Ford Multi-AV Seasonal Dataset

Abstract

This article presents a challenging multi-agent seasonal dataset collected by a fleet of Ford autonomous vehicles (AVs) at different days and times during 2017–2018. The vehicles traversed an average route of 66 km in Michigan that included a mix of driving scenarios such as the Detroit airport, freeways, city centers, university campus, and suburban neighborhoods. Each vehicle used in this data collection was a Ford Fusion outfitted with an Applanix POS-LV GNSS/INS system, four HDL-32E Velodyne 3D-lidar scanners, six Point Grey 1.3 MP cameras arranged on the rooftop for 360° coverage, and one Point Grey 5 MP camera mounted behind the windshield for the forward field of view. We present the seasonal variation in weather, lighting, construction, and traffic conditions experienced in dynamic urban environments. We also include data from multiple AVs that were driven in close proximity. This dataset can help design robust algorithms for AVs and multi-agent systems. Each log in the dataset is time-stamped and contains raw data from all the sensors, calibration values, pose trajectory, ground-truth pose, and 3D maps. All data is available in rosbag format that can be visualized, modified, and applied using the open-source Robot Operating System (ROS). We also provide the output of reflectivity-based localization for bench-marking purposes. The dataset can be freely downloaded at avdata.ford.com.