CANbus for aircraft
Automotive CAN is robust and cheap — but not deterministic enough or safety-controlled enough for aircraft.
ARINC 825 adds the structure, timing rules, and safety layers needed for avionics.
Standard CAN is event-driven → collisions → arbitration → unpredictable delay.
ARINC 825 defines:
- Time-triggered messaging
- Priority rules
- Scheduling
This makes it usable for safety-critical systems.
Great for:
- Landing gear systems
- ECS (environmental control systems)
- Actuators
- Sensors
- Engine subsystems.
great for local subsystems
used in
- UAVs
- Helicopters
- Regional aircraft
- Subsystems inside larger aircraft (non-critical zones)
- Electric actuators
- Power systems
- Sensors network Used by Airbus and many Tier-1 avionics suppliers in distributed subsystems