AARK: An Open Toolkit for Autonomous Racing Research

TL;DR

AARK is an open toolkit that simplifies autonomous racing research by providing customizable simulation packages for vehicle control, perception data generation, and full-stack autonomous control, aiming to lower barriers and enhance reproducibility.

Contribution

It introduces a comprehensive, open-source toolkit with three integrated packages that facilitate autonomous racing research and democratize access to advanced vehicle control and perception systems.

Findings

Provides a computer vision-friendly interface for Assetto Corsa

Enables generation of perception training data

Offers a modular autonomous control system

Abstract

Autonomous racing demands safe control of vehicles at their physical limits for extended periods of time, providing insights into advanced vehicle safety systems which increasingly rely on intervention provided by vehicle autonomy. Participation in this field carries with it a high barrier to entry. Physical platforms and their associated sensor suites require large capital outlays before any demonstrable progress can be made. Simulators allow researches to develop soft autonomous systems without purchasing a platform. However, currently available simulators lack visual and dynamic fidelity, can still be expensive to buy, lack customisation, and are difficult to use. AARK provides three packages, ACI, ACDG, and ACMPC. These packages enable research into autonomous control systems in the demanding environment of racing to bring more people into the field and improve reproducibility: ACI provides researchers with a computer vision-friendly interface to Assetto Corsa for convenient comparison and evaluation of autonomous control solutions; ACDG enables generation of depth, normal and semantic segmentation data for training computer vision models to use in perception systems; and ACMPC gives newcomers to the field a modular full-stack autonomous control solution, capable of controlling vehicles to build from. AARK aims to unify and democratise research into a field critical to providing safer roads and trusted autonomous systems.