CAN bus telematics

What a CAN bus telematics unit does

A CAN bus telematics gateway is a box that sits on the machine's CAN bus, reads the frames it has been told to read, and sends that data out over a cellular link. It is not a tyre-pressure system and it is not a diagnostic scanner: its job is to turn vehicle data into something your platform can use.

• Reads the CAN bus at the bitrate the machine uses, with frame and signal selection defined per project.
• Sends over 4G CAT.1, with fallback to 2G/3G networks where the site needs it.
• Buffers offline so a tunnel or a dead zone does not lose the record.
• Runs from machine power (DC 10–30 V), with a hardware watchdog for recovery.
• Exposes an API rather than requiring your platform to adopt our backend.

Three ways it connects

The interface is a project decision, not a product decision:

• CAN directly — the usual case on trucks, buses, cranes and port equipment where a CAN segment is available.
• RS232 / RS485 — where the machine already exposes a serial port, or where the CAN segment is closed to third parties.
• CAN pass-through — the unit forwards CAN traffic so a remote tool can talk to an attached controller; used for parameter tuning and for upgrading an external ECU / VCU (custom scope).

Where the protocol lives

Here is the part that decides the project: we do not ask for your CAN protocol. The definitions stay on your side. You tell us which data points must be reported and where they should go; we deliver them through the API. That is what makes a telematics rollout possible without an internal protocol release — and it is the difference from units that require your CAN definitions first.

What to specify

• The machine, the CAN bitrate and whether the segment is open to you.
• The data points to report, and how often each one matters.
• Where the data ends up: your platform, your fleet system or a file.
• Whether you need positioning (GPS + BeiDou with geofence) or only the bus data.

With those four we can answer in writing about the configuration. If you are still deciding whether the line fits at all, start from the CAN-to-4G telematics page, or see the product overview for the tyre-pressure side.

FAQ

Does the gateway need my CAN database?

No. You keep your CAN definitions; we work from the data points you decide to expose.

Can it read a closed OEM CAN segment?

Usually yes on the read side. If not, RS232/RS485 or CAN pass-through is the fallback.

What happens when the vehicle has no signal?

The unit buffers locally and sends the backlog once the link is back.