# Cloud Incubator Car: A Reliable Platform for Autonomous Driving
## 2 Cloud Incubator Car Platform  
As described above, autonomous driving technologies are making the transition from laboratories to the real world, and so must the vehicle platforms used to test and develop them. Research teams develop their own experimental platforms and also develop proprietary control systems.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**PLATFORM** & **Vehicle Basis** & \begin{tabular}{c} **Automated** \\ **Systems** \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} **Control** \\ **System** \\ \end{tabular} & **Sensors** & **Performances** & **Navigation** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} BOSS \\ (DARPA) \\ \end{tabular} } & \multirow{4}{*}{Chevrolet Thaoe} & Steering & Proprietary & \begin{tabular}{c} 1 HD 3D LIDAR \\ (based on 6 radars \\ multiprocessor \\ system) \\ \end{tabular} & Obstacle avoidance & \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} Anytime D* \\ 1 1 Inertial GPS \\ \end{tabular} } \\  & & & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} JUNIOR \\ (DARPA) \\ \end{tabular} } & \multirow{4}{*}{VW Passat wagon} & Steering & Proprietary & \begin{tabular}{c} 4 Cameras \\ (based on 6 radars \\ multiprocessor \\ system) \\ \end{tabular} & \begin{tabular}{c} Object detection \\ Pedestrian \\ detection \\ \end{tabular} & \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} Moving \\ Frame \\ \end{tabular} } \\  & & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} BRAiVE \\ (VisLab) \\ \end{tabular} } & \multirow{4}{*}{VW Passat} & Steering & \begin{tabular}{c} 10 cameras \\ 4 lasers \\ \end{tabular} & \multirow{4}{*}{\begin{tabular}{c} Close loop \\ manoeuvring \\ \end{tabular} } \\  & & & & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & & & & & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{\
\begin{tabular}{c} AUTOPIA \\ \end{tabular} } & CITROEN C3 & Steering & Proprietary &
\begin{tabular}{c} Following a \\ leading vehicle \\ \end{tabular} \\  & & & & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & & & & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & & & & & \\ \cline{1-1}  & & & & & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 3: Some platforms for autonomous driving development.  
In the Intelligent Vehicles Lab at the Technical University of Cartagena we have developed a comprehensible and reliable platform for autonomous driving technology development as well as for testing purposes: the CICar (Cloud Incubator Car, Figure 1a). This platform allows a complete experimentation of the aspects related to the integration of third-party sensors (laser range finders, global positioning systems, vision cameras, etc.), control of devices (motors, actuators, etc.), and industrial buses for communication. Software development has been made a comprehensible task by using a well-known hardware-software development platform for control purposes: RIO architecture and LabVIEW [16].  
The aforementioned platform is based on an electric commercial vehicle--Renault Twizy--that has been conveniently modified in order to meet the specifications mentioned above. The modifications compound the low label architecture and include: (a) automation of driving elements (throttle, brake, steering, gearbox); (b) installation of external anchors capable of holding a wide variety of sensors; (c) installation of interior racks to accommodate the different control and processing systems (Figure 2b); (d) installation of electrical facilities and communication buses to feed and connect the different sensors and the control and processing hardware.