Maritime autonomous surface ship for experimental trajectory tracking in the ocean

Abstract

This study presents a systematic, full-scale offshore experimental validation of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-derived L1 guidance law for a very large container ship (VLCS). The innovation of the study lies in demonstrating the law's unique dual capability: enabling precise trajectory tracking while simultaneously executing adaptive aggressive maneuvers in the presence of environmental disturbances. A combination that has not been previously verified. This study provides a complete low-cost methodology for maritime autonomous surface ship model design, integration, and sea trials, with superior circular-path performance analogous to the “tight maneuvers” of the Anderson turn for search and rescue activities. The experiments offer a novel solution for the ship chase maneuvers, resembling the short-range tactical maneuvers of missiles, in a cluttered sea environment. The energy efficiency is high in the curved path compared with the UAV case and existing ships. The method is also beneficial for a high-speed ship attempting to arrive at a specific point with a narrowing spiral path within a confined sea. The combination of Pixhawk® 4, PX4 firmware, and QGroundControl, which most UAVs possess, was applied to marine vessels. The experimental model was a VLCS at 1/320 scale of the existing 20,000 TEU COSCO Shipping Gemini. The test site was the coastal sea of Yeosu, South Korea, where the winds, waves, and tidal currents vary. The experiments quantified the speed-dependent effects on tracking accuracy, overshoot, and coursekeeping under dynamic ocean conditions. This study is based on a test organized on the March 16, 2025.