What are the requirements for sensor configuration in using Autoware?

[kminoda]

Hi!

What are the requirements for sensor configuration in using Autoware?

I am trying to build autonomous driving capability for my own robot and would like to know what kind of sensors I need to use Autoware.
I went through the Autoware Document but could not find any.

It seems that LiDAR is required for ndt_scan_matcher, but how about other sensors such as IMU, odometry, GNSS, or camera?

Thank you in advance.

[aohsato]

@kminoda
Thanks for your question!
Unfortunately, there is no documentation about the whole sensing policy just for now. 🤕

The sensing policy around the localization module is as follows.

LiDAR pointcloud ( sensor_msgs/PointCloud2 ) is mandatory.
https://github.com/autowarefoundation/autoware.universe/tree/main/localization/ndt_scan_matcher

Vehicle Twist ( geometry_msgs/TwistWithCovarianceStamped ) is mandatory.
https://github.com/autowarefoundation/autoware.universe/tree/main/localization/ekf_localizer

IMU ( sensor_msgs/Imu ) is not mandatory, but it can be used with gyro_odometer to improve the accuracy of Vehicle Twist.
https://github.com/autowarefoundation/autoware.universe/tree/main/localization/gyro_odometer

GNSS ( geometry_msgs/PoseWithCovarianceStamped ) is not mandatory, but can be used with pose_initializer for automatic initial position estimation.
https://github.com/autowarefoundation/autoware.universe/tree/main/localization/pose_initializer

The basic idea can be found at the following URL, the previous AutowareArchitectureProposal documents.
https://github.com/tier4/AutowareArchitectureProposal.proj/blob/main/docs/design/software_architecture/Localization/Localization.md
https://github.com/tier4/AutowareArchitectureProposal.proj/blob/main/docs/design/software_architecture/Localization/TwistEstimator/TwistEstimator.md

[kminoda]

Thanks a lot! This fully answers my question.

[yegor86]

@aohsato @kminoda
Could you please name hardware which is compatible with VehicleTwist module ? Do I need to buy a certain CAN interface and/or chassis?