Design and Development of a Bidirectional Bluetooth Low Energy CAN Bridge Prototype for Industrial Drill Rigs
Rantalainen, Kalle (2026)
2026
Tietotekniikan DI-ohjelma - Master's Programme in Information Technology
Informaatioteknologian ja viestinnän tiedekunta - Faculty of Information Technology and Communication Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2026-06-22
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202606187738
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202606187738
Tiivistelmä
Sandvik’s drill control signals and sensor data have been transmitted over a wired Controller Area Network (CAN) bus in the past. This wired connection causes problems, as the wires often fail in the harsh mining environment. The heat, salts, water, and falling debris during mining can cause the wire or its connectors to break, resulting in maintenance delays.
This work focuses on solving the problem by developing a wireless link prototype that could replace the wire. Both ends of the link could be protected from all the elements the wire was exposed to, which could eliminate the issues caused by bad CAN connection.
Developing a wireless link comes with its own set of challenges. Since the data transmitted on the bus consists of control signals and sensor readings, it is time-sensitive. This means that, in addition to being able to transmit as many messages as the wire, the link should achieve low latency and high reliability simultaneously.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) isochronous channels were used to tackle these problems. It is a feature of BLE, intended for transmitting audio data. However, it also has some benefits in transmitting CAN messages. Using isochronous channels, lower latency and higher reliability can be achieved compared to standard BLE. Additionally, by using standardized wireless communication technology such as BLE, the radio module is already certified. This means that it does not need to be certified the same way a proprietary radio would.
The prototype was first tested on a simulated drill rig. The prototype was compared to a commercially available CAN bridge manufactured by Kvaser. Based on the test, the prototype worked on the simulator without issues. In fact, the prototype was more reliable than Kvaser’s solution. Based on the simulator results, additional tests were conducted on an actual drill rig.
The prototype was connected to the drill rig, and the machine was operated normally. The machine reported no errors during the test. Additionally, no difference was observed in the operation compared to a normal CAN cable. It was concluded that CAN traffic could be transmitted wirelessly without any noticeable difference in machine operation.
This work focuses on solving the problem by developing a wireless link prototype that could replace the wire. Both ends of the link could be protected from all the elements the wire was exposed to, which could eliminate the issues caused by bad CAN connection.
Developing a wireless link comes with its own set of challenges. Since the data transmitted on the bus consists of control signals and sensor readings, it is time-sensitive. This means that, in addition to being able to transmit as many messages as the wire, the link should achieve low latency and high reliability simultaneously.
Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) isochronous channels were used to tackle these problems. It is a feature of BLE, intended for transmitting audio data. However, it also has some benefits in transmitting CAN messages. Using isochronous channels, lower latency and higher reliability can be achieved compared to standard BLE. Additionally, by using standardized wireless communication technology such as BLE, the radio module is already certified. This means that it does not need to be certified the same way a proprietary radio would.
The prototype was first tested on a simulated drill rig. The prototype was compared to a commercially available CAN bridge manufactured by Kvaser. Based on the test, the prototype worked on the simulator without issues. In fact, the prototype was more reliable than Kvaser’s solution. Based on the simulator results, additional tests were conducted on an actual drill rig.
The prototype was connected to the drill rig, and the machine was operated normally. The machine reported no errors during the test. Additionally, no difference was observed in the operation compared to a normal CAN cable. It was concluded that CAN traffic could be transmitted wirelessly without any noticeable difference in machine operation.