The capture of a target spacecraft by a chaser is an on-orbit docking operation that requires an accurate, reliable, and robust object recognition algorithm. Vision-based guided spacecraft relative motion during close-proximity maneuvers has been consecutively applied using dynamic modeling as a spacecraft on-orbit service system. This research constructs a vision-based pose estimation model that performs image processing via a deep convolutional neural network. The pose estimation model was constructed by repurposing a modified pretrained GoogLeNet model with the available Unreal Engine 4 rendered dataset of the Soyuz spacecraft. In the implementation, the convolutional neural network learns from the data samples to create correlations between the images and the spacecraft’s six degrees-of-freedom parameters. The experiment has compared an exponential-based loss function and a weighted Euclidean-based loss function. Using the weighted Euclidean-based loss function, the implemented pose estimation model achieved moderately high performance with a position accuracy of 92.53 percent and an error of 1.2 m. The in-attitude prediction accuracy can reach 87.93 percent, and the errors in the three Euler angles do not exceed 7.6 degrees. This research can contribute to spacecraft detection and tracking problems. Although the finished vision-based model is specific to the environment of synthetic dataset, the model could be trained further to address actual docking operations in the future.

Using deep learning semantic segmentation for land use extraction is the most challenging problem in medium spatial resolution imagery. This is because of the deep convolution layer and multiple levels of deep steps of the baseline network, which can cause a degradation problem in small land use features. In this paper, a deep learning semantic segmentation algorithm which comprises an adjustment network architecture (LoopNet) and land use dataset is proposed for automatic land use classification using Landsat 8 imagery. The experimental results illustrate that deep learning semantic segmentation using the baseline network (SegNet, U-Net) outperforms pixel-based machine learning algorithms (MLE, SVM, RF) for land use classification. Furthermore, the LoopNet network, which comprises a convolutional loop and convolutional block, is superior to other baseline networks (SegNet, U-Net, PSPnet) and improvement networks (ResU-Net, DeeplabV3+, U-Net++), with 89.84% overall accuracy and good segmentation results. The evaluation of multispectral bands in the land use dataset demonstrates that Band 5 has good performance in terms of extraction accuracy, with 83.91% overall accuracy. Furthermore, the combination of different spectral bands (Band 1–Band 7) achieved the highest accuracy result (89.84%) compared to individual bands. These results indicate the effectiveness of LoopNet and multispectral bands for land use classification using Landsat 8 imagery.

Fully autonomous trajectory planning for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is significant for building the next generation of the logistics industry without human control. This paper presents a method to enable multiple UAVs to fly in the same trajectory without collision. It benefits several applications, such as smart cities and transfer goods, during the COVID-19 pandemic. Different types of nonlinear state estimation are deployed to test the position estimation of drones by treating the information from AirSim as offline dynamic data. The obtained global positioning system sensor data and magnetometer sensor data are determined as the measurement model. The experiment in the simulation is separated into (1) the localization state, (2) the rendezvous state, in which the proposed rendezvous strategy is presented by using the relation between velocity and displacement through the setting area, and (3) the full mission state, which combines both the localization and rendezvous states. The localization state results show the best RMSE in the case of full GPS available at 0.21477 m and 0.25842 m in the case of a GPS outage during a period of time by implementing the ensemble Kalman filter. Similarly, the ensemble Kalman filter performs well with an RMSE of 0.5112414 m in the rendezvous state and demonstrates exceptional performance in the full mission state. Moreover, the experiment is implemented in a real-world situation with some basic drone kits as proof that the proposed rendezvous strategy can truly operate.

Air pollutant concentration prediction is essential not only for effective air quality management but also for planning aircraft and ground vehicle route networks in terminal areas. In this work, an artificial neural network (ANN) is used to predict the concentration levels of four types of air pollutants (CO, NO₂, PM_2.5, and PM₁₀) at Suvarnabhumi International Airport. By leveraging Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) historical data, aircraft trajectory pattern clustering is implemented by using K-means and Gaussian mixture model (GMM) clustering algorithms. Then, those trajectory patterns are inputted together with other flight data into ANN computation processes, resulting in an effective air pollutant prediction model for each kind of focus pollutant. The results demonstrate that the mean square errors (MSEs) of the predicted models for CO and PM_2.5 have acceptable values of 51.7622 and 53.9682, respectively, while the predicted model for NO₂ and PM₁₀ has MSEs of 139.6674 and 124.2517, respectively. This study contributes to the advancement of air pollutant prediction methodologies, facilitating better decision-making processes, proactive air quality management, and route network planning at airports. Although some prediction models for focused air pollutants have slightly high MSEs, further study is needed to enhance the prediction model capacity.