A dataset to support and benchmark computer vision development for close range on-orbit servicing

Abstract

This paper presents the first publicly available dataset for Close Range On-Orbit Servicing Computer Vision (CROOS-CV) intended for testing and benchmarking of computer vision algorithms. It is an representative image dataset for CROOS operations with distances of 2 m between servicer and client satellite that was recorded under illumination conditions similar to a Low Earth Orbit. A training set with 180 trajectories and a test set with 810 trajectories are provided. Both were recorded at three different sun incidence angles and with multiple different shutter times. Each trajectory consist of stereo image pairs along with the ground truth pose of the cameras. Additionally, a 3D model of the client and all calibration data is provided with the dataset. The paper provides details about the recording setup, the calibration and recording procedure. Results from tests with a visual tracking algorithm are provided. The dataset is available online at http://rmc.dlr.de/rm/en/staff/martin.lingenauber/crooscv-dataset.