Integration of an Agent Model into an Open Simulation Architecture for Scenario-Based Testing of Automated Vehicles

2026-05-13

AI Summary

This study addresses the limited interoperability of existing traffic agent models across autonomous driving simulation platforms due to the absence of a unified integration standard, which compromises the consistency and reliability of evaluation results. To overcome this, the authors propose a modular simulation integration architecture based on open standards, uniquely combining the Open Simulation Interface (OSI) and the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI). This framework establishes a generic, reusable specification for agent model encapsulation, clearly defining interfaces, data mappings, and execution semantics. The approach enables seamless deployment of the same agent model across three major platforms—OpenPASS, CARLA, and CarMaker—with consistent behavioral performance, thereby demonstrating strong cross-platform interoperability and modularity. A reference implementation has been open-sourced to advance standardization in simulation ecosystems.

Abstract

Simulative and scenario-based testing are crucial methods in the safety assurance for automated driving systems. To ensure that simulation results are reliable, the real world must be modeled with sufficient fidelity, including not only the static environment but also the surrounding traffic of a vehicle under test. Thus, the availability of traffic agent models is of common interest to model naturalistic and parameterizable behavior, similar to human drivers. The interchangeability of agent models across different simulation environments represents a major challenge and necessitates harmonization and standardization. To address this challenge, we present a standardized and modular simulation integration architecture that enables the tool-independent integration of traffic agent models. The architecture builds upon the Open Simulation Interface (OSI) as a structured message format and the Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI) for dynamic model exchange. Rather than introducing yet another model or simulation tool, we provide a reusable reference implementation that translates these standards into a practical integration blueprint, including clear interfaces, data mappings, and execution semantics. The generic nature of the architecture is demonstrated by integrating an exemplary agent model into three widely used simulation environments: OpenPASS, CARLA, and CarMaker. As part of the evaluation, we show that the model yields consistent behavior in all simulation platforms, thereby validating the interoperability, modularity, and standard compliance of the proposed architecture. The reference implementation lowers integration barriers, serves as a foundation for future research, and is made publicly available at github.com/ika-rwth-aachen/agent-model-integration

Problem

• agent model
• simulation interoperability
• scenario-based testing
• standardization
• automated vehicles

Innovation

• agent model integration
• Open Simulation Interface (OSI)
• Functional Mock-up Interface (FMI)
• modular simulation architecture
• interoperability