Fast Recognition and Pose Estimation Algorithm for Space Cooperative Target via Mono-vision

Abstract

Visual guidance based on cooperative target is one of the most commonly used approaches in the field of space in-orbit service, such as spacecraft rendezvous and docking and satellite maintenance. Considering the limited space hardware resources, it is necessary to design an embedded image processing algorithm to meet the special needs of space recognition, such as small memory consumption and fast recognition speed. Therefore, aiming at the classic three-point cooperative target, recognition, and pose estimation algorithm is designed in this paper based on mono-vision. In this method, a fast inflection point detection method is designed, and the contour is divided into several edges with a single feature, which improves the accuracy of circle recognition. Finally, the relative pose of the target coordinate system can be obtained quickly and accurately by P3P. The algorithm has low complexity and can realize fast recognition with small memory, even with limited space-grade hardware resources. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by experiments.