Integration of an External Vision System into a 2D Spacecraft Testbed for Feedback Control

Abstract

This paper discusses the integration of an external vision system (EVS) into an existing two- dimensional spacecraft (2D) testbed to provide full range inertial attitude measurements for the 2D spacecraft experiment. The work involved familiarization with the EVS and its capabilities, selection of targets, processing of vision system measurements, vision data transmission, and assessment of the signal quality of the EVS. These procedures are important steps toward implementation of real-time, closed-loop pointing and slewing of the spacecraft testbed. Finally, full 360 o coverage was demonstrated culminating successful integration of the EVS into the 2D spacecraft testbed. The paper is organized as follows. Section II gives an overview of the entire system. Section III describes the EVS and its integration to the testbed. Section IV focuses on the target selection process. Section V specifies the software configuration. Section VI addresses target placement and data transmission. Section VII estimates EVS sensor noise and latency. Finally, Section VIII draws the conclusions.