A Low-Cost Model Vehicle Testbed with Accurate Positioning for Autonomous Driving

Abstract

Accurate positioning is a requirement for many applications, including safety-critical autonomous vehicles. To reduce cost and at the same time improving accuracy for positioning of autonomous vehicles, new methods, tools, and research platforms are needed. We have created a low-cost testbed consisting of electronics and software that can be fitted on model vehicles allowing them to follow trajectories autonomously with a position accuracy of around 3 cm outdoors. The position of the vehicles is derived from sensor fusion between Real-Time Kinematic Satellite Navigation (RTK-SN), odometry, and inertial measurement and performs well within a 10 km radius from a base station. Trajectories to be followed can be edited with a custom GUI, where also several model vehicles can be controlled and visualized in real time. All software and Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) for our testbed are available as open source to make customization and development possible. Our testbed can be used for research within autonomous driving, for carrying test equipment, and other applications where low cost and accurate positioning and navigation are required.