A long-distance 6D pose estimation system for space object recognition using region-scanning LiDAR

Abstract

In this paper, a novel 6-Dimensional (3 positions and 3 orientations) pose estimation system using indirect Time-of-Flight (ToF) region-scanning LiDAR is proposed for long-distance space object recognition. Specifically, the targeted space object detection algorithm with an IR amplitude image, and 6D pose estimation algorithm with high-resolution 3D data are performed with the region-scanning LiDAR. The proposed system is verified with a self-collected dataset of space objects in space simulation environments. The proposed pose estimation algorithm shows a maximum position error of 1% and orientation error of 5° in robust experiment conditions. Moreover, the proposed system outperformed the other conventional space object 6D pose estimation system with previous depth sensors in terms of the detection rates and 6D pose accuracy at long distances.