mlsanityData to 14 Oct 2026

Satellite Pose Estimation with Deep Landmark Regression and Nonlinear Pose Refinement

arXiv 1908.11542 ↗First posted 30 Aug 2019cs.CVcited by 56

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Abstract (arXiv)

We propose an approach to estimate the 6DOF pose of a satellite, relative to a canonical pose, from a single image. Such a problem is crucial in many space proximity operations, such as docking, debris removal, and inter-spacecraft communications. Our approach combines machine learning and geometric optimisation, by predicting the coordinates of a set of landmarks in the input image, associating the landmarks to their corresponding 3D points on an a priori reconstructed 3D model, then solving for the object pose using non-linear optimisation. Our approach is not only novel for this specific pose estimation task, which helps to further open up a relatively new domain for machine learning and computer vision, but it also demonstrates superior accuracy and won the first place in the recent Kelvins Pose Estimation Challenge organised by the European Space Agency (ESA).

Key facts. Cited by 56 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026). First posted on arXiv 30 Aug 2019.

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Cited by year (2026 to 14 Oct)

Citing papers per year: 2021: 13; 2022: 9; 2023: 9; 2024: 10; 2025: 10; 2026: 5.

56 papers.

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  1. 2021SPEED+: Next-Generation Dataset for Spacecraft Pose Estimation across Domain Gapcited by 57
  2. 2021Wide-Depth-Range 6D Object Pose Estimation in Spacecited by 45
  3. 2022Robust Multi-Task Learning and Online Refinement for Spacecraft Pose Estimation across Domain Gapcited by 44
  4. 2023Object Pose Estimation with Statistical Guarantees: Conformal Keypoint Detection and Geometric Uncertainty Propagationcited by 33
  5. 2023A Survey on Deep Learning-Based Monocular Spacecraft Pose Estimation: Current State, Limitations and Prospectscited by 30
  6. 2021Self-supervised Geometric Perceptioncited by 26
  7. 2021Certifiably Optimal Outlier-Robust Geometric Perception: Semidefinite Relaxations and Scalable Global Optimizationcited by 21
  8. 2022Towards Bridging the Space Domain Gap for Satellite Pose Estimation using Event Sensingcited by 21
  9. 2022Bridging the Domain Gap in Satellite Pose Estimation: a Self-Training Approach based on Geometrical Constraintscited by 21
  10. 2021Deep Learning-based Spacecraft Relative Navigation Methods: A Surveycited by 17
  11. 2021Real-Time, Flight-Ready, Non-Cooperative Spacecraft Pose Estimation Using Monocular Imagerycited by 15
  12. 2021Artificial Intelligence for Satellite Communication: A Reviewcited by 14
38 more
  1. 2021Robotic Testbed for Rendezvous and Optical Navigation: Multi-Source Calibration and Machine Learning Use Casescited by 14
  2. 2022CA-SpaceNet: Counterfactual Analysis for 6D Pose Estimation in Spacecited by 13
  3. 2023SPADES: A Realistic Spacecraft Pose Estimation Dataset using Event Sensingcited by 13
  4. 2022Spacecraft Pose Estimation Based on Unsupervised Domain Adaptation and on a 3D-Guided Loss Combinationcited by 12
  5. 2021ChiNet: Deep Recurrent Convolutional Learning for Multimodal Spacecraft Pose Estimationcited by 11
  6. 2021LSPnet: A 2D Localization-oriented Spacecraft Pose Estimation Neural Networkcited by 10
  7. 20236D Object Pose Estimation from Approximate 3D Models for Orbital Roboticscited by 10
  8. 2024CRISP: Object Pose and Shape Estimation with Test-Time Adaptationcited by 9
  9. 2022Machine Learning in Orbit Estimation: a Surveycited by 8
  10. 2024Leveraging Neural Radiance Fields for Pose Estimation of an Unknown Space Object during Proximity Operationscited by 7
  11. 2021Dynamical Pose Estimationcited by 6
  12. 2021Occlusion-Robust Object Pose Estimation with Holistic Representationcited by 6
  13. 2023A Correct-and-Certify Approach to Self-Supervise Object Pose Estimators via Ensemble Self-Trainingcited by 6
  14. 2023Recent Advancements in Deep Learning Applications and Methods for Autonomous Navigation: A Comprehensive Reviewcited by 6
  15. 2024Bridging the Domain Gap for Flight-Ready Spaceborne Visioncited by 6
  16. 2022Mobile-URSONet: an Embeddable Neural Network for Onboard Spacecraft Pose Estimationcited by 5
  17. 2024Domain Generalization for 6D Pose Estimation Through NeRF-based Image Synthesiscited by 5
  18. 2025Uncertainty-Aware Knowledge Distillation for Compact and Efficient 6DoF Pose Estimationcited by 5
  19. 2022Deep Learning for Real Time Satellite Pose Estimation on Low Power Edge TPUcited by 4
  20. 2025FastPose-ViT: A Vision Transformer for Real-Time Spacecraft Pose Estimationcited by 4
  21. 2024Domain Generalization for In-Orbit 6D Pose Estimationcited by 3
  22. 2024Test-Time Certifiable Self-Supervision to Bridge the Sim2Real Gap in Event-Based Satellite Pose Estimationcited by 3
  23. 2022Data Lifecycle Management in Evolving Input Distributions for Learning-based Aerospace Applicationscited by 2
  24. 2023SU-Net: Pose estimation network for non-cooperative spacecraft on-orbitcited by 2
  25. 2024Real-Time Spacecraft Pose Estimation Using Mixed-Precision Quantized Neural Network on COTS Reconfigurable MPSoCcited by 2
  26. 2025NeRF-based Visualization of 3D Cues Supporting Data-Driven Spacecraft Pose Estimationcited by 2
  27. 2025Improved 3D Gaussian Splatting of Unknown Spacecraft Structure Using Space Environment Illumination Knowledgecited by 2
  28. 2021Autonomy and Perception for Space Miningcited by 1
  29. 2024Computer vision tasks for intelligent aerospace missions: An overviewcited by 1
  30. 2024Markers Identification for Relative Pose Estimation of an Uncooperative Targetcited by 1
  31. 2024Test-Time Adaptation for Keypoint-Based Spacecraft Pose Estimation Based on Predicted-View Synthesiscited by 1
  32. 2025Event-RGB Fusion for Spacecraft Pose Estimation Under Harsh Lightingcited by 1
  33. 2026Component-Aware Structure-Preserving Style Transfer for Satellite Visual Sim2Real Data Constructioncited by 1
  34. 2023Modular Quantization-Aware Training for 6D Object Pose Estimationcited by 0
  35. 2023Orbital AI-based Autonomous Refuelling Solutioncited by 0
  36. 2025A large-scale, physically-based synthetic dataset for satellite pose estimationcited by 0
  37. 2025Deterministic Object Pose Confidence Region Estimationcited by 0
  38. 2025Enabling Robust, Real-Time Verification of Vision-Based Navigation through View Synthesiscited by 0

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