Abstract This paper proposed a path following controller for the unmanned surface vessel (USV) by taking advantage of the vector field (VF) guidance method and the characteristic model-based heading angle and speed tracking approach. Considering the fact that the motions of USVs without professional design were difficult to be accurately modeled due to the high complexity in terms of nonlinearity and coupling, the second-order characteristic model was determined to be the investigated plant which was regarded as the control model. The parameters involved in the model were estimated using forgetting factor recursive least square (FFRLS). Based on the characteristic model of the USV, the intelligent adaptive control method was applied to design the controller for tracking the heading angle and speed. Then, the path following controller was designed for the USV based on the vector field guidance law and the characteristic model-based heading angle and speed controller. Finally, experimental results with comparisons indicate the developed path following controller can simultaneously ensure accuracy in the expected range and defend negative effects induced by slight environmental disturbances, which implied the robustness and preciousness of the proposed controller. The attractive merits of the proposed path following controller mainly thanks to the flexibility and simplicity of the investigated plant (i.e. the second-order characteristic model) and the outperformance of the characteristic model-based controller.

中文翻译：

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基于特征模型的无人水面舰艇控制器设计

摘要 本文利用矢量场（VF）制导方法和基于特征模型的航向角和速度跟踪方法，提出了一种无人水面舰艇（USV）路径跟随控制器。考虑到非专业设计的无人艇的运动非线性和耦合复杂度高，难以准确建模，确定二阶特征模型为被研究对象，作为控制模型。模型中涉及的参数使用遗忘因子递归最小二乘法 (FFRLS) 进行估计。基于USV的特性模型，采用智能自适应控制方法设计了航向角和航速跟踪控制器。然后，基于矢量场制导律和基于特征模型的航向角和速度控制器，为USV设计了路径跟随控制器。最后，实验结果与比较表明，所开发的路径跟随控制器可以同时确保预期范围内的精度，并防止轻微环境干扰引起的负面影响，这意味着所提出的控制器的鲁棒性和宝贵性。所提出的路径跟随控制器的吸引人的优点主要归功于所研究的对象（即二阶特征模型）的灵活性和简单性以及基于特征模型的控制器的优异性能。实验结果与比较表明，所开发的路径跟随控制器可以同时确保预期范围内的精度并防止轻微环境干扰引起的负面影响，这意味着所提出的控制器的鲁棒性和宝贵性。所提出的路径跟随控制器的吸引人的优点主要归功于所研究的对象（即二阶特征模型）的灵活性和简单性以及基于特征模型的控制器的优异性能。实验结果与比较表明，所开发的路径跟随控制器可以同时确保预期范围内的精度并防止轻微环境干扰引起的负面影响，这意味着所提出的控制器的鲁棒性和宝贵性。所提出的路径跟随控制器的吸引人的优点主要归功于所研究的对象（即二阶特征模型）的灵活性和简单性以及基于特征模型的控制器的优异性能。