Optical Reference Stabiliser for CubeSat

CubeSats have emerged as a cost-effective and flexible solution for conducting experiments in low Earth orbit. However, maintaining precise optical alignment for sensors or reference markers can be challenging in microgravity environments. This project proposes an Optical Reference Stabiliser for CubeSats, harnessing real-time computer vision and robust circle detection algorithms to track and lock onto reference targets.

Drawing on the well-established Hough Transform for circle detection and leveraging Python + OpenCV, our system accommodates a variety of input sources (such as live camera feeds, pre-recorded video, or still images). Configuration settings, including detection parameters, are persisted across sessions via config.json, ensuring a flexible yet consistently tuned detection pipeline.

The software is organised into multiple modules to ensure clarity, maintainability, and extensibility. All parameters (circle detection thresholds, output formats, etc.) are stored and retrieved from config.json.

• main.py: Entry point providing a menu-driven interface.
• menu.py: Displays menus and handles navigation (text-based in command line).
• detection.py: Contains core circle detection logic, image/video processing, and output handling.
• config.py: Manages persistent settings using config.json.

On startup, the system loads existing configuration settings (or creates defaults if none exist). Users can then select between Camera, Video File, or Image File input. Output can be optionally recorded as a timestamped video or image in various formats.

An adaptive algorithmic approach is used to enhance frames (via CLAHE and GaussianBlur) before circle detection. This ensures robust performance under noisy conditions commonly encountered in low-power CubeSat camera systems.

Our tests suggest that the stabiliser is capable of tracking circular references in real time at 30 frames per second using modest on-board hardware. Below are some sample screenshots (placeholder images) illustrating detection accuracy:

The user interface is a command-line-based menu providing simple prompts to configure circle detection parameters (e.g., radius thresholds) and output preferences. Once detection begins, each processed frame is displayed live, overlaid with any detected circles.

The Optical Reference Stabiliser demonstrates that real-time circle detection can be integrated into compact CubeSat missions. Future work includes:

• Integrating closed-loop feedback for active actuator control.
• Refining detection for extreme lighting conditions in space.
• Optimising resource usage for ultra-low-power hardware platforms.

We believe this system provides a powerful open-source foundation for research teams developing advanced CubeSat optical payloads.

This project is licensed under the MIT Licence:

MIT License

Copyright (c) 2025 ...

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy 
of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal 
in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights 
to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell 
copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is 
furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

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For the complete licence text, see the included LICENSE file or visit Open Source Initiative.