operation_mode_transition_manager

Purpose / Use cases

This module is responsible for managing the different modes of operation for the Autoware system. The possible modes are:

• Autonomous: the vehicle is fully controlled by the autonomous driving system
• Local: the vehicle is controlled by a physically connected control system such as a joy stick
• Remote: the vehicle is controlled by a remote controller
• Stop: the vehicle is stopped and there is no active control system.

There is also an In Transition state that occurs during each mode transitions. During this state, the transition to the new operator is not yet complete, and the previous operator is still responsible for controlling the system until the transition is complete. Some actions may be restricted during the In Transition state, such as sudden braking or steering. (This is restricted by the vehicle_cmd_gate).

Features

• Transit mode between Autonomous, Local, Remote and Stop based on the indication command.
• Check whether the each transition is available (safe or not).
• Limit some sudden motion control in In Transition mode (this is done with vehicle_cmd_gate feature).

• Check whether the transition is completed.

• Transition between the Autonomous, Local, Remote, and Stop modes based on the indicated command.
• Determine whether each transition is safe to execute.
• Restrict certain sudden motion controls during the In Transition mode (using the vehicle_cmd_gate feature).
• Verify that the transition is complete.

Design

A rough design of the relationship between operation_mode_transition_manager` and the other nodes is shown below.

A more detailed structure is below.

Here we see that operation_mode_transition_manager has multiple state transitions as follows

• AUTOWARE ENABLED <—> DISABLED
  • ENABLED: the vehicle is controlled by Autoware.
  • DISABLED: the vehicle is out of Autoware control, expecting the e.g. manual driving.
• AUTOWARE ENABLED <—> AUTO/LOCAL/REMOTE/NONE
  • AUTO: the vehicle is controlled by Autoware, with the autonomous control command calculated by the planning/control component.
  • LOCAL: the vehicle is controlled by Autoware, with the locally connected operator, e.g. joystick controller.
  • REMOTE: the vehicle is controlled by Autoware, with the remotely connected operator.
  • NONE: the vehicle is not controlled by any operator.
• IN TRANSITION <—> COMPLETED
  • IN TRANSITION: the mode listed above is in the transition process, expecting the former operator to have a responsibility to confirm the transition is completed.
  • COMPLETED: the mode transition is completed.

Inputs / Outputs / API

Inputs

For the mode transition:

• /system/operation_mode/change_autoware_control [tier4_system_msgs/srv/ChangeAutowareControl]: change operation mode to Autonomous
• /system/operation_mode/change_operation_mode [tier4_system_msgs/srv/ChangeOperationMode]: change operation mode

For the transition availability/completion check:

• /control/command/control_cmd [autoware_auto_control_msgs/msg/AckermannControlCommand]: vehicle control signal
• /localization/kinematic_state [nav_msgs/msg/Odometry]: ego vehicle state
• /planning/scenario_planning/trajectory [autoware_auto_planning_msgs/msg/Trajectory]: planning trajectory
• /vehicle/status/control_mode [autoware_auto_vehicle_msgs/msg/ControlModeReport]: vehicle control mode (autonomous/manual)
• /control/vehicle_cmd_gate/operation_mode [autoware_adapi_v1_msgs/msg/OperationModeState]: the operation mode in the vehicle_cmd_gate. (To be removed)

For the backward compatibility (to be removed):

• /api/autoware/get/engage [autoware_auto_vehicle_msgs/msg/Engage]
• /control/current_gate_mode [tier4_control_msgs/msg/GateMode]
• /control/external_cmd_selector/current_selector_mode [tier4_control_msgs/msg/ExternalCommandSelectorMode]

Outputs

• /system/operation_mode/state [autoware_adapi_v1_msgs/msg/OperationModeState]: to inform the current operation mode

• /control/operation_mode_transition_manager/debug_info [operation_mode_transition_manager/msg/OperationModeTransitionManagerDebug]: detailed information about the operation mode transition

• /control/gate_mode_cmd [tier4_control_msgs/msg/GateMode]: to change the vehicle_cmd_gate state to use its features (to be removed)

• /autoware/engage [autoware_auto_vehicle_msgs/msg/Engage]:

• /control/control_mode_request [autoware_auto_vehicle_msgs/srv/ControlModeCommand]: to change the vehicle control mode (autonomous/manual)
• /control/external_cmd_selector/select_external_command [tier4_control_msgs/srv/ExternalCommandSelect]:

Parameters

{{ json_to_markdown(“control/operation_mode_transition_manager/schema/operation_mode_transition_manager.schema.json”) }}

For engage_acceptable_limits related parameters:

For stable_check related parameters:

Engage check behavior on each parameter setting

This matrix describes the scenarios in which the vehicle can be engaged based on the combinations of parameter settings:

Future extensions / Unimplemented parts

• Need to remove backward compatibility interfaces.
• This node should be merged to the vehicle_cmd_gate due to its strong connection.