PIXKIT | Autonomous Driving Development Kit

PIXKIT - Autonomous Driving Development Kit

From Zero to One, and One to Plenty, in 10 Days

Rapid prototyping for autonomous driving vehicles
Quick deployment and demonstration in single or multiple scenarios

PIXKIT is an open source autonomous driving development and education kit

PIXKIT, full-stack, cost-effective and high-performance, it supports open source autonomous driving software Apollo and Autoware, as well as platforms like ROS, MATLAB/Simulink and more. With software and hardware platform stacks, plus comprehensive user manuals and documentations, PIXKIT is dedicated to lowering the entry barrier of autonomous driving development. It empowers academic professors, educational experts, developers and general engineers to quickly develop and deploy autonomous vehicles, to build/test algorithms and to launch AV demonstrations, sparking more possibilities.

Learn more about PIXKIT

PIXKIT Includes

Hardware

Open source drive-by-wire chassis

Modular mounting brackets

Full set of sensors

Industrial remote control

Documentations

Detailed user guide for open source software Apollo and Autoware
Instruction manual for ROS development
Technical manual for drive-by-wire chassis
Use cases and analysis on R&D projects

PIXKIT Hardware

01 PIX Drive-by-wire Chassis

Built BY Engineers FOR Engineers

A drive-by-wire chassis platform dedicated to autonomous driving developers

Know more about PIXLOOP >

High-precision

Drive-by-wire Control

Drive-by-wire control on steering, braking, acceleration, gear switch, and vehicle lighting system

Safe and Reliable

Protection on speed accidental operation. Remote emergency stop. Bionic architecture. The cerebellum (VCU) is independent of the autonomous driving system and controls the secure actuation mechanism of the chassis, reducing electronic control redundancy while ensuring autonomous driving of high safety level.

Open Source

VCU codes, CAN protocol interfaces and mechanical designs are all open source

Apollo and Autoware Supported

Corresponding chassis DBC files for Apollo and Autoware are provided. With open CAN interface, PIXKIT is fully plug-and-play. Meanwhile, various autonomous driving algorithm systems and formats are supported

Assistance Functions

Low-speed automatic parking mode and Hill start assistance

Multiple Steering Modes

4-wheel hub motors with independent drive and closed-loop control, enabling 4-wheel and 2-wheel steering modes, powerful and flexible.

Support Matlab / Simulink Development Environment

Developers can send the computing result of the autonomous driving algorithm models developed in Simulink to PIXLOOP drive-by-wire chassis in real time via CAN Bus to realize Vehicle-in-loop, evaluating and improving the algorithms within shorter time. For example, the acceleration pedal data and braking data computed by the adaptive cruise control algorithms built in Simulink can be sent to PIXLOOP via CAN to realize rapid algorithm verification on real autonomous driving vehicle.

02 Modular Mounting Brackets

Standard Mode

Standardized mounting brackets at the front and rear of the chassis, with spacious space reserved in the middle.

A diverse range of functional equipment can be placed.

Extensible Mode

Extrusion profile package of 10 meters is included. No more holes needed. Profiles can be connected to any position of the chassis to build sensor mounting frame with ease, enabling customized mounting position and outlook.

With the extensible mode, sensors of various configurations can be deployed to support autonomous driving development of different levels.

03 Full-Set Sensors

All-scenario Autonomous Driving Is Supported

Sensors and equipment include monitor, industrial computer, LiDARs, cameras, GNSS, IMU etc. Deployment of Apollo and Autoware autonomous driving functions is supported.

04 Industrial remote control

Contact PIX to learn more about the parameters of the remote control.

PIXKIT Documentations

PIXKIT docs have covered open source software Apollo and Autoware, as well as ROS system, drive-by-wire technology, use cases and analysis on R&D projects, achieving full-dimensional instructions and meeting the requirements of chain teaching. The comprehensive documentations make it suitable for basic and advanced R&D, project development and application demonstration.

Autoware Documentation Collection and Tutorial Videos

PIX has organized the public documents of Autoware into orderly collections, covering the step-to-step instructions from environment deployment, software installation to vehicle setup and operation in both expressive descriptions and tutorial videos. Meanwhile, Autoware has open and full-scenario code repositories on Gitlab with rich online learning resources to help developers quickly master Autoware and realize multi-scenario demonstration on real vehicles.

About Autoware

Autoware is an open source software for self-driving vehicle development. The first version of Autoware originated from the research group at Nagoya University and has now developed into one of the most popular autonomous driving software platforms around the world, adopted by 100+ global enterprises, universities, research institutes and startups. Autoware has a versatile framework with functions covering localization, perception, prediction, decision-making, path planning, control and more. With modular design, the software modules can be added, removed and optimized accordingly based on different application scenarios.

Features

L4 autonomous driving capability with complete core functions
Open codes on Gitlab
Easy deployment in efficiency
Rich online resources with a global developer community
Developed based on ROS and supporting ROS development environment
Apache2.0 license supporting further development for different end applications
Open mapping tools for HD map to achieve data collection, building and mapping

Apollo Documentation Collection

PIX has organized the public documents of Apollo into orderly collections, covering the step-to-step instructions from entry level to advanced development in expressive words and explanatory pictures. Apollo has powerful technical support and a large community, from which developers can access numerous learning resources, connecting the Apollo ecosystem.

About Apollo

Apollo is a high performance, flexible architecture which accelerates the development, testing, and deployment of Autonomous Vehicles. Apollo is released by Baidu, targeting to provide a software platform for the automotive and autonomous driving industries, who can fast develop applications based on their own hardware systems.

Features

Rich online resources and a global developer community
High-performance and flexible architecture to enhance AV development
Skilled developing team for continuous software iteration
360-degree view to deal with the complex urban road conditions
Scenario-based planning to navigate in difficult situations
Support vehicle-infrastructure collaborative technology
High-performance Cyber RT framework, suitable for industry-level autonomous driving

ROS Development Instruction Manual

The manual covers basic introduction and use instructions on ROS, as well as in-detailed tutorials on project setup, enabling users to apply ROS function modules step by step. The manual also elaborates on the ROS programming techniques specifically for autonomous driving development and project setup, as well as informative knowledge on Autoware, further helping developers understand the in-depth principles and approaches of autonomous driving development.

Vehicle Drive-by-wire Technical Manual

PIX drive-by-wire manual provides a full range of technical guidance from the mechanism of drive-by-wire control, drive-by-wire steering, braking and power system to gear switch, covering the core principles of autonomous driving and its implementation methodology. For engineers who are not familiar with drive-by-wire vehicles or lack knowledge on the control approach, this manual offers them a great shortcut for fast development and the engineers can meanwhile gain an objective understanding on the bottom-layer control of autonomous vehicles for better and more efficient development.

Use Cases and Analysis on R&D Projects

This collection offers documents around smart connected car projects developed based on PIX drive-by-wire chassis. These use cases and applications will shed light on science project setup and enable possible success in university and institute researches.

PIXKIT Features

Conventional Solution

Complicated hardware supply chains
Incompatible with the sensors
Difficult to start for autonomous driving algorithms development
Lack of verification and test on real vehicles
Unaffordable

PIXKIT Solution

vs

Full-stack hardware solution with full-set sensors, computing platform and drive-by-wire chassis
Highly-compatible with a wide variety of sensors
Detailed user manuals on Apollo and Autoware with step-by-step instructions and remote support, which ensures fast development and deployment
Flexible and customizable drive-by-wire chassis with 2-wheel and 4-wheel steering modes
Cost-effective, high-performance, full-openness

PIX Technical Support

Based on the wide variety of instruction manuals and collections, PIX engineers also provide developers with remote technical support, including:

> Failure inspection and diagnosis on chassis electronic control and related functions

> Installation guidance for sensor mounting brackets

> Guidance and reference for sensor installation positions

> Reference and instructions on chassis platform maintenance and repairing

> Providing DBC files compatible with Apollo and Autoware

> Providing remote support for Autoware installation

> Support for setting-up and debugging of Autoware on chassis platform

> Professional guidance on HD map creation targeted for Autoware platform

> Introduction for Autoware function extensions

Order PIXKIT standard version with favorable lead time of 45 days.

For Customized PIXKIT

Customized options for PIXKIT are available with a range of different setups and parameters: customizable size, steering modes, sensors, driving mile- age, optional Autoware pre-installation and more. Separate purchase on PIX drive-by-wire chassis, sensor package or other parts is also supported to meet user’s specific development requirements. Feel free to drop us a mes- sage to discuss more possibilities

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