Here's a quick update on the status of the O'PAVES project.

On the hardware side, the first prototype is 95% a success (see the picture attached). The micro-controller is running fine, the car can move and turn, the different sensors are providing data.

A second version of the electronic board is on the way, with a couple of fixes and the battery moved to the front to put more weight on the front tires and therefore improve cornering.

Of course there are still a ton of problems that might occur when we turn on everything together. Like noise coming from the electric motor that would interfere with sensors signals. But this is a good first step.

On the software side, we've started the development. Here's an overview of the different "modules" of the system:

• Communication
  • Talk via Bluetooth with a smartphone app that will allow us to remotely drive the car.
  • Talk with an external computer (probably Raspberry Pi mounted on the car) that will provide - eventually - the computer vision and artificial intelligence for autonomous driving.
• System value database and logging
  This part will allow to share data between the micro-controller and the external computer and it will also provide logging of the data over time.

• Sensors
  We have various sensors on board to know the distance of obstacles around the car, the speed of the wheels, the battery level or the motion of the car (IMU). This part is responsible for acquiring the sensors data and processing it.

• Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
  This module will use sensor data to predict a potential collision and provide guidance on how to avoid it. Given the sensors that we have, the avoidance will be limited to emergency braking, i.e. stop the car before crashing into something.

• Control
  This module drives the motor and steering according to the pilot's command, or ADAS command in case of the emergency braking.

• Monitor
  Watches the system and handles errors or faults report. For instance stopping the car if the connection with the remote control is lost for too long.

The GitHub repository is now public: https://github.com/AdaCore/OPAVES

You will find all the hardware and software sources there.