Driving the future of autonomous development: Deploying Open AD Kit on Arm Neoverse

Following this week's exciting Zena CSS launch for AI-defined vehicles, we wanted to share one of the ways we are enabling the future of Autonomous development. 
 
In a world where speed defines success, autonomous vehicle (AV) developers face a fundamental challenge: how to accelerate software development before hardware is ready. At Arm, we're enabling the automotive industry to move faster, validate earlier, and build more confidently through cutting-edge solutions like Scalable Open Architecture for the Embedded Edge (SOAFEE), ROS 2, and the Open AD Kit—all running on Arm Neoverse. 

Our latest Automotive Arm Learning Path demonstrates how developers can set up and run a fully containerized autonomous driving simulation using the Open AD Kit on Arm Neoverse hardware. It’s not just a tutorial, it’s a blueprint for software-defined vehicle (SDV) innovation. This tutorial serves as a foundational blueprint for simulation-first SDV development using Arm Neoverse. 

Software-defined vehicles require a shift-left mindset 

As cars become platforms for continuous software innovation, traditional development cycles are too slow. Defects found late cost more to fix and delay critical updates. Enter shift-left development: a strategy to test, validate, and iterate software before hardware arrives. 

The Learning Path guides developers through: 

• Using the SOAFEE architecture to support shift-left methodologies 
• Deploying containerized AV stacks using Docker and Docker Compose 
• Running simulations with the Autoware Open AD Kit on Arm Neoverse 
• Understanding advanced configurations and automation workflows 

All of this builds toward faster, safer, and smarter AV development. 

SOAFEE: Standardizing the future of embedded automotive software 

The Scalable Open Architecture for Embedded Edge (SOAFEE) initiative brings cloud-native principles to embedded automotive development. It creates a consistent software abstraction layer that enables: 

• Virtualization and container orchestration 
• Hardware-agnostic software portability 
• Improved safety and functional testing 
• Collaborative supplier integration 

SOAFEE is not just a framework—it’s how the ecosystem moves together toward standardized, scalable software architectures. 

ROS 2 + Autoware: Bridging robotics and automotive 

The Open AD Kit leverages ROS 2, an open-source robotics middleware widely used in autonomous systems. ROS 2's real-time communication and modular design make it ideal for managing complex AV workloads. 

The Autoware Open AD Kit, the first SOAFEE blueprint, brings ROS 2 into the automotive domain with a modular, containerized AD stack that supports perception, localization, planning, and control. It serves as both a demonstration platform and a foundation for ecosystem innovation. 

Real-world Simulation with Arm Neoverse Simulate AV Software at Scale with Arm Neoverse 

Arm Neoverse provides the compute backbone needed to simulate and test AV stacks at scale. In the Learning Path, developers deploy a simulation pipeline composed of three Docker containers: 

• Simulator: Generates sensor data and vehicle dynamics 
• Planning-control: Runs decision-making and trajectory logic 
• Visualizer: Renders simulation data via RViz in a browser-accessible VNC interface 

With just a few commands, you can start spin up the full environment on an Arm Neoverse server or cloud instance. This containerized setup reflects production conditions and supports continuous validation. 

Why this matters 

This isn’t just a demo—it’s a proof point of where Arm is taking the automotive industry: 

• Shift-left development is no longer optional 
• Containerized, ROS 2-based platforms are the new norm 
• Arm Neoverse and SOAFEE enable scalable, safe AV software from simulation to deployment 

By lowering barriers to entry and speeding up prototyping, Arm empowers developers to bring innovation to market faster. 

Get started 

Ready to build autonomous driving systems with simulation-first workflows? 

Explore the Learning Path and accelerate your SDV development with Arm Neoverse, Open AD Kit, and SOAFEE. Start building your simulation-first SDV stack today with the Arm Learning Path. Learn how to deploy Open AD Kit with SOAFEE on Arm Neoverse hardware.