Computer vision for autonomous robotics in space

This paper presents a computer vision system being developed at the Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence (PAMI) Lab of the University of Waterloo and at the Vision, Intelligence and Robotics Technologies Corporation (VIRTEK) in support of the Canadian Space Autonomous Robotics Project. This system was originally developed for flexible manufacturing and guidance of autonomous roving vehicles. In the last few years, it has been engineered to support the operations of the Mobile Service System (MSS) (or its equivalence) for the Space Station Project. In the near term, this vision system will provide vision capability for the recognition, location and tracking of payloads as well as for relating the spatial information to the manipulator for capturing, manipulating and berthing payloads. In the long term, it will serve in the role of inspection, surveillance and servicing of the Station. Its technologies will be continually expanded and upgraded to meet the demand as the needs of the Space Station evolve and grow. Its spin-off technologies will benefit the industrial sectors as well.