COLREGS-Constrained Parallel Path-Following Control of Under-Actuated Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships Based on High-Order Learning Extended State Observer

This article investigates the collision avoidance in the path-following control of an under-actuated maritime autonomous surface ship (MASS) under cyber-physical interactions in the presence of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGS) constraints. A COLREGS-constrained parallel path-following control architecture is presented for the under-actuated MASS. Specifically, an artificial MASS system is developed based on a high-order learning extended state observer in cyber space, with the distinguishing feature of not relying on any historical data. Next, a COLREGS-based finite state machine is employed to establish specific control barrier functions for various encounter scenarios, which ensures that the MASS is able to achieve the collision avoidance in compliance with COLREGS. Finally, anti-disturbance parallel path-following control laws are proposed to achieve the synchronous mapping of the artificial MASS system and the actual MASS system in the cyber-physical space. Based on stability and safety analyses, the closed-loop system is proven to be input-to-state stable, and the artificial MASS system is shown to be safe. All error signals are demonstrated to be uniformly ultimately bounded. Simulation results are provided to verify the efficacy of the COLREGS-constrained parallel path-following control method.