FPGA design platform gains licensed CAN option

Altium has entered into a licensing agreement with automotive electronics supplier, Robert Bosch, which will allow Altium to sublicense Bosch's CAN protocol for FPGA-based applications.

Altium has entered into a licensing agreement with automotive electronics supplier, Robert Bosch, which will allow Altium to sublicense Bosch's CAN (Controller Area Network) protocol for FPGA-based applications.

This agreement will support users of Altium's new Nexar design system who wish to implement the CAN protocol in commercial applications.

Currently, CAN licensing is only available for high-volume ASIC implementations but this new option will provide a scalable model that extends CAN licensing into new vertical market applications.

"The CAN standard is a well-known, trusted and versatile protocol that provides an efficient, highly reliable networking option for designers.

The FPGA segment is rapidly expanding and we believe that Bosch and Altium share a vested interest in supporting a volume of smaller-scale CAN implementations", says Nick Martin, Joint CEO and Founder, Altium.

"Our Nexar product makes embedded system design on an FPGA platform accessible to mainstream engineers and support for important industry standard protocols like CAN is an essential part of this process.

With a flexible approach to licensing we can remove a significant obstacle to wider CAN adoption".

Nexar is shipped with a ready-to-use, presynthesised CAN controller core that can be directly implemented in a system design on an FPGA using Nexar.

Under the agreement, customers can purchase CAN licenses directly from Altium in 1000-unit blocks for a cost of Eur 500 per block.

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