README

autoware_vehicle_msgs

ActuationCommand.msg

Defines an actuator-level command for the vehicle.

This message sits below autoware_control_msgs/Control.msg in the control stack.

• Control.msg expresses the desired physical state of the vehicle (target steering tire angle, target velocity / acceleration). It is vehicle-independent.

• ActuationCommand.msg expresses commands to the actuators themselves (throttle pedal, brake pedal, steering input). Its meaning depends on how the vehicle interface is configured.

The typical producer is autoware_raw_vehicle_cmd_converter, which converts a Control command into actuator-level signals using the vehicle’s accel / brake / steer maps. The typical consumer is the vehicle interface that forwards these signals to the vehicle CAN bus or to a simulator.

Fields:

Field	Meaning	Range	Sign	Units
accel_cmd	Throttle pedal command (vehicle-defined scale)	Vehicle-dependent (defined by actuation maps and vehicle interface)	n/a	Dimensionless
brake_cmd	Brake pedal command (vehicle-defined scale)	Vehicle-dependent (defined by actuation maps and vehicle interface)	n/a	Dimensionless
steer_cmd	Steering actuation signal. Semantics depend on convert_steer_cmd_method, see below	Vehicle-dependent (defined by actuation maps and vehicle interface)	Left positive (Ackermann)	See below

Note that for brake_cmd, the command itself is positive while the resulting deceleration is negative.

steer_cmd modes:

convert_steer_cmd_method	steer_cmd meaning	Units
Unset (vanilla)	Steering tire angle	radians
"vgr"	Steering wheel angle, derived from the tire angle via a velocity-dependent gear ratio	radians
"steer_map"	Vehicle-specific actuation signal (for example an EPS voltage), produced from a steer map	vehicle-defined

For all three fields, the canonical contract is whatever the vehicle’s actuation maps and parameters define. A different vehicle interface (CARLA, AWSIM, a real CAN driver) can use different ranges or scaling.

ActuationCommandStamped.msg

Wraps ActuationCommand with a std_msgs/Header, typically containing the time at which the command was issued. The frame_id is not used.

ActuationReport.msg

Defines the actual actuator state reported back by the vehicle, mirroring ActuationCommand.

Producers: the vehicle interface (real or simulated). Consumers: tools that need to know what the vehicle is actually doing at the actuator level, such as autoware_accel_brake_map_calibrator.

Fields use the same units, sign conventions, and modes as ActuationCommand:

• accel_report: Throttle pedal command the vehicle is currently applying (vehicle-defined scale).

• brake_report: Brake pedal command the vehicle is currently applying (vehicle-defined scale).

• steer_report: Steering actuation signal the vehicle is currently applying. Same mode-dependent semantics as steer_cmd.

ActuationReportStamped.msg

Wraps ActuationReport with a std_msgs/Header carrying the report’s timestamp.