Simulation Framework for Highly Autonomous Trucks in a Logistics Centre

Vehicles are becoming increasingly connected and autonomous. In the case of connected and autonomous mobility, vehicles may use any number of communication technologies to communicate with each other (vehicle-to-vehicle or V2V) and with the infrastructure (vehicle-to-infrastructure or V2I). One exemplary use case is the simulation of multiple highly autonomous trucks in a logistics center. There are many such applications that lie between the extremes of a single-ego vehicle use case and global vehicular traffic applications.

In this talk, we demonstrate an approach to develop a modular and coherent simulation framework to simulate multiple autonomous trucks maneuvering in a logistics center using MATLAB^® and Simulink^®. The framework can be used for function development for this as well as other multi-ego simulation use cases. The feasibility of the framework is determined by a proof of concept (POC) for the logistic use case. The POC leverages the Simulink-based automated parking valet example found in Automated Driving Toolbox™ and focuses on the planning, vehicle simulation, multi-agent communication, and visualization aspects of the simulation.

The POC addressed the challenges of a complex simulation framework where multiple aspects are working seamlessly in a simulation together. Another challenge that the POC addresses is integrating realistic vehicle dynamics and real vehicle dimension in model. The POC resulted in a successful multi-agent simulation of two trucks following the planned path from start pose to the goal pose. Throughout the POC, the MathWorks reference example and documentation were helpful for reference. MathWorks also provided technical advisory services for the project and participated in regular meetings and information exchange.