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Which Host Adapter and Interface Can I Use to Create a CAN to I2C Translator?
Rena

Question from the Customer:

I am working on a new design and of part of the requirement is to interface a CAN device to an I2C device. It would be really helpful to emulate that environment - do you have something that is a CAN to I2C translator, or any suggestions on how to do that?

Response from Technical Support:

Thanks for your question! To set up an environment with CAN to I2C translator, we recommend using three of our products: the Komodo CAN Duo Interface, the Aardvark/I2C Host Adapter, and the CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro.

 Komodo CAN Duo Interface Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter CAN I2C Activity Board
Figure 1: Komodo CAN Duo Interface Figure 2: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Figure 3: CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro

Here is how each of the above products will be used:

  • The Komodo interface will act as an active CAN node to send and receive commands to the CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro.
  • The CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro is a demo board with a variety of sensors and peripherals but in this setup, the main component we’ll utilize is its CAN to I2C bridge.
  • The Aardvark adapter acts as the I2C slave, receiving data that originates from the Komodo interface and is translated by the CAN/I2C activity board.
CAN-I2C Diagram using Aardvark Adapter, Komodo Interface and CAN-I2C Activity Board Pro

Figure 4: How the CAN to I2C Translation Works

In this setup, you use the Komodo GUI Software to have the Komodo interface communicate to the I2C slave devices (the Aardvark adapter), and the Control Center Serial Software to set up the Aardvark adapter in I2C slave mode. For detailed instructions, please refer to our application brief, Using the Total Phase CAN/I2C Activity Board Pro as an I2C-to-CAN Translator.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.