Review of Path-following Control Systems for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships

Abstract

A review presents the state-of-the-art path-following control systems for maritime autonomous surface ships, where the special focus is placed on the guidance subsystem and control subsystem. The path following control system is one of the basic requirements for autonomous ships since it guarantees that the ship can track the predefined path with small cross-track errors. The path following problem is firstly defined, and the cross-track error dynamics are derived from the kinematic equations of marine surface ships. The classical guidance laws are introduced, and the governing equations are also presented in this paper. A review of the guidance laws and controllers for the maritime autonomous surface ships has been carried out based on relevant journal and conference papers. Several important properties and characteristics, such as control structure, guidance law, control method, stability, environmental disturbance and vessel dynamics, are defined for the comparative analysis. Finally, the summary and a discussion on the most used technologies for the path following control of marine autonomous surface ships are presented and highlighted.