foxBMS 2 version 1.5.0 available

2023-02-06 | Documentation, General, Hardware, Software

foxBMS 2 version 1.5.0 available

We are happy to announce that a minor release of foxBMS 2 version 1.5.0 is available on GitHub.

The main topics covered in this release are:

  • We released the hardware design files (e.g., schematics, layout, BOM and STEP file etc.) of a foxBMS Slave using the NXP MC33775A monitoring IC.
  • We improved the CAN driver and extended its configuration options: CAN messages can now be transmitted and received using extended identifiers.
  • The default interface configuration for BMS-Slaves is the interface 1 on the BMS-Interfaces for all supported BMS-Slaves:
    • for LTC-based interfaces: hardware chip select 1 on SPI 1
    • for NXP-based interfaces: hardware chip select 1 on SPI 1
  • The OS abstraction layer has been applied more strictly to make the BMS application fully OS agnostic. This should make porting the code to other OS and/or platforms easier.
  • The software version is now saved in FRAM version struct. As this is the the first FRAM entry, this changes the memory layout and makes FRAM entries existing prior to this version invalid.
  • The FRAM can now be initialized and/or reinitialized via CAN.
  • The BMS sends now a magic startup sequence on the CAN bus to make the startup clearly identifiable.
  • We added the low-level driver for the PCF2131 real time clock (RTC). The BMS time can be retrieved and optionally resetted via CAN.
  • We added a basic graphical user interface to interact with the BMS via CAN from PC-side.

For a detailed list of changes in foxBMS 2 version 1.5.0, please refer to our changelog.

We publish major software releases for our open source BMS platform every 3 to 6 months and interim bug fixes when solved in the News section. By subscribing to the foxBMS Newsletter, you will be informed when the new releases are available. Further, the foxBMS Roadmap and the Documentation are also updated regularly.

Warning: The foxBMS 2 platform including the foxBMS 2 hardware and the foxBMS 2 software are under permanent development. The free and open research and development platform foxBMS 2 as presented in the documentation hereafter is not provided to be used without any adaptions (e.g., to fulfill mandatory regulations) in consumer products, electric vehicles, production environments or any similar usages: the open source version of the foxBMS 2 platform is only intended to be used by skilled professionals trained in designing battery system prototypes.

In case you encounter problems, please contact us.

The Fraunhofer IISB foxBMS Team