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Sketching scenes before building a CARLA map

CARLA needs a real map — an OpenDRIVE .xodr plus a 3D mesh — to run a scenario. Producing that map is a job for a dedicated tool. But before that, it often helps to have a clear top-down sketch of what you intend to build: the road layout, the participants, and the motion. drawtonomy is good for that sketch.

What this is good for

Section titled “What this is good for”
  • Agreeing on a scene layout with a team before anyone spends time on the production map.
  • A top-down figure of a CARLA scenario for a paper, slide, or design review.
  • Authoring the storyboard and running it in the browser on esmini-WASM — actions, triggers, and a PASS / FAIL verdict — so you validate the scenario logic before CARLA’s sensor-grade run. See the scenario editor.

What this is not

Section titled “What this is not”
  • A way to produce a finished CARLA map. drawtonomy has no 3D mesh, no FBX export, and no Unreal Engine pipeline. Per its exporter documentation, the OpenDRIVE export is partial — no junction primitives, no traffic signs as <signal> — so it is a seed, not a deliverable map.
  • A replacement for the map tools. For the actual map, the established route is a dedicated editor such as RoadRunner, with the CARLA Map Editor for adding signals.

The workflow

Section titled “The workflow”
  1. Sketch the layout top-down with the Lane Tool and connect lanes with Next Lane links.
  2. Place participants using Vehicle / Pedestrian templates so the scene reads clearly.
  3. Show intended motion with Path arrows.
  4. Save as .drawtonomy.svg — the editable source you revise as the plan changes.
  5. Run the scenario in the browser to validate the storyboard logic, and export OpenDRIVE / OpenSCENARIO as a starting point for the downstream map tool.
  6. Build the production map downstream, keeping the drawtonomy file as the explanatory figure.
Section titled “Related reading”