Real-time stereoscopic applications using the goes operational satellites

We have investigated the use of real and synthetic stereo satellite images and stereo graphics in applications such as cloud-tracked winds, severe storm cloud analysis, and general meteorological interpretation. We have concluded that a stereo meteorological presentation is possible and desirable in an operational environment. Synthetic stereo could be used immediately in cloud-tracked wind operations. The presentation allows one to appreciate the interrelations between cloud motions and cloud structures, especially in multi-layered situations. Reprocessing of FGGE tropical wind sets with a synthetic stereo presentation showed some improved yields of low-level vectors, a significant increase in mid-level vectors, and very little change in the high-level vectors. Severe local storm real-stereo presentations are possible operationally because the 15 minute RISOP operations of GOES-East allow simultaneous scanning of both geosynchronous satellites twice per hour. The real-stereo height measurements of overshooting turrets are an improvement over infrared heights and can be used to monitor the strength of the thunderstorm updraft. Synthetic stereo presentations of thunderstorm tops can be presented in a non-linear fashion which stretches out the cloud top features. The synthetic stereo presentation is easier for most people to see. We recommend the use of a hybrid system where the viewing is done on the synthetic stereo image and the quantitative measurements are done on the real-stereo pairs.     

基于置信度的TOF与双目系统深度数据融合

为了解决铁路火车等结构单一环境的三维重建问题,提出了置信度的概念,将TOF系统与双目系统的互补性特点有效结合。通过联合标定,建立起TOF系统与双目系统的坐标关系,将TOF中的点映射到左相机视角下,得出双目系统左相机视角下的TOF测量视差图,再利用图像分割以及曲面拟合对其上采样处理至双目图像的分辨率大小。根据各系统特点定义置信度,确定数据融合的不同系统权重。利用Middlebury的数据集处理结果,融合后的匹配精度较双目系统精度提高一倍以上,且视差图的分辨率提升至与双目系统相同大小。      

面向立方星的相对位姿测量视觉传感器设计

针对立方星在轨服务任务中的近距离相对导航问题，提出一种相对位姿测量视觉传感器设计。为应对空间复杂的光照条件，设计一种具有多层结构的立体靶标，选取波长为850nm的LED灯作为立体靶标的光源。在相机镜头处安装850nm的红外窄带滤镜以提高立体靶标成像质量。为提高视觉传感器的测量精度，提出一种迭代直接求解(iterative direct solution, IDS)的相对位姿估计算法。该算法直接利用立体靶标上的非共面点提供的深度信息获得初始相对位姿，然后引入Haralick迭代算法来优化初始测量结果。搭建六自由度实验平台对该视觉传感器进行性能测试。实验结果表明,该视觉传感器能克服背景光的干扰，且提出的 IDS相对位姿估计算法的精度优于经典的P3P算法和EPnP算法。     

一种双目立体视觉相机标定方法

研究一种基于特殊标定场的双目立体视觉相机标定方法．对相机的内外参数进行精确地标定,然后利用标定参数进行图像校正．实验表明,采用该方法左右相机图像的极线误差不大于0．26pixel,能够达到较理想的标定结果．该方法可用于月球车双目立体视觉相机标定系统中．     

Stereoscopic observations from meteorological satellites

The capability of making stereoscopic observations of clouds from meteorological satellites is a new basic analysis tool with a broad spectrum of applications. Stereoscopic observations from satellites were first made using the early vidicon tube weather satellites (e.g., Ondrejka and Conover [1]). However, the only high quality meteorological stereoscopy from low orbit has been done from Apollo and Skylab, (e.g., Shenk $\text{et al.}$ [2] and Black [3], [4]). Stereoscopy from geosynchronous satellites was proposed by Shenk [5] and Bristor and Pichel [6] in 1974 which allowed Minzner $\text{et al.}$ [7] to demonstrate the first quantitative cloud height analysis. In 1978 Bryson [8] and desJardins [9] independently developed digital processing techniques to remap stereo images which made possible precision height measurement and spectacular display of stereograms (Hasler $\text{et al.}$ [10], and Hasler [11]). In 1980 the Japanese Geosynchronous Satellite (GMS) and the U.S. GOES-West satellite were synchronized to obtain stereo over the central Pacific as described by Fujita and Dodge [12] and in this paper. Recently the authors have remapped images from a Low Earth Orbiter (LEO) to the coordinate system of a Geosynchronous Earth Orbiter (GEO) and obtained stereoscopic cloud height measurements which promise to have quality comparable to previous all GEO stereo. It has also been determined that the north-south imaging scan rate of some GEOs can be slowed or reversed. Therefore the feasibility of obtaining stereoscopic observations world wide from combinations of operational GEO and LEO satellites has been demonstrated.Stereoscopy from satellites has many advantages over infrared techniques for the observation of cloud structure because it depends only on basic geometric relationships. Digital remapping of GEO and LEO satellite images is imperative for precision stereo height measurement and high quality displays because of the curvature of the earth and the large angular separation of the two satellites. A general solution for accurate height computation depends on precise navigation of the two satellites. Validation of the geosynchronous satellite stereo using high altitude mountain lakes and vertically pointing aircraft lidar leads to a height accuracy estimate of ± 500 m for typical clouds which have been studied. Applications of the satellite stereo include: 1) cloud top and base height measurements, 2) cloud-wind height assignment, 3) vertical motion estimates for convective clouds (Mack $\text{et al.}$ [13], [14]), 4) temperature vs. height measurements when stereo is used together with infrared observations and 5) cloud emissivity measurements when stereo, infrared and temperature sounding are used together (see Szejwach $\text{et al.}$ [15]).When true satellite stereo image pairs are not available, synthetic stereo may be generated. The combination of multispectral satellite data using computer produced stereo image pairs is a dramatic example of synthetic stereoscopic display. The classic case uses the combination of infrared and visible data as first demonstrated by Pichel $\text{et al.}$ [16]. Hasler $\text{et at.}$ [17], Mosher and Young [18] and Lorenz [19], have expanded this concept to display many channels of data from various radiometers as well as real and simulated data fields.A future system of stereoscopic satellites would be comprised of both low orbiters (as suggested by Lorenz and Schmidt [20], [19]) and a global system of geosynchronous satellites. The low earth orbiters would provide stereo coverage day and night and include the poles. An optimum global system of stereoscopic geosynchronous satellites would require international standarization of scan rate and direction, and scan times (synchronization) and resolution of at least 1 km in all imaging channels. A stereoscopic satellite system as suggested here would make an extremely important contribution to the understanding and prediction of the atmosphere.     

空间立体信息缺失对机械臂遥操作任务的影响

视觉作为人认知环境的主要信息通道,在空间遥操作任务中有极其重要的作用。本研究面向空间站机械臂遥操作任务,通过对24名被试进行机械臂遥操作模拟平台实验,探索不同程度空间立体信息缺失对机械臂遥操作绩效、脑力负荷、距离感知和情境意识的影响,剖析不同立体信息在遥操作过程中的作用。实验结果表明:局部立体信息对提高遥操作任务完成率、减少撞击操作等指标有重要作用;而全局立体信息更有利于减少机械臂冗余行走距离和限位操作次数;两者对脑力负荷水平的降低有显著影响,而对距离估计偏差和情境意识水平影响不显著。因此,根据不同任务类型选取合适的立体信息补偿,从多个角度完善立体信息的呈现对于保障遥操作任务的顺利进行具有重要意义。     

敏捷卫星立体定位角元素影响分析

为精确开展敏捷卫星效能评估,合理制定机动能力及其测量部件指标,首先针对敏捷卫星利用平台大角度姿态机动,以单线阵CCD相机实现立体成像的特点,分析了单线阵与三线阵立体定位角元素影响差异。其次建立了敏捷卫星立体定位精度评估模型,进行了内、外方位元素与角元素相关性分析,给出了各误差近似解析算法。解析分析定量给出了满足定位精度要求时敏捷卫星立体成像角方位元素及其测量精度指标的取值范围。     

Tropical storm structure revealed by stereoscopic photographs from Skylab

A stereo pair of photographs taken by Skylab astronauts over Hurricane Ellen, September 19, 1973, resulted in the first stereo analysis over tropical storms. This pair is also the first evidence to indicate the existence of “supercell” convection in developing tropical storms. The photos are analyzed to determine the cloud top structure of the intense convection occurring in one quadrant of the storm. This type of supercell convection in tropical storms has recently been correlated with subsequent rapid deepening. The stereo analysis revealed that a circular cloud feature over the storm center was a dome which protruded 3–4 km above the undisturbed cirrus clouds. The center of the dome was capped by smaller scale convective turrets which protruded another 1–2 km above the dome. The existence of shear induced waves in the cloud tops is shown with wave amplitude ranging from 150–300 m and wave lengths ranging from 2–4 km. The existence of gravity waves at the cloud tops is also shown with wave amplitudes of 500–600 m and wavelengths of 10–12 km.     

光栅式双目立体视觉传感器光条快速匹配算法

光栅式双目立体视觉传感器用于物体三维形貌测量,其难点之一是光栅光条的匹配与识别.利用可见光条数和光条序列组合间的关系,提出了一种基于空间三维搜索的快速光条匹配算法.将光栅式双目立体视觉传感器看作两个光栅结构光传感器,分别进行标定后,可计算各光条中心点的三维坐标.搜索不同光条中心点集之间的距离最小且模型编号相同的光条即为匹配光条.分析了可见光条数目和光条序列组合间的关系后,列出各种可能的组合情况,设计了搜索算法,排除了冗余计算,大大减少了计算量,实验证明了方法的有效性.     

Asymmetrical structure in the thermosphere during magnetic stroms as deduced from the CACTUS accelerometer data

During the last solar activity minimum, a great deal of very precise total density data was obtained in the equatorial regions from the CACTUS accelerometer experiment. Due to the eccentricity of the orbit, it is also possible to determine a density scale height by considering that the density profiles between the perigee (270 km) and 400 km are quasi-vertical. Densities and density scale heights are analysed during magnetic storms and their variations are compared with their behaviour during quiet periods. For densities as well as for scale heights, an asymmetrical structure in latitude and longitude is exhibited with respect to the magnetic equator. Their values are relatively higher in the northern hemisphere than in the southern one. The hypothesis (previously suggested) of a greater energy input in the southern hemisphere inducing asymmetrical winds, explains the results well.     

Emission heights of coronal bright points on Fe XII radiance map

The study of coronal bright points (BPs) is important for understanding coronal heating and the origin of the solar wind. Previous studies indicated that coronal BPs have a highly significant tendency to coincide with magnetic neutral lines in the photosphere. Here we further studied the emission heights of the BPs above the photosphere in the bipolar magnetic loops that are apparently associated with them. As BPs are seen in projection against the disk their true emission heights are unknown. The correlation of the BP locations on the Fe XII radiance map from EIT with the magnetic field features (in particular neutral lines) was investigated in detail. The coronal magnetic field was determined by an extrapolation of the photospheric field (derived from 2-D magnetograms obtained from the Kitt Peak observatory) to different altitudes above the disk. It was found that most BPs sit on or near a photospheric neutral line, but that the emission occurs at a height of about 5 Mm. Some BPs, while being seen in projection, still seem to coincide with neutral lines, although their emission takes place at heights of more than 10 Mm. Such coincidences almost disappear for emissions above 20 Mm. We also projected the upper segments of the 3-D magnetic field lines above different heights, respectively, on to the tangent x–y plane, where x is in the east–west and y in the south–north direction. The shape of each BP was compared with the respective field-line segment nearby. This comparison suggests that most coronal BPs are actually located on the top of their associated magnetic loops. Finally, we calculated for each selected BP region the correlation coefficient between the Fe XII intensity enhancement and the horizontal component of the extrapolated magnetic field vector at the same x–y position in planes of different heights, respectively. We found that for almost all the BP regions we studied the correlation coefficient, with increasing height, increases to a maximal value and then decreases again. The height corresponding to this maximum was defined as the correlation height, which for most bright points was found to range below 20 Mm.     

星载天线展开过程立体视觉动态测量技术

介绍了基于立体视觉原理的星载天线动态展开过程测量方法,通过基于标准长度的标定方法、双目立体视觉交会坐标解算和动态多目标点识别跟踪等关键技术的研究,实现了对可展开天线各关节点在展开过程中的三维运动轨迹的测量,并实现了试验验证。试验结果表明,该方法可获得各关节点在不同时刻的三维点坐标,解算出展开运动的运动速度、加速度和展开后的面型等参数,为大型可展开天线柔性机构设计、动力学分析和展开可靠性分析等提供必要的参考。     

着陆避障中双目立体匹配方法与仿真

摘要： 在着陆避障过程中,利用双目相机拍得的图片进行立体匹配得到稠密的地形高程图是一种有效的方式.文中对绝对误差之和(sum of absolute differences, SAD)、全Census变换以及稀疏Census变换立体匹配方法原理进行说明,针对SAD算法无法处理左右图像亮度不一致的情况提出了对匹配窗口进行灰度规范化以及加入LOG滤波的改进措施,并且对上述方法分别应用数据库图像和沙盘拍图进行仿真测试及比较,从匹配错误率和实时性的角度分析各算法在地外星体着陆这种特殊场景中的使用性能.     

星载立体测绘相机立方镜间姿态标定

介绍了测绘相机立方镜与星敏感器立方镜间坐标系转换关系的标定方法。采用4台自准直经纬仪分别对两个立方镜进行准直测量,建立立方镜坐标系,并推导了基于准直测量角度的立方镜坐标系的旋转矩阵公式;利用经纬仪间短边互瞄方法实现两个立方镜间姿态的传递。标定试验表明,该方法可以标定出两立方镜坐标轴间夹角以及测绘相机间的姿态关系,满足了相机研制要求。     

Responses of the upper middle atmosphere (60–110 km), to the first two stratwarms of map (1982/3, 1983/4)

The global developments of the stratospheric events (～20–50 km) are briefly described using balloon and satellite data. Winds data from L.F. drift (52°N, 15°E, Europe) for heights of 90–100 km, and from M.F. radar (52°N, 107°W, Canada) for heights of 60–110 km are then compared with the stratospheric morphology.Data for 1982/3 and 1983/4 show that the planetary wave activity and warmings produced strong westward and southward perturbations in the radar winds. Satellite data from 0.1, 0.01 hPa are consistent with these winds; and also show smaller scale structures in the mesosphere than the stratosphere. The semi-diurnal tide responded strongly to the atmospheric disturbances in Europe and Canada: for the latter vertical wavelength changes occurred for heights of 70–100 km. However the correlation between these tidal fluctuations was not high indicating that the tidal adjustments were continental rather than hemispheric.     

电动VTOL飞行器双目立体视觉导航方法

研究了在未知的、动态的室内走廊环境中,采用双目立体视觉引导电动VTOL(Vertical Take-Off and Landing)飞行器安全飞行的方法.使用安装在飞机上的两个微型摄像头从不同的位置获取图像,由双目立体视觉理论恢复其周围环境特征点的三维坐标.采用角点匹配方法计算视差,实现无人机在走廊中的横向坐标定位.采用区域灰度相关算法进行立体匹配获取视差图,从视差图上检测出障碍物,并给出避障导航点.初步实验验证表明,该方法可行性较高,可以作为进一步研究的基础.      

Preliminary Scientific Results of Chang'E-1 Lunar Orbiter: Based on Payloads Detection Data in the First Phase

Chang'E-1 lunar Orbiter was launched by Long March 3A rocket from Xichang Satel-lite Launch Center at 18:05BT(Beijing Time) Oct.24,2007.It is the first step of its ambitious three-stage moon program,a new milestone in the Chinese space exploration history.The primary science objectives of Chang'E-1 lunar orbiter are to obtain three-Dimension(3D) stereo images of the lunar surface,to analyze the distribution and abundance of elements on the surface,to investigate the thickness of lunar soil,evaluate helium-3 resources and other characteristics,and to detect the space environment around the moon.To achieve the above four mission objectives,eight sets of scientific instruments are chosen as the payloads of the lunar orbiter,including a CCD stereo camera(CCD),a Sagnac-based interferometer spectrometer(ⅡM),a Laser Altimeter(LAM),a Microwave Radiometer(MRM),a Gamma-Ray Spectrometer(GRS),an X-ray spectrometer(XRS),a High-Energy Particle Detector(HPD),and two Solar Wind Ion Detectors(SWID).The detected data of the payloads show that all payloads work well.This paper introduces the status of payloads in the first phase and preliminary scientific results.     

Introduction to the Payloads and the Initial Observation Results of Chang＇E-1

Chang'E-1,the orbiter circling the moon 200km above the moon surface,is the first Chinese Lunar exploration satellite.The satellite was successfully launched on 24th October 2007.There are 8 kinds of scientific payloads onboard,including the stereo camera,the laser altimeter,the Sagnac-based interferometer image spectrometer,the Gamma ray spectrometer,the X-ray spectrom-eter,the microwave radiometer,the high energy particle detector,the solar wind plasma detector and a supporting payload data management system.Chang'E-1 opened her eyes to look at the moon and took the first batch of lunar pictures after her stereo camera was switched on in 20th November 2007.Henceforth all the instruments are successfully switched on one by one.After a period of parameter adjustment and initial check out,all scientific instruments are now in their normal operating phase.In this paper,the payloads and the initial observation results are introduced.     

Height of shock formation in the solar corona inferred from observations of type II radio bursts and coronal mass ejections

Employing coronagraphic and EUV observations close to the solar surface made by the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) mission, we determined the heliocentric distance of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at the starting time of associated metric type II bursts. We used the wave diameter and leading edge methods and measured the CME heights for a set of 32 metric type II bursts from solar cycle 24. We minimized the projection effects by making the measurements from a view that is roughly orthogonal to the direction of the ejection. We also chose image frames close to the onset times of the type II bursts, so no extrapolation was necessary. We found that the CMEs were located in the heliocentric distance range from 1.20 to 1.93 solar radii (Rs), with mean and median values of 1.43 and 1.38 Rs, respectively. We conclusively find that the shock formation can occur at heights substantially below 1.5 Rs. In a few cases, the CME height at type II onset was close to 2 Rs. In these cases, the starting frequency of the type II bursts was very low, in the range 25–40 MHz, which confirms that the shock can also form at larger heights. The starting frequencies of metric type II bursts have a weak correlation with the measured CME/shock heights and are consistent with the rapid decline of density with height in the inner corona.     

基于双目视觉的非合作目标自主姿态估计方法

针对在轨服务任务对于空间非合作目标的自主相对导航需求,提出了一种基于双目视觉的自主姿态估计方法。该方法以Markley变量描述目标的姿态运动,并利用双目相机对目标表面的特征点进行观测,利用特征点的运动规律与目标姿态运动的相关性,并通过容积卡尔曼滤波算法实现了对非合作目标角速度与自旋轴方向的估计。数学仿真验证了所给出的姿态估计方法,并分析了估计精度的影响因素。