drawtonomy vs RoadRunner
RoadRunner
Section titled “RoadRunner”MathWorks RoadRunner is an interactive editor for designing 3D scenes used to simulate and test automated driving systems. Together with RoadRunner Scenario, it covers HD-map authoring through dynamic scenario creation, and it is one of the standard tools used by professional ADAS / AD teams.
What RoadRunner covers:
- HD-map authoring with full 3D, analytical geometry.
- Import and export of ASAM OpenDRIVE 1.4 through 1.8.
- Scenario authoring through RoadRunner Scenario, exporting ASAM OpenSCENARIO XML and DSL. Exported scenarios are designed to be compatible with OpenSCENARIO-compliant simulators including CARLA, esmini, IPG CarMaker, and dSPACE ASM.
- MATLAB / Simulink integration for co-simulation and scripted pipelines.
- 3D vehicle and road-furniture assets.
- MathWorks documentation and support channels.
For teams producing HD maps or scenario catalogs at non-trivial scale, RoadRunner is the kind of tool you would normally reach for.
Licensing
Section titled “Licensing”RoadRunner is a commercial MathWorks product. Many universities provide access through campus-wide MathWorks licenses, so it’s worth checking whether your institution already includes it. Outside of academia, it’s a paid license.
Where drawtonomy might fit alongside it
Section titled “Where drawtonomy might fit alongside it”drawtonomy is a browser whiteboard for driving diagrams. Per its exporter documentation, its OpenDRIVE 1.8 / OpenSCENARIO 1.3 export covers a subset of the spec — for example, it does not currently emit OpenDRIVE junction primitives or traffic signs as <signal> entries, and the OpenSCENARIO storyboard support is limited (no conditional triggers, parameter sweeps, or complex acts). Those are noted as roadmap items.
A few small things drawtonomy can add alongside RoadRunner:
- A free, browser-only sketch surface for paper figures, slide diagrams, or design discussions.
- A
.drawtonomy.svgeditable figure source for documentation. - A quick playable check in esmini for the simple version of a scene.
A reasonable pattern when both are available: RoadRunner for the production scenario, drawtonomy for the diagram of it.
In the same ASAM ecosystem
Section titled “In the same ASAM ecosystem”RoadRunner and drawtonomy both target the same set of ASAM standards — OpenSCENARIO and OpenDRIVE. Files from one can in principle be opened by the other, and both export to esmini for playback. The OpenSCENARIO and OpenDRIVE community is a small one, and tools that contribute to it — RoadRunner, drawtonomy, Truevision Designer, LaneMaker, Blender DSC, scenariogeneration, esmini — share the same goal of making scenario-based testing more accessible. We work on different parts of the same ecosystem.