# Overview ## Requirement: prepare your real vehicle hardware Prerequisites for the vehicle: - An onboard computer that satisfies the [Autoware installation prerequisites](<../../../installation/autoware/source-installation/#prerequisites>) - The following devices attached - Drive-by-wire interface - LiDAR - Optional: Inertial measurement unit - Optional: Camera - Optional: GNSS ## 1\. Creating your Autoware meta-repository Create your Autoware meta-repository. One easy way is to fork [autowarefoundation/autoware]() and clone it. For how to fork a repository, refer to [GitHub Docs](). ```bash git clone https://github.com/YOUR_NAME/autoware.git ``` If you set up multiple types of vehicles, adding a suffix like "autoware.vehicle\_A" or "autoware.vehicle\_B" is recommended. ## 2\. Creating your vehicle and sensor description Next, you need to create description packages that define the vehicle and sensor configuration of your vehicle. In Autoware 2.0.0, the sample vehicle and sensor kit packages are in the [autoware\_launch]() repository. The separate `sample_vehicle_launch` and `sample_sensor_kit_launch` repositories are archived. Fork `autoware_launch` and add these two packages to your fork: - YOUR\_VEHICLE\_launch in `vehicle/` (copy [sample\_vehicle\_launch]() as an example) - YOUR\_SENSOR\_KIT\_launch in `sensor_kit/` (copy [sample\_sensor\_kit\_launch]() as an example) Autoware finds these packages by the `vehicle_model` and `sensor_model` launch arguments. For example, `vehicle_model:=YOUR_VEHICLE` loads `YOUR_VEHICLE_description` and `YOUR_VEHICLE_launch`, and `sensor_model:=YOUR_SENSOR_KIT` loads `YOUR_SENSOR_KIT_description` and `YOUR_SENSOR_KIT_launch`. Once created, you need to update the `repositories/autoware.repos` file of your cloned Autoware repository to refer to your fork of `autoware_launch`. ```diff launcher/autoware_launch: type: git - url: https://github.com/autowarefoundation/autoware_launch.git - version: 0.53.0 + url: https://github.com/YOUR_NAME/autoware_launch.git + version: main ``` You can also keep your vehicle and sensor kit packages in separate repositories. In this case, add them to `repositories/autoware.repos` too. For more information, see [Creating Autoware repositories](<../creating-your-autoware-repositories/creating-autoware-repositories/index.md>). ### Adapt YOUR\_VEHICLE\_launch for autoware launching system #### At YOUR\_VEHICLE\_description Define URDF and parameters in the vehicle description package (refer to the [sample vehicle description package]() for an example). #### At YOUR\_VEHICLE\_launch Create `launch/vehicle_interface.launch.xml` that launches your vehicle interface (refer to the [sample vehicle launch package]() for example). If you have multiple vehicles with the same hardware setup, you can specify `vehicle_id` to distinguish them. ### Adapt YOUR\_SENSOR\_KIT\_launch for autoware launching system #### At YOUR\_SENSOR\_KIT\_description Define URDF and extrinsic parameters for all the sensors here (refer to the [sample sensor kit description package]() for example). Note that you need to calibrate extrinsic parameters for all the sensors beforehand. #### At YOUR\_SENSOR\_KIT\_launch Create `launch/sensing.launch.xml` that launches the interfaces of all the sensors on the vehicle. (refer to the [sample sensor kit launch package]() for example). > [!NOTE] > > At this point, you are now able to run Autoware's Planning Simulator to do a basic test of your vehicle and sensing packages. To do so, you need to build and install Autoware using your cloned repository. Follow the [steps for either Docker or source installation](<../../../installation/index.md>) (starting from the dependency installation step) and then run the following command: > > ```bash > ros2 launch autoware_launch planning_simulator.launch.xml vehicle_model:=YOUR_VEHICLE sensor_model:=YOUR_SENSOR_KIT map_path:=/PATH/TO/YOUR/MAP > ``` ## 3\. Create a `vehicle_interface` package You need to create an interface package for your vehicle. The package is expected to provide the following two functions. 1. Receive command messages from `vehicle_cmd_gate` and drive the vehicle accordingly 2. Send vehicle status information to Autoware You can find detailed information about the requirements of the `vehicle_interface` package in the [Vehicle Interface design documentation](<../../../design/autoware-architecture-v1/interfaces/components/vehicle-interface/index.md>). For a step-by-step guide, see the [Vehicle interface](<../creating-vehicle-interface-package/vehicle-interface/index.md>) tutorial. You can also refer to TIER IV's [pacmod\_interface repository]() as an example of a vehicle interface package. ## 4\. Create maps You need both a pointcloud map and a vector map in order to use Autoware. For more information, see the [map design documentation](<../../../design/autoware-architecture-v1/components/map/index.md>). ### Create a pointcloud map Use third-party tools such as a LiDAR-based SLAM (Simultaneous Localization And Mapping) package to create a pointcloud map in the `.pcd` format. For more information, see [Creating maps](<../creating-maps/index.md>). ### Create vector map Use third-party tools such as [TIER IV's Vector Map Builder]() to create a Lanelet2 format `.osm` file. ## 5\. Launch Autoware This section briefly explains how to run your vehicle with Autoware. ### Install Autoware Follow the [installation steps of Autoware](<../../../installation/index.md>). ### Launch Autoware Launch Autoware with the following command: ```bash ros2 launch autoware_launch autoware.launch.xml vehicle_model:=YOUR_VEHICLE sensor_model:=YOUR_SENSOR_KIT map_path:=/PATH/TO/YOUR/MAP ``` ### Set initial pose If GNSS is available, Autoware automatically initializes the vehicle's pose. If not, you need to set the initial pose using the RViz GUI. 1. Click the 2D Pose Estimate button in the toolbar, or hit the P key 2. In the 3D View pane, click and hold the left mouse button, and then drag to set the direction for the initial pose. ### Set goal pose Set a goal pose for the ego vehicle. 1. Click the 2D Goal Pose button in the toolbar, or hit the G key 2. In the 3D View pane, click and hold the left mouse button, and then drag to set the direction for the goal pose. If successful, you will see the calculated planning path on RViz. ### Engage In your terminal, execute the following command. It calls the [AD API](<../../../design/autoware-architecture-v1/interfaces/ad-api/index.md>) service that changes the operation mode to autonomous. ```bash source ~/autoware.YOURS/install/setup.bash ros2 service call /api/operation_mode/change_to_autonomous autoware_adapi_v1_msgs/srv/ChangeOperationMode {} ``` You can also engage via RViz with "AutowareStatePanel". When the route is calculated, press the **AUTO** button in the panel. The Autoware RViz configuration includes the panel. You can also add it from `Panels > Add New Panel > tier4_state_rviz_plugin > AutowareStatePanel`. Now the vehicle should drive along the calculated path! ## 6\. Tune parameters for your vehicle & environment You may need to tune your parameters depending on the domain in which you will operate your vehicle. The maximum velocity is the `max_vel` parameter in [`common.param.yaml`]() of `autoware_planning_config`. It is 4.17 m/s (15 km/h) by default.