Technology Leaders Create Autoware Foundation to Advance Autonomous Driving

Linaro, Tier IV, and Apex.AI recently announced the formation of a non-profit organization designed to fund, develop, and advance open source hardware and software for autonomous driving projects. The Autoware Foundation has already signed up some heavy hitters in the tech industry — including Intel, LG, Robosense, Arm, Huawei, and a host of others.

According to the Foundation, the initiative is broken down into three project categories, beginning with Autoware.AI, which is an open source ROS software stack for self-driving vehicles. This is the original Autoware project that was started back in 2015 by Shinpei Kato at Nagoya University, who founded Tier IV, and now sits on Autoware’s board of directors.

The second project category, Autoware.Auto, is the world’s first all-in-one open source software stack for self-driving vehicles and uses ROS 2.0 as a building block for development. The Autoware Foundation states it will initially tackle two issues for AVs — autonomous valet parking, and autonomous depot maneuvering, which will allow users to map parking lots easily and perform maneuvers in less than two weeks.

The third project category, Autoware.IO, will focus on heterogeneous platform support for upcoming 96Boards’ SBCs, vehicle control interfaces, and third-party software and hardware development tools. Some Autoware.IO example projects could include simulators, device drivers for sensors, by-wire controllers for vehicles, and hardware independent programs for SoC boards.

“Autoware has recognized momentum in the industry, and we are excited to be able to build on its success to offer open source projects supporting the deployment of the world’s leading autonomous vehicle technology. Linaro’s 96Boards program will help define the standardized hardware platforms on which to maintain and grow the Autoware code base and extend support for it across a broader range of SoC solutions.” — Yang Zhang, Director of 96Boards

Autoware is already being used globally by more than 100 companies and in more than 30 vehicles at this point, and those numbers are expected to grow over the next few years.