Terrain Intelligence Generator (TIG)

Mars 2020 stereo terrain reconstruction pipeline using NASA's VICAR image processing system.

Overview

TIG provides Docker-based tools for generating 3D terrain meshes from Mars rover stereo camera images. Built on VICAR (Video Image Communication and Retrieval), NASA JPL's image processing system used across planetary missions.

Features

• Stereo Correlation: Generate disparity maps from stereo image pairs (marscorr, marscor3)
• 3D Point Clouds: Convert disparity to XYZ coordinates (marsxyz)
• Mesh Generation: Create textured 3D surface meshes (marsmesh)
• Format Conversion: Export to OBJ, OpenInventor, GLB formats
• M2020 Support: Includes Mars 2020 NavCam and Mastcam-Z calibration

Quick Start

Option 1: Automated Native Toolkit (Recommended)

Get native-like VICAR commands in one step:

cd vicar-native-toolkit
./bootstrap.sh
# ✓ Pulls Docker image
# ✓ Starts container  
# ✓ Creates ~550 command wrappers
# ✓ Ready in <30 seconds

# Now use VICAR commands directly
gen out=test.img nl=10 ns=10
toolkit-status

See vicar-native-toolkit/README.md for details.

Option 2: Run Mesh Generation Demo

# Pull the Docker image
docker pull ghcr.io/nasa-ammos/tig/terrain-intelligence-generator:opensource

# Run NavCam mesh generation demo
./demo-mesh-generation-with-xyz.sh \
  --stereo-left /path/to/left.VIC \
  --stereo-right /path/to/right.VIC

Output: Textured 3D mesh in Wavefront OBJ format (~10 minutes)

View Results

# Generated files in workspace/
ls workspace/
# terrain.obj       - 3D mesh
# terrain.mtl       - Material file
# texture.png       - Texture image
# pointcloud.xyz    - XYZ point cloud

# View in MeshLab, Blender, or CloudCompare
meshlab workspace/terrain.obj

Components

Components

VICAR Native Toolkit

Docker environment with VICAR tools wrapped for native-like CLI usage. Features:

• ✨ One-command setup via bootstrap.sh
• 🚀 Fast activation (~1 second, symlink-based wrappers)
• 🔧 Auto-discovers ~550 VICAR commands
• 🐳 Custom image support via --image flag
• 📊 MARS calibration mounting for terrain processing

📁 vicar-native-toolkit/
📖 Toolkit README | Quick Reference

Terrain Intelligence Generator

Pre-built demos and M2020 calibration for mesh generation.

• 📁 terrain-intelligence-generator/docker/
• 📖 Getting Started

Demos

Example workflows for stereo mesh generation.

• 📁 Demo scripts: demo-mesh-generation*.sh
• 📖 Mesh Generation Guide
• 📖 Command Reference

Documentation

• Getting Started - Installation and setup
• Mesh Generation Demo - Step-by-step mesh creation
• Command Reference - Available VICAR commands
• Vicario Reference - Image format conversion

Key Tools

Tool	Purpose	Input	Output
marscorr	Initial stereo correlation	Stereo pair	Disparity map
marscor3	Disparity refinement	Disparity + images	Refined disparity
marsxyz	3D point generation	Disparity + images	XYZ point cloud
marsmesh	Surface triangulation	XYZ + texture	3D mesh (OBJ)
vicario	Format conversion	VICAR image	PNG/JPEG/TIFF

Requirements

• Docker or Podman
• 8GB RAM minimum (16GB recommended for high-res meshes)
• Linux, macOS, or Windows with WSL2

Project Structure

tig/
├── demo-mesh-generation-with-xyz.sh    # Main demo script
├── demo-mesh-generation.sh             # Full correlation pipeline
├── find-calibration.sh                 # Calibration helper
├── docs/                               # Documentation
│   ├── demos/                          # Demo guides
│   ├── architecture/                   # System design
│   └── reference/                      # Tool references
├── vicar-native-toolkit/               # VICAR wrapper environment
└── terrain-intelligence-generator/     # TIG Docker image
    └── docker/
        ├── Dockerfile
        ├── vicario.jar                 # Image converter
        └── mars_calibration_m20/       # M2020 calibration

Contributing

Contributions welcome! This project uses:

• VICAR: JPL's MIPL image processing system
• Docker: Containerized VICAR environment
• Mars 2020: Perseverance rover calibration data

License

Apache License 2.0 (see LICENSE file)

About VICAR

VICAR (Video Image Communication and Retrieval) is a general-purpose image processing system developed by NASA JPL's Multimission Image Processing Laboratory (MIPL). Used for processing images from Mars rovers, lunar missions, and deep space probes since the 1960s.

Acknowledgments

• NASA JPL Multimission Image Processing Laboratory (MIPL)
• Mars 2020 Perseverance Rover Team
• VICAR development team