On the applicability of an MILP solution for signal packing in CAN-FD

The new CAN-FD standard for automotive communication provides support for real-time predictability at an increased rate and with a larger payload than the existing CAN standard. The adoption of CAN-FD requires the migration and possibly the redesign of the existing message sets to exploit the features of the protocol, by repacking the application signals in the new larger frames. Previous works provided algorithms that consider timing constraints and try to reduce the required bandwidth. The state of the art solutions are however based on two-step heuristics. A single-step formulation, with a suitable set of (optional) bound relaxation techniques has the potential to provide better solutions (with lower bus utilization) and also be more easily adapted to the consideration of the constraints and limitations that typically apply to the signal remapping.