We present results from sea trials for an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) equipped with a collision avoidance system based on model predictive control (MPC). The sea trials were performed in the North Sea as part of an ASV Challenge posed by Deltares through a Dutch initiative involving different authorities, including the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Netherlands Coastguard, and the Royal Netherlands Navy. To allow an ASV to operate in a maritime environment governed by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), the ASV must be capable of complying with COLREGs. Therefore, the sea trials focused on verifying COLREGs‐compliant behavior of the ASV in different challenging scenarios using automatic identification system (AIS) data from other vessels. The scenarios cover situations where some obstacle vessels obey COLREGs and emergency situations where some obstacles make decisions that increase the risk of collision. The MPC‐based collision avoidance method evaluates a combined predicted collision and COLREGs‐compliance risk associated with each obstacle and chooses the ‘best’ way out of dangerous situations. The results from the verification exercise in the North Sea show that the MPC approach is capable of finding safe solutions in challenging situations, and in most cases demonstrates behaviors that are close to the expectations of an experienced mariner. According to Deltares’ report, the sea trials have shown in practice that the technical maturity of autonomous vessels is already more than expected.

中文翻译：

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自主海上避碰：在具有挑战性的场景中对自主水面车辆行为的现场验证

我们介绍了装备有基于模型预测控制（MPC）的防撞系统的自动水面航行器（ASV）的海上试验结果。作为Deltares发起的ASV挑战计划的一部分，在北海进行了海上试验，该计划由荷兰参与，包括基础设施和水管理部，荷兰海岸警卫队和荷兰皇家海军在内的不同当局参与。为了使ASV在受国际防止海上碰撞规则（COLREG）约束的海洋环境中运行，ASV必须能够遵守COLREG。因此，海上试验着重于使用来自其他船舶的自动识别系统（AIS）数据，在不同的挑战性场景中验证ASV符合COLREGs的行为。这些场景涵盖了某些障碍物船舶遵守COLREG的情况以及紧急情况，其中某些障碍物做出了增加碰撞风险的决策。基于MPC的碰撞避免方法评估与每个障碍物相关的预测碰撞和COLREGs遵从性风险的组合，并从危险情况中选择“最佳”方法。北海验证活动的结果表明，MPC方法能够在具有挑战性的情况下找到安全的解决方案，并且在大多数情况下，这些行为都接近于有经验的水手的期望。根据Deltares的报告，海上试验在实践中表明，自动驾驶船的技术成熟度已经超出了预期。