Implementation of a CAN Controller and Monitor Application on the Rapid Prototyping Platform REAR

Rapid Prototyping is used in embedded systems design as a means to reduce development time and costs. At an early stage in the development cycle, the specification is implemented in a working protoype, which can be used to test the specification and, in real-time systems, also the timing constraints. The REAR Rapid Prototyping Environment was built as an adaptable target platform for embedded realtime systems. It supports both the proof that the system meets all its deadlines, and the automated translation of a system specification into an executable prototype. This paper presents a CAN controller and monitor application, which was implemented and evaluated on REAR as a first non–trivial real–world application. This application represented a wide range of timing and coordination requirements towards the target architecture. The fact that it was possible to implement it successfully in reasonably short time on REAR is a proof of the soundness of the concept behind the REAR rapid prototyping architecture.