Development of fuzzy logic based autonomous decision capability for imaging satellites

Difficulty in imaging cloud-covered areas is a major problem that causes loss of revenue for commercial earth observation satellites. Cloud cover information over the target area is very dynamic and changes rapidly. The uncertainty involved in the cloud cover information forces the operators to take chances with competing orders with inadequate knowledge of cloud cover status which results in getting images which are not acceptable by customers. Even the most recent earth observation satellites have been suffering from this problem. In this paper we suggest a method that involves some hardware addition and implementation of fuzzy logic based software which will enable the on board computer of satellite to make autonomous, last minute decisions to increase success rate in imaging operations.