In space, there’s no up or down, and exact distances between objects are difficult to judge. Astronauts using Canadarm on the Space Shuttle and Canadarm2 on the International Space Station must delicately manoeuvre precious cargo on a precise path. Helping the crews achieve this task as they guide the robotic arms is a special 3-D vision system that calculates both the position and orientation. The Space Vision System, developed by Ottawa’s Neptec for the Canadian Space Agency, is cutting-edge technology that has many space applications. It is also used commercially to monitor structures on Earth.
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http://www.espace.gc.ca/asc/eng/resources/publications/success15.asp