Trajectory Tracking and Fault Detection of Underactuated USVs based on Nonlinear Model Predictive Control and Moving Horizon Estimation

This paper brings together the concepts of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) and Moving Horizon Estimation (MHE) for the adaptive control of an underactuated Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) equipped with two azimuth thrusters for trajectory tracking applications. The proposed methodology achieves fault detection based on the estimation of thrusters efficiencies allowing the completion of the mission in the case of single thruster failure. Simulation studies that are based on a real USV "Kerkouros" are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.