Applying position prediction model for path following of ship on curved path

We propose to introduce a ship position prediction model for a path following control system of a ship to improve the path following performance on a curved path. Numerical simulation of the proposed control system with the position prediction model showed that the path following performance and rudder angle behavior improved significantly compared to those by the conventional method. The monotone cubic Hermite spline interpolation (MCHSI) is used for the path planning. The path following control system consists of the position prediction model, line-of-sight (LOS) guidance, and a LQI controller. In addition, it was found that the 1st-order position prediction model was sufficient for the path following of a ship since the 1st and 2nd order models gave nearly the same performance.