WiCAN is an ESP32-C3 CAN bus adapter that works over USB, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth LE, and designed for car hacking and general CAN bus development.
The device is available in USB-CAN and OBD-II form factors and comes with firmware that works with RealDash to create nice-looking dashboards with the data. RealDash can be installed on Android, iOS, and Windows 10 operating systems.
WiCAN specifications:
- Wireless module – ESP32-C3-MINI-1 with ESP32-C3 RISC-V microcontroller with 2.4GHz WiFI 4 and Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, 4 MB flash, PCB antenna
- CAN 2.0 A/B interface up to 1 Mbps
- Host interface
- WiCAN-OBD – OBD-II connector
- WiCAN-USB – Mini USB port for USB-to-UART up to 6 Mbps
- Power Supply
- WiCAN-ODB – 7.5V to 16V (Vbat)
- WiCAN-USB – 7.5V to 36V via screw-terminal connector
- Power Consumption – <= 1 mA in battery-saving mode
The CAN Bus adapter also supports firmware updates over WiFi, and can be used either in access point or station modes. While BLE is supported, it does not seem to be the focus here, and WiFi seems to be the wireless standard of choice, while USB is also an option for the WiCAN-USB board.
Besides RealDash, WiCAN can also be accessed with the company’s WebCAN web-based interface and supports open-source tools such as SavvyCAN, BUSmaster, and python-can.
You’ll find the firmware source code (working with the ESP-IDF) and instructions on Github. Another interesting feature of the WiCAN-OBD model is MQTT battery alerts with the adapter monitoring your battery voltage and sending an alert if that voltage drops under a set threshold. This is especially useful for users owning multiple cars.
The company also provides a comparison against other wireless CAN Bus solutions based on ESP32, namely Macchina A0 and Freematics ONE+ Model A.
WiCAN-USB and WiCAN-OBD ESP32-C3 CAN Bus devices are both available on Crowd Supply crowdfunding platform for $42. Shipping is free to the US, $12 to the rest of the world, and deliveries are expected to start by mid November 2022.
Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
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