A Model-Based Speed and Course Controller for High-Speed ASVs

Well-performing low-level vessel controllers are a necessity for marine motion control applications such as path following, trajectory tracking and collision avoidance for autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs). Designing such controllers are especially challenging for high-speed vessels operating in both the displacement, semi-displacement and planing regions. In this article, we build on a powerful framework for modeling, identification and control of high-speed ASVs in order to develop a model-based speed and course controller with high performance. The controller is shown to outperform a gain-scheduled proportional-integral feedback controller in full-scale experiments in the Trondheimsfjord, Norway. The controllers are compared both qualitatively and quantitatively using suitable performance metrics.