LOG-HOUGH TRANSFORM FEATUE DETECTOR

PROTOTYPE HARDWARE WILL BE DESIGNED FOR EXECUTING THE LOG-HOUGH TRANSFORM ON IMAGERY AT VIDEO FRAME RATES. THIS RECENTLY DEVELOPED TRANSFORM IS THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE MORE EFFICIENT THAN THE TRADITIONAL CARTESIAN HOUGH TRANSFORM, AND IS A POWERFUL TECHNIQUE FOR IDENTIFYING ROBUSTLY EXTENDED LINEAR FEATURES DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF GAPS AND NOISE. EXAMPLES RANGE FROM SPACE-STATION STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS TO ORBITAL-DEBRIS TRACKS. SPACE APPLICATIONS INCLUDE AUTONOMOUS, VISUAL-DOCKING, AND ROBOTICCONSTRUCTIONS. GROUND-SUPPORT APPLICATIONS INCLUDE HIGH-SPEED, AUTOMATIC RECOGNITION OF ORBITAL-DEBRIS TRACKS IN STAR-FIELD IMAGERY. PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY STUDIES INDICATE THAT ORBITAL-DEBRIS PROCESSING CAN BE ACHIEVED AT RATES OF 33 MS PER IMAGE BY USING HARDWARE HOSTED IN THE BACKPLANE OF A SINGLE IBM PC/AT-COMPATIBLE COMPUTER. NASA HAS APPLIED LOG-POLAR COORDINATE MAPPING IN THE DESIGN OF EFFICIENT VISUAL TRACKING AND DOCKING SYSTEMS. THE ADDITION OF THE LOG-HOUGH TRANSFORM TO THESE SYSTEMS EXTENDS THEIR CAPABILITIES TO MUCH BROADER APPLICATIONS IN ROBOTIC VISION. LINEAR FEATURES ARE A CORNERSTONE OF PATTERN RECOGNITION, AND THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE THEM QUICKLY IN COMPACT HARDWARE IS A POWERFUL ATTRIBUTE THAT WILL BENEFIT ROBOTIC VISION SYSTEMS GENERALLY. PROTOTYPE HARDWARE WILL BE DESIGNED FOR EXECUTING THE LOG-HOUGH TRANSFORM ON IMAGERY AT VIDEO FRAME RATES. THIS RECENTLY DEVELOPED TRANSFORM IS THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE MORE EFFICIENT THAN THE TRADITIONAL CARTESIAN HOUGH TRANSFORM, AND IS A POWERFUL TECHNIQUE FOR IDENTIFYING ROBUSTLY EXTENDED LINEAR FEATURES DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF GAPS AND NOISE. EXAMPLES RANGE FROM SPACE-STATION STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS TO ORBITAL-DEBRIS TRACKS. SPACE APPLICATIONS INCLUDE AUTONOMOUS, VISUAL-DOCKING, AND ROBOTICCONSTRUCTIONS. GROUND-SUPPORT APPLICATIONS INCLUDE HIGH-SPEED, AUTOMATIC RECOGNITION OF ORBITAL-DEBRIS TRACKS IN STAR-FIELD IMAGERY. PRELIMINARY FEASIBILITY STUDIES INDICATE THAT ORBITAL-DEBRIS PROCESSING CAN BE ACHIEVED AT RATES OF 33 MS PER IMAGE BY USING HARDWARE HOSTED IN THE BACKPLANE OF A SINGLE IBM PC/AT-COMPATIBLE COMPUTER. NASA HAS APPLIED LOG-POLAR COORDINATE MAPPING IN THE DESIGN OF EFFICIENT VISUAL TRACKING AND DOCKING SYSTEMS. THE ADDITION OF THE LOG-HOUGH TRANSFORM TO THESE SYSTEMS EXTENDS THEIR CAPABILITIES TO MUCH BROADER APPLICATIONS IN ROBOTIC VISION. LINEAR FEATURES ARE A CORNERSTONE OF PATTERN RECOGNITION, AND THE ABILITY TO RECOGNIZE THEM QUICKLY IN COMPACT HARDWARE IS A POWERFUL ATTRIBUTE THAT WILL BENEFIT ROBOTIC VISION SYSTEMS GENERALLY.