• 제어로봇시스템학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.894-900
• /
• 2005

A new approach to the straightforward implementation of the unscented filter in a unit quaternion space is proposed for spacecraft attitude estimation. Since the unscented filter is formulated in a vector space and the unit quaternions do not belong to a vector space but lie on a nonlinear manifold, the weighted sum of quaternion samples does not produce a unit quaternion estimate. To overcome this difficulty, a method of weighted mean computation for quaternions is derived in rotational space, leading to a quaternion with unit norm. A quaternion multiplication is used for predicted covariance computation and quaternion update, which makes a quaternion in a filter lie in the unit quaternion space. Since the quaternion process noise increases the uncertainty in attitude orientation, modeling it either as the vector part of a quaternion or as a rotation vector is considered. Simulation results illustrate that the proposed approach successfully estimates spacecraft attitude for large initial errors and high tip-off rates, and modeling the quaternion process noise as a rotation vector is more optimal than handling it as the vector part of a quaternion.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
• /
• v.1 no.4
• /
• pp.427-441
• /
• 2014

Orbit-raising is an important step to place spacecraft from parking orbits into working orbits. Attitude control system design is crucial in the success of orbit-raising. Several text books have discussed this design and focused mainly on the traditional methods based on single-input single-output (SISO) transfer function models. These models are not good representations for many orbit-raising control systems which have multiple thrusters and each thruster has impact on the attitude defined by all outputs. Only one published article is known to use a more suitable multi-input multi-output (MIMO) Euler angle model in spacecraft orbit-raising attitude control system design. In this paper, a quaternion based MIMO model for the orbit-raising attitude control system design is proposed. The advantages of using quaternion based model for orbit-raising control system designs are (a) there is no need for mathematical transformations because the attitude measurements are normally given by quaternion, (b) quaternion based model does not depend on rotational sequences, which reduces the chance of human errors, and (c) the singular point of reduced quaternion model is the farthest from the operational point where linearization is performed. We will show that performance of quaternion model based design will be as good as the performance of Euler angle model based design for orbit-raising problem.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
• /
• v.14 no.9
• /
• pp.865-872
• /
• 2008

Spacecraft attitude estimation using the nonlinear unscented filter is addressed to fully utilize capabilities of the unscented transformation. To release significant computational load, an efficient technique is proposed by reasonably removing correlation between random variables. This modification introduces considerable reduction of sigma points and computational burden in matrix square-root calculation for most nonlinear systems. Unscented filter technique makes use of a set of sample points to predict mean and covariance. The general QUEST(QUaternion ESTimator) algorithm preserves explicitly the quaternion normalization, whereas extended Kalman filter(EKF) implicitly obeys the constraint. For spacecraft attitude estimation based on quaternion, an approach to computing quaternion means from sampled quaternions with guarantee of the quaternion norm constraint is introduced applying a constrained optimization technique. Finally, the performance of the new approach is demonstrated using a star tracker and rate-gyro measurements.

• International Journal of Aeronautical and Space Sciences
• /
• v.12 no.1
• /
• pp.24-36
• /
• 2011

A new approach for spacecraft absolute attitude estimation based on the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is extended to relative attitude estimation and navigation. This approach for nonlinear systems has faster convergence than the approach based on the standard extended Kalman filter (EKF) even with inaccurate initial conditions in attitude estimation and navigation problems. The filter formulation employs measurements obtained from a vision sensor to provide multiple line(-) of(-) sight vectors from the spacecraft to another spacecraft. The line-of-sight measurements are coupled with gyro measurements and dynamic models in an UKF to determine relative attitude, position and gyro biases. A vector of generalized Rodrigues parameters is used to represent the local error-quaternion between two spacecraft. A multiplicative quaternion-error approach is derived from the local error-quaternion, which guarantees the maintenance of quaternion unit constraint in the filter. The scenario for bounded relative motion is selected to verify this extended application of the UKF. Simulation results show that the UKF is more robust than the EKF under realistic initial attitude and navigation error conditions.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
• /
• 2001.07d
• /
• pp.2092-2095
• /
• 2001

In this paper, the performance of a new alternative form of three-axis attitude estimation algorithm for a rigid body is evaluated via simulation for the situation where the observed vectors are the estimated baselines of a GPS antenna array. This method is derived based on a simple iterative nonlinear least-squares with four elements of quaternion parameter. The representation of quaternion parameters for three-axis attitude of a rigid body is free from singularity problem. The performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with other eight existing methods, such as, Transformation Method (TM), Vector Observation Method (VOM), TRIAD algorithm, two versions of QUaternion ESTimator (QUEST), Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) method, Fast Optimal Attitude Matrix (FOAM), Slower Optimal Matrix Algorithm (SOMA).

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Precision Engineering Conference
• /
• 2006.10a
• /
• pp.85-86
• /
• 2006

• Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology
• /
• v.20 no.3
• /
• pp.376-381
• /
• 2006

In this paper, the quaternion, the dual Euler, and the direction cosine methods are numerically compared using a non-aerodynamic 6 degree-of-freedom rigid model at all-attitude angles of an aircraft. The dual Euler method turns out to be superior to the others in the applications because it shows better numerical accuracy, stability, and robustness in integration step sizes. The dual Euler method is affordably less efficient than the quaternion method in terms of computational cost. Numerical accuracy and stability, which allow larger integration step sizes, are more critical in modern real-time applications than computational efficiency because of today's increased computational power. If the quaternion method is required because of constraints in computation time, then a suppression mechanism should be provided for algebraic constraint errors which will eventually add computational burden.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.47 no.11
• /
• pp.795-802
• /
• 2019

This paper deals with position-attitude coupling motion during spacecraft relative operation, and suggests dual quaternion-based kinematics for the problem. The position-attitude coupling motion can occur when the target point is located at an arbitrary point on the satellite body, not the center of mass. This is especially apparent in close proximity operation case. The dual quaternion-based kinematics directly reflects the angular velocity state, so that the coupling motion in which the change of attitude affects the position can be concisely defined. In this study, a new dual quaternion-based kinematics is presented along with a conventional approach to solve the coupling problem. Numerical simulations show that the position error for the target point is generated by the coupling motion, and verify that the dual quaternion-based kinematics can solve this problem.

• Advances in aircraft and spacecraft science
• /
• v.4 no.3
• /
• pp.335-351
• /
• 2017

Kalman filter based spacecraft attitude estimation has been used in many space missions and has been widely discussed in literature. While some models in spacecraft attitude estimation include spacecraft dynamics, most do not. To our best knowledge, there is no comparison on which model is a better choice. In this paper, we discuss the reasons why spacecraft dynamics should be considered in the Kalman filter based spacecraft attitude estimation problem. We also propose a reduced quaternion spacecraft dynamics model which admits additive noise. Geometry of the reduced quaternion model and the additive noise are discussed. This treatment is easier in computation than the one with full quaternion. Simulations are conducted to verify our claims.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Aeronautical & Space Sciences
• /
• v.38 no.7
• /
• pp.693-701
• /
• 2010

In this paper, it is proposed that an attitude and position estimation algorithm based on a stereo camera system for a helmet tracker. Stereo camera system consists of two CCD camera, a helmet, infrared LEDs and a frame grabber. Fifteen infrared LEDs are feature points which are used to determine the attitude and position of the helmet. These features are arranged in triangle pattern with different distance on the helmet. Vision-based the attitude and position algorithm consists of feature segmentation, projective reconstruction, model indexing and attitude estimation. In this paper, the attitude estimation algorithm using UQ (Unit Quaternion) is proposed. The UQ guarantee that the rotation matrix is a unitary matrix. The performance of presented algorithm is verified by simulation and experiment.