Speakers
Description
Earth observation (EO) has been and still is a very complex topic in the Space Engineering field. Yet there is a growing number of new requirements and needs for new EO nano and microsatellites, working either standalone or in synchronized constellations. Higher download data rates, improved image quality and enhanced onboard computing capabilities are only a few examples of the challenges to be faced in this discipline. Furthermore, the need to speed up the time to market and reduce costs of development, has sparkled the use of modular solutions over monolithic ones for payload computer design, where purpose specific components - hardware and software - are reused and assembled for different spacecrafts and missions. In this work, we present a novel modular approach to on-board image processing based on a distributed computing setup with functionality specific computers connected to an on-board CAN-BUS using CANopen protocol. Optimal use of the resources in the network is achieved by a two-fold design consisting in using FPGAs for data processing and compression and in integrating a high performance software library data handling and data communications. The feasibility of this approach is tested in a two-node network for an EO payload with an image capture and compress node and an Earth Link node. Results are presented for different scenarios based on image size and performance parameters. Moreover, the reuse of this novel approach to other image based applications and designs is discussed. In particular, the applicability to vision-based navigation solutions is also presented in this paper.
| Paper submission | Yes |
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