Sketching before OpenSCENARIO authoring

Hand-writing OpenSCENARIO XML for a small scenario is fine. Sketching it visually first can save time on the layout — the lane network, the participant placement, the rough trajectories — before you sit down to write the rest of the XML.

drawtonomy is built for that sketch step. It is not a production scenario authoring tool.

What you’ll get out of the sketch step

• A .drawtonomy.svg source you can re-edit later (good for figures and variants).
• An exported .xosc + .xodr + run.sh zip you can play in esmini for a simple version of the scene.
• A baseline you can hand-edit further.

What you won’t get

• A scenario with conditional triggers, parameter sweeps, custom controllers, or dense traffic flows. drawtonomy doesn’t express those.
• Full coverage of the OpenSCENARIO 1.3 spec. Only a subset is in the exporter.
• A scenario that’s ready to ship into a regression suite without further work.

Treat the export as a starting point. Layouts come out of the sketch step quickly; logic still belongs in XML or in code.

The workflow

1. Sketch the road network. Lane Tool, Intersection Templates, Crosswalk shapes.
2. Place participants. Ego on a specific lane, other entities at known longitudinal offsets.
3. Indicate intent. Path arrows show what you mean each entity to do. Treat them as visual notes for yourself, not as full trigger definitions.
4. Export the esmini bundle and play it. Confirm the layout looks right.
5. Open the .xosc in a text editor and add the things drawtonomy doesn’t express — triggers, parameter declarations, custom storyboards, anything beyond simple paths.

When this isn’t worth it

• Tiny one-shot scenario — just write the XML directly.
• Scenario fleets — generate from a DSL, not from a canvas.
• High-fidelity HD maps — use a dedicated HD-map tool.

See the export-asam guide for the export details.