Barge Maneuvering Using a Fleet of Autonomous Surface Vessels: Simulations and Experiments

Abstract In recent years, there has been a growing trend in the use of autonomous surface vessels for various everyday tasks. These vessels’ capabilities include, for instance, monitoring water quality, surveillance, passenger transportation, and underwater mapping. However, overcoming the challenge of using autonomous surface vessels to transport larger vessels and floating structures is not an easy task, requiring a multidisciplinary approach. In our study, we delve into the potential of employing six autonomous surface vessels to transport a non-self-propelled rectangular barge. Our methodology is based on numerical and experimental tests. In the first part, we prepare our simulations using the 3D Gazebo Simulator and the Robot Operating System (ROS), where we build models for both the barge and the autonomous surface vessels (ASVs). These vessels maneuver using a non-linear approach, taking into account the characteristics of each floating object to calculate the forces and moments during the simulations. To proceed with the transportation of the barge, we implement a PID controller and a thrust-allocation algorithm. Then, we build reduced-scale models to carry out experimental tests in the visualization tank at the Laboratory of Waves and Current (LOC/COPPE/UFRJ). Finally, our combined numerical and experimental findings confirm the viability of using a fleet of autonomous surface vessels and our proposed approach for barge transportation.