Building the DragonFly Pod and Bus

This chapter provides a thorough case study of Perceptln's DragonFly Pod and DragonFly bus, which were developed using the modular design approach. First, it introduces the chassis specifications of these two vehicles, so that readers can understand the physical differences of these vehicles. Secondly, The chapter reveals the sensor configurations on these two chassis, so that readers can understand how perception and localization modules are deployed. Thirdly, it describes the ‘anatomy’ of the DragonFly system, or the software architecture enabling autonomous driving on these vehicles, so that readers can understand how different modules work together to form a system. Fourthly, the chapter discusses the ‘physiology’ of the DragonFly system, or the mechanism of the autonomous vehicles, so that readers understand the life cycle of the autonomous driving software. Finally, it shows how users can interact with the autonomous vehicles through a simple user interface.