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Quick Start Demo

This section provides a quick start tutorial for the V2X_E2E_Simulator on Ubuntu. Most of this documentation is based on the AWSIM documentation.

Demo configuration

Standard Vehicle Configuration

The simulation provided in the V2X_E2E_Simulator demo is configured as follows:

V2X_E2E_Simulator Demo Settings Details
Vehicle Lexus RX 450h
Environment Japan, Tokyo (Kashiwa)
Sensors GNSS ×1
IMU ×1
LiDAR ×1
Traffic Camera ×1
Traffic 5 different scenarios
ROS2 Version Humble

Bus Configuration

An alternative build is also available for the bus simulation:

V2X_E2E_Simulator Demo Settings Details
Vehicle Bus
Environment Japan, Tokyo (Kashiwa)
Sensors GNSS ×1
IMU ×1
LiDAR ×3
Traffic Camera ×1
Traffic 5 different scenarios
ROS2 Version Humble

PC specs

Please make sure that your machine meets the following requirements in order to run the simulation correctly:

Required PC Specs
OS Ubuntu 22.04
CPU 6cores and 12thread or higher
GPU RTX2080Ti or higher
Nvidia Driver (Windows) >=472.50
Nvidia Driver (Ubuntu 22) >=515.43.04

Localhost settings

The simulation is based on the appropriate network setting, which allows for trouble-free communication of the V2X_E2E_Simulator simulation with the Autoware software. To apply required localhost settings please add the following lines to ~/.bashrc file:

if [ ! -e /tmp/cycloneDDS_configured ]; then
    sudo sysctl -w net.core.rmem_max=2147483647
    sudo ip link set lo multicast on
    touch /tmp/cycloneDDS_configured
fi

and these lines to ~/.profile or in either of files: ~/.bash_profile or ~/.bash_login:

export ROS_LOCALHOST_ONLY=1
export RMW_IMPLEMENTATION=rmw_cyclonedds_cpp

Warning

A system restart is required for these changes to work.

Start the demo

Running the V2X_E2E_Simulator simulation demo

To run the simulator, please follow the steps below.

  1. Install Nvidia GPU driver (Skip if already installed).

    1. Add Nvidia driver to apt repository 
      sudo add-apt-repository ppa:graphics-drivers/ppa
sudo apt update

    2. Install the recommended version of the driver. 

      sudo ubuntu-drivers autoinstall

      Warning

      Currently, there are cases where the Nvidia driver version is too high, resulting in Segmentation fault. In that case, please lower the Nvidia driver version (550 is recommended.)

    3. Reboot your machine to make the installed driver detected by the system. 

      sudo reboot

    4. Open terminal and check if nvidia-smi command is available and outputs summary similar to the one presented below. 
      $ nvidia-smi 
Fri Oct 14 01:41:05 2022       
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| NVIDIA-SMI 515.65.01    Driver Version: 515.65.01    CUDA Version: 11.7     |
|-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+
| GPU  Name        Persistence-M| Bus-Id        Disp.A | Volatile Uncorr. ECC |
| Fan  Temp  Perf  Pwr:Usage/Cap|         Memory-Usage | GPU-Util  Compute M. |
|                               |                      |               MIG M. |
|===============================+======================+======================|
|   0  NVIDIA GeForce ...  Off  | 00000000:01:00.0  On |                  N/A |
| 37%   31C    P8    30W / 250W |    188MiB / 11264MiB |      3%      Default |
|                               |                      |                  N/A |
+-------------------------------+----------------------+----------------------+

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| Processes:                                                                  |
|  GPU   GI   CI        PID   Type   Process name                  GPU Memory |
|        ID   ID                                                   Usage      |
|=============================================================================|
|    0   N/A  N/A      1151      G   /usr/lib/xorg/Xorg                133MiB |
|    0   N/A  N/A      1470      G   /usr/bin/gnome-shell               45MiB |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

  2. Install Vulkan Graphics Library (Skip if already installed).

    1. Update the environment. 
      sudo apt update
    2. Install the library. 
      sudo apt install libvulkan1

  3. Download and Run V2X_E2E_Simulator Demo binary.

    1. Download the desired build (Bus or lexus).

      Download V2X_E2E_Simulator Demo for Bus ubuntu

      Download V2X_E2E_Simulator Demo for Lexus ubuntu

    2. Unzip the downloaded file.

    3. Make the *.x86_64 file executable.

      Rightclick the *.x86_64 file and check the Execute checkbox

      or execute the command below.

      chmod +x <path to V2X folder>/{file_name}.x86_64

    4. Launch *.x86_64. 

      ./<path to V2X folder>/{file_name}.x86_64

      Warning

      It may take some time for the application to start the so please wait until image similar to the one presented below is visible in your application window.

Simulation Environment Images

Lexus Simulation in E2E V2X Simulator

Lexus Simulation
Figure: Lexus vehicle in the simulation environment.

Bus Simulation in E2E V2X Simulator

Bus Simulation
Figure: Bus vehicle in the simulation environment.

Controlling Features

Without using Autoware, you can manually control the cars to create your desired scenario.

1. Basic Controls

  • D (Drive) → Press to enable driving mode.
  • P (Park) → Press to stop the vehicle.
  • R (Reverse) → Press to drive in reverse mode.

2. Driving Controls

  • After pressing D (Drive), use the arrow keys to move around the city.

3. Teleport Feature

  • There are four predefined teleport locations in the scene.
  • The car can teleport only when in Drive mode and must have at least a small amount of speed.
  • Use the following keys to teleport to different locations on the map:
  • Q, E, F, X → Teleport to four different places in the city.

Keyboard
Figure: Defualt keys for extra functionalities

RSU Section

You can retrieve RSU (Roadside Unit) data and drive the car without using Autoware.

RSU Data Visualization in Rviz

To visualize RSU data, you need Rviz with support for custom message visualization.

  • If you already have an Rviz configuration that supports custom messages, you can use it directly.
  • If you do not have the required Rviz configuration, install Autoware and use its default Rviz settings for proper visualization.

RSU Data Visualization in Rviz (Autoware)

The following images illustrate how RSU data appears in Rviz (Autoware):

RSU Data - When the Car is Present

RSU Data - In Place
Figure: RSU data visualization when the car is close to the crossroad.

RSU Data - When the Car is Absent

RSU Data - Not In Place
Figure: RSU data visualization when the car is not present at the crossroad.

Topic List

In V2X_E2E_Simulator version 7.8.1, the following topics are published.

Some topics are AWSIM default topics, which you can check in the AWSIM documentation.

1. Objects Sensed by Bus Onboard Perception Sensors

These objects are detected by the Bus pseudo sensor, which consists of a 4-LiDAR setup and more than 10 cameras.

  • Published Topic:
  • /OBU/Sensing

2. NetSim-Compatible Topics

These topics represent all detected objects at each intersection and are used as input for NetSim.

Topic Name Intersection
/v2x/cooperative1 Ganken Intersection
/v2x/cooperative2 Kakeiken Intersection
/v2x/cooperative3 Daisan Kidoutai
/v2x/cooperative4 Wakashiba Intersection

3. Autoware-Compatible Topics

These topics are used as direct inputs to Autoware for testing.

Topic Name Intersection
/v2x/predicted_objects1 Ganken Intersection
/v2x/predicted_objects2 Kakeiken Intersection
/v2x/predicted_objects3 Daisan Kidoutai
/v2x/predicted_objects4 Wakashiba Intersection

4. Cool4 DM Format Topics

These topics provide the same detected objects in Cool4 DM format.
(Currently, only Intersection 1 and 2 have DM-compatible RSUs).

Topic Name Intersection
/v2x/object_info_1 Ganken Intersection
/v2x/object_info_1_noise Ganken Intersection (with noise)
/v2x/object_info_2 Kakeiken Intersection
/v2x/object_info_2_noise Kakeiken Intersection (with noise)

5. DM Format Topics for Intersection #2 in Kashiwa

For Intersection #2 in Kashiwa, detected objects from each sensor are also published in DM format.
The rsu number and sensor number help distinguish different sensors.
- /object_info → Detected objects without noise
- /object_info_noise → Detected objects with noise

Published Topics:

/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor1/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor1/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor2/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor2/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor3/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor3/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor4/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor4/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor5/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020002/sensor5/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor1/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor1/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor2/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor2/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor3/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor3/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor4/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor4/object_info_noise
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor5/object_info
/v2x/rsu12020003/sensor5/object_info_noise

6. Ground Truth Topics

These topics publish the ground truth of all objects in the intersection.

  • /v2x/rsu_all/object_info_groundtruth
  • /v2x/rsu_all/object_info_groundtruth_noise

7. V2X Traffic Signal Information for Autoware

  • Published Topic:
  • /v2x/traffic_signals

Scenarios

There are five scenarios available in V2X_E2E_Simulator version 7.8.2.
You can select a scenario using the number keys (1-5) on the main keyboard.
(Note: The numpad keys do not work for scenario selection.)

Available Scenarios

  • (1):Normal Traffic – City traffic with pedestrians and cyclists.
  • (2)Empty City – No traffic or humans.
    . Manual spawning of vehicles is available using the O key at Intersection #1.
    . A return gate is placed along the way.
  • (3)Manual Traffic with Pedestrians & Cyclists
    . Manual vehicle spawning is available.
    . Pedestrians and cyclists are present.
    . A return gate is located in Intersection #2.
  • (4)Standard City Traffic
    . Normal traffic, pedestrians, and cyclists.
    . A return gate is placed in Intersection #1.
  • (5)High Pedestrian Density
    . Extra pedestrians are present in Intersection #4.

Steps to Lunch Autoware

  1. Download and Extract Map Files
    Download the map files (pcd, osm) and unzip them.

Download Map Files (pcd, osm)

  1. Ensure Compatibility with Autoware
    This version of the E2E V2X Simulator is compatible with Autoware version 2024.05.
    Check this link for Autoware 2024.05: Autoware 2024.05 Release.

  2. Modify Parameters for Bus Autoware
    To work with Bus Autoware, you need to modify the vehicle parameters and sensor setup.
    By default, the parameters are set for the Lexus, but you need to add the bus configuration separately.

  3. Download and Configure Bus-Specific Files
    In order to work with Bus Autoware, you need to download the bus vehicle parameters and the bus sensor kit setup.

  4. Bus Vehicle Parameters: Download Bus Vehicle Parameters

  5. Bus Sensor Kit: Download Bus Sensor Kit

Place the downloaded files in the following directories: - autoware/src/vehicle/sample_vehicle_launch/sample_vehicle_description/config - autoware/src/param/autoware_individual_params/individual_params/config/default/awsim_sensor_kit