6.2 Road networks and environment models

A scenario description may require references to a specific road network as well as inclusion of specific 3D models that represent the simulated environment visually. The definition of road network logic and/or environment 3D models is optional of ASAM OpenSCENARIO. Those references are established within the RoadNetwork language element. As an example, the ASAM OpenDRIVE file format is common when it comes to describing road network logic.

Scenario authors often need to refer to items defined in the road network, for example, to instruct a vehicle to drive in a specific lane. ASAM OpenSCENARIO does not impose its own naming system for these items; they should be referred with the names allocated by their own file format.

The following features of the road network may be addressed using ASAM OpenSCENARIO:

As mentioned before, a road network description supported by ASAM OpenSCENARIO is the ASAM OpenDRIVE format. This format describes the logical information related to road structure, such as road id, lane id, and road geometry. This information may be used to locate and position instances of Entity acting on the road and to position traffic participants. If ASAM OpenDRIVE is used to represent the road network, the ASAM OpenSCENARIO file should follow the ASAM OpenDRIVE conventions for numbering lanes.

In addition to the road network description, 3D models representing the environment may be referenced in a scenario description. Files containing 3D models provide the geometric and visual representation, like mesh and textures for elements of the virtual environment including the road surface. Use cases for 3D models referenced from scenarios are rendering, physical modeling, and sensor simulation. Files containing 3D models are considered to be external elements to the ASAM OpenSCENARIO format.