Authors:
Xin Xiong
;
Rudy R. Negenborn
and
Yusong Pang
Affiliation:
Department of Maritime and Transport Technology, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands
Keyword(s):
Formation Control, Multi-Vessel Systems, Ship-to-Ship Interaction.
Abstract:
The formation control of autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) has received increasing attention, with research focusing on the formation generation and maintenance. However, the majority of existing researches neglect the effects of ship-to-ship interactions. Considering that in some scenarios, the distance between ships in a formation is small, it is necessary to conduct relevant research on formation control. Based on existing literature on ship hydrodynamic effects, this paper proposes a semi-empirical formula to describe the ship-to-ship interaction forces, with the main factors being the relative distance and velocity between ships. Subsequently, experiments were designed to independently analyze these two influencing factors, and control simulations were executed for a formation consisting of two homogeneous ASV. The simulation outcomes demonstrate that ship-to-ship interaction forces indeed influence control performance, with control performance errors directly correlating with t
he variations in interaction forces between the two ASV. Among these factors, speed exerts a greater influence than distance, rendering it challenging for a conventional PID controller to satisfy the stringent control requirements.
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