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https://github.com/johschmitz/blender-driving-scenario-creator

Blender add-on for creating OpenDRIVE and OpenSCENARIO based automotive driving scenarios including 3D models
https://github.com/johschmitz/blender-driving-scenario-creator

addon automotive blender blender-addon carla carla-simulator fbx gltf lgsvl-simulator opendrive openscenario openscenegraph osgb python simulation unity unreal

Last synced: 4 months ago
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Blender add-on for creating OpenDRIVE and OpenSCENARIO based automotive driving scenarios including 3D models

Awesome Lists containing this project

README 

        
# Blender Driving Scenario Creator add-on



This [Blender](https://www.blender.org/) add-on lets you create OpenDRIVE and

OpenSCENARIO based scenarios for development and testing of advanced driver

assistance systems and autonomous driving functions.



![Screenshot](screenshot.png)



## How to install



Prior to installing the add-on inside of Blender some requirements must be

installed. The process slightly differs for Linux and Windows.



###  Requirements Linux



For the sake of simplifying the following instructions let's assume that we

work with a Debian based Linux distribution (such as Ubuntu or Mint) and Blender

has been [downloaded](https://www.blender.org/download/) and installed to



    /opt/blender/



Then we first need to install the

[scenarigeneration](https://github.com/pyoscx/scenariogeneration) library into

the Blender Python environment since the add-on uses the library as a backend to

write OpenDRIVE and OpenSCENARIO files. Additionally,

[pyclothoids](https://github.com/phillipd94/pyclothoids) is needed which is used

by the add-on and the scenarigeneration lib as well. Navigate to your Blender

included Python installation



    cd /opt/blender//python/bin



if pip is not already present in there then run (use sudo only if root is the

owner)



    sudo ./python -m ensurepip



now install the lib(s)



    sudo -E ./python -m pip install scenariogeneration



where the `-E` makes sudo preserve the exported environment variable. Note again

that `sudo` is not required in case Blender is installed to the user home

directory or the user has write access to the directory. Also make sure not to

not forget the `./` at the beginning such that the Python executable from within

the directory is used and not another instance on your system.



For the esmini export functionality we also need to install

[OpenSceneGraph](http://www.openscenegraph.org/) to have the `osgconv` tool

available. This is necessary because Blender is unable to directly export to the

.osgb scenegraph format, while esmini can only process this particular format.

On a Debian/Ubuntu/Mint system this can be achieved with



    sudo apt install openscenegraph



If you manually install OpenSceneGraph make sure that `osgconv` can be found

through your `PATH` environment variable, otherwise the export with .osgb 3D

model files will fail.



Install [esmini](ttps://github.com/esmini/esmini/releases). Preferably to

`/opt/esmini` and then put `/opt/esmini/bin` it in your `PATH` environment

variable with an `export PATH=$PATH:/opt/esmini/bin` at the end of the

`~/.bashrc`.



### Requirements Windows



Assuming Blender has been [downloaded](https://www.blender.org/download/) and

installed using the .msi installer, open PowerShell in admin mode by pressing

Windows+X and then then A.



In PowerShell navigate to the Blender install folder with (don't forget to

insert the version number)



    cd "C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender \\python\bin"



Run the following command to install the scenariogeneration library



    .\python -m pip install scenariogeneration --target ..\lib\site-packages



Note that you might be able to do this without admin rights in case you are

using the "Portable" version of Blender. Also if you are having trouble with

this part of the installation, consider starting over with a clean installation

of Blender and/or removing any leftovers of Python in your `%appdata%` folder.



Download and extract (for example to `C:\Tools\OpenSceneGraph`)

[openscenegraph](https://objexx.com/OpenSceneGraph.html).



Also download and extract (for exampe to `C:\Tools\esmini`)

[esmini](https://github.com/esmini/esmini/releases).



Add the OpenSceneGraph `bin` folder and the esmini `bin` folder to the `PATH`

environment variable using the "Edit environment variables for your account"

tool (look for it in the Windows start menu). Note that otherwise the export

with .osgb 3D model files will fail because `osgconv` can not be found by the

add-on.



### Add-on (Linux and Windows)



Finally download the driving scenario generator [release .zip

archive](https://github.com/johschmitz/blender-driving-scenario-creator/releases/).

Open Blender and go to Edit -> Preferences -> Add-ons. Click "Install...".

Select the .zip archive and confirm. Activate the add-on by ticking the little

box next to it, in the add-on list.



## How to use



Before using the add-on some preliminary settings are recommended.



### Recommended Blender settings



When you are in the Blender Layout workspace (see the tabs at the top), press

N or click the little left arrow next to the navigation gizmo to

toggle the sidebar. Click View, set `Clip Start` to 1 m and `Clip

End` to 10000 m to avoid some 3D viewport clipping issues since the Blender

default setting is targeted more towards smaller models. Click the

Shading dropdown button (the little down arrow in the top right

corner of the 3D viewport) and select `Texture` to be able to directly see the

road sign textures.



It is also very useful to make yourself familiar with the most important

shortcuts to navigate with the camera in the 3D viewport. The most important

ones are Shift + Middlemouse to pan and Alt +

Middlemouse to move the pivot point. The pivot point will

automatically be placed on the surface of an object when it is under the mouse

pointer which is extremely useful. The view can be rotated by holding

Middlemouse. Additionally, the `View` Pie Menu is very useful to see

the scene from different fixed angles. It can be opened with the \`

(backtick) button on the US keyboard layout, alternatively use the Numpad

shortcuts or go to `Edit -> Preferences -> Input -> Emulate Numpad` and use the

1-9 keys. Hint for German keyboard layouts: go to `Edit ->

Preferences -> Keymap -> 3D View -> 3D View (Global) -> View` and add the

Ctrl modifier key to the shortcut. Then it will work with the

^ key which is in the same location as the \` key in the

US keyboard layout (above the Tab key).



### Using the actual add-on



Click Driving Scenario Creator in the sidebar. From here you can

create roads and vehicles using the mouse by clicking the buttons in the

"Driving Scenario Creator" menu. Roads, signs, vehicles and trajectories can be

placed with the mouse. Junction connecting roads can be build using the mouse

similar to normal roads after first building a junction area. The cursor will

snap to the lanes of the incoming roads in this case. Note, that in Blender it

is possible to quickly left click multiple times in order to select objects

which are located on top of each other. This helps with selecting and deleting

junction connecting roads. Grid snapping can be activated by holding

Ctrl. Additional geometry sections can be added by holding

Shift and clicking. Start heading of a road can be adjusted by

holding Alt and moving the mouse pointer. For the clothoid geometry

using the Hermite solver the end heading can be adjusted by holding

Shift and moving the mouse wheel. Road elevation can be changed by

holding E(3D view) or S(sideview) keys and moving the

mouse. After placing roads, road signs can be attached to them and placed at the

side. Finally, vehicles can be placed and a trajectory can be assigned to them.



| Keyboard Shortcut                                     | Function                             |

| ----------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ |

| N (vanilla Blender)                        | Toggle sidebar with add-on main menu |

| Hold Ctrl                                  | Activate grid snapping               |

| Hold Shift + Mouseleft          | Add additional geometry section      |

| Hold Alt                                   | Change start heading of a road       |

| Hold Shift + Mousewheel Up/Down | Change end heading of a road         |

| Hold E                                     | Change road elevation (3D view)      |

| Hold S                                     | Change road elevation (sideview)     |



Before or after adding roads add additional Blender objects as desired. When

done modelling, export everything together by clicking Export driving

scenario. Choose a **directory** and a 3D file format (.fbx, .gltf, .osgb)

for the export and confirm.



## How to run exported scenarios



With esmini available the exported scenario can be run with



    cd 

    esmini --osc xosc/bdsc_export.xosc --window 50 50 800 400



# How to develop



For development of the add-on the [Blender VS Code

extension](https://github.com/JacquesLucke/blender_vscode) is very

recommendable. It allows hot reloading and rapid iterations.



# How to run the test



There is a handful of tests for the geometries in the `tests/` directory. They

can be run by executing pytest from the Blender python distribution in the

project root directory



    /opt/blender//python/bin/pytest



If pytest is not installed use pip to install it into the Blender directory as

described with the scenariogeneration library above.



The tests can also be run and debugged from within VS Code by adding the

following line to the `.vscode/settings.json` which is generated by VS Code when

configuring/scanning for the tests



    {

        ...

        "python.defaultInterpreterPath": "/opt/blender//python/bin/python3.",

        ...

    }



## License



The source code of this tool is distributed under the GPL version 3.0 license as

required for all Blender add-ons. Note, that this does not imply that the tool

can not be used in a commercial context. In fact, there is probably no issue

using it in the same way as you would use Blender itself, Linux or GCC since you

will probably not be modifying the source code and/or linking against it.



Furthermore, if your enterprise has already reached a state where open source

software contribution is possible or your business has embraced open source

software long ago, your contributions and pull requests are welcome if they are

maintainable.



## Credits



Credits for the current version go to

- [pyoscx/scenarigeneration](https://github.com/pyoscx/scenariogeneration)

  developers for the .xodr/.xosc generating/writing lib used as backend

- [Archipack](https://github.com/s-leger/archipack) add-on developer(s) for

  general Blender add-on tool inspiration

- [Blender VS Code extension](https://github.com/JacquesLucke/blender_vscode)

  for quick iterative development and hot reloading

- [pyclothoids](https://github.com/phillipd94/pyclothoids) which is a Python

  wrapper for Enrico Bertolazzi's

  [Clothoids](https://github.com/ebertolazzi/Clothoids) library

- Wikipedia and its contributors for the public domain ("gemeinfrei") German

  road sign textures and road stencil designs



## Main author/maintainer contact



Please open issues and pull requests on GitHub to discuss openly. For private

support inquiries contact the repository owner via email, Twitter or create an

issue to initiate the communication. If you consider contributing large new

features please consider to have a discussion before beginning with the clean

implementation.