CANopen is a CAN-based communication system. It comprises higher-layer protocols and profile specifications. CANopen has been developed as a standardized embedded network with highly flexible configuration capabilities. It was designed originally for motion-oriented machine control systems, such as handling systems. Today it is used in various application fields, such as medical equipment, off-road vehicles, maritime electronics, railway applications, or building automation.
CANopen unburdens the developer from dealing with CAN hardware-specific details such as bit timing and acceptance filtering. It provides standardized communication objects (COB) for time-critical processes, configuration as well as network management data.