Texturecam: A Smart Camera for Microscale, Mesoscale, and Deep Space Applications

The TextureCam project is developing a 'smart camera' that can classify geologic surfaces in planetary images. This would allow autonomous spacecraft to collect data opportunisitcally during intervals between communications with Earth, such as during long traverses. Its surface classifications can identify new targets that were not anticipated in advance. The spacecraft might use this information to target these features with high-resolution instruments such as spectrometers nd narrow-field cameras. Classifications could also inform data 'triage' decisions, identifying high value images for prioritized downlink. Finally, the surface classification can serve as compressed maps of image content. Each of these strategies can improve the science data returned at each command cycle and speed reconnaissance during site survey and astrobiology investigation. Our first year of development has completed the image analysis algorithms and validated them in software tests. Here we survey these initial results and explore several application areas relevant to Mars and beyond.