Autonomous Sensor System for Determining Instrument Position Relative to Unknown Surfaces Utilized on Mars Rover

Carl Christian Liebe, David Arge Klevang Pedersen, Abigail Allwood, Anastassia Bang, Seth Bartman, Mathias Benn, Troelz Denver, Gary Doran, Marc Foote, Andreas Jørgensen, John Leif Jørgensen, Patrick Meras, Timothy P. Setterfield, Robert Sharrow, Michael Sondheim, Lars Timmermann, Shihchuan Tsai, Lawrence Wade, Daniel Wilson

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

In some applications, a robot arm has to position instrumentation/payloads accurately relative to an unknown surface. This paper describes an optical sensor system for doing so. The sensor is based on a number of different image processing techniques combined with optical stimulation. More specifically, the system utilizes a camera, floodlight, structured light illumination, terrain relative navigation, camera pose estimation and circle finding. The sensor has been developed for the Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL) instrument on NASA’s Mars Perseverance rover. The sensor also has other applications such as exploration of polluted or inaccessible areas or locating a robotic arm relative to an unknown surface. The sensor can aid in placing an instrument relative to the unknown surface with an accuracy of 0.5 mm and maintaining three-dimensional position lock utilizing terrain relative navigation. This paper will describe the sensor design and performance.
Original languageEnglish
JournalIEEE Sensors Journal
Volume22
Issue number19
Pages (from-to)18933 - 18943
ISSN1530-437X
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Mars Perseverance Rover
  • Robot Vision Systems
  • Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL)

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