Texas Instruments has introduced what it describes as the first commercially available CAN XL transceiver, targeting the growing data demands of industrial systems including humanoid robots, industrial robots and human-machine interfaces.
The TCAN6062 is designed to bring higher bandwidth to Controller Area Network (CAN) systems while retaining the reliability and deterministic communication associated with the established protocol.
The transceiver supports CAN XL payloads of up to 2,048 bytes per frame and data rates of up to 20Mbit/s. TI said the combination is intended to help engineers handle growing volumes of sensor, control and diagnostic data without having to move entirely to Ethernet-based networks.
“As industrial systems become more intelligent and interconnected, what we ask of our networks continues to evolve,” said Dwight Byrd, general manager of Interface Products at TI.
“Engineers need more data, higher speeds and greater flexibility, all without compromising performance or reliability. TI’s TCAN6062 CAN XL transceiver puts that capability in their hands today, helping them build faster, more capable industrial systems.”
CAN has traditionally been used for relatively low-bandwidth control and communications tasks. However, increasing numbers of sensors and connected devices in industrial machinery are putting pressure on existing networks, particularly where motion control, sensor feedback and diagnostics need to be synchronised.
CAN XL is intended to address that gap by increasing the amount of data that can be transmitted while preserving the underlying CAN architecture.
The TCAN6062 is backward compatible with CAN Flexible Data Rate (CAN FD) and CAN Signal Improvement Capability (SIC), allowing manufacturers to introduce CAN XL alongside existing network infrastructure rather than redesigning systems from scratch.
TI also said the transceiver can support mixed-network architectures in which Ethernet is used alongside CAN XL. TCP/IP tunnelling can allow applications including diagnostics, sensor data, control traffic and over-the-air updates to share the same network infrastructure.
The device incorporates signal improvement capability designed to reduce ringing by up to 80% in complex networks, according to TI. It also supports a wide range of input and output voltages and protection up to ±58V.
The company said the availability of hardware marks a significant step for CAN XL, whose specification has been standardised for several years.
TI engineers participated in the CAN in Automation (CiA) technical group that helped develop ISO 11898-2:2024, which defines the physical layer requirements for CAN XL.
“CAN has been the backbone of industrial communications for decades,” said Holger Zeltwanger, managing director at CiA.
“Texas Instruments’ long-time membership and collaboration with CiA builds on that legacy, helping shape CAN XL by contributing to a standard that will guide the entire industry.”
Arthur Mutter, chairman of the CAN XL Special Interest Group at CiA and senior executive for Networking Technologies at Bosch, said CAN XL could provide a higher-performance alternative to CAN FD while also allowing Ethernet traffic to be tunnelled.
“CAN XL opens the door to a new era of applications, enabling systems to deliver higher performance at a reasonable cost,” he said.
“With TI now offering a CAN SIC XL transceiver, system designers can leverage CAN XL to exchange data rapidly (up to 20Mbit/s) and reliably in all applications, from industrial and robotics to automotive safety.”
