2018

Kempf, F.; Cruz, U.; Scharnagl, J.; Schilling, K.;
Networked and distributed cooperative attitude control of fractionated small satellites
Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen . 2018; IAC–18–C1.6
[BibTeX]

@inproceedings{Kempf2018a, author = {Florian Kempf, Ulices Santa Cruz, Julian Scharnagl, Klaus Schilling}, booktitle = {Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen }, title = {Networked and distributed cooperative attitude control of fractionated small satellites}, year = {2018}, }

Kleinschrodt, A. ; Nogueira, T.; Reed,N.; Schilling, K.;
Mission Planning for the TIM Nanosatellite Remote Sensing Constellation
Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen. 2018; IAC–18–B4.3
[BibTeX]

@inproceedings{Kleinschrodt2018a, author = {Alexander Kleinschrodt, Tiago Nogueira, Nikolai Reed, Klaus Schilling}, booktitle = {Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen}, title = {Mission Planning for the TIM Nanosatellite Remote Sensing Constellation}, year = {2018}, city = {Bremen} }

van der Lucht, J.; Bleier, M.; Leutert, F.; Schilling, K.; Nuechter, A.;
Structured-light based 3D laser scanning of semi-submerged structures
II Mid-term Symposium 'Towards Photogrammetry 2020'. 2018. pp.287-294
[BibTeX]

@InProceedings{Lucht2018a, author = {J. van der Lucht and M. Bleier and F. Leutert and K. Schilling and A. N{\"u}chter}, title = {{Structured-light based 3D laser scanning of semi-submerged structures}}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the Technical Commision II Mid-term Symposium ``Towards Photogrammetry 2020''}, series = {ISPRS Annals Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, Spatial Inf. Sci., IV-2}, year = {2018}, month = {June}, pages = {287--294}, address = {Riva del Garda, Italy}, doi = {10.5194/isprs-annals-IV-2-287-2018}, url = {https://robotik.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/telematics/download/isprs-commision2-symposium2018.pdf}, }

[Abstract]

In this work we look at 3D acquisition of semi-submerged structures with a triangulation based underwater laser scanning system. The motivation is that we want to simultaneously capture data above and below water to create a consistent model without any gaps. The employed structured light scanner consist of a machine vision camera and a green line laser. In order to reconstruct precise surface models of the object it is necessary to model and correct for the refraction of the laser line and camera rays at the water-air boundary. We derive a geometric model for the refraction at the air-water interface and propose a method for correcting the scans. Furthermore, we show how the water surface is directly estimated from sensor data. The approach is verified using scans captured with an industrial manipulator to achieve reproducable scanner trajectories with different incident angles. We show that the proposed method is effective for refractive correction and that it can be applied directly to the raw sensor data without requiring any external markers or targets.

Kondrateva, O.; Döbler, H.; Sparka, H.; Freimann, A.; Scheuermann, B.; Schilling, K.;
Throughput-optimal joint routing and scheduling for low-earth-orbit satellite networks
Wireless On-demand Network Systems and Services (WONS). 2018, pp: 59-66
[BibTeX]

@InProceedings{Kondrateva2018, author = {Kondrateva, Olga and D{\"o}bler, Holger and Sparka, Hagen and Freimann, Andreas and Scheuermann, Bj{\"o}rn and Schilling, Klaus}, title = {Throughput-optimal joint routing and scheduling for low-earth-orbit satellite networks}, booktitle = {Wireless On-demand Network Systems and Services (WONS), 2018 14th Annual Conference on}, year = {2018}, pages = {59--66}, organization = {IEEE}, }

[Abstract]

When optimizing communication patterns in wireless networks, routing and link scheduling cannot be handled separately but must be addressed jointly. Various linear programming formulations were proposed for static networks to optimize routing while ensuring schedulability of the achieved result. However, most of these approaches do not allow to obtain an optimal transmission schedule directly. Even if they do, they do not scale well to practically relevant network sizes. Node mobility further complicates the effort. Here, we consider satellite networks, which are characterized by time-varying, yet predictable topologies. We present a novel approach for the joint optimization of routing and link scheduling. It is based on linear programming and provides a constructive way to generate transmission schedules. To reduce the computational complexity, we decompose the problem and apply a series of optimization steps resulting in an optimal transmission schedule. As an exemplary use case we optimize the throughput of a network consisting of 18 low-earth-orbit satellites. Our evaluation results validate the optimality of our joint routing and scheduling approach and demonstrate its applicability to a real-world use case.

Leutert. F.; Schilling, K.;
Projector-based Augmented Reality for Telemaintenance Support
16th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing (INCOM 2018), 2018.
[BibTeX]

@INPROCEEDINGS{leutert2018, author = {F. Leutert, K. Schilling}, title = {Projector-based Augmented Reality for Telemaintenance Support}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the16th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing (INCOM 2018)}, year = {2018}, DOI = {Coming Soon} }

[Abstract]

Martins, T.; Pereirac, A.; Hulin, T.; Ruf, O.; Kugler, S.; Giordano, A.; Balachandran, R.; Benedikt, F.; Lewis, J.; Anderl, R.; Schilling, K.; Albu-Schäffer, A.;
Space Factory 4.0 - New processes for the robotic assembly of modular satellites on an in-orbit platform based on „Industrie 4.0” approach
Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen, 2018; IAC-18-E1.IP-32
[BibTeX]

@article{Martins2018b, author = {K. Schilling}, title = {Space Factory 4.0 - New processes for the robotic assembly of modular satellites on an in-orbit platform based on „Industrie 4.0” approach}, publisher = {Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC)}, year = {2018}, }

Nuechter, A.; Bleier, M.; Schauer, J.; Janotta, P.;
Continuous-Time SLAM—Improving Google’s Cartographer 3D Mapping
Book: Latest Developments in Reality-Based 3D Surveying and Modelling. 2018. pp. 53-73
[BibTeX]

@InCollection{Nuechti2018, author = {A. N{\"u}chter and M. Bleier and J. Schauer and P. Janotta}, editor = {F. Remondino and A. Georgopoulos and D. Gonzalez-Aguilera and P. Agrafiotis}, booktitle = {Latest Developments in Reality-Based 3D Surveying and Modelling}, title = {Continuous-Time SLAM—Improving Google’s Cartographer 3D Mapping}, publisher = {MDPI}, year = {2018}, address = {Basel, Switzerland}, month = {January}, pages = {53--73}, doi = {10.3390/books978-3-03842-685-1/4}, url = {http://www.mdpi.com/books/pdfdownload/article/515/1}, }

[Abstract]

This paper shows how to use the result of Google’s simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) solution, called Cartographer, to bootstrap a continuous-time SLAM algorithm that was developed by the authors and presented in previous publications. The presented approach optimizes the consistency of the global point cloud, and thus improves on Google’s results. Algorithms and data from Google are used as input for the continuous-time SLAM software. In preceding work, the continuous-time SLAM was successfully applied to a similar backpack system which delivers consistent 3D point clouds even in the absence of an IMU. Continuous-time SLAM means that the trajectory of a mobile mapping system is treated in a semi-rigid fashion, i.e., the trajectory is deformed to yield a consistent 3D point cloud of the measured environment.

Pio Rossi, A.; Unnithan, V.; Torrese, P.; Borrmann, D.; Nuechter, A.; Lauterbach, H.; Ortenzi, G.; Jaehrig, J.; Sohl, F.;
Augmented field Geology and Geophysics for Planetary Analogues
EGU General Assembly 2018, Pico session: Planetary geobiological analogs for Mars and beyond: Field, lab and simulations. 2018.
[BibTeX]

@InProceedings{Rossi2018, author = {A. Pio Rossi and V. Unnithan and P. Torrese and D. Borrmann and A. N{\"u}chter and H. Lauterbach and G. Ortenzi and T. J{\"a}hrig and F. Sohl}, title = {{Augmented field Geology and Geophysics for Planetary Analogues}}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the EGU General Assembly 2018, Pico session: Planetary geobiological analogs for Mars and beyond: Field, lab and simulations}, year = {2018}, volume = {20}, number = {EGU2018-6389}, month = {April}, address = {Vienna, Austria}, url = {https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2018/EGU2018-6389.pdf}, }

[Abstract]

Pfitzner, .C; May, S.; Nuechter, A.;
Body Weight Estimation for Dose-Finding and Health Monitoring of Lying, Standing and Walking Patients Based on RGB-D Data
Journal Sensors Volume: 18 Nr. 5.2018.
[BibTeX]

@Article{Pfitzner2018, author = {C. Pfitzner and S. May and A. N{\"u}chter}, title = {{Body Weight Estimation for Dose-Finding and Health Monitoring of Lying, Standing and Walking Patients Based on RGB-D Data}}, journal = {Sensors}, year = {2018}, volume = {18}, number = {5}, OPTpages = {}, month = {April}, doi = {10.3390/s18051311}, url = {https://robotik.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/telematics/download/mpdi2018.pdf}, }

[Abstract]

This paper describes the estimation of the body weight of a person in front of an RGB-D camera. A survey of different methods for body weight estimation based on depth sensors is given. First, an estimation of people standing in front of a camera is presented. Second, an approach based on a stream of depth images is used to obtain the body weight of a person walking towards a sensor. The algorithm first extracts features from a point cloud and forwards them to an artificial neural network (ANN) to obtain an estimation of body weight. Besides the algorithm for the estimation, this paper further presents an open-access dataset based on measurements from a trauma room in a hospital as well as data from visitors of a public event. In total, the dataset contains 439 measurements. The article illustrates the efficiency of the approach with experiments with persons lying down in a hospital, standing persons, and walking persons. Applicable scenarios for the presented algorithm are body weight-related dosing of emergency patients

Rivera, D.; Scholz, M.; Fritscher, M.; Krauss, M.; Schilling, K.;
Towards a Predictive Maintenance System of a Hydraulic Pump
16th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing. 2018. pp 447-452
[BibTeX]

@inproceedings{rivera2018a, author = {D. Rivera and M. Scholz and M. Fritscher and M. Krauss and K. Schilling}, title = {Towards a Predictive Maintenance System of a Hydraulic Pump }, booktitle = {16th IFAC Symposium on Information Control Problems in Manufacturing}, year = {2018}, volume = {51}, issue = {11}, pages = {447-452}, city = {Bergamo, Italy}, month = {August}, URL = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405896318314708} }

[Abstract]

Scharnagl, J.; Kremmydas, P.; Schilling, K.;
Model Predictive Control for Continuous Low Thrust Satellite Formation Flying
IFAC Workshop on Networked & Autonomous Air & Space Systems. 2018
[BibTeX]

@inproceedings{Scharnagl2018, address = {Santa Fe, NM, USA}, author = {Scharnagl, Julian and Kremmydas, Panayiotis and Schilling, Klaus}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the IFAC Workshop on Networked {\&} Autonomous Air {\&} Space Systems}, keywords = {continuous low thrust,formation control,model predictive control,satellite formation flying,spacecraft autonomy}, publisher = {IFAC}, title = {{Model Predictive Control for Continuous Low Thrust Satellite Formation Flying}}, year = {2018} }

[Abstract]

This paper presents a low thrust guidance and control strategy for distributed spacecraft systems flying in proximity in nearly circular Low Earth Orbit (LEO) using Model Predictive Control (MPC). It is designed to converge to arbitrary three dimensional (3D) force free formation topologies taking different constraints and system limitations into account. However it is also applicable to forced formations with the same given constraints. Its performance is evaluated using simulations of different typical 3D formation topologies.

Schauer, J.; Nuechter, A.;
The Peopleremover --- Removing Dynamic Objects From 3-D Point Cloud Data by Traversing a Voxel Occupancy Grid
IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RAL}. 2018. pp.1679-1686
[BibTeX]

@Article{Schauer2018a, author = {J. Schauer and A. N{\"u}chter}, title = {{The Peopleremover --- Removing Dynamic Objects From 3-D Point Cloud Data by Traversing a Voxel Occupancy Grid}}, journal = {IEEE Robotics and Automation Letters (RAL}, year = {2018}, volume = {3}, number = {3}, pages = {1679--1686}, month = {July}, url = {https://robotik.informatik.uni-wuerzburg.de/telematics/download/icra2018.pdf}, doi = {10.1109/LRA.2018.2801797}, }

[Abstract]

Even though it would be desirable for most postprocessing purposes to obtain a point cloud without moving objects in it, it is often impractical or downright impossible to free a scene from all nonstatic clutter. Outdoor environments contain pedestrians, bicycles, and motor vehicles which cannot easily be stopped from entering the sensor range and indoor environments like factory production lines cannot be evacuated due to production losses during the time of the scan. In this letter, we present a solution to this problem that we call the "peopleremover." Given a registered set of 3-D point clouds, we build a regular voxel occupancy grid and then traverse it along the lines of sight between the sensor and the measured points to find the differences in volumetric occupancy between the scans. Our approach works for scan slices from mobile mapping as well as for the more general scenario of terrestrial scan data. The result is a clean point cloud free of dynamic objects.

K. Schilling;
Pico-Satelliten-Formationen - gemeinsam zu einer starken Leistung
Raumfahrt Concret 101 2018, p. 34-37
[BibTeX]

@article{Schilling2018a, author = {K. Schilling}, title = {Pico-Satelliten-Formationen - gemeinsam zu einer starken Leistung}, publisher = {Raumfahrt Concret 101}, year = {2018}, pages = {34-37} }

K. Schilling;
TIM: A Formation of Small Satellites for Photogrammetric Earth Observation
Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen, 2018; IAC-18-D1.6.1
[BibTeX]

@article{Schilling2018b, author = {K. Schilling}, title = {TIM: A Formation of Small Satellites for Photogrammetric Earth Observation}, publisher = {Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC)}, year = {2018}, }

K. Schilling, A. Nuechter, S. Montenegro
“Satellite Technology” and “SpaceMaster”: Two International, Interdisciplinary Master Programs Emphasizing Data Processing Aspects
Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Bremen. 2018; IAC-18-E1.IP-32
[BibTeX]

@inproceedings{Schilling2018c, author = {A. Nuechter, S. Montenegro}, booktitle = {Proceedings 69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC)}, title = {“Satellite Technology” and “SpaceMaster”: Two International, Interdisciplinary Master Programs Emphasizing Data Processing Aspects}, year = {2018}, }

K. Schilling;
Kleinst-Satelliten-Netze für das Internet der Dinge
VDI/VDE ITGNews 4/2018, 2018; p.21-23
[BibTeX]

@article{Schilling2018d, author = {K. Schilling}, title = {Kleinst-Satelliten-Netze für das Internet der Dinge}, publisher = {VDI/VDE ITGNews 4/2018}, year = {2018}, }

Torrese, P.; Pio Rossi, A.; Unnithan, V.; Borrmann, D.; Lauterbach, H.; Ortenzi, G.; Jaehrig, J.; Nuechter, A.; Sohl, F.;
Reconstructing the subsurface of planetary volcanic analogues: ERT imaging of Lanzarote lava tubes complemented with drone stereogrammetry, surface and in-cave LiDAR and seismic investigations
EGU General Assembly 2018, Pico session: Planetary geobiological analogs for Mars and beyond: Field, lab and simulations. 2018.
[BibTeX]

@InProceedings{Torrese2018, author = {P. Torrese and A. Pio Rossi and V. Unnithan and D. Borrmann and H. Lauterbach and G. Ortenzi and T. J{\"a}hrig and R. Pozzobon and F. Sauro and T. Santagata and A. N{\"u}chter and F. Sohl}, title = {{Reconstructing the subsurface of planetary volcanic analogues: ERT imaging of Lanzarote lava tubes complemented with drone stereogrammetry, surface and in-cave LiDAR and seismic investigations (Poster)}}, booktitle = {Proceedings of the EGU General Assembly 2018, Pico session: Planetary geobiological analogs for Mars and beyond: Field, lab and simulations}, year = {2018}, volume = {20}, number = {EGU2018-14285}, month = {April}, address = {Vienna, Austria}, url = {https://meetingorganizer.copernicus.org/EGU2018/EGU2018-14285.pdf}, }

[Abstract]

Thiel, T.; Freimann, A.; Schilling, K.;
Contact Plan based Routing in Distributed Nanosatellite Systems
69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC). 2018
[BibTeX]

@InProceedings{thiel2018, author = {Tobias Thiel AND Andreas Freimann AND Klaus Schilling}, title = {Contact Plan based Routing in Distributed Nanosatellite Systems}, booktitle = {69th International Astronautical Congress (IAC)}, year = {2018}, keywords = {satellite networks, satellite communication, space-terrestrial networks, Delay Tolerant Networking, Medium Access Control, Contact Plan Routing} }

[Abstract]

The increasing interest in cooperating satellite systems based on cost efficient nanosatellites for Earth observation and communication applications creates a demand for research on efficient network protocols for these distributed systems. The characteristics of satellite networks differ from existing terrestrial wireless networks. Especially the predictability of satellite orbits allows for the design of efficient routing algorithms that can reduce the consumption of the limited resources available in nanosatellites. We propose a contact plan based routing scheme using a store-and-forward approach for networks suffering from intermittent connectivity. Our approach is able to avoid interferences between network nodes by generating routing tables based on pre-calculated contact and interference plans. We evaluate our approach by simulation of different application scenarios of distributed satellite systems and show that we can increase the network performance compared to existing approaches.

Zakšek, K.; James, M.R.; Hort, M.; Nogueira, T.; Schilling, K.;
Using picosatellites for 4-D imaging of volcanic clouds: Proof of concept using ISS photography of the 2009 Sarychev Peak eruption
Journal Remote Sensing of Environment. Vol. 210, 2018, pp: 519-530
[BibTeX]

@article{zaksek2018, title = "Using picosatellites for 4-D imaging of volcanic clouds: Proof of concept using ISS photography of the 2009 Sarychev Peak eruption", journal = "Remote Sensing of Environment", volume = "210", pages = "519 - 530", year = "2018", issn = "0034-4257", doi = "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2018.02.061", url = "http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034425718300737", author = "Klemen Zakšek and Mike R. James and Matthias Hort and Tiago Nogueira and Klaus Schilling", keywords = "Volcanic ash clouds, Photogrammetry, Cloud top height, Sarychev Peak, International Space Station, Telematics Earth Observation Mission, Satellite formation, Picosatellites" }

[Abstract]

Volcanic ash clouds can present an aviation hazard over distances of thousands of kilometres and, to help to mitigate this hazard, advanced numerical models are used to forecast ash dispersion in the atmosphere. However, forecast accuracy is usually limited by uncertainties in initial conditions such as the eruption rate and the vertical distribution of ash injected above the volcano. Here, we demonstrate the potential of the Telematics Earth Observation Mission (TOM) picosatellite formation, due for launch in 2020, to provide valuable information for constraining ash cloud dispersion models through simultaneous image acquisition from three satellites. TOM will carry commercial frame cameras. Using photogrammetric simulations, we show that such data should enable ash cloud heights to be determined with a precision (~30–140 m depending on configuration) comparable to the vertical resolution of lidar observations (30–180 m depending on the cloud height). To support these estimates, we processed photographs taken from the International Space Station of the 2009 Sarychev Peak eruption, as a proxy for TOM imagery. Structure-from-motion photogrammetric software successfully reconstructed the 3-D form of the ascending ash cloud, as well as surrounding cloud layers. Direct estimates of the precision of the ash cloud height measurements, as well as comparisons between independently processed image sets, indicate that a vertical measurement precision of ~200 m was achieved. Image sets acquired at different times captured the plume dynamics and enabled a mean ascent velocity of 14 m s−1 to be estimated for regions above 7 km. In contrast, the uppermost regions of the column (at a measured cloud top height of ~11 km) were not ascending significantly, enabling us to constrain a 1-D plume ascent model, from which estimates for the vent size (50 m) and eruption mass flux (2.6 × 106 kg s−1) could be made. Thus, we demonstrate that nanosatellite imagery has the potential for substantially reducing uncertainties in ash dispersion models by providing valuable information on eruptive conditions.