Path Following of Underactuated Catamaran Surface Vessel (WAM-V) Using Fuzzy Waypoint Guidance Algorithm

Abstract

In this paper, a waypoint tracking algorithm is developed for dealing with catamaran type of vessel called Wave Adaptive Modular Vessel (WAM-V) and this paper further proposes a PID differential thrust control of a manoeuvring WAM-V. This control design greatly simplifies the control design process and easily applied to underactuated twin hull and twin propeller vessels such as WAM-V. The WAM-V is controlled by differential thrust for surge and yaw motion control; is an underactuated vehicle. The fuzzy control rules are constructed based on the human operator’s experience. The nomotos model derived from MMG mathematical model is developed to represent the WAM-V dynamics. The model and control algorithm are simulated using MATLAB and results are presented. The suggested fuzzy waypoint guidance control algorithm has shown good performance in terms of accuracy to track the waypoints.