Planning Launch Files#

Overview#

The Autoware planning stacks start launching at autoware_launch.xml as mentioned on the Launch Autoware page. The autoware_launch package includes tier4_planning_component.launch.xml for initiating planning launch files invocation from autoware_launch.xml. The diagram below illustrates the flow of Autoware planning launch files within the autoware_launch and autoware.universe packages.

planning-launch-flow — Autoware planning launch flow diagram

Note

The Autoware project is a large project. Therefore, as we manage the Autoware project, we utilize specific arguments in the launch files. ROS 2 offers an argument-overriding feature for these launch files. Please refer to the official ROS 2 launch documentation for further information. For instance, if we define an argument at the top-level launch, it will override the value on lower-level launches.

tier4_planning_component.launch.xml#

The tier4_planning_component.launch.xml launch file is the main planning component launch at the autoware_launch package. This launch file calls planning.launch.xml at tier4_planning_launch package from autoware.universe repository. We can modify planning launch arguments at tier4_planning_component.launch.xml. Also, we can add any other necessary arguments that we want to change it since tier4_planning_component.launch.xml is the top-level launch file of other planning launch files. Here are some predefined planning launch arguments:

use_experimental_lane_change_function: This argument enables enable_collision_check_at_prepare_phase, use_predicted_path_outside_lanelet, and use_all_predicted_path options for Autoware for experimental lane changing (for more information, please refer to lane_change documentation). The default value is True. To set it to False, make the following change in the tier4_planning_component.launch.xml file:
```
- <arg name="use_experimental_lane_change_function" default="true"/>
+ <arg name="use_experimental_lane_change_function" default="false"/>
```

cruise_planner_type: There are two types of cruise planners in Autoware: obstacle_stop_planner and obstacle_cruise_planner. For specifications on these cruise planner types, please refer to the package documentation. The default cruise planner is obstacle_stop_planner. To change it to obstacle_cruise_planner, update the argument value in the tier4_planning_component.launch.xml file:
```
- <arg name="cruise_planner_type" default="obstacle_stop_planner" description="options: obstacle_stop_planner, obstacle_cruise_planner, none"/>
+ <arg name="cruise_planner_type" default="obstacle_cruise_planner" description="options: obstacle_stop_planner, obstacle_cruise_planner, none"/>
```

use_surround_obstacle_check: This argument enables the surround_obstacle_checker for Autoware. If you want to disable it, you can do in the tier4_planning_component.launch.xml file:
```
- <arg name="use_surround_obstacle_check" default="true"/>
+ <arg name="use_surround_obstacle_check" default="false"/>
```

velocity_smoother_type: This argument specifies the type of smoother for the motion_velocity_smoother package. Please consult the documentation for detailed information about available smoother types. For instance, if you wish to change your smoother type from JerkFiltered to L2, you can do in the tier4_planning_component.launch.xml file.:
```
- <arg name="velocity_smoother_type" default="JerkFiltered" description="options: JerkFiltered, L2, Analytical, Linf(Unstable)"/>
+ <arg name="velocity_smoother_type" default="L2" description="options: JerkFiltered, L2, Analytical, Linf(Unstable)"/>
```

Note

You can also use this arguments as command line arguments:

ros2 launch autoware_launch autoware.launch.xml ... use_surround_obstacle_check:=false velocity_smoother_type:=L2 ...

The predefined arguments in tier4_planning_component.launch.xml have been explained above. However, numerous planning arguments are included in the autoware_launch planning config parameters.