Build Your Own Autonomous Vehicle
So you decided to build build your own self-driving AV car ? Where would you start, how much would it cost, how to do it ? What is available out there so you don’t have to start from scratch ?
Major AV stacks are comma.ai, Baidu Apollo¹, Autoware, Nvidia Drive.
Necessary AV ingredients are:
- drive-by-wire equipped car²
- sensors ( camera, GNSS/GPS; optionally Lidar³, IMU, ultrasonic, radar )
- onboard computer for sensor data processing and decision making / inference⁴
- software ( modules for sensor fusion, perception, prediction, planning, control i.e. the standard robotics approach ) or increasingly attempts towards end to end modeling
- HD Maps for localization ( L5)
- simulator⁵ to train and test various scenarios
comma.ai openpilot is probably the easiest way to jumpstart into the AV world. openpilot is an open source driver assistance system. Currently, openpilot performs the functions of Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), Automated Lane Centering (ALC), Forward Collision Warning (FCW) and Lane Departure Warning (LDW) for a growing variety of supported car makes, models and model years.
Installation takes 30 minutes, the device plugs into a standard car OBD port. Alternatively even standard laptop, two web cameras and comma.ai harness ( $200 ) will suffice to become AV-borne !! comma.ai is the most practical way to jumpstart AV .
¹ comma.ai is open source; Nvidia Drive is accessible for partners only; Baidu Apollo is open source, runs on commodity hardware.
² Many Honda and Toyota models are stock drive-by-wire
³ Lidar is expensive, a few $K and up, hence not used by Tesla, comma.ai, wayve; cameras are cheap; Lidars / full sensor suite is currently a must for L5
⁴ comma.ai started with a $1k computer ( smartphone ); Baidu Apollo uses industrial grade, ruggedized PC. NVIDIA Drive offers few generations of hardware platforms
⁵ CARLA is an open source AV simulator
