IMU-Vision based Localization Algorithm for Lunar Rover

In this paper, we propose IMU-Vision based localization algorithm for lunar explorer rover instead of the IMU-Encoder based dead-reckoning algorithm. The dead-reckoning algorithm is difficult to estimate the exact distance because of the noise, the accumulated error, and slip. The acceleration and gyro data of IMU sensor were used for the localization because magnetic fields are not uniform in the lunar environment unlike the Earth. These data were applied to extended Kalman filter to estimate Roll, Pitch, Yaw Euler angles of the exploration rover. Also, the lunar module has special gold color to protect its electronic equipment inside lunar module. This special color cannot be seen in the lunar environment. So, the lunar module was correctly recognized by applying the HSV color filter to the stereo image. Then, the distance between the exploration rover and the lunar module was estimated through SIFT algorithm and Epipolar geometry. Finally, the relative position of rover from lunar module was estimated by applying the estimated Euler angle and distance to the coordinate system transformation. The performance of the proposed algorithm was been compared to the conventional algorithm to show the superiority of the proposed algorithm.