Eve Quest Book - Fall 2025 (F25)
The Great Objective: Level 5 Robo-taxi Around Campus
WATonomous aims to achieve a fully autonomous Level 5 robo-taxi capable of navigating the University of Waterloo campus by the end of Fall 2025. This involves integrating hardware, software, and cognition systems to enable decision-making directly within the car. Achieving this milestone establishes the groundwork for advanced autonomous vehicle research and real-world applications.
Term Objectives Summary
The objectives for Fall 2025 focus on integrating hardware, developing software modules, and preparing the platform for autonomous operation.
-
Hardware Integration
- Throttle Board
- Steering Board
- Brake Board
- Gateway Board
- Camera Firmware
- Lidar Firmware
- GPS/IMU Firmware
- Joystick
- ROS2CCO
- Sensor Networking
- Lidar Mount
- Camera Mount
- GPS/IMU Mount
- OSCC Board Enclosures
- Relay Enclosures
- E-Stop
-
Software Modules
- Deep ROS
- Camera Object Detection
- 2D Tracking
- 2D-3D Association
- Lidar Costmap Migration
- HD Map
- Behavior Planner
- Localization
- Global Planner
- Lattice Planner (builds IDEAL splines from behaviour)
- Local Planner (builds a collision-aware spline)
- Controller (MPPI, MPC, PID, Pure Pursuit)
Term Objectives and Scoring
Hardware Integration
- Throttle Board
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Throttle board fully integrated - can send desired commands and car executes them correctly. |
| 7/10 | Throttle board functional with minor issues or response delays. |
| 4/10 | Throttle board installed and wired but not fully operational. |
| 0/10 | No throttle board integration. |
Minimum Requirements: Throttle board installed and wired for a score of 4/10.
- Steering Board
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Steering board fully integrated - can send desired commands and car executes them correctly. |
| 7/10 | Steering board functional with minor issues. |
| 4/10 | Steering board installed and wired but not fully operational. |
| 0/10 | No steering board integration. |
Minimum Requirements: Steering board installed and wired for a score of 4/10.
- Brake Board
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Brake board fully integrated - can send desired commands and car executes them correctly. |
| 7/10 | Brake board functional with minor issues. |
| 4/10 | Brake board installed and wired but not fully operational. |
| 0/10 | No brake board integration. |
Minimum Requirements: Brake board installed and wired for a score of 4/10.
- Gateway Board
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Gateway board fully functional with all CAN communication working reliably. |
| 7/10 | Gateway board operational with occasional communication issues. |
| 4/10 | Gateway board installed and basic communication established. |
| 0/10 | No gateway board integration. |
Minimum Requirements: Gateway board installed with basic communication for a score of 4/10.
- Camera Firmware
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | All camera drivers in monorepo and functional - streaming synchronized data at expected framerates. |
| 7/10 | Most camera drivers in monorepo and functional with minor synchronization or quality issues. |
| 4/10 | At least one camera driver in monorepo and streaming data reliably. |
| 0/10 | No functional camera firmware. |
Minimum Requirements: At least one camera streaming data for a score of 4/10.
- Lidar Firmware
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | All lidar drivers in monorepo and functional - publishing synchronized point clouds at expected rates. |
| 7/10 | Lidar drivers in monorepo and functional with minor configuration or timing issues. |
| 4/10 | At least one lidar driver in monorepo and publishing point cloud data. |
| 0/10 | No functional lidar firmware. |
Minimum Requirements: At least one lidar publishing data for a score of 4/10.
- GPS/IMU Firmware
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | GPS/IMU drivers in monorepo and fully functional with RTK corrections. |
| 7/10 | GPS/IMU drivers in monorepo and operational with standard GPS accuracy. |
| 4/10 | GPS/IMU drivers in monorepo with basic data being published. |
| 0/10 | No functional GPS/IMU firmware. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic GPS/IMU data publishing for a score of 4/10.
- Joystick OSCC
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Joystick interfaceable with OSCC boards directly without ROS. |
| 0/10 | No joystick integration. |
Minimum Requirements: Optional, but a quick way to get Joystick working (theoretically).
- Joystick Node
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Joystick node in monorepo and controlling basic vehicle functions reliably. |
| 4/10 | Joystick node in monorepo and publishing data to ROS2. |
| 0/10 | No joystick integration. |
Minimum Requirements: Joystick publishing data to ROS2 for a score of 4/10.
- ROS2CCO
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | ROS2CCO fully functional with all vehicle interfaces and safety checks. |
| 7/10 | ROS2CCO operational with most interfaces working. |
| 4/10 | Basic ROS2CCO communication established. |
| 0/10 | No ROS2CCO implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic ROS2CCO communication for a score of 4/10.
- Sensor Networking
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | All sensors networked with proper bandwidth management and minimal latency. |
| 7/10 | Sensor network functional with occasional bandwidth issues. |
| 4/10 | Basic sensor networking established for critical sensors. |
| 0/10 | No sensor networking implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic networking for critical sensors for a score of 4/10.
- Lidar Mount
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Both lidars mounted and connected. |
| 4/10 | Only one side lidar mounted and connected. |
| 0/10 | No lidar mounting solution. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic lidar mounting for a score of 4/10.
- Camera Mount
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Camera mounts secure and functional. |
| 4/10 | Basic camera mounting solution in place. |
| 0/10 | No camera mounting solution. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic camera mounting for a score of 4/10.
- GPS/IMU Mount
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | GPS/IMU mount secure and connected. |
| 0/10 | Not complete. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic GPS/IMU mounting for a score of 10/10.
- OSCC Board Enclosures
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Functional enclosures protecting all boards installed. |
| 4/10 | Basic enclosure solution for critical boards fabricated. |
| 0/10 | No board protection. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic enclosures for critical boards for a score of 4/10.
- Relay Enclosures
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Functional relay enclosure installed. |
| 4/10 | Basic enclosure solution for relay fabricated. |
| 0/10 | No relay protection. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic relay protection for a score of 4/10.
- E-Stop
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Primary e-stop system functional with proper testing. |
| 4/10 | Basic e-stop wired and partially functional. |
| 0/10 | No e-stop implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic e-stop functionality for a score of 4/10.
Software Modules (All must be on the main branch)
- Deep ROS
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Basic Deep ROS setup with initial integration with camera object detection. |
| 0/10 | No Deep ROS implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic Deep ROS setup for a score of 10/10.
- Camera Object Detection
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Multi-camera detection of all object types. |
| 7/10 | Object detection functional. |
| 0/10 | No object detection. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic object detection on one camera for a score of 4/10.
- 2D Tracking
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Robust multi-object tracking with consistent IDs across all cameras. |
| 7/10 | Tracking functional. |
| 4/10 | Basic tracking implementation. |
| 0/10 | No tracking implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic tracking implementation for a score of 4/10.
- 2D-3D Association
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Association functional with minimal accuracy issues. |
| 4/10 | Basic 2D-3D association working. |
| 0/10 | No 2D-3D association. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic 2D-3D association for a score of 4/10.
- Lidar Costmap Migration (Patchworks++)
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Full costmap generation from lidar with dynamic obstacle handling. |
| 4/10 | Basic costmap generation from lidar data migrated to perception. |
| 0/10 | No costmap implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic costmap generation for a score of 4/10.
- HD Map
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Custom HD maps loaded with full regulatory element support. |
| 7/10 | HD map functional with perception integration. |
| 4/10 | Basic HD map loading and visualization. |
| 0/10 | No HD map implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic HD map functionality for a score of 4/10.
- Behavior Planner
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Behavior planner functional in monorepo for basic navigation. |
| 4/10 | Initial behavior planner implementation. |
| 0/10 | No behavior planner. |
Minimum Requirements: Initial behavior planner for a score of 4/10.
- Localization
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Multi-sensor localization functional in monorepo. |
| 4/10 | Basic localization using GPS. |
| 0/10 | No localization implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic GPS localization for a score of 4/10.
- Global Planner
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Global planner in monorepo and generating optimal routes with traffic consideration. |
| 4/10 | Basic global path planning. |
| 0/10 | No global planner. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic global planning for a score of 4/10.
- Lattice Planner
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Lattice Planner in monorepo handling multiple different behaviors. |
| 4/10 | Basic Lattice Planner implementation. |
| 0/10 | No local planner. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic local planning for a score of 4/10.
- Local Planner
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Local planner in monorepo handling dynamic obstacles smoothly. |
| 4/10 | Basic local planning implementation. |
| 0/10 | No local planner. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic local planning for a score of 4/10.
- Controller
| Score | Criteria |
|---|---|
| 10/10 | Advanced controller in monorepo fully tuned and tested on vehicle. |
| 4/10 | Basic controller implementation. |
| 0/10 | No controller implementation. |
Minimum Requirements: Basic controller for a score of 4/10.
Scoring Template
Hardware Integration
| Quest Name | Description | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Throttle Board | Complete throttle control integration | |
| Steering Board | Complete steering control integration | |
| Brake Board | Complete brake control integration | |
| Gateway Board | Establish CAN communication gateway | |
| Camera Firmware | Deploy and configure all camera drivers | |
| Lidar Firmware | Deploy and configure all lidar drivers | |
| GPS/IMU Firmware | Deploy GPS/IMU with RTK capabilities | |
| Joystick OSCC | Joystick commanding directly with OSCC | |
| Joystick Node | Joystick command with ROS -> ROS2CCO | |
| ROS2CCO | Complete ROS2 vehicle interface | |
| Sensor Networking | Establish robust sensor network infrastructure | |
| Lidar Mount | Install professional lidar mounting system | |
| Camera Mount | Install weatherproof camera mounting system | |
| GPS/IMU Mount | Install GPS/IMU with proper ground plane | |
| OSCC Board Enclosures | Install weatherproof board enclosures | |
| Relay Enclosures | Install professional relay protection | |
| E-Stop | Implement hard and soft emergency stop systems |
Software Modules
| Quest Name | Description | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Deep ROS | Integrate Deep ROS for perception optimization | |
| Camera Object Detection | Multi-camera object detection at 30+ fps | |
| 2D Tracking | Robust multi-object tracking across cameras | |
| 2D-3D Association | Accurate camera-lidar data fusion | |
| Lidar Costmap Migration | Dynamic costmap generation from lidar | |
| HD Map | Load custom HD maps with regulatory elements | |
| Behavior Planner | Complex scenario handling and traffic rules | |
| Localization | Multi-sensor localization with cm accuracy | |
| Global Planner | Optimal route planning with traffic consideration | |
| Lattice Planner | Dynamic obstacle avoidance and smooth navigation | |
| Local Planner | Dynamic obstacle avoidance and smooth navigation | |
| Controller | MPC/MPPI controller for precise vehicle control |