Joint Power and Trajectory Control for Integrated Satellite-USV-Terrestrial Maritime Rescue System

To address the frequent occurrence of sudden sea accidents, this paper investigates a USV-enabled maritime rescue system (MRS). We integrate satellite and terrestrial base stations with the maritime wireless network (MWN) to achieve seamless communication and control coverage. Considering the spatiotemporal variability of ocean currents, we establish USV kinetics and MRS-oriented transmission models. We formulate a rescue time minimization problem, where communication power and USV trajectory control are jointly optimized. By decomposing the problem, we derive and solve two sub-problems iteratively. In particular, we propose an innovative hydrodynamic deep-Q learning network algorithm to plan current-favorable trajectories. Simulation results underscore the efficacy of the integrated MWN and the hydrodynamic-informed approach in enhancing sea rescue missions.