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Traffic Signs Assembly

Modified 2021-03-21 by tanij

Modified 2019-04-27 by tanij

The materials to build Duckietown signals.

A set of signs to be used for assembling your Duckietown.

Build a Map

Modified 2022-04-09 by Vincenzo Polizzi

Before beginning with sign assembly you should design a map that adheres to the specification.

The full set of currently existing signs is available here.

Making New Signage

Modified 2022-04-09 by Vincenzo Polizzi

If you find that what is available in the database in insufficient for your needs, then you will need to add to the existing database.

Clone the signs-and-tags repo:

laptop $ git clone git@github.com:duckietown/signs-and-tags.git

The file tag36h11.pdf (tag36h11.ps) in the repo contains the tags already generated. Which tag you should use depends on what type of sign you are trying add. The ranges of tags are specified in Table 2.1.

April tag ID ranges
Purpose Size Family ID Range
Traffic signs 6.5cm x 6.5cm 36h11 1-199
Traffic lights 6.5cm x 6.5cm 36h11 200-299
Localization 6.5cm x 6.5cm 36h11 300-399
Street Name Signs 6.5cm x 6.5cm 36h11 400-587

First, find the last sign of the type that you are trying to make in the Signs_and_tags_V3.docx. You will use the next available ID after this one.

Construct the new sign by first copying and pasting an existing sign of similar type, and then replacing/adding the new AprilTag. To add the new april tag, use a screen capture mathod to crop precisely around the tag at the top and sides and include the sign id at the bottom. Then paste the tag into your word file under your desired and resize it exactly 6.5cm (2.56inches).

If you make a new road name sign, you may need to change the font size of the name so that it appears on one line.

Important: You must also add your new sign to the apriltagsDB.yaml.

Add a new block like the ones that already exists or modify the one with the appropriate tag id:

- tag_id: NEW_TAG_ID
  tag_type: in {TrafficSign, Light, Localization, StreetName}
  street_name: either NEW_STREET_NAME or blank
  vehicle_name: currently not used
  traffic_sign_type: either TRAFFIC_SIGN_TYPE or blank

The value of NEW_STREET_NAME is up to you to decide (have fun with it!). The value of TRAFFIC_SIGN_TYPE should be one of the signs in Figure 2.8

When finished, regenerate the PDF version of the Word file, and commit everything to the repo (via a pull request of course).

It is also possible of course to start you own completely different signs and tags database, but make sure that you specify in the april_tags code which database to load from.

Traffic Signs Assembly

Assemble the stands

Modified 2021-03-21 by tanij

A traffic sign stand consists of a laser cut structure as is show Figure 2.1.

Traffic sign stand kit.

Detach the components from the wooden plate and plug them together as in Figure 2.2. Typically the stands are very rigid, but if the structure seems a bit loose, use wooden glue to increase stability.

Traffic sign stand assembled.

Finally, you can use the provided double sided tape to attach the traffic sign to the stand. The resulting traffic sign should look as in Figure 2.3.

Traffic sign stand assembled with mounted traffic sign.

Placement

Modified 2018-06-22 by Andrea Censi

For placement of signs see Subsection 2.3.3 - Placement.