Evaluation of tightly- and loosely-coupled approaches in CNN-based pose estimation systems for uncooperative spacecraft

The relative pose estimation of an inactive spacecraft by an active servicer spacecraft is a critical task in the design of current and planned space missions, due to its relevance for close-proximity operations, such as In-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal. This paper introduces a novel framework to enable robust monocular pose...

CNN-Based Pose Estimation System for Close-Proximity Operations Around Uncooperative Spacecraft

This paper introduces a novel framework which combines a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for feature detection with a Covariant Efficient Procrustes Perspective-n-Points (CEPPnP) solver and an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to enable robust monocular pose estimation for close-proximity operations around an uncooperative spacecraft. The relative...

Comparative Assessment of Image Processing Algorithms for the Pose Estimation of Uncooperative Spacecraft

This paper reports on a comparative assessment of Image Processing (IP) tech- niques for the relative pose estimation of uncooperative spacecraft with a monocular camera. Currently, keypoints-based algorithms suffer from partial occlusion of the target, as well as from the different illumination conditions be- tween the required offline database...