Sensors

BeamNG.tech provides a sensor suite for autonomous driving, ADAS research, and vehicle dynamics: perception hardware (camera, LiDAR, RADAR), localisation (GPS, IMU), vehicle and environment data (roads, powertrain, mesh), and classical sensors that expose simulation state (pose, electrics, damage, G-forces, time). Sensors can be attached to vehicles or fixed to the map where applicable, and read from BeamNGpy , the ADAS Sensor Configuration Editor , or Lua .

Coordinate systems

Positions and directions for vehicle-mounted sensors use vehicle space: +X left, +Y backward, +Z up (forward is −Y), not +X forward. Map-fixed sensors use world space (Z-up map coordinates). See Coordinate systems for diagrams and axis directions.

Perception

• Camera — RGB images, depth, and semantic annotation from configurable viewpoints.
• LiDAR — Point clouds with adjustable scan pattern, range, and resolution.
• Raw LiDAR — Low-level camera outputs for building custom LiDAR pipelines.
• RADAR — Simulated RADAR returns and plan-position-indicator data.
• Ideal RADAR — Kinematic data for the nearest vehicles without full RADAR physics.
• Ultrasonic — Distance to nearby surfaces for parking and short-range sensing.

Localisation and motion

• Advanced IMU — Tri-axial acceleration and angular velocity.
• IMU — Legacy IMU (deprecated; use Advanced IMU).
• GPS — Global position from a user-defined map reference; supports trajectory logging.

Vehicle and environment

• Roads sensor — Road geometry, lane edges, and metadata from the navigation graph.
• Powertrain — High-rate powertrain state from the attached vehicle.
• Mesh Info Sensor — Node-level mass, force, velocity, and stress across the vehicle mesh.

Vehicle state

Non-positional sensors with no mechanical analogue. Unlike the positional sensors above, they have no extensions.tech_sensors.create* Lua API. Use them from BeamNGpy , ROS, or other tech clients; see each page for the request type and response fields.

• State — World pose and motion: position, direction, velocity, orientation.
• Electrics — Throttle, brake, steering, gear, RPM, lights, fuel, and other electrics.values signals.
• Damage — Deform-group and part-level damage from the simulation.
• GForces — Raw and smoothed acceleration components in vehicle space.
• Timer — Elapsed scenario time (game engine; pauses with the simulation).