DMAVA: Distributed Multi-Autonomous Vehicle Architecture Using Autoware

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Authors: Zubair Islam, Mohamed El-Darieby
Cited by: 0

Abstract

Simulating and validating coordination among multiple autonomous vehicles remains challenging, as many existing simulation architectures are limited to single-vehicle operation or rely on centralized control. This paper presents the Distributed Multi-Autonomous Vehicle Architecture (DMAVA), a simulation architecture that enables concurrent execution of multiple independent vehicle autonomy stacks distributed across multiple physical hosts within a shared simulation environment. Each vehicle operates its own complete autonomous driving stack while maintaining coordinated behavior through a data-centric communication layer. The proposed system integrates ROS 2 Humble, Autoware Universe, AWSIM Labs, and Zenoh to support high data accuracy and controllability during multi-vehicle simulation, enabling consistent perception, planning, and control behavior under distributed execution. Experiments conducted on multiple-host configurations demonstrate stable localization, reliable inter-host communication, and consistent closed-loop control under distributed execution. DMAVA also serves as a foundation for Multi-Vehicle Autonomous Valet Parking, demonstrating its extensibility toward higher-level cooperative autonomy. Demo videos and source code are available at: https://github.com/zubxxr/distributed-multi-autonomous-vehicle-architecture.

Fields of Study & Subjects

Autonomous Vehicle Technology and Safety Vehicle Dynamics and Control Systems Traffic control and management

Publication details

Journal / source
arXiv (Cornell University)
Publication date
22 January 2026
Document type
Preprint