uVGS-2: The Micro Video Guidance Sensor: A 6-DoF Robust Pose Estimator for Autonomous Proximity Maneuvers in Drones, Spacecraft and Mobile Robot Navigation

Abstract

This paper presents the Micro Video Guidance Sensor Version 2 (uVGS-2), a ROS-based vision navigation framework for real-time six-degrees-of-freedom pose estimation in drones, spacecraft, and autonomous robotic platforms operating in GNSS-denied environments. The system evolves from the previous Smartphone Video Guidance Sensor (SVGS) architecture through a modular C++ implementation, including advanced image preprocessing, deterministic blob sorting, and an optimized perspective-4-point solver using a Lie-algebra-based analytical Jacobian formulation. The proposed architecture achieves computationally efficient photogrammetric state estimation using onboard camera and processor resources, enabling deployment in resource-constrained systems. Experimental validation was conducted in NASA’s Astrobee free-flying robot, both at the International Space Station (ISS), for SVGS, and by ground testing through real-time sensor-fusion with Astrobee’s graph-based localizer (Astroloc), for uVGS-2. Results demonstrate robust centimeter-level accuracy in relative position and attitude estimation under illumination disturbances, partial occlusions, and intermittent loss of line-of-sight. The framework can be used in robotic platforms and autonomous UAV operations, including precision landing, formation flight, and cooperative navigation in environments where GNSS signals are unavailable or intermittent.