Title :
Spacecraft hazard avoidance utilizing structured light
Author :
Liebe, Carl Christian ; Padgett, Curtis ; Chapsky, Jacob ; Wilson, Daniel ; Brown, Kenneth ; Jerebets, Sergei ; Goldberg, Hannah ; Schroeder, Jeffrey
Author_Institution :
Jet Propulsion Lab., California Inst. of Technol., Pasadena, CA
Abstract :
At JPL, a <5 kg free-flying micro-inspector spacecraft is being designed for host-vehicle inspection. The spacecraft includes a hazard avoidance sensor to navigate relative to the vehicle being inspected. Structured light was selected for hazard avoidance because of its low mass and cost. Structured light is a method of remote sensing 3-dimensional structure of the proximity utilizing a laser, a grating, and a single regular APS camera. The laser beam is split into 400 different beams by a grating to form a regular spaced grid of laser beams that are projected into the field of view of an APS camera. The laser source and the APS camera are separated forming the base of a triangle. The distance to all beam intersections of the host are calculated based on triangulation
Keywords :
aerospace safety; hazards; remote sensing by laser beam; sensors; 3D structure; APS camera; free-flying micro-inspector spacecraft; hazard avoidance sensor; host-vehicle inspection; laser beam; remote sensing; spacecraft hazard avoidance; structured light; Cameras; Costs; Gratings; Hazards; Laser beams; Laser radar; Masers; Space technology; Space vehicles; Surface emitting lasers;
Conference_Titel :
Aerospace Conference, 2006 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Big Sky, MT
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-9545-X
DOI :
10.1109/AERO.2006.1655898
