Optical tracking is fooled by laser pointer

[bgottula]

With recent versions of the software, activating the laser pointer in hybrid or optical tracking modes results in detection of the laser beam as a false target. I don't remember this being as big of a problem with the prior computer vision algorithm that used the SimpleBlobDetector. This is a major annoyance because it becomes nearly impossible to use the laser pointer to see where the mount is pointed relative to the target.

Some ideas for how to fix this:

• Try to filter out the laser pointer based on color/wavelength. This could be a physical notch filter for 532 nm or a software filter. My main concern with this approach is that applying a filter would result in a loss in sensitivity.
• Place an upper bound on the target area in the computer vision algorithm. I suspect the laser pointer is a diffuse target from the guidescope's perspective. Currently there is no upper bound on the target size that is allowed.
• Make further adjustments to how the threshold is set. If this approach is taken ensure that sensitivity is not impaired when the laser is disabled.
• The laser pointer on/off state is now controlled by software, thus software could use this knowledge to only apply some of these techniques when the laser is on.

Webcam frames from recent observing sessions where the laser pointer was active from time to time should be available for testing.

[bgottula]

This is far less important now because with near full alignment and tracking automation I don't need to rely on the laser pointer much at all; in fact I rarely install it for satellite tracking. The main use-case these days would be to help people watching to see where the telescope is pointed, but this isn't important enough to prioritize.