Fast and Modular Autonomy Software for Autonomous Racing Vehicles

Abstract

Autonomous motorsports aim to replicate the human race-car driver with software and sensors. As in traditional motorsports, Autonomous Racing Vehicles (ARVs) are pushed to their handling limits in multiagent scenarios at extremely high ( 150 mph) speeds. This Operational Design Domain (ODD) presents unique challenges across the autonomy stack. The Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) is an international competition aiming to advance autonomous vehicle development through ARV competitions. While far from challenging what a human race-car driver can do, the IAC is pushing the state of the art by facilitating full-sized ARV competitions. This paper details the MIT-Pitt-RW Team’s approach to autonomous racing in the IAC. In this work, we present our modular and fast approach to agent detection, motion planning and controls to create an autonomy stack. We also provide analysis of the performance of the software stack in single and multiagent scenarios for rapid deployment in a fast-paced competition environment. We also cover what did and did not work when deployed on a physical system (the Dallara AV-21 platform) and potential improvements to address these shortcomings. Finally, we convey lessons learned and discuss limitations and future directions for improvement.