Systems and methods for calculating refueling tanker boom 3d position for aerial refueling

Abstract

Disclosed herein is methods, systems, and aircraft for performing image analysis for aiding refueling operations. A tanker aircraft includes a camera, a refueling boom, a camera configured to generate a two-dimensional (2D) image of the refueling boom, a processor, and non-transitory computer readable storage media storing code. The code is executable by the processor to perform operations including receiving the two-dimensional (2D) image from the camera, determining 2D keypoints of the refueling boom located within the 2D image based on a predefined point model of the refueling boom, determining a 6 degree-of-freedom (6DOF) pose using the 2D keypoints and the corresponding three-dimensional (3D) space 3D keypoints, optimizing 3D keypoints associated with moveable components of the refueling boom in response to a plurality of boom control parameters to produce optimized 3D keypoints, and estimating a position of a tip of the refueling boom based on the 6DOF pose.