Automotive
ECU development, vehicle testing, and production validation
The automotive industry pioneered CAN bus, and it remains the backbone of in-vehicle communication. Whether you are developing a new ECU, validating a production vehicle, or diagnosing aftermarket issues, Helix gives you direct access to live CAN data through a modern web interface — no bulky desktop software required.
The Landscape
CAN bus was originally developed by Bosch for automotive applications in the 1980s and has since become the dominant in-vehicle network. Modern vehicles contain 70+ ECUs communicating over multiple CAN and CAN FD buses spanning powertrain, chassis, body, and infotainment domains. As vehicle electronics grow more complex, engineers need tools that keep pace — portable, browser-accessible, and capable of handling both classical CAN and CAN FD.
Key Figures
¹ Angrepp Red Team — agentic white-box attack simulation that continuously tests for vulnerabilities before they reach production. ² Expected Q3 2026. ³ Expected Q4 2026.
How It Works
Industry Challenges
What makes CAN bus work in automotive uniquely demanding.
ECU integration testing
A new ECU must communicate correctly with dozens of other modules on the vehicle bus. Integration failures — wrong message IDs, incorrect signal scaling, or missing periodic frames — can be subtle and only appear when the full network is active.
Road test data capture
Recording CAN data during real-world driving means the logging device must survive vibration, temperature extremes, and power interruptions. Bringing a laptop into the vehicle is impractical for long-duration or unattended tests.
End-of-line validation
Production lines need fast, repeatable CAN bus checks for every unit coming off the assembly line. Manual test procedures are slow, inconsistent, and do not scale with increasing production volume.
CAN FD migration
Vehicles are transitioning from classical CAN to CAN FD with higher data rates and up to 64-byte payloads. Engineers need a single tool that handles both protocols across multiple buses running at different baud rates.
How Helix Helps
Built-in capabilities that address automotive requirements.
Dual CAN channels
Monitor two independent CAN buses simultaneously — ideal for gateway testing or comparing data between powertrain and body domains.
Portable logging with triggers
No laptop needed — Helix runs as a compact embedded device accessed via any browser. Define triggers on decoded signals to flag anomalies during unattended road tests, and export captured data in CSV or ASC for analysis in your existing tools.
Cyclic transmit agent
Send CAN messages onto the bus at configurable intervals (ms) for automated ECU stimulation and end-of-line validation.
CAN FD native
Full support for both classical CAN and CAN FD on each channel. Monitor mixed networks with different baud rates without switching tools or reconfiguring hardware.
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