Seeking Guidance for Beginner: Autoware with RC Bots and Hardware Sensors

[DevankGarg]

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Dear Autoware Community,

I'm writing to humbly request assistance as I embark on my journey with Autoware. As a complete beginner in the field of autonomous robotics, I'm incredibly enthusiastic about the potential of Autoware to empower me in building and operating my own RC bot equipped with various hardware sensors.

I've been actively exploring the Autoware documentation and resources, and I'm impressed by the project's depth and capabilities. However, I'm encountering challenges in navigating the intricacies of setting up Autoware for real-world deployment on RC hardware, particularly in integrating the various sensors I plan to utilize.

Specific areas where I would deeply appreciate guidance include:

RC Hardware Compatibility: I'm uncertain about the compatibility between Autoware and the specific RC car model I've chosen (please specify your RC car model here). Any insights or recommendations on compatible hardware platforms or resources for evaluating compatibility would be immensely valuable.
Sensor Integration: I'm planning to incorporate an array of sensors (mention the specific sensors you plan to use, e.g., LiDAR, IMU, cameras) to enhance the bot's perception capabilities. I'm struggling to understand the process of integrating these sensors with Autoware and configuring them for effective data acquisition. Could you point me towards tutorials, examples, or best practices that address real-world sensor integration?
Deployment and Testing: Once I have the hardware and software components in place, I'd appreciate any pointers on practical considerations for deploying Autoware on the RC bot in a safe and controlled environment. Additionally, I'm eager to learn about recommended testing procedures to ensure the bot's functionality and safety before venturing into more complex scenarios.
I understand that the Autoware community is incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. I'm committed to diligently learning and contributing wherever possible. Any guidance or suggestions you can offer, even if it's directing me towards relevant resources or documentation, would be immensely helpful.

Thank you for your time and consideration. I eagerly await your insights and look forward to being a part of this vibrant robotics community.

Sincerely,

Devank

[maxime-clem]

Thank you for your interest in Autoware and welcome to our community.
Your questions are difficult to answer. My suggestion would be to first do the following:

• Try Autoware in simulation (installation, tutorial).
• Checkout the F1Tenth project. This should be close to what you want to do and there are a lot of documentation already available to show you some setup examples (including for Autoware).

After that I think you will be able to ask more specific questions.

[DevankGarg]

Hello
Thank you for replying.
I have gone through all simulation tutorials and all of them are working well for me. I am able to integrate the custom maps as well.

The main guidance I think I need or anybody else starting in this would require is in know-how of connecting the autoware with real world vehicle or bot.

I will definitely checkout F1 tenth project.

Thanks

[maxime-clem]

I understand. Then these pages may also be useful to you:

• Integration guide:https://autowarefoundation.github.io/autoware-documentation/main/how-to-guides/integrating-autoware/overview/
• Reference hardware: https://autowarefoundation.github.io/autoware-documentation/main/reference-hw/

[Owen-Liuyuxuan]

The integration guide essentially tells you what interface you need to create to allow Autoware to connect with the car.

[DevankGarg]

Thank you once again for replying and helping me out 😊.

[DevankGarg]

Hi

I checked out the sensor kit and the prerequisites for Autoware but I can't seem to figure out if it's necessary to use only 3D lidar, can I get the work done using 2D LiDAR only?

[maxime-clem]

2D lidar is enough for localization I think yes.
Probably not for object detection 🤔

[DevankGarg]

Thanks man

I am planning to use RGB camera for object detection currently

[DevankGarg]

Hello

As you suggested I have gone through all the tutorials and f1tenth project. Now I was wondering whether I can see the final command format which are being send to vehicle interface module. So in what file should I try to log to print statements in my terminal.

[maxime-clem]

Does rosdep show any error ?
You can try sudo apt install ros-humble-point-cloud-msg-wrapper to install the missing package but I suspect there will be other missing dependencies.

[DevankGarg]

It did not give any error message, but I think may have skipped somethings.

[DevankGarg]

I did the whole installation process again. It said all rosdep dependencies installed successfully still got error during the build (in pointcloud_preprocessor module)

[maxime-clem]

Can you run source /opt/ros/humble/setup.sh before building ? Otherwise I have no idea what the issue might be.

[DevankGarg]

Hi, I did this but still it is throwing errors.

[DevankGarg]

Also I did the build,

This UI is very different from the one I previously built. In this I am unable to change it to auto mode

[maxime-clem]

This UI change happened some weeks ago.
In your video there is an issue with the trajectory (you can see it drawn in red/orange at the bottom of the map). This is probably the reason for being unable to switch to Auto mode.

[DevankGarg]

We removed that path but still auto mode option is not being highlighted.

[maxime-clem]

Are you using the main branch of autoware ? Please share the log file from ~/.ros/log/{DATE-TIME-...} as it may contain useful error messages.

[DevankGarg]

Yes I am using main branch
LOG.zip

I have uploaded the zip of 2 launch runs I tried today

[idorobotics]

Also check the F1tenth Humble branch for inspiration. @pojenwang is maintaining RC related code for Autoware Universe.

[DevankGarg]

Thank you so much guys for your help. We have finally managed to move our vehicle. 🥳

[DevankGarg]

I was looking for some new 3D lidars in the reference HW section of autoware documentation. Is it really necessary to buy autoware tested lidars? Initially, I was thinking to buy livox mid-360 lidar for testing purposes but it is not tested with autoware. What do you suggest?

[maxime-clem]

I do not know well about the hardware side and any new question in this discussion will have limited visibility. I invite you to ask your question in a new discussion.

[DevankGarg]

oh okay, thanks for the help man

[DevankGarg]

Great help!