LOG-POLAR BINOCULAR SYSTEM

THIS PROJECT IS ADDRESSING THE DESIGN OF A NEW BINOCULAR, STEREO, ROBOTIC VISION SYSTEM THAT IS THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE MORE EFFICIENT AND COMPACT THAN CURRENT CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS. THE NEW APPROACH IS BASED ON LOG-POLAR COORDINATE, IMAGE-PLANE SENSOR ARRAYS RATHER THAN CONVENTIONAL, CARTESIAN-COORDINATE-BASED ARRAYS. SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN PIXEL COUNT AND COMPUTATIONS PER PIXEL RESULT. THE SYSTEM WILL ADD PASSIVE, THREE-DIMENSIONAL SENSING CAPABILITY TO ROBOTIC VISION SYSTEMS FOR STS DOCKING, PLANETARY LANDING, EVA RETRIEVAL, SPACE STATION CONSTRUCTION, AND FTS. THE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT IN COMPACTNESS AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION OVER ALTERNATIVE THREE-DIMENSIONAL SENSING METHODS IS CRUCIAL FOR SPACE-VEHICLE FEASIBILITY. PHASE I WILL DEVELOP ALGORITHMS, TEST THEM ON NASA IMAGERY, AND DESIGN LABORATORYPROTOTYPE HARDWARE TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN PHASE II. THIS PROJECT IS ADDRESSING THE DESIGN OF A NEW BINOCULAR, STEREO, ROBOTIC VISION SYSTEM THAT IS THREE ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE MORE EFFICIENT AND COMPACT THAN CURRENT CONVENTIONAL SYSTEMS. THE NEW APPROACH IS BASED ON LOG-POLAR COORDINATE, IMAGE-PLANE SENSOR ARRAYS RATHER THAN CONVENTIONAL, CARTESIAN-COORDINATE-BASED ARRAYS. SIGNIFICANT REDUCTIONS IN PIXEL COUNT AND COMPUTATIONS PER PIXEL RESULT. THE SYSTEM WILL ADD PASSIVE, THREE-DIMENSIONAL SENSING CAPABILITY TO ROBOTIC VISION SYSTEMS FOR STS DOCKING, PLANETARY LANDING, EVA RETRIEVAL, SPACE STATION CONSTRUCTION, AND FTS. THE DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENT IN COMPACTNESS AND ENERGY CONSUMPTION OVER ALTERNATIVE THREE-DIMENSIONAL SENSING METHODS IS CRUCIAL FOR SPACE-VEHICLE FEASIBILITY. PHASE I WILL DEVELOP ALGORITHMS, TEST THEM ON NASA IMAGERY, AND DESIGN LABORATORYPROTOTYPE HARDWARE TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN PHASE II.