Driving simulation formats and test-loop glossary

Updated 2026-10-12

Road descriptions, traffic behavior and test-loop interfaces describe different parts of a simulation. These terms help you identify the documentation to request; matching names still requires checking supported versions and features.

OpenDRIVEsource: A standardized description of the static road network, including roads, lanes and junctions, for exchange between simulation tools.
OpenSCENARIO XMLsource: An XML format for dynamic traffic content: participants, maneuvers, triggers and actions. Supported versions and features must be checked in each tool.
Operational design domain (ODD)source: A description of the operating conditions for an automated-driving system. ASAM OpenODD specifies a modeling approach and exchange formats for such domains.
Open Simulation Interface (OSI)source: A standardized interface for exchanging simulated environment and sensor-related data between models, driving functions and simulation frameworks.
Software-in-the-loop (SIL)source: Testing compiled software in a simulated environment on the development computer; it differs from executing on the target controller hardware.
Hardware-in-the-loop (HIL)source: Connecting actual controller hardware to a real-time simulation of the physical system, so hardware and software interfaces can be exercised together.
Sensor simulationsource: Generating sensor outputs within a virtual scene. CARLA allows teams to configure sensor suites and environmental conditions for autonomous-driving research.
Scenario parameter variationsource: Running different values of scenario inputs to explore a test space. AVxcelerate Autonomy documents grid sampling and Latin hypercube sampling for this task.