Spacecraft Relative Attitude Determination with Event Camera - Utilizing Event Cameras for Spacecraft Rotational Velocity Estimation

This work proposes a new method for determining spacecraft relative attitude using event cameras. Event cameras are, due to their high temporal resolution and spatially sparse nature, especially suited for the task of tracking movements. This property can be used to track stars as a spacecraft rotates. The star motion can thereafter be used to derive the angular velocity of the spacecraft. The motivation for using event cameras for relative attitude determination lies partially in their mechanical simplicity compared to existing methods such as flywheel gyroscopes. Furthermore, their potential for accuracy when used in combination with the right optics could make them viable alternatives to existing gyroscope technologies. Four algorithms make up the core of the developed method. The first algorithm is used for initialization. The three others run in parallel and perform star tracking, recurrent star identification and derive translational and rotational velocity. These algorithms were developed and tested on artificial star data. The method shows promise, especially angular velocity estimates are found to concur with ground truth data. However, further work needs to be completed to ensure better robustness to noise and better estimation of translational movements.     «

This work proposes a new method for determining spacecraft relative attitude using event cameras. Event cameras are, due to their high temporal resolution and spatially sparse nature, especially suited for the task of tracking movements. This property can be used to track stars as a spacecraft rotates. The star motion can thereafter be used to derive the angular velocity of the spacecraft. The motivation for using event cameras for relative attitude determination lies partially in their mechanic...     »