AutoDRIVE Simulator -- Technical Report

TL;DR

AutoDRIVE Simulator is a modular, flexible platform that mimics realistic autonomous vehicle dynamics and sensors, enabling external algorithm testing via ROS and supporting distributed computing.

Contribution

It introduces a pseudo-realistic, modular simulator for scaled autonomous vehicles with an integrated communication bridge for external software integration.

Findings

Simulates realistic vehicle dynamics and sensors

Supports external autonomous driving software integration

Enables testing with ROS and distributed systems

Abstract

AutoDRIVE is envisioned to be a comprehensive research platform for scaled autonomous vehicles. This work is a stepping-stone towards the greater goal of realizing such a research platform. Particularly, this work proposes a pseudo-realistic simulator for scaled autonomous vehicles, which is targeted towards simplicity, modularity and flexibility. The AutoDRIVE Simulator not only mimics realistic system dynamics but also simulates a comprehensive sensor suite and realistic actuator response. The simulator also features a communication bridge in order to interface externally developed autonomous driving software stack, which allows users to design and develop their algorithms conveniently and have them tested on our simulator. Presently, the bridge is compatible with Robot Operating System (ROS) and can be interfaced directly with the Python and C++ scripts developed as a part of this project. The bridge supports local as well as distributed computing.