A satellite component contour extraction method for lightweight space mobile platforms

Purpose: Owing to the complex space environment and limited computing resources, traditional and deep learning-based methods cannot complete the task of satellite component contour extraction effectively. To this end, this paper aims to propose a high-quality real-time contour extraction method based on lightweight space mobile platforms. Design/methodology/approach: A contour extraction method that combines two edge clues is proposed. First, Canny algorithm is improved to extract preliminary contours without inner edges from the depth images. Subsequently, a new type of edge pixel feature is designed based on surface normal. Finally, surface normal edges are extracted to supplement the integrity of the preliminary contours for contour extraction. Findings: Extensive experiments show that this method can achieve a performance comparable to that of deep learning-based methods and can achieve a 36.5 FPS running rate on mobile processors. In addition, it exhibits better robustness under complex scenes. Practical implications: The proposed method is expected to promote the deployment process of satellite component contour extraction tasks on lightweight space mobile platforms. Originality/value: A pixel feature for edge detection is designed and combined with the improved Canny algorithm to achieve satellite component contour extraction. This study provides a new research idea for contour extraction and instance segmentation research.