Visual SLAM on a Lunar Testbed for Polarization Cameras Under Challenging Lighting Conditions

Clayder Gonzalez, Edward Vanderfeen, Michael Milford, Thierry Peynot, Alejandro Fontan

Keywords: polarization camera, visual slam, lunar testbed, lighting challenging conditions

TL;DR: In this paper, we present the performance of different visual slam systems using a polarization camera and running on a lunar testbed under challenging lighting conditions.

Abstract: Visual SLAM systems struggle in scenarios with strong lighting variations and/or significant perceptual aliasing, which is common in off-Earth environments. Polarization cameras offer an alternative to conventional cameras, providing additional information about light reflection from objects and surfaces. In this paper, we present a proof-of-concept lunar dataset, recorded in the QUT Lunar Testbed under varying lighting conditions. We describe our current vision-based robot-mounted setup, the capabilities of the facility, and the next steps for dataset recording. Our experiments include three sequences with varying lighting conditions, evaluated using four state-of-the-art VSLAM systems, highlighting the limitations of current approaches under challenging lighting and perceptual aliasing scenarios.

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Submission Number: 2