Lights and Camera: Intelligently Controlled Multi-channel Pose Estimation System

Guiding the spacecraft docking process requires the use of sensors that estimate the relative position of the two vessels. This task is complicated by the widely variable on-orbit illumination. To combat this, controllable docking cameras are augmented by computer-controlled illuminants. But how should these illumination and capture parameters be controlled and how should the images obtained under different conditions be combined in order to estimate the relative pose of the vessels? We address these issues in the "Lights and Camera" system. Images captured with the same camera and scene geometry but under different lighting conditions are merged, and the resulting edges are used to estimate the target’s pose. A high level controller monitors the imaging process and determines the set of images to capture and use for pose estimation. This paper describes the "Lights and Camera" system architecture and initial results of its operation on mockups of space hardware.