Team AnnieWAY’s Autonomous System for the DARPA Urban Challenge 2007

This paper reports on AnnieWAY, an autonomous vehicle that is capable of driving through urban scenarios and that has successfully entered the finals of the 2007 DARPA Urban Challenge competition. After describing the main challenges imposed and the major hardware components, we outline the underlying software structure and focus on selected algorithms. Environmental perception mainly relies on a recent laser scanner which delivers both range and reflectivity measurements. While range measurements are used to provide 3D scene geometry, measuring reflectivity allows for robust lane marker detection. Mission and maneuver planning is conducted using a concurrent hierarchical state machine that generates behavior in accordance with California traffic laws. We conclude with a report of the results achieved during the competition.