High-Precision Heading Control of an Autonomous Sailboat: A Robust Nonlinear Approach

This article investigates high-precision robust heading control for an autonomous sailboat. First, the mathematical model of an autonomous sailboat is highlighted and discussed, with a particular focus on the heading dynamics that must be robustly controlled under real-world conditions. Typical control difficulties such as system disturbances, modeling uncertainty, control actuation saturation, and measurement noise are considered and addressed with reference to the controller and system modeling. We propose a control method that ensures robust heading control of an autonomous sailboat in the presence of these challenges. A reference simulator in Matlab/Simulink is used as a simulation testbed to demonstrate the benefits of state-of-the-art robust control developments. A multiphase simulation is conducted to compare the advantages and disadvantages of model-based robust control with linear techniques such as proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control.