AutoRally: An Open Platform for Aggressive Autonomous Driving

The technical challenge of creating a self-driving vehicle remains an open problem despite significant advancements from universities, car manufacturers, and technology companies. Full autonomy, known as level 5 (see "Society of Automotive Engineers Levels of Driving Automation"), is defined as full-time performance by an automated driving system of all aspects of the dynamic driving task under all roadway and environmental conditions that can be managed by a human driver. It is estimated that level 5 autonomous vehicles on public roads will help eliminate more than 90% [1] of the 35,000 annual traffic fatalities caused by human error in the United States [2]; reduce commute time, road congestion, and pollution; and increase driving resource utilization [3].