1.
How to store and
visualize CAN bus
telematic data with
InfluxDB and Grafana
CSS Electronics (DK36711949)
Soeren Frichs Vej 38K, 8230 Aabyhoej, Denmark
www.csselectronics.com

2.
agenda
1. CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2
○ About us
○ What is CAN bus?
○ What problem do we solve - and how?
2. Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana
○ Why InfluxDB and Grafana?
○ How did we implement it?
○ In action: Examples of dashboards (ours & users)
○ Pros & cons of the implementation

3.
CSS Electronics,
CAN bus and the CANedge2

4.
about me
● Co-owner at CSS Electronics
● Responsibilities
○ Sales, tech support, marketing (web content, videos, SEO, ...)
○ Misc software dev (React, Python, Ruby, ...)
● Background: Management consulting, corporate strategy
● Degree in financial economics
● Live in Denmark with my wife and three kids
Martin Falch
● www.linkedin.com/in/martin-falch-a7579821
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

5.
about CSS Electronics
● Started in 2015, based in Denmark
● Supply 2000+ companies across 80+ countries
● Develop & sell CAN bus hardware (data loggers, sensor modules)
○ PCB layouts from scratch
○ Firmware in embedded C
○ PCB assembly by US partner
● Carbon neutral since 2019 via 100% CO2 offsets
● Products are used particularly by automotive/industrial OEMs
● www.csselectronics.com
● contact@csselectronics.com
● +45 91 25 25 63
● www.linkedin.com/company/css-electronics
CSS Electronics
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

6.
what is CAN bus?
● Quick overview of the technology
● Where is CAN bus used?
● Raw vs decoded CAN bus data
CAN Bus Explained
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

7.
where is CAN bus used?
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

8.
raw vs decoded CAN bus data
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

9.
example: What challenge do we solve?
Situation
● Forklift battery OEM needs to collect
data from new prototype
● Data to be recorded across hundreds
of units & multiple warehouses
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

10.
example: What challenge do we solve?
Complication
● Because this is a team of OEM
engineers, they have very specific
requirements to the product
○ Solution needs to be low cost due to scale
○ Needs to be plug & play to install + power-safe
○ Needs to be pro specs - e.g. 0.05 ms frequency
○ Needs to be configurable (filters, triggers, ...)
○ Need to auto-upload data to their own server
○ Needs to be able to securely upload via WiFi
○ Needs ‘zero loss’ - SD is required to buffer
○ Needs support for many different software tools
○ ...
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

11.
example: What challenge do we solve?
Solution
● The CANedge2 enables
the OEM to achieve their
required use case
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

12.
about the CANedge2
● bit.ly/canedge2
● bit.ly/canedge-intro-video
● www.csselectronics.com
● contact@csselectronics.com
● +45 91 25 25 63
CANedge2
2x CAN/LIN Data Logger (SD + WiFi)
The 2xCAN/LIN logger records timestamped CAN bus data
(Classical/CAN FD) to the extractable 8 GB industrial SD card.
The device connects via WiFi access points (e.g. WLAN or 3G/4G
routers) to securely push data to your own server. Ideal for
telematics, field tests, diagnostics, predictive maintenance.
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

13.
how it works
● Set up your own S3 server (~5 min)
● Configure your CANedge2 with your
server/WiFi details
● Connect it to your CAN bus
application to start logging
● Data is auto-pushed to your server
and can be processed via the free
software/API tools and DBC files
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

14.
example use cases
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

15.
what makes our solution different?
● Cross-section between pro specs loggers and telematics
● Ease-of-use: Plug & play & highly configurable (without scripts)
● Low cost: 50-80% lower cost vs. comparable devices
● Interoperable: Utilize open standards to ease custom integration
○ JSON Schema (configuration)
○ S3 (server interface)
○ MF4 (standardized binary log file format)
● 100% free open source software (FOSS)
● We do not host anything (and charge no recurring fees)
pro specs
automotive
data loggers
vehicle
telematics
CSS Electronics, CAN bus and the CANedge2

16.
Telematics dashboards via
InfluxDB and Grafana

17.
issue: We lacked browser data visualization
The CANedge2 integrates with various software tools - but previously no dashboard solution:
● Configuration editor: Load & edit JSON config files
● MF4 converters: Convert log files to other file formats
● asammdf: View, edit, DBC decode, plot log files
● Python API: Load & DBC decode log files
● CANcloud: Manage CANedge2 devices & data
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana

18.
how to best create a dashboard integration?
Challenge
Our users wanted to visualize
their CAN bus data in the
browser - ala a classic
telematics dashboard
Complication
Specific user requirements:
● Need intra-second frequency
● 100% panel customization
required (with no coding)
● Setup has to be really easy
● Solution needs to be
optionally 100% free & open
● Should scale for big data
Solution
Process log files via Python
API, write decoded data to
InfluxDB, visualize in Grafana
(facilitated via step-by-step
guide and plug & play scripts)
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana

19.
why Grafana and InfluxDB?
Why Grafana?
● Very popular (41K+ github stars)
● Intuitive/easy front end customization
● 100% free and open source
● Optional cloud (incl. free starter)
● Many plugins incl. geo maps
● Easy support for variables, alerts
Why InfluxDB?
● Very popular (21K+ github stars)
● Natively supported by Grafana
● 100% free and open source
● Optional cloud (incl. free starter)
● Grafana & Influx Cloud Starter = easy
● Simple-to-use Python write API
● Intuitive explorer functionality
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana

20.
how did we implement it?
● High level article to explain concept and possibilities
● Our users need to be able to set everything up themselves
● “Time-to-awesome” is key - start simple! (free starter cloud)
● Optimized step-by-step guide with sample data + DBC
● Each device = ‘measurement’, each parameter = ‘field’
alternative setup examples
typical ‘proof of concept’ setup
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana

21.
in action: Examples of dashboards
See our public Grafana dashboard
playground examples - or our user
case studies involving dashboards
(Havelsan, VIVES, Antü)
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana

22.
Dashboard links: Heavy duty (J1939)
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana
● Playground link
● J1939 - simple intro
● J1939 data logger intro
● Mining intro

23.
Dashboard links: Cars + GPS/IMU (OBD2)
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana
● Playground link
● OBD2 - simple intro
● OBD2 data logger intro

24.
Dashboard links: Maritime (NMEA 2000)
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana
● Playground link
● Marine telematics

25.
Dashboard links: CANmod.gps sensor fusion
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana
● Playground link
● CANmod.gps

26.
pros & cons of the implementation
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana
Pros
● Easy to get started due to cloud
starters and plug & play data/script
● 100% free & open source - or paid
convenience via full/partial cloud
● Users can fully customize their solution
- without being developers
Cons
● Our devices push data to S3, so an “S3
data source” would be “cleaner” (avoid
duplicate data storage)
● Periodic uploads can result in users
needing to crunch several GB at once
● Flux support in Grafana still semi-new

27.
questions?
Telematics dashboards via InfluxDB and Grafana
● bit.ly/canedge2
● bit.ly/canedge-intro-video
● bit.ly/telematics-dashboard
● www.csselectronics.com
● contact@csselectronics.com
● +45 91 25 25 63

28.
We look forward to bringing together our
community of developers to learn, interact
and share tips and use cases.
10-11 May 2021
Hands-On Flux Training
18-19 May 2021
Virtual Experience
www.influxdays.com/emea-2021-virtual-experience/