A worksite surveyor for Canadarm3: ensuring safe operation of Canada's next-generation space manipulator

加拿大是国际公认的空间机器人技术的领导者。这种领导地位始于1981年哥伦比亚号航天飞机上首次发射的原始加拿大臂的发展。加拿大对太空探索的下一个重大贡献将是加拿大3号，这是一种先进的机器人操纵器，用于美国领导的月球门户计划。“门户”是一个月球前哨站，将使人类能够持续探索月球。“加拿大三号”将在“门户”上运行，它将从本世纪20年代中期开始绕月运行，支持月球表面的任务，作为科学实验室，并作为探索太空深处任务的试验场。由于“门户”的位置距离地球约40万公里，通信将受到限制和延迟。因此，Canadarm3需要高度自主，在没有地面持续监督的情况下运行。该联盟的研究项目将开发基于视觉的异常检测领域的新能力，以确保Canadarm3在Gateway结构周围的安全移动。通过与Canadarm3的主要承包商MDA公司合作，我们将利用机器学习，根据在月球轨道上可变和困难照明条件下获得的单目相机图像，创建精确的3D占用地图。占用地图将与建筑物的规划地图进行比较，以自动识别可能存在安全隐患的偏差。同样的危险识别技术也适用于为在地球轨道上运行的卫星提供服务。

Canada is internationally recognized as a leader in space robotics. This leadership began with the development of the original Canadarm, first launched in 1981 on board Space Shuttle Columbia. The next major Canadian contribution to space exploration will be Canadarm3, an advanced robotic manipulator for the US-led Lunar Gateway. The Gateway is a lunar outpost that will enable sustained human exploration of the Moon. Canadarm3 will operate aboard Gateway, which will orbit the Moon beginning in the mid-2020s, supporting missions to the lunar surface, serving as a science laboratory, and acting as a proving ground for exploration missions deeper into space. Because of Gateway's location some 400,000 kilometres from Earth, communication will be limited and delayed. Canadarm3 will therefore need to be highly autonomous and to operate without constant supervision from the ground. The Alliance research program will develop new capabilities in the area of vision-based anomaly detection to enable safe movement of the Canadarm3 around the Gateway structure. In collaboration with the primary Canadarm3 contractor, MDA Inc., we will leverage machine learning to create accurate 3D occupancy maps from monocular camera images acquired under variable and difficult lighting conditions in lunar orbit. The occupancy maps will be compared with curated maps of the structure to automatically identify deviations that may be a safety hazard. The same hazard-identification technology has applications for the servicing of satellites operating in Earth orbit.