AI-Driven Collaborative Satellite Object Detection for Space Sustainability

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Hu, Peng, Zhang, Wenxuan
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Hu, Peng
Zhang, Wenxuan
author_facet Hu, Peng
Zhang, Wenxuan
contents The growing density of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) presents serious challenges to space sustainability, primarily due to the increased risk of in-orbit collisions. Traditional ground-based tracking systems are constrained by latency and coverage limitations, underscoring the need for onboard, vision-based space object detection (SOD) capabilities. In this paper, we propose a novel satellite clustering framework that enables the collaborative execution of deep learning (DL)-based SOD tasks across multiple satellites. To support this approach, we construct a high-fidelity dataset simulating imaging scenarios for clustered satellite formations. A distance-aware viewpoint selection strategy is introduced to optimize detection performance, and recent DL models are used for evaluation. Experimental results show that the clustering-based method achieves competitive detection accuracy compared to single-satellite and existing approaches, while maintaining a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) footprint. These findings underscore the potential of distributed, AI-enabled in-orbit systems to enhance space situational awareness and contribute to long-term space sustainability.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2508_00755
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle AI-Driven Collaborative Satellite Object Detection for Space Sustainability
Hu, Peng
Zhang, Wenxuan
Image and Video Processing
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
The growing density of satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO) presents serious challenges to space sustainability, primarily due to the increased risk of in-orbit collisions. Traditional ground-based tracking systems are constrained by latency and coverage limitations, underscoring the need for onboard, vision-based space object detection (SOD) capabilities. In this paper, we propose a novel satellite clustering framework that enables the collaborative execution of deep learning (DL)-based SOD tasks across multiple satellites. To support this approach, we construct a high-fidelity dataset simulating imaging scenarios for clustered satellite formations. A distance-aware viewpoint selection strategy is introduced to optimize detection performance, and recent DL models are used for evaluation. Experimental results show that the clustering-based method achieves competitive detection accuracy compared to single-satellite and existing approaches, while maintaining a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) footprint. These findings underscore the potential of distributed, AI-enabled in-orbit systems to enhance space situational awareness and contribute to long-term space sustainability.
title AI-Driven Collaborative Satellite Object Detection for Space Sustainability
topic Image and Video Processing
Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00755