Modified Vector Field Path-Following Control System for an Underactuated Autonomous Surface Ship Model in the Presence of Static Obstacles

A modified path-following control system using the vector field method for an underactuated autonomous surface ship model is proposed in the presence of static obstacles. With this integrated system, autonomous ships are capable of following the predefined path, while avoiding the obstacles automatically. It is different from the methods in most published papers, which usually study path-following and obstacle collision avoidance, separately. This paper considers the coupled path following and collision avoidance task as a whole. Meanwhile, the paper also shows the heading control design method in the presence of static obstacles. To obtain a strong stability property, a nonlinear autopilot is designed based on the manoeuvring tests of the free-running ship model. The equilibrium point of the controller is globally exponentially stable. For the guidance system, a novel vector field method was proposed, and the proof shows the coupled guidance and control system is uniform semi-global exponentially stable (USGES). To prevent the obstacles near the predefined path, the proposed guidance law is augmented by integrating the repelling field of obstacles so that it can control the ship travel toward the predefined path through the obstacles safely. The repelling field function is given considering the obstacle shape and collision risk using the velocity obstacle (VO) algorithm. The simulations and ship model test were performed to validate the integrated system of autonomous ships.