Development of a Driver-in-the-Loop Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Prototyping Platform

Abstract

This project presents the development of a small scale Driver in the Loop Advanced Driver Assistance System prototyping platform based on a MentorPi robot vehicle and a modular Robot Operating System 2 software architecture. The platform integrates human driver inputs (steering wheel, pedals, and gear selection), onboard sensing (monocular camera and 360° LiDAR), and real time visualisation into a closed loop test setup for safe and repeatable indoor testing. Functionality is distributed across Robot Operating System 2 nodes for driver input handling, motion control, LiDAR processing, state aggregation, and live camera streaming with information overlays.

A simplified Automatic Emergency Braking function is implemented using an Enhanced Time to Collision, using a stopping distance trigger. Rather than relying on a fixed distance threshold, this approach estimates whether the vehicle can safely stop before reaching an obstacle by accounting for the speed and braking capability, making the intervention more representative of practical safety behaviour. Two operating modes were validated: a baseline browser based camera view and a virtual reality mode using a Meta Quest 3. In the VR configuration, the camera feed is accessed via an HTTP snapshot endpoint, while head tracking data are transmitted over User Datagram Protocol to control the pan–tilt camera.

Results show stable baseline teleoperation, with 20 consecutive laps completed without system restart, and successful execution of a combined VR driving–slalom, Automatic Emergency Braking scenario in four out of five runs. However, VR operation occasionally led to a paralyzed control state, indicating integration and stability limitations under increased system load. Beyond functional validation, the platform is intended to enable rapid prototyping and early stage evaluation of Active Safety and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems concepts. Its low cost, modular design, and safe indoor operation make it particularly suitable for pedagogical activities at Chalmers University of Technology, supporting hands on learning and experimentation in courses related to Active Safety and Driver in the Loop system development.