How to Add a New Vehicle to Apollo¶
Introduction¶
The instructions below demonstrate how to add a new vehicle to Apollo.
Note: The Apollo control algorithm is configured for the default vehicle, which is a Lincoln MKZ.
When adding a new vehicle, if your vehicle requires different attributes from those offered by the Apollo control algorithm, consider:
Using a different control algorithm that is appropriate for your vehicle.
Modifying the existing algorithm’s parameters to achieve better results.
Adding a New Vehicle¶
Complete the following task sequence to add a new vehicle:
Implement the new vehicle controller.
Implement the new message manager.
Implement the new vehicle factory.
Update the configuration file.
Implement the New Vehicle Controller¶
The new vehicle controller is inherited from the VehicleController class. An example header file is provided below.
/**
* @class NewVehicleController
*
* @brief this class implements the vehicle controller for a new vehicle.
*/
class NewVehicleController final : public VehicleController {
public:
/**
* @brief initialize the new vehicle controller.
* @return init error_code
*/
::apollo::common::ErrorCode Init(
const VehicleParameter& params, CanSender* const can_sender,
MessageManager* const message_manager) override;
/**
* @brief start the new vehicle controller.
* @return true if successfully started.
*/
bool Start() override;
/**
* @brief stop the new vehicle controller.
*/
void Stop() override;
/**
* @brief calculate and return the chassis.
* @returns a copy of chassis. Use copy here to avoid multi-thread issues.
*/
Chassis chassis() override;
// more functions implemented here
...
};
Implement the New Message Manager¶
The new message manager is inherited from the MessageManager class. An example header file is provided below.
/**
* @class NewVehicleMessageManager
*
* @brief implementation of MessageManager for the new vehicle
*/
class NewVehicleMessageManager : public MessageManager {
public:
/**
* @brief construct a lincoln message manager. protocol data for send and
* receive are added in the construction.
*/
NewVehicleMessageManager();
virtual ~NewVehicleMessageManager();
// define more functions here.
...
};
Implement the New Vehicle Factory Class.¶
The new vehicle factory class is inherited from the AbstractVehicleFactory class. An example header file is provided below.
/**
* @class NewVehicleFactory
*
* @brief this class is inherited from AbstractVehicleFactory. It can be used to
* create controller and message manager for lincoln vehicle.
*/
class NewVehicleFactory : public AbstractVehicleFactory {
public:
/**
* @brief destructor
*/
virtual ~NewVehicleFactory() = default;
/**
* @brief create lincoln vehicle controller
* @returns a unique_ptr that points to the created controller
*/
std::unique_ptr<VehicleController> CreateVehicleController() override;
/**
* @brief create lincoln message manager
* @returns a unique_ptr that points to the created message manager
*/
std::unique_ptr<MessageManager> CreateMessageManager() override;
};
An example .cc file is provided below.
std::unique_ptr<VehicleController>
NewVehicleFactory::CreateVehicleController() {
return std::unique_ptr<VehicleController>(new lincoln::LincolnController());
}
std::unique_ptr<MessageManager> NewVehicleFactory::CreateMessageManager() {
return std::unique_ptr<MessageManager>(new lincoln::LincolnMessageManager());
}
Apollo provides the base class ProtocolData that can be used to implement the protocols of the new vehicle.
Register the New Vehicle¶
Register the new vehicle in modules/canbus/vehicle/vehicle_factory.cc. An example header file is provided below.
void VehicleFactory::RegisterVehicleFactory() {
Register(VehicleParameter::LINCOLN_MKZ, []() -> AbstractVehicleFactory* {
return new LincolnVehicleFactory();
});
// register the new vehicle here.
Register(VehicleParameter::NEW_VEHICLE_BRAND, []() -> AbstractVehicleFactory* {
return new NewVehicleFactory();
});
}
Update the config File¶
Update the config file modules/canbus/conf/canbus_conf.pb.txt to activate the new vehicle in the Apollo system.
vehicle_parameter {
brand: NEW_VEHICLE_BRAND
// put other parameters below
...
}