Coming alongside support system, coming alongside support method and program

Abstract

To provide an aboardage supporting system to bring efficiently a ship alongside an objective point arranged on a sea surface.SOLUTION: In a control step t, an aboardage supporting system comprises a next target calculation part to calculate the target position and the target direction of a ship in the next control step t+1, a disturbance amount calculation part, and a control part to control the speed and the moving direction of the ship, where the disturbance amount calculation part calculates the deviation amount between the target position and the target direction in the control step t, which is calculated in one previous control step t-1 and the actual position and the actual direction of the ship in the control step t. The means to calculate the target position and the target direction calculates the target position and the target direction after correction by adding the deviation amount to the target position and target direction in the control step t+1. The control part controls the ship so that the ship is located at the target position after correction and turns toward the target direction after correction in the control step t+1.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a coming-along assistance system, a coming-along assistance method, and a program. [Background technology]

[0002] A ship may be navigated to an offshore structure such as an offshore wind turbine or a large ship, or to a target point in the vicinity. Compared to docking on land such as a harbor, mooring to an offshore structure requires skilled driving techniques. When mooring to a target point set on the sea, it is necessary to control the ship precisely toward the target point according to the current sea conditions. Patent Document 1 discloses an autopilot system using PID control to move the ship along a pre-set course. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 116593 / 1983 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] There is a need for a control method that allows for docking with a target location at sea.

[0005] The present disclosure provides a coming-together assistance system and a coming-together assistance method that can solve the above-mentioned problems. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The docking assistance system of the present disclosure includes, at a control step t, a target calculation unit that calculates a target position and a target heading of the ship at the next control step t+1, and a target calculation unit that calculates the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and a target calculation unit that calculates the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and About each Displacement amount Misalignment direction and a control unit that controls the speed and the moving direction of the ship, At the control step t, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1 is calculated, the target position of the ship at the control step t+1 is set to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship at the control step t and the final target point, the position moved from the control step t to the control step t+1 at the target speed, the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is set to the direction of the straight line, and further, during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1, Assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during movement will occur, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the position deviation direction by the amount of the position deviation calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit, thereby calculating the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the direction of the heading deviation by the amount of the heading deviation calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit, thereby calculating the corrected target heading; The control unit controls the ship to be located at the corrected target position at control step t+1, and the ship's heading to face the corrected target heading. The target calculation unit may set the target speed up to control step t+1 faster than the current speed when a position of the ship actually reached at control step t is farther from the final target point than the target position at control step t calculated at control step t-1, and may set the target speed up to control step t+1 slower than the current speed when a position of the ship actually reached at control step t is closer to the final target point than the target position at control step t calculated at control step t-1. The target calculation unit may reduce the target speed to a first speed when a distance from the ship to the final target point becomes a first distance, and reduce the target speed to a second speed slower than the first speed when the distance becomes a second distance shorter than the first distance.

[0007] The method of supporting coming alongside of the ship of the present disclosure includes, at a control step t, a step of calculating a target position and a target heading of the ship at the next control step t+1, and a step of calculating the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at a control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and calculating the target position and the target heading at the control step t and the position and the heading of the ship at the control step t. About each Displacement amount Misalignment direction and controlling the speed and direction of the vessel. , at the control step t, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1 is calculated, the target position of the ship at the control step t+1 is set to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship at the control step t and the final target point, the position being moved from the control step t to the control step t+1 at the target speed, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is set to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 will occur during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in the opposite direction to the position deviation by the calculated amount of deviation of the position, to calculate the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in the opposite direction to the direction of the heading deviation by the calculated amount of deviation of the heading, to calculate the corrected target heading; In the controlling step, the ship is controlled so that it is located at the corrected target position in the control step t+1, and the heading of the ship is oriented toward the corrected target heading. If the position of the ship actually reached at control step t is farther from the final target point than the target position at control step t calculated at control step t-1, the target speed up to control step t+1 may be set faster than the current speed, and if the position of the ship actually reached at control step t is closer to the final target point than the target position at control step t calculated at control step t-1, the target speed up to control step t+1 may be set slower than the current speed. Also, in the step of calculating the target position and target orientation, the target speed may be reduced to a first speed when the distance from the ship to the final target point becomes a first distance, and may be reduced to a second speed slower than the first speed when the distance becomes a second distance shorter than the first distance.

[0008] The program of the present disclosure includes a step of causing a computer to, at a control step t, calculate a target position and a target heading of the ship at the next control step t+1, and a step of calculating the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and the position and heading of the ship at the control step t. About each Displacement amount Misalignment direction and controlling the speed and direction of the ship, wherein the step of calculating the target position and target heading comprises: At the control step t, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1 is calculated, the target position of the ship at the control step t+1 is set to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship at the control step t and the final target point, the position being moved from the control step t to the control step t+1 at the target speed, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is set to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 will occur during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in the opposite direction to the position deviation by the calculated amount of deviation of the position, to calculate the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in the opposite direction to the direction of the heading deviation by the calculated amount of deviation of the heading, to calculate the corrected target heading; In the controlling step, a process is executed in the control step t+1 to control the ship to be located at the corrected target position and to orient the ship's heading in the corrected target heading. If the position of the ship actually reached at control step t is farther from the final target point than the target position at control step t calculated at control step t-1, the target speed up to control step t+1 may be set faster than the current speed, and if the position of the ship actually reached at control step t is closer to the final target point than the target position at control step t calculated at control step t-1, the target speed up to control step t+1 may be set slower than the current speed. Furthermore, in the step of calculating the target position and target orientation, the program may reduce the target speed to a first speed when the distance from the ship to the final target point becomes a first distance, and reduce the target speed to a second speed slower than the first speed when the distance becomes a second distance shorter than the first distance. Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the coming-to-side assistance system, the coming-to-side assistance method, and the program of the present disclosure, it is possible to come to a target point set on the sea. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a ship coming alongside support system according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a first diagram illustrating a ship coming alongside support method according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a second diagram illustrating the coming-along support method according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 11 is a third diagram illustrating the coming-along support method according to the embodiment. [Figure 5A] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of movement control using PID control according to an embodiment. [Figure 5B] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of ship movement control using PI control. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a fourth diagram illustrating the coming-along support method according to the embodiment. [Figure 7] 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of movement control according to the embodiment. [Figure 8] 4 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of the coming-together support system according to the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a hardware configuration of the coming-together support system according to the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] <Embodiment> Hereinafter, the coming-behind support system according to the embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figs. 1 to 9. (composition) FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a ship-combeside assistance system according to an embodiment. The docking support system 100 includes a ship 1 and an offshore structure 20. The offshore structure 20 is, for example, a floating facility such as an offshore wind turbine or an FPSO (floating production, storage and offloading), a large ship, etc. The offshore structure 20 is provided with an entrance / exit 21. The entrance / exit 21 is, for example, a boarding / disembarking entrance for personnel or a loading / unloading entrance for transporting goods. A target point 30, which is a target position for docking of the ship 1, is set near the entrance / exit 21 (for example, a few meters in front of the entrance / exit 21). The target point 30 may be at the same position as the entrance / exit 21. For example, the offshore structure 20 in FIG. 1 is an offshore wind turbine facility, and the diameter of the offshore structure 20 is about 5 to 6 m, and the width of the entrance / exit 21 is about 1 to 1.5 m.

[0012] The ship 1 is, for example, a water jet ship, a propeller ship, an electric propulsion ship, a hybrid ship, or the like. The ship 1 is equipped with a positioning sensor 2 that measures the position of the ship 1, an orientation sensor 3 that measures the orientation, a ship-side sensor 4 that detects the positional relationship between the ship 1 and an object, a propulsion device 5, and a control device 10. The positioning sensor 2 is a receiver that receives position information of the ship 1 measured by a satellite positioning system such as GPS (Global Positioning System), Galileo, or Michibiki. The orientation sensor 3 is, for example, a compass or a gyro. The ship-side sensor 4 is, for example, any one or more of a radar, a laser, a camera, a sonar, or the like. The ship-side sensor 4 may be supported by a gimbal device to reduce the effect of the rolling of the ship's hull. The propulsion device 5 is, for example, a propeller, a water jet, a thruster, a rudder, a pod propulsion device, a main engine such as an internal combustion engine that drives them, an electric propulsion system including a motor, or the like. The propulsion devices 5 further include auxiliary propulsion devices such as a bow thruster (propulsion device 5C). The propulsion devices 5A to 5C in FIG.

[0013] The control device 10 includes a target position information acquisition unit 11, a sensor information acquisition unit 12, an operation reception unit 13, a control unit 14, a ship's side position control unit 141, a target calculation unit 142, a disturbance amount calculation unit 143, a positional relationship analysis unit 144, a memory unit 15, and an output unit 16. The target position information acquisition unit 11 acquires the position information of the target point 30 and the offshore structure 20. For example, when the position of the target point 30 is known in advance, the target position information acquisition unit 11 acquires the latitude and longitude of the position. In addition, when the offshore structure 20 moves, such as a ship being steered, the target position information acquisition unit 11 acquires the latitude and longitude of the offshore structure 20 transmitted by the offshore structure 20.

[0014] The sensor information acquisition unit 12 acquires information measured by the positioning sensor 2, the direction sensor 3, and the ship-side sensor 4. The operation reception unit 13 receives an operation by an operator. For example, when the operator performs an operation to instruct the control device 10 to execute automatic mooring control, the operation reception unit 13 receives this instruction operation.

[0015] The control unit 14 controls the propulsion devices 5 to control the movement of the vessel 1. For example, when the propulsion devices 5 are water jets, the control unit 14 causes the port propulsion device 5A and the starboard propulsion device 5B to output jet jets rearward (in the direction of the arrow 6a) to move the vessel 1 forward. The control unit 14 also causes the propulsion devices 5A and 5B to output jet jets forward (in the direction of the arrow 6d) to move the vessel 1 backward. The control unit 14 also causes the propulsion device 5A to output jet jets diagonally forward to the right (in the direction of the arrow 6e) and the propulsion device 5B to output jet jets diagonally backward to the right (in the direction of the arrow 6c) to move the vessel 1 to the right. The control unit 14 also causes the propulsion device 5A to output jet jets diagonally backward to the left (in the direction of the arrow 6b) and the propulsion device 5B to output jet jets diagonally forward to the left (in the direction of the arrow 6f) to move the vessel 1 to the left. In addition, when turning right on the spot, the control unit 14 causes the propulsion device 5A to output a jet jet diagonally to the left rear (in the direction of the arrow 6b) and the propulsion device 5B to output a jet jet diagonally to the left front (in the direction of the arrow 6f). In addition, when turning left on the spot, the control unit 14 causes the propulsion device 5A to output a jet jet diagonally to the right front (in the direction of the arrow 6e) and the propulsion device 5B to output a jet jet diagonally to the right rear (in the direction of the arrow 6c). In addition, when the ship 1 is equipped with a bow thruster (propulsion device 5C), for example, when the ship 1 is moved to the left, the control unit 14 controls the propulsion device 5C to turn left in addition to the above control of the propulsion devices 5A and 5B, and when the ship 1 is moved to the right, the control unit 14 controls the propulsion device 5C to turn right in addition to the above control of the propulsion devices 5A and 5B. Even when the propulsion device 5 is a propeller or a thruster, the control unit 14 controls the speed and direction of movement of the ship 1 by controlling the rotation speed and rudder of the propeller or thruster.

[0016] The control unit 14 also has a function of automatically driving the ship 1. For example, the control unit 14 controls the propulsion device 5 so that the ship 1 moves to the position of the target point 30 acquired by the target position information acquisition unit 11 based on the position information measured by the positioning sensor 2 acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 12. The control unit 14 also has a function of controlling the ship 1 to come alongside the target point 30 with the bow direction (the direction of the arrow 7) facing a predetermined direction when the ship 1 approaches the offshore structure 20. Specifically, the control unit 14 includes a coming alongside control unit 141 and a positional relationship analysis unit 144. The coming alongside control unit 141 includes a target calculation unit 142 and a disturbance amount calculation unit 143.

[0017] The coming-along control unit 141 performs automatic coming-along control of the ship 1 using any one or more of the data measured by the positioning sensor 2, the direction sensor 3, and the coming-along sensor 4. Automatic coming-along control refers to automatically operating the ship 1 to align its bow position with the target point 30 while pointing the bow direction of the ship 1 in a predetermined direction. The predetermined direction is, for example, the direction in which the bow direction of the ship 1 indicated by the arrow 7 in FIG. 1 faces the plane of the entrance / exit 21. In the automatic coming-along control, the coming-along control unit 141 controls the movement of the ship 1 based on the target position and target bow direction of the ship 1 for each control cycle calculated by the target calculation unit 142 and the disturbance amount calculation unit 143, which will be described next.

[0018] The target calculation unit 142 calculates the target position and target heading of the ship 1 for each predetermined control cycle. Hereinafter, the process executed by the coming-behind control unit 141 (including the target calculation unit 142 and the disturbance amount calculation unit 143) at a certain time t will be described as control step t, and the process executed when the next control cycle arrives will be described as control step t+1. For example, the target calculation unit 142 calculates the position and heading of the ship 1 at control step t+1 as follows. First, the target calculation unit 142 sets the position where the ship 1 will arrive at the next control step t+1 when the ship 1 navigates on a straight line connecting the position of the ship 1 at control step t and the target point 30 at the current speed as the tentative target position of the ship 1 at the control cycle t+1, and the direction of the straight line to the target point 30 as the tentative target heading of the ship 1 at the control step t+1. Next, the target calculation unit 142 calculates the target position and target heading of the ship 1 in control step t+1 by adding the deviation from the target position and target heading that occurred in the actual movement from the previous control step t-1 to control step t to the tentative target position and target heading of the ship 1 in control step t+1. This deviation is calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit 143.

[0019] In this embodiment, the deviation amount from the target position and target heading of the ship 1 for each control step due to disturbances such as wind and waves is calculated, and this value is recognized as the deviation caused by the disturbance and is set as the correction amount to be corrected in the next control step. Specifically, the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 calculates the difference (position deviation amount) between the target position of the ship 1 at control step t and the actual position at control step t, and the difference (heading deviation amount) between the target heading of the ship 1 at control step t and the actual heading at control step t. Then, the target calculation unit 142 adds the position deviation amount to the tentative target position of the ship 1 at control cycle t+1, and adds the heading deviation amount to the tentative target heading of the ship 1 at control cycle t+1, thereby calculating the target position and target heading for the control cycle t+1. This allows the ship 1 to arrive at the target point via the shortest route while compensating for deviations from the target position, etc., due to disturbances.

[0020] The positional relationship analysis unit 144 analyzes the positional relationship of the offshore structure 20 with respect to the ship 1 based on the information measured by the coming-behind sensor 4. The positional relationship refers to the distance between the ship 1 and the offshore structure 20 and the direction of the offshore structure 20 as seen from the ship 1. The memory unit 15 stores various information necessary for the navigation of the ship 1. The output unit 16 outputs information necessary for controlling the boat 1 to a display or the like.

[0021] <If the offshore structure is an offshore wind turbine> Next, automatic coming-to-ship control will be described with reference to Fig. 2 to Fig. 5A, taking as an example the case where the offshore structure is an offshore wind turbine. In the automatic coming-to-ship control, two-stage control is performed according to the distance from the target point.

[0022] (Automatic ship-side control: First setting condition) First, referring to FIG. 2, the control when the ship 1 moves near the offshore structure 20 will be described. Ships 1a to 1c respectively show the position and attitude of the ship 1 at times Ta to Tc (Ta < Tb < Tc). When the operating condition of the ship 1 satisfies the first set condition, the side approach control unit 141 starts the automatic side approach control under the first set condition. The automatic side approach control may be automatically started when the operating condition of the ship 1 satisfies the first set condition, or when the ship 1 comes to satisfy the first set condition, the output unit 16 displays a message such as "Approaching the target point. Please start the automatic side approach control." on the display, and the automatic side approach control may be started by the operator performing an operation to instruct the start of the automatic side approach control. The first set condition is, for example, any one or more of (α) the position of the ship 1 is within a range of a predetermined distance R2 from the offshore structure 20, (β) the position of the ship 1 is included in a predetermined range of directions as viewed from the offshore structure 20, and (γ) the ship speed of the ship 1 is within a predetermined range. For the distance R2 in (α), a value between, for example, 50 to 100 m is set. The ship 1 being present in the predetermined range of directions in (β) means, for example, that the ship 1 is present within a range of 90 degrees to the left and right of the straight line connecting the center of the offshore structure 20 and the target point 30. The ship speed in (γ) being within a predetermined range means, for example, that the speed of the ship 1 is a speed that can be regarded as a speed at which safe side approach is possible (for example, 10 knots or less). The first set condition does not necessarily have to include all of (α) to (γ). For example, only the conditions (α) and (β) may be sufficient, or only the conditions (α) and (γ) may be sufficient, or only the condition (α) may be sufficient. The control unit 14 controls the propulsion device 5 based on the azimuth information measured in real time by the azimuth sensor 3 and the distance between the current position of the ship 1 and the target point 30 (or the target side approach position) based on the position information of the ship 1 measured in real time by the positioning sensor 2, so that the ship 1 moves along the shortest route at a constant speed (for example, 3 to 4 knots).For example, as shown in vessel 1b, when the vessel 1 deviates from the shortest route (a straight line route from the current position to the target point 30) due to disturbance, the control unit 14 uses PID (Proportional-Integral-Differential) control to reflect the deviation from the shortest route in the operation amount of the next control step (D control of PID control), thereby compensating for the disturbance expected to occur during movement in the next control step, and controls the propulsion device 5 so that the vessel 1 moves along the shortest route from its current position to the target point 30. In this way, as shown in vessel 1c, the vessel 1 moves without deviating from the target point 30 due to the influence of disturbance. Details of the movement control of the vessel 1 will be described later (FIGS. 5A and 7).

[0023] (Automatic ship-side control: second setting condition) When the operating condition of the vessel 1 satisfies a predetermined second set condition, the coming-behind control unit 141 performs the following controls (1) and (2). The second set condition is a condition related to a distance R1 from the target point 30. In the second set condition, a value equal to or smaller than 50 m is set for the distance R1.

[0024] (1) Speed ​​control under automatic ship-to-ship control (second setting) Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the automatic approaching control under the second setting condition will be described. Ships 1d to 1e in FIG. 3 show the positions and postures of ship 1 at times Td to Te (Tc < Td < Te in FIG. 2), respectively. Also, the measurement ranges RRd and RRe are examples of the ranges within which the approaching sensor 4 can detect an object from ships 1d and 1e, respectively, when the approaching sensor 4 is a laser or a radar. When ship 1 satisfies the second setting condition of the automatic approaching control, the approaching control unit 141 gradually reduces the ship speed from 3 to 4 knots to a speed of 1 to 2 knots or less. For example, if there is a headwind, the approaching control unit 141 increases the speed and controls it so that the ship speed as a result of receiving the headwind becomes 1 to 2 knots or less. In the case of a following wind, the speed is decreased and controlled so that the ship speed as a result of receiving the following wind becomes 1 to 2 knots or less. The approaching control unit 141 may gradually reduce the ship speed to 1 to 2 knots or less according to the distance from the target point 30 (for example, inversely proportional to the distance). When the target point 30 is set on the ocean in front of the entrance / exit 21, the approaching control unit 141 moves ship 1 while reducing the ship speed to 1 to 2 knots so that the bow of ship 1 aligns with the target point 30, and at that position, controls the speed of ship 1 to an appropriate speed according to the sea state so that the posture of ship 1 can be maintained. Alternatively, when the automatic approaching control is started, the approaching control unit 141 may arbitrarily accelerate or decelerate the ship speed of 3 to 4 knots to approach ship 1 to the target point 30. For example, by accelerating or decelerating to a speed suitable for the automatic approaching control according to the sea state conditions, ship 1 can be accurately moved to the target point 30 and held at that position. Also, the approaching control unit 141 may, for example, further decelerate the speed of ship 1 when the distance of ship 1 from the target point 30 becomes a predetermined distance R0 (R0 < R1) to perform more accurate position control of ship 1.

[0025] (2) Control of Position and Bow Azimuth in Automatic Approaching Control (Second Setting Condition) When the ship 1 satisfies the second setting condition of the automatic coming-to-side control, the positional relationship analysis unit 144 analyzes the positional relationship between the ship 1 and the object based on the information measured by the coming-to-side sensor 4. The object is, for example, the offshore structure 20. Specifically, the positional relationship analysis unit 144 analyzes the distance from the ship 1 to the object and the direction from the ship 1 to the object. Here, refer to FIG. 4. For example, when the coming-to-side sensor 4 is a laser or a radar, the coming-to-side control unit 141 emits a beam V1 of the laser or radar in a predetermined direction (for example, the bow direction, or in the direction in which the object exists if the emission direction is adjustable). When the object (offshore structure 20) exists in the emission direction, the beam V1 is reflected by the object, and the coming-to-side sensor 4 receives the reflected light and reflected wave. The positional relationship analysis unit 144 measures the distance from the ship 1 to the object (offshore structure 20) based on the time from emission to reception. Furthermore, the positional relationship analysis unit 144 calculates the angle of arrival of the received reflected light and reflected wave by a known method, and analyzes the direction from the ship 1 to the target (offshore structure 20) based on the angle of arrival. Furthermore, if the coming alongside sensor 4 is a camera, the coming alongside control unit 141 instructs the camera to take a picture, and takes a picture of a predetermined range in the direction in which the camera is pointed. The positional relationship analysis unit 144 analyzes the image taken by the camera by a known image analysis method, and analyzes the distance and direction from the ship 1 to the target. Furthermore, if the coming alongside sensor 4 is a sonar, the coming alongside control unit 141 instructs the sonar to transmit sound waves to a predetermined range in the direction in which the sonar is pointed, and receives reflected waves from the underwater part of the target (offshore structure 20), and the positional relationship analysis unit 144 measures the distance from the ship 1 to the target (offshore structure 20) based on the time from transmission to reception. When the target structure is not an offshore structure but is underwater, for example, when a submerged anchor or underwater equipment is the target, a sensor (such as a sonar) is installed underwater to perform automatic docking control as an alternative to the positioning sensor 2. This control can also be applied to a target that is an underwater structure (such as a work robot moving underwater) instead of the offshore structure 20, and the above-mentioned first and second stages of automatic docking control can be performed to control the ship 1 to maintain a constant distance from the underwater target.

[0026] When the distance and direction from the ship 1 to the target object are obtained, the coming-along control unit 141 calculates the current distance and direction from the ship 1 to the target point 30 based on the positional relationship between the target point 30 and the offshore structure 20 (target object). When the distance and direction from the ship 1 to the target point 30 are calculated, the coming-along control unit 141 controls the propulsion device 50 to move the bow of the ship 1 to the target point 30. Note that a method of controlling the propulsion device 50 to move the bow of the ship 1 to the target point 30 based on the distance and direction from the ship 1 to the target point 30 will be described later (FIG. 7). Furthermore, the coming-along control unit 141 directs the bow direction of the ship 1 in a predetermined direction. For example, the coming-along control unit 141 may control the attitude of the ship 1 so that the bow direction of the ship 1 faces the target object directly. Facing directly means that the straight line of the bow direction passing through the bow coincides with the straight line connecting the center of the offshore structure 20 and the target point 30. For example, if the target point 30 is the entrance / exit 21, the ship can easily board and disembark from the offshore structure 20 by coming alongside with its bow heading facing the entrance / exit 21. In addition, the target bow heading is not limited to a direction facing the object directly, and may be at any angle.

[0027] 3, when the target object does not exist within the measurement range of the laser, radar, or sonar (when the reflected wave cannot be received), or does not exist within the shooting range of the camera (when the target object is not captured in the image), the coming-along control unit 141 controls the propulsion device 50 and adjusts the position and attitude of the ship 1 so that the target object (offshore structure 20) is included within the measurement range based on the position information of the target point 30 given in advance, the current position information of the ship 1 measured by the positioning sensor 2, and the current bow direction of the ship 1 based on the measurement value of the direction sensor 3. In this way, in the automatic coming-along control under the second set condition, the coming-along control unit 141 adjusts the position and attitude of the ship 1 using the measurement values ​​of the positioning sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3, while moving the ship 1 toward the target point 30 using the measurement values ​​of the coming-along sensor 4 that can measure the positional relationship (distance and direction) between the target point 30 and the ship 1 more precisely. When the positional relationship between the target point 30 and the ship 1 is obtained by the coming-to-side sensor 4, the coming-to-side control unit 141 may perform coming-to-side control only by the information measured by the coming-to-side sensor 4, without using the information measured by the positioning sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3. For example, the width of the entrance / exit 21 is, for example, 1 to 1.5 m, and the width of the offshore structure 20 is about 5 to 6 m. Since the position control required for coming-to-side to the offshore structure 20 requires more accurate position control than that required for coming-to-side to a port, it is preferable to use the coming-to-side sensor 4 that can measure the positional relationship with high accuracy. However, for example, when the coming-to-side sensor 4 cannot be effectively used due to weather conditions, automatic coming-to-side control may be performed using only the positioning sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3.

[0028] In this way, when the automatic coming alongside control under the second set conditions is started, the coming alongside control unit 141 simultaneously performs (1) control to gradually reduce the speed and (2) control to direct the bow of the ship 1 toward the target point 30 based on the positional relationship with the object. (2a) Furthermore, in order to control the position and bow heading of the ship 1 based on the positional relationship with the object, it is necessary to grasp the approximate position of the object and detect the object by the coming alongside sensor 4. The coming alongside control unit 141 controls the ship 1 to a position and attitude where the object can be detected by the coming alongside sensor 4, based on the position information of the target point 30, the position information of the ship 1, and the bow heading of the ship 1. As a result, even when docking is performed with a single target point 30 as a landmark, such as an offshore structure 20, rather than a docking position arbitrarily selected from a possible docking range as in the case of docking on land, the bow direction of the ship 1 can be precisely directed in a predetermined direction and the ship can be docked at the target point 30. There are also cases where the target point 30 is used as the landmark.

[0029] (3) End of automatic ship-commuting control When the ship 1 comes alongside the target point 30 and can turn the bow direction of the ship 1 in a predetermined direction, the coming alongside control unit 141 ends the automatic coming alongside control. The output unit 16 outputs a message such as "Coming alongside control is completed. Please operate manually", and the coming alongside control unit 141 may stop the automatic coming alongside control, or the operator may manually turn off the automatic coming alongside control.

[0030] <Movement control during automatic ship-commuting control> Next, a specific method of controlling the position, movement direction, and movement speed of the ship 1 during automatic docking control will be described. FIG. 5A is a diagram for explaining movement control of the ship 1 using PID control according to the embodiment. Ship 1(t-1) to ship 1(t+4) in FIG. 5A indicate the position and heading of the ship 1 in control steps t-1 to t+4, respectively (t+2 and t+4 indicate only the position). Ship 1(t') to ship 1(t+4') indicate the target position and target heading of the ship 1 in control steps t to t+4, respectively (t+2' to t+4' indicate only the position). In addition, P(t) to P(t+4) indicate the tentative target position (target position before correction) of the ship 1 in control steps t to t+4, respectively, and G(t) indicates the difference (deviation) between the positions of the ship 1(t) and the ship 1(t'). The same applies to G(t+1) to G(t+3). For example, in control step t-1, the target calculation unit 142 calculates the position indicated by P(t) and the heading indicated by d(t') as the target. Then, if the position and heading of the actual ship 1 in control step t are like the ship 1(t) in FIG. 5A, the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 calculates the position deviation G(t), and also calculates the difference Δdt (not shown) between the heading d(t) of the ship 1(t) and the heading d(t') of the ship 1(t'), that is, the heading deviation. Then, the target calculation unit 142 adds the deviation G(t) in the reverse direction to the target position P(t+1) of the next control step t+1. In this example, since the position of the actual ship 1(t) has shifted by G1 to the left of the paper from the target ship 1(t'), it is shifted by G(t) to the right of the paper from the target position P(t+1). The next target position P(t+1) is a position advanced by the distance that the line L connecting the actual position P(t) of the ship 1 at control step t and the target point 30 advances in one control step (i.e., the time of one control step x the speed of the ship 1). As for the heading, the tentative target heading at control step t+1 is set to the direction of the line L, and the target calculation unit 142 adds the heading deviation amount Δdt to this target heading in the opposite direction to the direction in which the deviation actually occurred.In the example of Figure 5A, the heading d(t) is slightly tilted to the left of the paper compared to the heading d(t'), so the direction of line L is calculated by tilting it to the right by Δdt, and this is set as the target heading d(t+1') at control step t+1.

[0031] In addition, the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 calculates the distance D in the Y-axis direction between the position of the ship 1(t-1) and the actual position of the ship 1(t). 1Y and the distance D in the Y-axis direction between the position of vessel 1 (t-1) and the position of vessel 1 (t´) (target position). 2Y The target calculation unit 142 calculates D 1Y >D 2Y If so, the speed in the Y-axis direction at the next control step t+1 is decelerated so as to compensate for the excess advance in the Y-axis direction at the next control step t+1. 1Y <D 2Y If so, the speed in the Y-axis direction in the next control step t+1 is accelerated so as to compensate for the insufficient amount of progress in the Y-axis direction in the next control step t+1.

[0032] As shown in the figure, the amount of movement per control step is smaller when the distance from the target point 30 is in the range of 5 m to R1 than when the distance from the target point 30 is in the range of R1 to R2, where the ship 1 moves at a relatively high speed, so that the position and orientation can be adjusted more precisely. Therefore, in the above-mentioned second stage control, the target calculation unit 142 may reduce the speed of the ship 1 as it approaches the target point 30. Alternatively, the speed may be further reduced by 1 to 2 knots when the distance from the target point 30 becomes equal to or shorter than a predetermined distance.

[0033] In this manner, in this embodiment, PID control is performed to correct the target position, target heading, and target speed by correcting the position and heading of the ship 1 to the shortest route to the target point 30 at each control step while adding the deviation amount due to disturbance. This makes it possible to move the ship 1 to the target point 30 with high accuracy at control step t+4, as shown in ship 1(t+4) in Fig. 5A.

[0034] For comparison, the movement control of the ship 1 by PI control is shown in FIG. 5B. Ship 1(t-1) to ship 1(t+4) in FIG. 5B indicate the ship 1 in control steps t-1 to t+4, respectively. In the case of PI control, the ship 1 is controlled to move on a straight line connecting the current position and the target point 30 in each control step. This results in the position and orientation of the ship 1 being corrected after the fact, but unlike this embodiment, the amount of deviation that occurred in the immediately preceding control step is not calculated and reflected in the target position or target heading of the next control step. As a result, the ship 1 in control step t+4 is located in a position shifted to the left of the target point 30, and the control accuracy is reduced compared to the case of PID control described in FIG. 5A.

[0035] <If the offshore structure is a large ship> In the examples of FIGS. 1 to 5A, the case of approaching the stationary marine structure 20 was taken as an example for explanation. The marine structure 20 may be a large ship during navigation. With reference to FIG. 6, the automatic approaching control when the large ship 20a during navigation is a marine structure and the target point 30 is set on the port side of the large ship 20a will be described. Ships 1f to 1g in FIG. 6 show the positions and attitudes of ship 1 at times Tf to Tg (Tf < Tg), respectively. The large ship 20a uses a satellite positioning system to measure its own position information. Based on the measured position information, the large ship 20a calculates the position information of the target point 30 and transmits the calculated position information of the target point 30 to ship 1. In ship 1, the target position information acquisition unit 11 of the control device 10 acquires the position information of the target point 30. After the second setting condition is satisfied, the approaching control unit 141 starts the automatic approaching control under the second setting condition. Based on the target angle θ of the bow azimuth at the predetermined target point 30, as shown in ship 1f, the approaching control unit 141 adjusts the attitude of ship 1 so that the angle formed by the bow azimuth of ship 1 and the tangent line of the large ship 20a at the target point 30 matches the target angle θ at the time of approaching. When the attitude adjustment is completed, the approaching control unit 141 slides ship 1 in the direction of arrow 51 while maintaining the bow azimuth of ship 1. When ship 1 moves to the position indicated by ship 1g, the approaching control unit 141 stops the automatic approaching control. Even when approaching the large ship 20a, the position, bow azimuth, and speed of ship 1 are controlled by the movement control described with reference to FIG. 5A.

[0036] (Operation) Next, the movement control of ship 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the movement control according to the embodiment. The coming alongside control unit 141 repeatedly executes the following process at a predetermined control period. The coming alongside control unit 141 acquires the position and direction of the ship 1 (step S1). For example, the coming alongside control unit 141 acquires the measurement values ​​of the positioning sensor 2 and the direction sensor 3. Alternatively, the coming alongside control unit 141 acquires the distance to the offshore structure 20 and the direction to the offshore structure 20 analyzed by the positional relationship analysis unit 144. The coming alongside control unit 141 outputs the position and direction of the ship 1 to the disturbance amount calculation unit 143. Next, the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 calculates the deviation amount of the position and the direction of the ship 1 (step S2). If the current control step is the control step t, the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 calculates the deviation amount of the position and the deviation amount of the direction that have occurred during the movement since the immediately preceding control step t-1. Regarding the amount of deviation in position, the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 calculates, for example, the amount of deviation in the X-axis direction and the amount of deviation in the Y-axis direction of the ship 1 in an XY coordinate system in which the Y-axis is the bow heading when the ship 1 is facing the target point 30 and the X-axis is in a direction perpendicular to the Y-axis. Regarding the amount of deviation in heading, the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 calculates the amount of deviation between the target bow heading at control step t calculated in control step t-1 and the actual bow heading at control step t.

[0037] The target calculation unit 142 also calculates the target position and target heading of the ship 1 in the next control step (step S3). The target calculation unit 142 calculates a position that can be reached in the next control step if the ship 1 proceeds along a straight line connecting the current position of the ship 1 acquired in step S1 and the target point 30 at the current speed as the target position (temporary target position), and calculates the traveling direction as the target heading (temporary target heading). Next, the target calculation unit 142 adds a deviation amount to the target position and the target heading (step S4). For example, the target calculation unit 142 adds the position deviation amount (deviation amount in the X-axis direction) calculated in step S2 to the provisional target position in the next control step in a direction to cancel the deviation. For example, if the ship 1 has deviated to the left of the target position in the immediately preceding control step, it is assumed that the ship 1 will also deviate to the left in the next control step, and the target position is set by shifting it in advance to the right (in a direction to cancel the deviation). Similarly, the target calculation unit 142 adds the amount of deviation of the heading calculated in step S2 to the tentative target heading in the next control step in a direction that cancels the deviation. For example, if the ship 1 deviates x degrees to the left from the target heading in the immediately preceding control step, it is assumed that the ship 1 will also deviate x degrees to the left in the next control step, and the target heading is set by tilting it x degrees to the right (in a direction that cancels the deviation) from the tentative heading in advance.

[0038] Next, the target calculation unit 142 calculates the target speed (step S5). For example, if the deviation in the Y-axis direction between control step t-1 and control step t is +5 m, there is a high possibility that the robot will advance an additional +5 m in the Y-axis direction in the next control step due to the influence of a tailwind or the like, so the target calculation unit 142 calculates a speed that will only reach 5 m before the target position in the Y-axis direction in the next control step, and sets this value as the speed in the Y-axis direction in the next control step. Similarly, if the deviation in the Y-axis direction between control step t-1 and control step t is -5 m, there is a high possibility that the robot will advance only 5 m before the target position in the next control step due to the influence of a headwind or the like, so the target calculation unit 142 calculates a speed that will reach a position 5 m ahead of the target position in the Y-axis direction in the next control step, and sets this value as the speed in the Y-axis direction in the next control step.

[0039] Furthermore, the target calculation unit 142 calculates a target speed in the X-axis direction based on the target position set in step S4 and the current position.

[0040] Next, the coming alongside control unit 141 controls the propulsion device 5 to control the movement of the ship 1, taking the target heading calculated in step S4 as the movement direction of the ship 1 and the target speed calculated in step S5 as the speed of the ship 1.

[0041] Generally, when controlling the movement of a ship taking into account disturbances such as waves and wind, a sensor for measuring ocean conditions is added, and a process for canceling the disturbance is performed based on the wind and wave information measured by the sensor. In contrast, in this embodiment, the difference between the measured values ​​of the position and heading of the ship 1 and the target position and target heading is regarded as a deviation amount due to disturbance, and the deviation amount generated in the previous control step is reflected in the target position and target heading in the next control step, thereby correcting the target position of the ship 1, etc. Since a sensor for measuring the position and heading of the ship 1 is generally mounted on a ship, according to this embodiment, it is possible to realize movement control that takes disturbances into account without adding a sensor for measuring disturbances or a circuit for disturbance analysis. In addition, a control is provided in which a navigation route to a target point is determined in advance, and the ship navigates to the target position by following this navigation route. This type of control is effective, for example, when sailing a ship toward a target that is several kilometers away and has a certain degree of expanse, such as a port, but when the objective is to come alongside an offshore structure 20 of limited size installed on the ocean or a point on the ocean nearby it, it is not realistic to calculate the navigation route to the destination one by one according to the fluctuations in oceanographic conditions from moment to moment. In contrast, with the coming alongside control of this embodiment, once the operating conditions of the ship 1 satisfy the first set condition, the ship 1 can be moved to the target point 30 without setting a navigation route in advance.

[0042] Next, the operation of the ship-combeside support system 100 will be described with reference to FIG. Fig. 8 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation of the coming alongside support system according to the embodiment. Information defining the bow direction at the time of coming alongside (for example, facing head on in Fig. 3) is registered in advance in the storage unit 15. The target position information acquisition unit 11 acquires the position information (latitude, longitude) of the target point 30 and the position information of the offshore structure 20, and registers these position information in the storage unit 15 (step S11). When the offshore structure is a moving body such as a large ship, the position information of the target point 30 also changes, so while performing the following processing, the target position information acquisition unit 11 successively acquires the position information of the target point 30 from the offshore structure 20.

[0043] Next, based on the operation of the operator or the like, the control unit 14 starts sailing the ship 1. The control unit 14 plans a target route based on the position information of the target point 30, and moves the ship 1 along the target route (step S12).

[0044] Next, the control unit 14 judges whether or not the position of the ship 1 satisfies the first set condition (step S13). For example, the control unit 14 judges whether (α) the position of the ship 1 is within a range of a predetermined distance (distance R2 in FIG. 2) from the target point 30, (β) whether the position of the ship 1 is included in a predetermined range of directions from the target point 30, (γ) whether the speed of the ship 1 is within a predetermined range, etc. If the first set condition is not satisfied (step S13; No), the control unit 14 continues the control of step S12. If the first set condition is satisfied (step S13; Yes), the control unit 14 (communal control unit 141) performs automatic commuting control under the first set condition. For example, the commutal control unit 141 reduces the speed of the ship 1 (for example, 3 to 4 knots) and moves the ship 1 by the movement control described using FIG. 5A and FIG. 7 (step S14).

[0045] Next, the control unit 14 judges whether or not the operating conditions of the ship 1 satisfy the second set conditions (step S15). For example, the control unit 14 judges whether or not the position of the ship 1 is within a range of a predetermined distance (distance R1 in FIG. 2) from the target point 30. If the second set condition is not satisfied (step S15; No), the control unit 14 continues the control of step S14. If the second set condition is satisfied (step S15; Yes), the coming-behind control unit 141 executes the automatic coming-behind control under the second set conditions (step S16). At this time, the coming-behind control unit 141 may automatically start the automatic coming-behind control under the second set conditions, or may start the automatic coming-behind control when the operation receiving unit 13 receives an operation instructing the start of the automatic coming-behind control under the second set conditions.

[0046] When the automatic coming alongside control under the second set conditions is started, the coming alongside control unit 141 reduces the speed of the ship 1 (for example, 1 to 2 knots) so that the ship 1 can come alongside the target point 30 with high accuracy. In addition, the coming alongside sensor 4 measures the positional relationship between the ship 1 and the offshore structure 20 by irradiating a laser or radar in the direction of the offshore structure 20 based on the positional information of the offshore structure 20, the positional information of the ship 1 by the positioning sensor 2, and the direction information by the direction sensor 3. More specifically, the positional relationship analysis unit 144 analyzes the information measured by the coming alongside sensor 4 acquired by the sensor information acquisition unit 12, and analyzes the distance between the ship 1 and the offshore structure 20 and the direction from the ship 1 to the offshore structure 20. When the positional relationship analysis unit 144 analyzes the distance between the ship 1 and the offshore structure 20 and the direction from the ship 1 to the offshore structure 20, the position and bow direction of the ship 1 can be calculated. The coming-together control unit 141 uses the target calculation unit 142 and the disturbance amount calculation unit 143 to perform the movement control described with reference to FIG. 5A and FIG. 7 based on the position and bow direction of the ship 1, and moves the ship 1 to the target point 30. When the offshore structure 20 is not present within the detection range of the coming-to-side sensor 4, the coming-to-side control unit 141 moves the ship 1 to a position where the offshore structure 20 can be detected by the coming-to-side sensor 4, based on the position information of the offshore structure 20, the position information of the ship 1 by the positioning sensor 2, and the direction information by the direction sensor 3. The coming-to-side control unit 141 and the positional relationship analysis unit 144 repeatedly control the position and attitude of the ship 1 and analyze the positional relationship between the ship 1 and the offshore structure 20, and move the ship 1 closer to the target point 30. At this time, the speed of the ship 1 may be further reduced as the ship 1 approaches the target point 30. This shortens the moving distance per control step, enabling more precise control of the position and heading. Note that multiple types of coming-to-side sensors 4 may be used in the automatic coming-to-side control. For example, the offshore structure 20 may be detected by first attempting to detect the offshore structure 20 using a laser, and if this fails, attempting to detect the offshore structure 20 using a radar. Alternatively, the offshore structure 20 may be detected by a camera when the ship 1 and the target point 30 are relatively far away, and then switched to detection using a radar or laser as the distance between the ship 1 and the target point 30 decreases.Alternatively, the offshore structure 20 may be detected in parallel by two or three sensors, and the positional relationship analysis unit 144 may calculate the positional relationship between the ship 1 and the offshore structure 20 by apportioning the results of analyzing the information measured by each sensor (laser, radar, camera, sonar). In addition, when the offshore structure 20 cannot be detected well by the coming alongside sensor 4 due to bad weather, for example, the coming alongside control unit 141 controls the ship 1 to come alongside the target point 30 based on the positional information of the target point 30, the positional information of the ship 1 from the positioning sensor 2, and the direction information from the direction sensor 3.

[0047] Next, the coming-along control unit 141 judges whether or not a predetermined termination condition is satisfied (step S17). For example, if a state in which the difference between the position information of the target point 30 and the position information of the ship 1 by the positioning sensor 2 is within a predetermined range, the distance between the ship 1 and the offshore structure 20 by the positional relationship analysis unit 144 is within a predetermined range, and the difference between the bow direction of the ship 1 and the bow direction registered in advance at the time of coming-along is within a predetermined range continues for a predetermined time or more, the coming-along control unit 141 judges that the termination condition is satisfied, and if not, judges that the termination condition is not satisfied. If the termination condition is not satisfied (step S17; No), the coming-along control unit 141 continues the automatic coming-along control. If the termination condition is satisfied (step S17; No), the coming-along control unit 141 ends the automatic coming-along control (step S18). When the automatic coming-to-side control is completed, for example, the output unit 16 outputs to a display a message informing the end of the automatic coming-to-side control and urging the operator to perform manual control.

[0048] As described above, the docking assistance system 100 can automatically control the ship 1 to come alongside the target point 30 set on or near the offshore structure 20, with the bow heading of the ship 1 facing in a specified direction.

[0049] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of the coming-together support system according to the embodiment. A computer or control device (such as a programmable controller) 900 (hereinafter referred to as computer 900 ) includes a CPU 901 , a main memory device 902 , an auxiliary memory device 903 , an input / output interface 904 , and a communication interface 905 . The above-mentioned control device 10 is implemented in a computer 900. The above-mentioned functions are stored in the auxiliary storage device 903 in the form of a program. The CPU 901 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 903, loads it in the main storage device 902, and executes the above-mentioned processing in accordance with the program. The CPU 901 also reserves a storage area in the main storage device 902 in accordance with the program. The CPU 901 also reserves a storage area in the auxiliary storage device 903 for storing data being processed in accordance with the program.

[0050] In addition, a program for realizing all or part of the functions of the control device 10 may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed to perform processing by each functional unit. The term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. In addition, if a WWW system is used, the term "computer system" also includes a homepage providing environment (or display environment). In addition, the term "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a portable medium such as a CD, DVD, or USB, and a storage device such as a hard disk built into a computer system. In addition, if the program is distributed to the computer 900 via a communication line, the computer 900 that receives the program may deploy the program in the main storage device 902 and execute the above processing. In addition, the above program may be for realizing part of the above-mentioned functions, and may further be capable of realizing the above-mentioned functions in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system.

[0051] As described above, several embodiments according to the present disclosure have been described, but all of these embodiments are presented as examples and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. These embodiments can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. These embodiments and their modifications are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents as described in the claims, as well as in the scope and gist of the invention.

[0052] <Additional Notes> The coming-to-side assistance system, the coming-to-side assistance method, and the program described in the embodiments can be understood, for example, as follows.

[0053] (1) A first aspect of the docking assistance system 100 includes, at a control step t, a target calculation unit that calculates a target position and target heading of the ship at the next control step t+1, a disturbance amount calculation unit that calculates the target position and target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and an amount of deviation of the position and heading of the ship at the control step t, and a control unit that controls the speed and moving direction of the ship, wherein the target calculation unit adds the amount of deviation of the position calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit to the target position of the ship at control step t+1 and adds the amount of deviation of the heading calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit to the target heading of the ship at control step t+1 to calculate the corrected target position and target heading, and the control unit controls the ship so that the ship is located at the corrected target position in control step t+1 and the bow heading of the ship is oriented toward the corrected target heading. This makes it possible to navigate the ship to the target location with high accuracy without installing a sensor to detect disturbances.

[0054] (2) A second aspect of the coming alongside assistance system 100 is the coming alongside assistance system 100 of (1), wherein the target calculation unit further calculates a target speed of the ship up to control step t+1 at the control step t, calculates a target position of the ship at control step t+1 by adding an amount of deviation of the position to a position moved at the target speed from control step t to control step t+1 on a straight line connecting the position of the ship at control step t and the final target point, and calculates the target heading by adding an amount of deviation of the heading to the heading of the final target point on the straight line. This enables the movement of the ship to be controlled with high precision.

[0055] (3) A third aspect of the coming alongside assistance system 100 is the coming alongside assistance system 100 of (2), wherein the target calculation unit sets the target speed faster than the current speed when the position of the ship in control step t+1 is farther from the final target point than the target position in control step t+1, and sets the target speed slower than the current speed when the position of the ship in control step t+1 is closer to the final target point than the target position in control step t+1. This enables the movement of the ship to be controlled with high precision.

[0056] (4) A fourth aspect of the coming alongside support system 100 is the coming alongside support system 100 of (2) to (3), wherein the target calculation unit reduces the target speed to a first speed when the distance from the ship to the final target point becomes a first distance, and reduces the target speed to a second speed slower than the first speed when the distance becomes a second distance shorter than the first distance. This allows the ship to come alongside a target point set on the sea.

[0057] (5) A fifth aspect of the coming alongside assistance system 100 is the coming alongside assistance system 100 of (4), wherein, when the distance from the ship to the final target point becomes a third distance shorter than the second distance, the target calculation unit reduces the target speed to a third speed which is even slower than the second speed, or reduces the target speed in accordance with the distance from the ship to the final target point. As the ship approaches the target point, the speed can be further reduced, allowing the ship to come alongside the target point with high precision.

[0058] (6) A sixth aspect of the coming alongside support system 100 is the coming alongside support system 100 of (4) to (5), wherein the target calculation unit 142 detects the position or bow direction of the ship using at least one of a satellite positioning system, a compass, and a gyro until the distance from the ship to the final target point becomes the second distance, and when the distance becomes equal to or shorter than the second distance, detects the position or bow direction of the ship using at least one of a laser, a radar, a camera, and a sonar. By using different sensors depending on the situation, the ship 1 can be navigated to the target location and come alongside at the target location.

[0059] (7) A seventh aspect of the ship-side assistance method includes, at a control step t, a step of calculating a target position and target heading of the ship at the next control step t+1, a step of calculating an amount of deviation between the target position and target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t and the position and heading of the ship at the control step t, and a step of controlling the speed and direction of movement of the ship, wherein, at the step of calculating the target position and target heading, the amount of deviation of the position calculated at the step of calculating the amount of deviation is added to the target position of the ship at control step t+1, and the amount of deviation of the heading calculated at the step of calculating the amount of deviation is added to the target heading of the ship at control step t+1 to calculate the corrected target position and target heading, and, at the step of controlling, the ship is controlled so that the ship is located at the corrected target position at control step t+1 and the heading of the ship is oriented toward the corrected target heading.

[0060] (8) A program according to an eighth aspect causes a computer to execute, at a control step t, the steps of calculating a target position and target heading of the ship at the next control step t+1, calculating an amount of deviation between the target position and target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t and the position and heading of the ship at the control step t, and controlling the speed and direction of movement of the ship, wherein, at the step of calculating the target position and target heading, the amount of deviation of the position calculated at the step of calculating the amount of deviation is added to the target position of the ship at control step t+1, and the amount of deviation of the heading calculated at the step of calculating the amount of deviation is added to the target heading of the ship at control step t+1 to calculate the corrected target position and target heading, and, at the step of controlling, the ship is located at the corrected target position at control step t+1, and the heading of the ship is directed to the corrected target heading. [Explanation of symbols]

[0061] 1...ship 2. Positioning sensor 3. Orientation sensor 4. Coming alongside sensor 5, 5A, 5B, 5C...propulsion device 10. Control device 11...Target position information acquisition unit 12 Sensor information acquisition unit 13 Operation reception section 14. Control section 141..Commuting control unit 142 Target calculation unit 143 Disturbance amount calculation section 144...Location Analysis Unit 15...Storage section 16 Output section 20...Offshore structures 21... Entrance / exit 30...Target point 100..Commuting Assistance System 900 Computer or control device (programmable controller, etc.) 901··CPU 902...Main memory 903...Auxiliary storage device 904 Input / Output Interface 905 Communication Interface

Claims

1. a target calculation unit that calculates a target position and a target heading of the ship in a next control step t+1 at a control step t; a disturbance amount calculation unit that calculates a deviation amount and a deviation direction for the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and the position and the heading of the ship at the control step t; A control unit for controlling the speed and direction of the vessel; Equipped with The target calculation unit calculates, at the control step t, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1, sets the target position of the ship at the control step t+1 to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship at the control step t and a final target point, moved at the target speed from the control step t to the control step t+1, and sets the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 occurs during the movement from the control step t to the control step t-1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the position deviation direction by the amount of the position deviation calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit, thereby calculating the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the direction of the heading deviation by the amount of the heading deviation calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit, thereby calculating the corrected target heading, If the position of the ship actually reached at the control step t is farther from the final target point than the target position at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1, the target speed up to the control step t+1 is set faster than the current speed, and if the position of the ship actually reached at the control step t is closer to the final target point than the target position at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1, the target speed up to the control step t+1 is set slower than the current speed, The control unit controls the ship to be located at the corrected target position in the control step t+1, and the heading of the ship to face the corrected target heading. Coming-together assistance system.

2. a target calculation unit that calculates a target position and a target heading of the ship in a next control step t+1 at a control step t; a disturbance amount calculation unit that calculates a deviation amount and a deviation direction for the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and the position and the heading of the ship at the control step t; A control unit for controlling the speed and direction of the vessel; Equipped with The target calculation unit calculates, at the control step t, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1, sets the target position of the ship at the control step t+1 to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship at the control step t and a final target point, moved at the target speed from the control step t to the control step t+1, and sets the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 occurs during the movement from the control step t to the control step t-1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the position deviation direction by the amount of the position deviation calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit, thereby calculating the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the direction of the heading deviation by the amount of the heading deviation calculated by the disturbance amount calculation unit, thereby calculating the corrected target heading, The control unit controls the ship to be located at the corrected target position at the control step t+1 and to point the bow heading of the ship toward the corrected target heading, the target calculation unit reduces the target speed to a first speed when a distance from the ship to a final target point becomes a first distance, and reduces the target speed to a second speed slower than the first speed when a distance from the ship to a final target point becomes a second distance shorter than the first distance; Coming-together assistance system.

3. When a distance from the ship to a final target point becomes a third distance shorter than the second distance, the target calculation unit reduces the target speed to a third speed slower than the second speed, or reduces the target speed in accordance with the distance from the ship to the final target point. A docking assistance system according to claim 2.

4. The target calculation unit detects the position or heading of the ship using at least one of a satellite positioning system, a compass, and a gyro until the distance from the ship to the final target point becomes the second distance, and detects the position or heading of the ship using at least one of a laser, a radar, a camera, and a sonar when the distance becomes equal to or shorter than the second distance. A docking assistance system according to claim 2.

5. At a control step t, calculating a target position and a target heading of the ship at a next control step t+1; A step of calculating a deviation amount and a deviation direction for the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and the position and the heading of the ship at the control step t; controlling the speed and direction of movement of the vessel; having In the step of calculating the target position and target direction, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1 is calculated in the control step t, the target position of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship in the control step t and the final target point, the position being moved from the control step t to the control step t+1 at the target speed, and the target direction of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 occurs during the movement from the control step t to the control step t-1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the position deviation direction by the calculated amount of deviation of the position, thereby calculating the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the direction of deviation of the heading by the calculated amount of deviation of the heading, thereby calculating the corrected target heading; If the position of the ship actually reached at the control step t is farther from the final target point than the target position at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1, the target speed up to the control step t+1 is set faster than the current speed, and if the position of the ship actually reached at the control step t is closer to the final target point than the target position at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1, the target speed up to the control step t+1 is set slower than the current speed, In the controlling step, the ship is controlled so that it is located at the corrected target position in the control step t+1, and the heading of the ship is directed to the corrected target heading. Joining support method.

6. At a control step t, calculating a target position and a target heading of the ship at a next control step t+1; A step of calculating a deviation amount and a deviation direction for the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and the position and the heading of the ship at the control step t; controlling the speed and direction of movement of the vessel; having In the step of calculating the target position and target direction, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1 is calculated in the control step t, the target position of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship in the control step t and the final target point, the position being moved from the control step t to the control step t+1 at the target speed, and the target direction of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 occurs during the movement from the control step t to the control step t-1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the position deviation direction by the calculated amount of deviation of the position, thereby calculating the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the direction of deviation of the heading by the calculated amount of deviation of the heading, thereby calculating the corrected target heading; In the step of controlling, the ship is controlled so that it is located at the corrected target position in the control step t+1 and the heading of the ship is directed to the corrected target heading, In the step of calculating the target position and the target orientation, when a distance from the ship to a final target point reaches a first distance, the target speed is reduced to a first speed, and when a distance reaches a second distance shorter than the first distance, the target speed is reduced to a second speed slower than the first speed. Joining support method.

7. On the computer, At a control step t, calculating a target position and a target heading of the ship at a next control step t+1; A step of calculating a deviation amount and a deviation direction for the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and the position and the heading of the ship at the control step t; controlling the speed and direction of movement of the vessel; having In the step of calculating the target position and target direction, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1 is calculated in the control step t, the target position of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship in the control step t and the final target point, the position being moved from the control step t to the control step t+1 at the target speed, and the target direction of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 occurs during the movement from the control step t to the control step t-1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the position deviation direction by the calculated amount of deviation of the position, thereby calculating the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the direction of deviation of the heading by the calculated amount of deviation of the heading, thereby calculating the corrected target heading; If the position of the ship actually reached at the control step t is farther from the final target point than the target position at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1, the target speed up to the control step t+1 is set faster than the current speed, and if the position of the ship actually reached at the control step t is closer to the final target point than the target position at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1, the target speed up to the control step t+1 is set slower than the current speed, In the step of controlling, a process of controlling the ship so that the ship is located at the corrected target position in the control step t+1 and the heading of the ship is oriented toward the corrected target heading; A program for executing the above.

8. On the computer, At a control step t, calculating a target position and a target heading of the ship at a next control step t+1; A step of calculating a deviation amount and a deviation direction for the target position and the target heading at the control step t calculated at the control step t-1 immediately preceding the control step t, and the position and the heading of the ship at the control step t; controlling the speed and direction of movement of the vessel; having In the step of calculating the target position and target direction, a target speed of the ship up to the control step t+1 is calculated in the control step t, the target position of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to a position on a straight line connecting the position of the ship in the control step t and the final target point, the position being moved from the control step t to the control step t+1 at the target speed, and the target direction of the ship in the control step t+1 is set to the direction of the straight line. Furthermore, assuming that a deviation similar to that which occurred during the movement from the control step t to the control step t+1 occurs during the movement from the control step t to the control step t-1, in order to cancel out the assumed deviation, the target position at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the position deviation direction by the calculated amount of deviation of the position, thereby calculating the corrected target position at the control step t+1, and the target heading of the ship at the control step t+1 is corrected in a direction opposite to the direction of deviation of the heading by the calculated amount of deviation of the heading, thereby calculating the corrected target heading; In the step of controlling, the ship is controlled so that it is located at the corrected target position in the control step t+1 and the heading of the ship is directed to the corrected target heading, a step of calculating the target position and the target direction, when a distance from the ship to a final target point becomes a first distance, the target speed is reduced to a first speed, and when a distance becomes a second distance shorter than the first distance, the target speed is reduced to a second speed slower than the first speed; A program for executing the above.

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