Developing an autonomous imaging and localisation capability for planetary aerobots

Abstract Balloon based planetary aerobots can be used for a variety of applications such as high resolution imaging and rover guidance. However short to medium term missions of this type will be constrained in terms of power, communications, data storage and processing capability. To be of use, they must be able to localise and manage image data in an autonomous manner, including intelligent prioritisation of images. This paper discusses the development of an intelligent imaging and localisation software package and demonstrator which will help to provide such an autonomous capability.