NDLI: Statistical hazard detection using shadows for small robotic landers/hoppers

Content Provider	IEEE Xplore Digital Library
Author	Cohanim, B.E. Dhillon, S. Hoffman, J.A.
Copyright Year	2012
Description	Author affiliation: Draper Laboratory, 555 Technology Sq, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Dhillon, S.) \|\| MIT Aeronautics/Astronautics, 77 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Hoffman, J.A.) \|\| Draper Laboratory, 555 Technology Sq, MS 84, Cambridge, MA 02139 (Cohanim, B.E.)
Abstract	Small robotic vehicles are limited in mass and computational resources. To enable future missions, new methods that provide hazard detection while reducing the mass and computational load from complex sensors and algorithms will provide cost effective solutions for safe landing. This paper describes a technique for hazard detection using shadows and statistical methods to determine the most likely safe landing aim point during traverse and approach to landing at a new surface location. The number and size of shadows is used to statistically determine the safest locations. This method assumes that higher density of shadows infers greater roughness, and larger shadows infer larger hazards. This simpler statistical shadowing hazard detection technique can be used to enable smaller lander/hopper missions which are restricted in their sensor payloads and which traverse across a planet's surface at low altitudes. This allows hazard detection to begin at large distances and shallow path angles. The low computational resources needed for this technique enables constant reassessment of potential landing sites during the duration of traverse from one location to another. This paper presents analysis showing the performance of this method under varying approach angles. The method for hazard detection is compared to techniques proposed for conventional landers. We discuss how this method can be used for hopper missions.
Starting Page	1
Ending Page	10
File Size	891802
Page Count	10
File Format	PDF
ISBN	9781457705564
ISSN	1095323X
e-ISBN	9781457705571
DOI	10.1109/AERO.2012.6187308
Language	English
Publisher	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Publisher Date	2012-03-03
Publisher Place	USA
Access Restriction	Subscribed
Rights Holder	Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
Subject Keyword	Hazards Trajectory Lighting Histograms Surface topography Sensors
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Aerospace Engineering Space and Planetary Science

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