How 3D Simulation for Automated Driving Works
Automated Driving Toolbox™ provides a co-simulation framework that you can use to model driving algorithms in Simulink® and visualize their performance in a 3D environment. This 3D simulation environment uses the Unreal Engine® by Epic Games®.
Understanding how this simulation environment works can help you troubleshoot issues and customize your models.
Communication with 3D Simulation Environment
When you use Automated Driving Toolbox to run your algorithms, Simulink co-simulates the algorithms in the visualization engine.
In the Simulink environment, Automated Driving Toolbox:
Configures the 3D visualization environment, specifically the ray tracing, scene capture from cameras, and initial object positions
Determines the next position of the objects by using the 3D simulation environment feedback
The diagram summarizes the communication between Simulink and the visualization engine.
Block Execution Order
During simulation, the 3D simulation blocks follow a specific execution order:
The Simulation 3D Vehicle with Ground Following blocks initialize the vehicles and send their X, Y, and Yaw signal data to the Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block.
The Simulation 3D Scene Configuration block receives the vehicle data and sends it to the sensor blocks.
The sensor blocks receive the vehicle data and use it to accurately locate and visualize the vehicles.
The Priority property of the blocks controls this execution
order. To access this property for any block, right-click the block, select
Properties, and click the General tab. By
default, Simulation 3D Vehicle with Ground Following blocks have a
priority of -1, Simulation 3D Scene Configuration
blocks have a priority of 0, and sensor blocks have a priority of
1.
The diagram shows this execution order.
If your sensors are not detecting vehicles in the scene, it is possible that the 3D simulation blocks are executing out of order. Try updating the execution order and simulating again. For more details on execution order, see Control and Display Execution Order (Simulink).
Also be sure that all 3D simulation blocks are located in the same subsystem. Even if the blocks have the correct Priority settings, if they are located in different subsystems, they still might execute out of order.