_rospkg

You can utilize this ROS package to integrate Kvaser CAN/CAN FD devices into the ROS environment..

Compile as C++11, supported in ROS Kinetic and newer.

Dependencies

1️⃣: Ubuntu 20.04 (ROS1 Noetic)

2️⃣: Kvaser Linux Drivers and SDK

❗️ Linux drivers and SDK for most Kvaser devices. For using Kvaser proprietary API. Do not install if using SocketCAN.

Build

mkdir -p YOUR_DIR/src
cd YOUR_DIR/src
git clone https://github.com/Rongxi-Zhang/kvaser_can_rospkg.git
cd ..
catkin_make

How to use?

1️⃣: Inspect the current details of Kvaser CAN/CANFD devices in the Linux environment.

rosrun kvaser_can_rospkg kvasercan_listchannel

If no CAN devices are currently connected to Linux, it will display the presence of one virtual CAN device with two CAN channels.

Found Kvaser CAN Channels: 2 channels
Card 0:
  S/N: 1
  UPC: 0-0-00000-0
  Name: Kvaser Virtual CAN
  Firmware Version: v0.0.0
  Driver: kvvirtualcan v8.42.359
  Capabilities: Ext, ErrGen, TxRq, TxAck, Virtual, Simulated, FD, 
  Extend Capabilities: No
  Channel 0:
    Index: 0
    Max Bitrate: 0
  Channel 1:
    Index: 1
    Max Bitrate: 0

2️⃣: Edit the information for the CAN channels you need to monitor in the launch file.

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<launch>

  <!-- CAN card S/N -->
  <arg name="hardware_id" default="1" />
  <!-- Channel index on the card -->
  <arg name="circuit_id" default="0" />
  <!-- CAN bitrate / CANFd arbitration phase bitrate -->
  <arg name="bitrate_0" default="500" />
  <!-- CANFd data phase bitrate -->
  <arg name="bitrate_1" default="2000" />
  <!-- CAN accept filter code -->
  <arg name="filter_code" default="0" />
  <!-- CAN accept filter mask -->
  <arg name="filter_mask" default="0" />
  <!-- CAN slider window size -->
  <arg name="window_size" default="4" />

  <!-- Is it a CAN FD device? true = 1 -->
  <arg name="is_canfd" default="1" />
  <!-- Is it in exclusive mode? true = 1 -->
  <arg name="is_exclusive" default="0" />
  <!-- Does it support Virtual CAN? true = 1 -->
  <arg name="is_virtual" default="1" />

  <!-- Edit 'name' parameter -->
  <node pkg="kvaser_can_rospkg" type="kvasercan_bridge" name="channel0" output="screen">
    <param name="can_hardware_id" value="$(arg hardware_id)" />
    <param name="can_circuit_id" value="$(arg circuit_id)" />
    <param name="can_bitrate_0" value="$(arg bitrate_0)" />
    <param name="can_bitrate_1" value="$(arg bitrate_1)" />
    <param name="can_fliter_code" value="$(arg filter_code)" />
    <param name="can_filter_mask" value="$(arg filter_mask)" />
    <param name="can_window_size" value="$(arg window_size)" />
    <param name="can_is_canfd" value="$(arg is_canfd)" />
    <param name="can_is_exclusive" value="$(arg is_exclusive)" />
    <param name="can_is_virtual" value="$(arg is_virtual)" />
  </node>

</launch>

3️⃣: Execute the launch file.

roslaunch kvaser_can_rospkg kvasercan_bridge.launch

🐶 Once the node is launched, it will continuously listen to CAN/CAN FD messages from the channel and convert them into ROS topics, publishing them to the ROS environment.

🐱 For CAN messages, they are converted into the built-in ROS type can_msgs::Frame, and for CAN FD messages, they are transformed into kvaser_can_rospkg::FramePlus.

🐰 You can create multiple launch files to monitor multiple CAN channels. Just modify the name parameter of each node, ensuring they have unique names among them.

Additional information

The ROS package not only listens to channels but also has the capability to send standard data frames to the channels through ROS services. For instance, anode handling CAN messages might not only receive CAN messages from the kvaser_can_rospkg but also need to send some data to the channel. You can achieve this by calling the service kvaser_can_rospkg::WriteService provided by the kvaser_can_rospkg in your node handling CAN messages. You can find sample code in service_test.cpp located in the test folder."

Moreover, you have the option to extend the functionality of this project by modifying the source code to implement more complex features.

References

[1] linuxcan/doc/HTMLhelp/index.html

[2] kvaser_interface