Event-based spacecraft landing using time-to-contact
Olaf Sikorski, Dario Izzo, Gabriele Meoni
Abstract
We study event-based sensors in the context of spacecraft guidance and control during a descent on Moon-like terrains. For this purpose, we develop a simulator reproducing the event-based camera outputs when exposed to synthetic images of a space environment. We find that it is possible to reconstruct, in this context, the divergence of optical flow vectors (and therefore the time to contact) and use it in a simple control feedback scheme during simulated descents. The results obtained are very encouraging, albeit insufficient to meet the stringent safety constraints and modelling accuracy imposed upon space missions. We thus conclude by discussing future work aimed at addressing these limitations.
Topics & Concepts
SpacecraftEvent (particle physics)Context (archaeology)Computer scienceTerrainDescent (aeronautics)Divergence (linguistics)Scheme (mathematics)Real-time computingSimulationAerospace engineeringEngineeringGeologyPhilosophyMathematical analysisPaleontologyMathematicsEcologyQuantum mechanicsBiologyPhysicsLinguisticsAdvanced Memory and Neural ComputingCCD and CMOS Imaging SensorsUnderwater Vehicles and Communication Systems