Cooperative Target-Surrounding Control of Unmanned Surface Vessels Based on MADDPG

This article proposes a multi-agent deep reinforce-ment learning algorithm to control a fleet of unmanned surface vessels (USVs) that encircle and capture sea targets. First, a simulation environment for USVs is established based on a dynamic model; two-dimensional control variables are used to control movements in three directions. Second, the multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient (MADDPG) algorithm is employed to achieve intelligent control of the USVs, using a reward function based on certain prior knowledge. Finally, centralized training and decentralized execution are used to complete the offline learning of multiple agents, and continuous action decisions are made based on the observations of the USV sensors. Simulations demonstrate that the method can capture stationary moving sea targets with any number of multi-agents under disturbances, and exhibits strong robustness and practicality.