UIMP ROS + CARLA Demo

This project provides a multi-vehicle platooning/path-tracking demo in CARLA. The core ROS package is uimp_ros, which includes:

• Trajectory planning (planner/)
• MPC control (controller/)
• CARLA map visualization and vehicle spawning (script/, example/auto_driving/launch/)

uimp_demo.mp4

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1. Environment Requirements

It is recommended to run this project on Ubuntu + ROS1 (catkin) (native Ubuntu or WSL2 on Windows).

Required Components

• CARLA Simulator (preferably version-matched with ros-bridge)
• ROS1 (with catkin_make support)
• Python3
• catkin workspace toolchain

Key ROS Dependencies

The uimp_ros package declares the following main dependencies:

• roscpp
• rospy
• std_msgs
• geometry_msgs
• message_generation / message_runtime
• costmap_converter
• carla_msgs
• ackermann_msgs
• derived_object_msgs

If any package is missing, install it via rosdep or your system package manager before building.

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2. Repository Setup and Build

From the workspace root, run:

bash ./setup.sh

setup.sh performs two steps:

1. Clone carla-simulator/ros-bridge under src/ (if not already present)
2. Return to the workspace root and run catkin_make

After building, make sure this file exists:

• devel/setup.bash

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3. Start CARLA

Start the CARLA server first (in another terminal):

cd $CARLA_ROOT
bash ./CarlaUE4.sh

CARLA_ROOT is your CARLA installation root directory.

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4. One-Command Run

4.1 Full pipeline (spawn + planning + control)

bash ./demo.sh

This script launches the following in order:

1. roslaunch uimp_ros Town04_spawn_car.launch
2. rosrun uimp_ros run_planner.py
3. rosrun uimp_ros main_launch.py agent_0
4. rosrun uimp_ros main_launch.py agent_1
5. rosrun uimp_ros main_launch.py agent_2

4.2 Control only (without re-planning)

bash ./demo_control.sh

This script starts vehicle spawning and controllers, but does not run run_planner.py.

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5. Manual Step-by-Step Run (Recommended for Debugging)

From the workspace root:

source devel/setup.bash

Then run the following steps:

roslaunch uimp_ros Town04_spawn_car.launch

rosrun uimp_ros run_planner.py

rosrun uimp_ros main_launch.py agent_0
rosrun uimp_ros main_launch.py agent_1
rosrun uimp_ros main_launch.py agent_2

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6. Outputs

The planner script generates reference/actual trajectory files:

• src/uimp_ros/planner/data/refpath_agent_0.txt
• src/uimp_ros/planner/data/refpath_agent_1.txt
• src/uimp_ros/planner/data/refpath_agent_2.txt

These files can be used for offline analysis or replay.

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7. Directory Overview

impm_ws/
├─ demo.sh                      # one-command full pipeline
├─ demo_control.sh              # one-command control only
├─ setup.sh                     # clone ros-bridge + catkin_make
└─ src/uimp_ros/
	├─ controller/               # MPC control entry and core logic
	├─ planner/                  # platoon/trajectory planning and outputs
	├─ script/                   # CARLA map visualization scripts
	└─ example/auto_driving/
		├─ launch/                # Town04 launch files
		└─ configure/town04/      # vehicle and RViz configs

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8. Troubleshooting

8.1 devel/setup.bash does not exist

The workspace may not have built successfully. Re-run:

bash ./setup.sh

Or run manually:

catkin_make

8.2 Town04_spawn_car.launch cannot be found

Ensure source devel/setup.bash has been executed and uimp_ros has been built successfully with catkin_make.

8.3 Cannot connect to CARLA (default localhost:2000)

• Make sure CARLA is started first
• Make sure port 2000 is not occupied
• If using a remote host, update host/port arguments in the launch configuration

8.4 Python module error (e.g., carla)

Your current Python environment is missing required modules. Install them in the same environment where ROS nodes are launched, then retry.

9. Authors

Shiyao Zhang

Shuai Wang