Refueling Boom Tip Tracking Using 2D-to-3D Keypoint Pose Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current aerial refueling techniques face challenges in accurately and efficiently conducting refueling operations using cameras, as they struggle to precisely track the refueling boom and its tip in three-dimensional space.
Innovation Solution
The system employs a camera on a tanker aircraft to capture a 2D image of the refueling boom, uses a predefined point model to determine 2D keypoints, and then calculates a 6 degree-of-freedom (6DOF) pose using both 2D and 3D keypoints. This pose is optimized based on boom control parameters to estimate the position of the refueling boom tip.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single camera is used to capture 2D images of the refueling boom, then the device complexity is reduced, but the measurement precision of the 3D boom position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the 2D image coordinates from the camera into 3D spatial coordinates through mathematical projection and optimization algorithms. By establishing correspondences between 2D keypoints in the image and 3D keypoints in the boom model, the system recovers 6DOF pose and 3D positions, effectively converting 2D visual information into accurate 3D spatial measurement without adding physical 3D sensors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical 3D sensing systems (such as multiple cameras or laser scanners) with a computational approach using a single camera. Instead of using multiple physical sensors to directly measure 3D position, the system uses 2D image processing combined with optimization algorithms to mathematically reconstruct the 3D boom position, substituting mechanical complexity with computational intelligence.
2Productivity
If 2D keypoints are used to determine 6DOF pose, then the processing speed is improved, but the reliability of the position estimation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs an optimization algorithm that iteratively refines the 6DOF pose estimation by minimizing the reprojection error between 2D image keypoints and projected 3D model keypoints. This feedback mechanism continuously adjusts the pose parameters based on the discrepancy between observed and predicted keypoint positions, ensuring high reliability of the position estimation while maintaining computational efficiency through iterative convergence.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a predefined point model of the refueling boom with known 3D keypoint locations as a prior. This preliminary 3D model provides a structured framework that guides the 2D-to-3D transformation process, enabling the system to quickly converge to accurate pose estimates by leveraging the known geometric constraints of the boom structure before performing the actual image processing and optimization.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed herein is methods, systems, and aircraft for performing image analysis for aiding refueling operations. A tanker aircraft includes a camera, a refueling boom, a camera configured to generate a two-dimensional (2D) image of the refueling boom, a processor, and non-transitory computer readable storage media storing code. The code is executable by the processor to perform operations including receiving the two-dimensional (2D) image from the camera, determining 2D keypoints of the refueling boom located within the 2D image based on a predefined point model of the refueling boom, determining a 6 degree-of-freedom (6DOF) pose using the 2D keypoints and the corresponding three-dimensional (3D) space 3D keypoints, optimizing 3D keypoints associated with moveable components of the refueling boom in response to a plurality of boom control parameters to produce optimized 3D keypoints, and estimating a position of a tip of the refueling boom based on the 6DOF pose.