Pose Estimation of Cooperative Targets for Space Exploration Task Based on Binocular Visual Measurement

Abstract

In this paper, a high accuracy and efficiency pose estimation algorithm is proposed for space cooperative targets in RVD based on binocular visual measurement. At first, the scheme of visual measurement toward RVD is presented and the environment conditions and performance requirement are analysed and discussed. Then the relationship of pose estimation with detection and tracking is studied to give an implementing strategy of pose estimation with high accuracy and efficiency. Moreover, the key point is focused on the pose estimation of cooperative targets, in which a stereo vision mapping relation between three dimensionl coordinates of spacial feature points of cooperative targets and their corresponding image coordinates is established, then the least square method is employed to estimate the three-dimensional coordinates of feature points so as to calculate the relative position and attitude between tracking spacecraft and target spacecraft with high precision, finally a series of experimental resluts indicate that the proposed pose estimation algorithm under binocular visual measurement demonstrates well performance in the estimation accuracy, anti-noise and real-time thus can achieve the application requriements of RVD under binocular visual measurement.