ESA GNC Conference Papers Repository

This paper presents the results of an experiment conducted by “Association Stratespace” using a balloon to test vision-based navigation based on multiple cameras and GNC sensors. The sensor package was lifted up to an altitude of about 25km by the balloon until the balloon burst due to low atmospheric pressure. The sensor package then returned to the ground using a parachute. We estimated the horizontal position of the camera from the images and then compared them to the GPS positions. This experiment allowed us to benchmark a vision-based absolute navigation algorithm for planetary exploration developed by the image processing team of Airbus Defence and Space. The accuracy of the image-based localization without extensive filtering was found to be roughly 4% of the altitude. Some possibilities are given to improve this precision.