A combined guidance and control concept for autonomous ferries
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Simon Helling
Simon Helling is a doctoral researcher with the Automation and Control Group at the Faculty of Engineering of Kiel University, Germany. His research focuses on optimal and model predictive control of autonomous marine surface vessels. Furthermore, his research interests include state and disturbance estimation as well as numerical optimization methods.
,
Max Lutz
Max Lutz is a doctoral researcher with the Automation and Control Group at the Faculty of Engineering of Kiel University, Germany. His research interests are the development and application of optimal control and model predictive control schemes with a special focus on trajectory planning for highly automated and autonomous marine surface vessels.
Thomas Meurer is Full Professor and head of the Automation and Control Group at the Faculty of Engineering of Kiel University, Germany. His research interests include control, optimization, and state estimation for linear and nonlinear finite-dimensional and distributed parameter systems and their application in manufacturing and production processes, robotics, multi-agent systems, maritime systems, adaptive mechatronic structures, and process systems engineering.
Abstract
Autonomous ferry operation in harbor and coastal areas is especially challenging due to the tendency to impose a high traffic density, prohibited areas, and a wide variety of different traffic participants to the automation task. To this end, we propose a concept for automated guidance and control of harbor ferry fleet operation. Subsequently, we differentiate guidance into a central, on-land scheduling unit and an on-ship trajectory planning unit that generates a set of waypoints and corresponding desired speeds by means of a flatness-based optimal control problem. Moreover, static obstacles are taken into account by means of a dual approach and the trajectory planning is linked to the control module realized as a path following model predictive control autopilot, which also handles dynamic obstacles.
Zusammenfassung
Die Realisierung autonomer Personenfähren in Hafen- und Küstengebieten stellt ein besonders herausforderndes Problem dar, was nicht zuletzt daran liegt, dass in diesen Gebieten ein erhöhtes Verkehrsaufkommen, Sperrbereiche und eine Vielzahl an verschiedenen Verkehrsteilnehmern anzutreffen sind. Um dieses Problem zu lösen, wird ein Konzept zur automatisierten Schiffsführung und -regelung von Personenfähren präsentiert. Dabei wird die Schiffsführung in eine landgebundene Fahrplaneinheit und in eine schiffsgebundene Trajektorienplanungseinheit unterteilt, wobei letztere Wegpunkte und dazugehörige Sollgeschwindigkeiten mittels eines flachheitsbasierten Optimalsteueurungsproblems generiert. Außerdem werden dabei statische Hindernisse mittels eines dualen Ansatzes berücksichtigt. Die Regelung erfolgt durch einen modellprädiktiven Ansatz, der zudem dynamische Hindernisse einbezieht.
About the authors
Simon Helling is a doctoral researcher with the Automation and Control Group at the Faculty of Engineering of Kiel University, Germany. His research focuses on optimal and model predictive control of autonomous marine surface vessels. Furthermore, his research interests include state and disturbance estimation as well as numerical optimization methods.
Max Lutz is a doctoral researcher with the Automation and Control Group at the Faculty of Engineering of Kiel University, Germany. His research interests are the development and application of optimal control and model predictive control schemes with a special focus on trajectory planning for highly automated and autonomous marine surface vessels.
Thomas Meurer is Full Professor and head of the Automation and Control Group at the Faculty of Engineering of Kiel University, Germany. His research interests include control, optimization, and state estimation for linear and nonlinear finite-dimensional and distributed parameter systems and their application in manufacturing and production processes, robotics, multi-agent systems, maritime systems, adaptive mechatronic structures, and process systems engineering.
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© 2022 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Towards new shores or back to the roots?
- Forum
- Automation of maritime shipping for more safety and environmental protection
- VeLABi – Research and control center for autonomous inland vessels
- Survey
- Review of pose estimation within European ship-automation projects using GNSS-based navigation
- Applications
- Towards semi-autonomous operation of an over-actuated river ferry
- A combined guidance and control concept for autonomous ferries
- Automated maneuvering using model-based control as key to autonomous shipping
- Risk mitigation by design of autonomous maritime automation systems
- Autonomously mapping shallow water environments under and above the water surface
- Persönliches
- Zum 90. Geburtstag von Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Henning Tolle – Einige sehr persönliche Erinnerungen
- Herrn Prof. Henning Tolle zum 90. Geburtstag
Articles in the same Issue
- Frontmatter
- Editorial
- Towards new shores or back to the roots?
- Forum
- Automation of maritime shipping for more safety and environmental protection
- VeLABi – Research and control center for autonomous inland vessels
- Survey
- Review of pose estimation within European ship-automation projects using GNSS-based navigation
- Applications
- Towards semi-autonomous operation of an over-actuated river ferry
- A combined guidance and control concept for autonomous ferries
- Automated maneuvering using model-based control as key to autonomous shipping
- Risk mitigation by design of autonomous maritime automation systems
- Autonomously mapping shallow water environments under and above the water surface
- Persönliches
- Zum 90. Geburtstag von Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Henning Tolle – Einige sehr persönliche Erinnerungen
- Herrn Prof. Henning Tolle zum 90. Geburtstag
