Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars Mission
This article presents the methods, results, and applications of visual localization and topographic mapping for the Zhurong rover in China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission. New techniques, namely vignette correction and online camera mast calibration, were developed for the images captured by the rover...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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IEEE
2025-01-01
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| Series: | IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10878476/ |
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| author | Wenhui Wan Jia Wang Zhaoqin Liu Kaichang Di Man Peng Yexin Wang Bin Liu Guolin Hu Shaojin Han Xin Li Tianyi Yu Lichun Li Chuankai Liu |
| author_facet | Wenhui Wan Jia Wang Zhaoqin Liu Kaichang Di Man Peng Yexin Wang Bin Liu Guolin Hu Shaojin Han Xin Li Tianyi Yu Lichun Li Chuankai Liu |
| author_sort | Wenhui Wan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article presents the methods, results, and applications of visual localization and topographic mapping for the Zhurong rover in China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission. New techniques, namely vignette correction and online camera mast calibration, were developed for the images captured by the rover's navigation and terrain cameras (NaTeCam) to enhance the mapping qualities. During surface operations, photogrammetric techniques were routinely applied at the traveling waypoints. The NaTeCam images were obtained to generate 3-D topographic mapping products at the centimeter level to support obstacle analysis and rover path planning. Cross-site visual localization at adjacent waypoints was conducted to reduce the accumulated position errors in the onboard dead-reckoning result. Visual localization refinement was also employed by matching the digital orthophoto map (DOM) from the rover images and the orbital basemap at waypoints where distinct terrain features were available to further eliminate the localization errors. Compared with the reference rover traverse extracted from a high-resolution imaging science experimental image in which the actual rover track is visible, the accuracies of the rover traverses generated from cross-site visual localization and DOM matching refinement are estimated to be 1.75% and 0.50% of the traverse length. The actual total traverse length is 2009 m, which is 88 m longer than 1921 m from the odometer reading, revealing a forward wheel slipping caused by the downslope trend of the southward traverse. The visual localization and topographic mapping results of the Zhurong rover have greatly supported the surface exploration planning, object approaching, and scientific investigations in the mission. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-47fc67a9d6f643cc865c49dfd1c9a5d4 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 1939-1404 2151-1535 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | IEEE |
| record_format | Article |
| series | IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj-art-47fc67a9d6f643cc865c49dfd1c9a5d42025-08-20T02:02:09ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352025-01-01186393640810.1109/JSTARS.2025.354037710878476Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars MissionWenhui Wan0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4194-7105Jia Wang1https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0713-8830Zhaoqin Liu2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-7173Kaichang Di3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6581-6615Man Peng4Yexin Wang5https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7085-2709Bin Liu6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5590-8049Guolin Hu7https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2799-7319Shaojin Han8Xin Li9Tianyi Yu10Lichun Li11Chuankai Liu12https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4330-0524Key Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaKey Laboratory of Remote Sensing and Digital Earth, Aerospace Information Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, ChinaBeijing Aerospace Control Center, Beijing, ChinaThis article presents the methods, results, and applications of visual localization and topographic mapping for the Zhurong rover in China's Tianwen-1 Mars mission. New techniques, namely vignette correction and online camera mast calibration, were developed for the images captured by the rover's navigation and terrain cameras (NaTeCam) to enhance the mapping qualities. During surface operations, photogrammetric techniques were routinely applied at the traveling waypoints. The NaTeCam images were obtained to generate 3-D topographic mapping products at the centimeter level to support obstacle analysis and rover path planning. Cross-site visual localization at adjacent waypoints was conducted to reduce the accumulated position errors in the onboard dead-reckoning result. Visual localization refinement was also employed by matching the digital orthophoto map (DOM) from the rover images and the orbital basemap at waypoints where distinct terrain features were available to further eliminate the localization errors. Compared with the reference rover traverse extracted from a high-resolution imaging science experimental image in which the actual rover track is visible, the accuracies of the rover traverses generated from cross-site visual localization and DOM matching refinement are estimated to be 1.75% and 0.50% of the traverse length. The actual total traverse length is 2009 m, which is 88 m longer than 1921 m from the odometer reading, revealing a forward wheel slipping caused by the downslope trend of the southward traverse. The visual localization and topographic mapping results of the Zhurong rover have greatly supported the surface exploration planning, object approaching, and scientific investigations in the mission.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10878476/Mars mission topographic mappingonline camera mast calibrationvignette correctionvisual localizationZhurong rover |
| spellingShingle | Wenhui Wan Jia Wang Zhaoqin Liu Kaichang Di Man Peng Yexin Wang Bin Liu Guolin Hu Shaojin Han Xin Li Tianyi Yu Lichun Li Chuankai Liu Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars Mission IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing Mars mission topographic mapping online camera mast calibration vignette correction visual localization Zhurong rover |
| title | Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars Mission |
| title_full | Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars Mission |
| title_fullStr | Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars Mission |
| title_full_unstemmed | Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars Mission |
| title_short | Visual Localization and Topographic Mapping for Zhurong Rover in Tianwen-1 Mars Mission |
| title_sort | visual localization and topographic mapping for zhurong rover in tianwen 1 mars mission |
| topic | Mars mission topographic mapping online camera mast calibration vignette correction visual localization Zhurong rover |
| url | https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10878476/ |
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