abstract In the Intelligent Transportation Systems Society (ITSS), the research interest on intelligent vehicles is increasing during the last few years. Accordingly, this paper presents the advances in the development of the ROS-based (Robot Operating System) software architecture for intelligent vehicles. The main contribution of the architecture is its powerfulness, flexibility, and modularity, which allows the researchers to develop and test different algorithms. The architecture has been tested on different platforms, autonomous ground vehicles from the iCab (Intelligent Campus Automobile) project and in the intelligent vehicle based on Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) incorporated from IvvI 2.0 (Intelligent Vehicle based on Visual Information) project. © Springer International Publishing AG 2018.