Add Vehicle

Ego Vehicle Component

In this tutorial we will create a new EgoVehicle. To learn more about what an EgoVehicle is in AWSIM please visit Ego Vehicle description page.

Cerate an Object

Add a child Object to the Simulation called EgoVehicle.

Add a Rigidbody

1. While having a newly created EgoVehicle Object selected, in the Inspector view click on the 'Add Component' button, search for Rigidbody and select it.

   

   

2. Configure Mass and Drag with the correct values for your Vehicle.

   

3. Configure Interpolation and Collision Detection.

   

Add visual elements

For a detailed explanation hwo to add visual elements of your Vehicle check out this dedicated tutorial.

Add a Canter of Mass

To add a center of mass to your vehicle you have to add a CoM child Object to the EgoVehicle Object (the same as in steps before).

Then just set the position of the CoM Object in the Inspector view to represent real-world center of mass of the Vehicle.

How do I know what is the Center of Mass of my Vehicle

The best way is to obtain a Center of Mass information from your Vehicle documentation.

However, if this is not possible, you can try to estimate the Center of Mass of your vehicle. Best practice is to set the estimated Center of Mass as the following

• Evenly between the axles of the Vehicle
• Right in the middle of the Vehicles width
• Somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter of the Vehicle height

Note: This will vary very much depending on your Vehicle construction. For the best possible result please follow the Vehicle specifications.

Add a Reflection Probe

1. Add a new Object called Reflection Probe as a child to the EgoVehicle Object.

   

2. Click on the 'Add Component' button, in the windows that pops-up search for Reflection Probe and select it.

   

   Note

   Please note that with Reflection Probe there should also be automatically added a `HD Additional Reflection Data Script.

   

3. Configure the Reflection Probe as you wish.

   Example Configuration

   Below you can see an example configuration of the Reflection Probe.

   

Add Colliders

For a detailed explanation how to add colliders to your Vehicle check out this dedicated tutorial.

Add a base for sensors (URDF)

You will most certainly want to add some sensors to your EgoVehicle. First you need to create a parent Object for all those sensors called URDF. To do this we will add a child Object URDF to the EgoVehicle Object.

This Object will be used as a base for all sensors we will add later.

Add a Vehicle Script

To be able to control your EgoVehicle you need a Vehicle Script.

1. Add the Vehicle Script to the EgoVehicle Object.

   

   

2. Configure the Vehicle Script Axle Settings and Center Of Mass Transform.

   

Testing

It is not possible to test this Script alone, but you can test the following

• Vehicle Keyboard Input Script
• Vehicle Visual Effects Script
• Vehicle Ros Input Script

If components listed above work correctly this means the Vehicle Script works correctly too.

Add a Vehicle Keyboard Input Script

You can control your EgoVehicle in the simulation manually with just one Script called Vehicle Keyboard Input.

If you want to add it just click the 'Add Component' button on the EgoVehicle Object and search for Vehicle Keyboard Input Script and select it.

Add a Vehicle Visual Effect Script

For a visual indication of a Vehicle status you will need a Vehicle Visual Effect Script. To add and configure it follow the steps below.

1. Add a Vehicle Visual Effect Script by clicking 'Add Component' button, searching for it and selecting it.

   

2. Configure the lights.

   Note

   In this step we will configure only Brake Lights, but should repeat this for every Light. The process is almost the same for all Lights - just change the mesh renderer and lighting settings according to your preference.

   

How to test

After configuring Vehicle Visual Effect Script it is advised to test whether everything works as expected.

1. Make sure you have a Vehicle Keyboard Input Script added and that it is enabled.

2. If your scene does not have any models yet please turn the gravity off in Rigidbody configuration so that the Vehicle does not fall down into infinity.

   

3. Start the simulation.

   

4. Test the Turn Signals.

   You can control the Turn Signals with a Vehicle Keyboard Input Script. Activate the Turn Signals with one of the following keys

   • 1 - Left Turn Signal
   • 2 - Right Turn Signal
   • 3 - Hazard Lights
   • 4 - Turn Off all Signals

   

5. Test the Lights.

   You can control the lights by "driving" the Vehicle using Vehicle Keyboard Input Script. Although if you have an empty Environment like in this tutorial the Vehicle won't actually drive.

   To test Brake Lights change the gear to Drive by pressing D on the keyboard and activate braking by holding arrow down.

   To test the Reverse Light change the gear to Reverse by pressing R on the keyboard. The Reverse Light should turn on right away.

   

Camera tip

If you have not configured a camera or configured it in such a way that you can't see the Vehicle well you can still test most of the lights by changing views.

• Turn the Light (or Signal) on by pressing the appropriate key
• Move to the Scene View by pressing ctrl + 1 - now you can move the camera freely
• To change the Lights you need to go back to Game View by pressing ctrl + 2

Pleas note that this method won't work for testing Brake Lights, as for them to work you need to keep the arrow down button pressed all the time.

Add a Vehicle Ros Input Script

For controlling your Vehicle with autonomous driving software (e.g. Autoware) you need a Vehicle Ros Input Script.

Disable Vehicle Keyboard Input Script

If you have added a Vehicle Keyboard Input Script in your Vehicle please disable it when using the Vehicle Ros Input Script.

Not doing so will lead to the vehicle receiving two different inputs which will cause many problems.

Add it to the EgoVehicle Object by clicking on the 'Add Component' button, searching for it and selecting it.

The Script is configured to work with Autoware by default, but you can change the topics and Quality of Service settings as you wish.

Note

The Vehicle should be configured correctly, but if you have many Vehicles or something goes wrong, please select the right Vehicle in the Vehicle field by clicking on the small arrow icon and choosing the right item from the list.

How to test

The best way to test the Vehicle Ros Input Script is to run Autoware.

1. Run the Scene same as on this page.
2. Launch only the Autoware like on this page
3. Plan a path in Autoware like here, if the Vehicle moves in AWSIM correctly then the Script is configured well.

Add Sensors

For a detailed explanation how to add sensors to your Vehicle check out this dedicated tutorial.

Add a Vehicle to Scene

First you will have to save the Vehicle you created as a prefab, to easily add it later to different Scenes.

1. Open the Vehicles directory in the Project view (Assets/AWSIM/Prefabs/Vehicles)
2. Drag the Vehicle Object from the Hierarchy view to the Vehicles directory

After that, you can add the Vehicle you created to different Scenes by dragging it from Vehicles directory to the Hierarchy of different Scenes.