Imagery Group

From TeamFrednetWiki

Team FREDNET : Imagery Group (IG)

Group Members: Joe Stusick (TBC)

Sub-Groups: None

Group Purpose

The imagery group is responsible for solving the challenges related to taking high quality photos and recording HD videos in orbit and on the surface of the Moon. This includes finding the most appropriate codecs and parameters. The Imagery group work in parallel with the Propulsion group in order to produce specifications and components reusable for the Lunar Bus, the Lunar Lander and the Lunar Rover.

The following imaging modes are supported by the TFN imagers:

ID	Mode	Size	fps	bits	Notes
1	low-res	340x280	15	8
2	hi-res	1280x720	15	8
3	hi-res-fast	1280x720	30	8
4	x-res	TBS	TBS	TBS
5	x-res	TBX	TBS	TBS	Add more columns and rows as needed.

^{Edit Imagery Overview}

Sponsors of Imagery Group

Elphel open source HD cameras

^{Extracted from our sponsor Elphel cooperation article and created by Tobiokanobi}

In december 2008, Elphel was announced as a new partner. Team FREDNET and Elphel are developing hardware and software under the terms of an Open Source license. Hence, all data about hardware and software, including source code, designs, documentation, drawings, and specification created in the course of this development process shall be made freely available and published under the terms of the GPL or a similar Open Source Technology license. This means that all developments shall be made freely available, but does not in any way restrict the future commercial developments of Elphel or others based on use of the technology. Active cooperation is therefore useful and mutually beneficial to both organizations. Up to now the Elphel camera is used by all three rovers design.

^{Edit Imagery Elphel}
In the course of this project, Team FREDNET can offer at least the following benefits to Elphel

Exposure of the Elphel brand on the Team FREDNET web sites, wiki, and forums
Exposure of the Elphel brand and product lines to the Open Source communities
Early opportunities to engage in media and press events (demos, launches, etc.) as a Team FREDNET business partner
Inclusion in the Partners section of the [new] Team FREDNET web site.
Include articles about Elphel (ours or yours) on our Blog/News and on the Google Lunar X PRIZE Blogs
Early access to development news about future Team FREDNET products and services
Potential to enter into Sponsor agreements under which the Elphel name and logo are "faded in" to streaming video broadcasts from the surface of the Moon.
Potential to enter in Sponsor agreements to place Elphel logos on Landers, Rovers,and other Craft to be photographed during the Mission
Potential to Sponsor other Media and Press Events, and to participate in Team Summits and Developer Conferences.

Additionally, Elphel gains a wide audience of knowledgable and experienced hardware and software developers from around the world. While we cannot guarantee that this will lead to an increase in use of Elphel solutions, empirical evidence suggests that developers who have been given access to such systems tend to later re-use and specify systems with which they are familiar to their clients, employers, and interested third-parties. Further, inclusion and frequent mention in a high-profile and exciting proposition such as this will automatically generate higher placement in search results on the numerous search engines. Being associated with a high profile project will tend to generate more highly placed results, leading to more interest from potential users of Elphel technology.

Summary of GLXP Requirements for Images and Videos (Version 3)

^{Extracted from our exponsor Elphel summary GLXP requirements and created by Tobiokanobi}
Some requirements specified by the X PRIZE Foundation are not very exact (e.g. "framerate", "near realtime video"). By our best estimates, the image and video technology offered by Elphel is more advanced than the minimum requirements, and therefore provides a good solution that allows us to meet these requirements. Please note, however, that the specific rules provided by the X PRIZE Foundation are still subject to (hopefully now minor) revisions.

Images

High quality, show intended contends clear and recognizable
Minimum eight bits per pixel per color
Signal to noise ratio 50:1 for scene of albedo approximately to 0.1
Minimum Resolution: 0,3 millirands/pixel
Color
Calibrated for Color Correction
Reasonable Resolution
Reasonable contrast at the pixel level, such as would be provided with a system Sagittal and Meridional Modulation Transfer function of 40% in the entire focal plane for the entire spectral range at the Nyquist frequency

Panoramic Images

Horizon Level
Horizontal Dimensions: 360°
Vertical Dimensions: 120°

Detail Images

Logos clearly legible

Videos

Near real time videos shall have the following attributes after processing
Resolution: 320 x 240
Orientative bitrate: 256kbps
High Definition Video shall have the following attributes after processing:
Resolution: 1280 x 720 progressive scan (720p)
All Videos shall be high quality
Frame rate appropriate to the action in the frame, and which results in smooth motion
In color
Calibrated for color correction

Bandwith

The GLXP doesn't require any bandwidth, just sufficiently high quality. The orientative bitrate 450 kbps comes from knowledge about a recently developed proprietary codec based on H.264 that probably runs in an ASIC or FPGA, combined with the motion profile and limited color space of a video recorded on the moon. I have not actually seen it, just heard about it.

Other than that, we can chose 450 kbps for video + 50 kbps for telemetry. If we can not do 1280x720 25p at sufficient quality with 450kbps we can scale down the size and/or frame rate. In any case, it'd be a good idea to lock the downlink bandwidth. --AlexC

Additional Requirements for Team FREDNET's Mission

^{Extracted from our exponsor Elphel additional requirements and created by Tobiokanobi}

Video and Images

If possible, we can exceeed the minimum requirements. E.g. we plan to provide 5Mpixel images, higher framerates (15fps, 29fps, ...), and more where this is technologically feasible without significantly impacting the budget for the overall Mission.
Extra bonus is not the main target in Team FREDNET mission but if is possible we will provide a HD camera with 10x optical zoom + 30x digital zoom that could be done more than 10 km away from the site in order to capture any heritage site. GLXP rules don't require visiting a heritage site just imaging it. --AlexC

Image stabilization

Visual stability in video is an interesting subject. A more stable source image within the Elphel engine will require less network bandwidth. Some software image stabilization across source frames may be interesting if possible.

Environmental Conditions

The Moon's surface creates a plethora of hazards to electrical and electronic systems. Because of the importance of the video and imagery systems to Mission success, the cameras, lenses, and sensing units must be afforded extra degrees of protection. The primary risks against which we must take protective measures include:

Radiation - primarily alpha, beta, and gamma rays
Electromagnetic radiation
Extreme heat (390K) during journey to Luna and during the Lunar day
Extreme cold (down to 100K) during journey to Luna and during the Lunar night
Lunar Regolith (sticks to and penetrates everything. Lenses require extra protection)
Shock/Impact due to collisions with obstacles, and travel over rough surface
Vibration during Launch, Journey, and Landing
Acceleration (high g-forces) especially during Launch and Landing
Low Pressure Environment

Team FREDNET will develop a casing for the camera and sensor unit which provides sufficient protection against these risks.