Vehicle Ignores Obstacles Outside of its Immediate Planned Path

[Justin-Xiang]

Summary

The planning module in Autoware appears to ignore dynamic obstacles, such as dummy vehicles, unless they are placed directly on the ego-vehicle's pre-calculated route. This could potentially lead to collisions in scenarios like intersections where paths converge, as the ego-vehicle doesn't seem to account for objects that are near its path but not yet on it.

Steps to Reproduce

Launch the planning_simulator with a sample map:

ros2 launch autoware_launch planning_simulator.launch.xml map_path:=$HOME/autoware_map/sample-map-planning vehicle_model:=sample_vehicle sensor_model:=sample_sensor_kit

In RViz, set an initial pose and a goal destination for the ego-vehicle to start driving.

While the ego-vehicle is moving, use the "2D Dummy Car" tool to place an obstacle near the ego-vehicle's path, but not directly on the green line representing the route.

Demonstration Video

Here is a screen recording demonstrating the issue: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Wm9TgS6en4Y_5ufZPOqhaHphLBfT4Nv-/view?usp=sharing

Behavior

• Actual Behavior: The ego-vehicle completely ignores the dummy car and continues at its planned speed. It only reacts (e.g., slows down or stops) if the dummy car is placed directly in front of it on the planned path.

• Expected Behavior: The ego-vehicle should recognize a potential hazard in its immediate vicinity and adjust its plan. For example, it should slow down or prepare to stop, anticipating that the other vehicle might cross its path.

Is this behavior intentional by design, or is it a bug? Any help or clarification would be greatly appreciated!