Advanced Optical Sensing for Aerospace Guidance, Navigation and Control

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Aerospace vehicles frequently rely on optical sensors to determine system state. These instruments provide the direct external measurements necessary for a range of autonomous competencies. Attitude estimation, orbit determination, geolocation, relative maneuvering and obstacle avoidance all improve as their underlying sensing capabilities improve. This proposal examines how recent advances in the design of optical sensors can be leveraged to dramatically improve capabilities for guidance, navigation and control (GNC). A number of emerging optical technologies hold significant promise for high performance aerospace GNC applications. Plenoptic cameras, multispectral sensors, high-frame-rate imaging, and machine learning have seen significant innovation over recent years. Evaluated for their potential application in four key areas - i.e., spacecraft GNC, mobile robotics, adverse imaging, and calibration and production - these technologies will enable new types of missions for both planetary rovers and orbiting spacecraft. Technological innovations benefit GNC sensors in several ways. Improving measurement accuracy and reducing noise and bias are obvious pathways to enhanced performance. However, other high level metrics can be just as important. Higher sensor update rates provide a more complete description of vehicle motion. Improving sensor availability, i.e., the tolerance to adverse circumstances such as motion, noise, lighting, etc., can increase system robustness and the quality of the derived navigation solution. These three performance metrics will define the framework used in this research program for evaluating new technologies. Although seemingly disparate, the technologies highlighted in this proposal illustrate how advances in camera design and image processing can greatly enhance the performance of the optical sensors found on many aerospace vehicles. These innovations, driven by terrestrial machine vision applications, are nonetheless powerful enablers of the technical capabilities currently the focus of aerospace GNC research. As the capabilities of these systems grow the larger benefits to society, from industrial automation to natural resources management, are vast and growing.