Binocular vision-based relative position and attitude measuring method between spacecrafts

This paper introduces binocular vision measure principle, deduces the measure formulas of relative position and attitude between spacecrafts, models binocular vision measurement system, and presents a novel kind of measuring method of the relative position and attitude between spacecrafts. According to the variance model analysis of relative position and relative attitude, under condition of camera calibration, the location matching error of feature points is the major reason that arouses location measure error. Relative attitude is determined through the space location of feature points, therefore attitude error also ascribe eventually the location matching error of feature points. The simulation results show that the method can reach the need of measurement accuracy of the relative position and attitude for spacecraft, it is more suitable in on-board real-time computation.