Publication

Modeling Simulation and Software (MS2)
2020

MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE SIMULATION LIBRARY

by Christopher R. Hudson; Christopher Goodin; Zach Miller; Warren Wheeler; Daniel W. Carruth

Abstract

Simulation is a critical step in the development of autonomous systems. This paper outlines the development and use of a dynamically linked library for the Mississippi State University Autonomous Vehicle Simulator (MAVS). The MAVS is a library of simulation tools designed to allow for real-time, high performance, ray traced simulation capabilities for off-road autonomous vehicles. It includes features such as automated off-road terrain generation, automatic data labeling for camera and LIDAR, and swappable vehicle dynamics models. Many machine learning tools today leverage Python for development. To use these tools and provide an easy to use interface, Python bindings were developed for the MAVS. The need for these bindings and their implementation is described.