+ Stereo Vision System
As part of the Google Lunar X PRIZE, our rover must be able to take HD imagery of its trek on the moon. I was tasked with designing the camera system which would achieve this. A stereo configuration was chosen because the benefits of such as system; object and collision avoidance and 3D terrain mapping. Additionally, a larger zoom lens would be included to provide close-ups of Apollo 11 hardware from a safe distance.
Because of the low cost of our mission, I decided to use commercial hardware as a baseline from our design, rather than paying for a completely custom designed system. This proved to be a challenge, since the space environment is a very dangerous place for hardware. Extreme heat and cold cracks lenses and damages circuits, radiation in large doses has similar effects on circuits, and can darken lenses, and the dust of the lunar surface is extremely abrasive and statically attractive.
Outlined here are several detailed designs I created, showing the various modifications that would be made to a camera system to allow its survival in space. These are by no means finished technical drawings and several key factors have been omitted for Intellectual Property reasons. .
Because of the low cost of our mission, I decided to use commercial hardware as a baseline from our design, rather than paying for a completely custom designed system. This proved to be a challenge, since the space environment is a very dangerous place for hardware. Extreme heat and cold cracks lenses and damages circuits, radiation in large doses has similar effects on circuits, and can darken lenses, and the dust of the lunar surface is extremely abrasive and statically attractive.
Outlined here are several detailed designs I created, showing the various modifications that would be made to a camera system to allow its survival in space. These are by no means finished technical drawings and several key factors have been omitted for Intellectual Property reasons. .
+ Original Design
Render of the camera system exterior, first iteration. Shown are the two smaller stereo lenses and the larger zoom lens.
+ Revised Design
Subsequent iteration of the system, with a dedicated radiative surface on top to dissapate heat.
+ Details - Camera Mounting
Render of a circuit board of our camera, showing heat producing chips.
Left shows the heat management plate which mates to the camera board, right shows the combined system in place in the housing.
Left shows an up close view of the retention structure which holds the camera board in place for the stereo lens, right shows the same for the zoom lens board, which is a landscape configuration of the same camera.
+ Details - Lens Mounting
Render of our chosen stereo lens, 5mm.
Left shows the retention mechanism for the lens, illustrating the green felt ring to provide a degree of freedom and avoid over constraining the lens. Right shows in red the structure for holding a heat resistant glass plate and securing the front of the lens.
