Visual SLAM-Based Robotic Mapping Method for Planetary Construction.

Sungchul Hong,Jae-Min Park,Minseong Choi,Hyu-Soung Shin,Antyanta Bangunharcana

doi:10.3390/s21227715

Abstract

With the recent discovery of water-ice and lava tubes on the Moon and Mars along with the development of in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technology, the recent planetary exploration has focused on rover (or lander)-based surface missions toward the base construction for long-term human exploration and habitation. However, a 3D terrain map, mostly based on orbiters’ terrain images, has insufficient resolutions for construction purposes. In this regard, this paper introduces the visual simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM)-based robotic mapping method employing a stereo camera system on a rover. In the method, S-PTAM is utilized as a base framework, with which the disparity map from the self-supervised deep learning is combined to enhance the mapping capabilities under homogeneous and unstructured environments of planetary terrains. The overall performance of the proposed method was evaluated in the emulated planetary terrain and validated with potential results.

Highlights

The proposed method was applied to terrain images for creating a 3D point-cloud map that is converted to a 3D terrain map such as DEM and hillshade
The 3D dense point-cloud as a mapping result was evaluimages for creating a 3D point-cloud map that is converted to a 3D terrain map such as ated with the terrestrial light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data and was converted to 3D terrain maps for demonDEM and hillshade
The 3D terrain map with high resolution is essential for the construction design and the construction robot operation

Summary

Introduction

The recent discovery of water-ice on the Moon and Mars has increased more potential for long-term human exploration and habitation, along with the technology development of in situ resource utilization (ISRU) [1,2,3,4]. ISRU refers to the generation of consumable products from raw materials on planetary surfaces, minimizing the dependence on Earthbased resources. The water-ice can be utilized to produce O2 and H2 O for life support or O2 and H2 for fuel and propellant [5,6]. Regolith, which is a major available resource, can be cold-pressed, sintered, and mixed with additives into a brick or a block as a construction material [7,8]. Large-scale additive manufacturing, formally known as 3D construction printing, is recognized as an efficient means of accumulating and aggregating the construction materials to provide quick and precise construction [9,10,11,12]

Methods

Results

Conclusion