Ship Control With External Force Vector Estimation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ship control systems face large control errors and increased fuel consumption due to the influence of external force vectors, which are not adequately accounted for in current technologies.
Innovation Solution
A ship control system that includes a route command unit, an information detector, an external force vector estimation unit using a hull motion model, and a control command unit to control the main engine and rudder angle, thereby reducing the impact of external forces on ship position and attitude.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If correction is made after positional deviation becomes large, then the ship can return to the scheduled route, but the control error becomes large and fuel consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary action by estimating external force vectors (wind, current, waves) acting on the ship and using this information to proactively adjust the course before significant positional deviation occurs. The control command unit calculates corrected course commands that anticipate the ship's drift due to external forces, thereby maintaining route keeping accuracy while minimizing corrective maneuvers and fuel consumption.
2Reliability
If external force vector estimation is not incorporated, then the control system remains simple, but control error due to external forces increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces an external force vector estimation unit as an intermediary component that processes environmental information (wind speed/direction, current speed/direction, wave conditions) and converts it into actionable control commands. This intermediary layer enables the control system to compensate for external forces without requiring direct complex interaction between the basic control unit and multiple environmental sensors, thus improving control accuracy while managing system complexity through modular architecture.
Data Source
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AI summary
A ship control system (100) of one embodiment including: a route command unit (50) outputs a route command (Es) including a target ship position and a target bow direction of a ship, an information detector (21) detects ship information (Js) including an actual ship position and an actual bow direction of a ship (1), an external force vector estimation unit (28) estimates an external force vector (Ve) received by a ship (1), using the ship information (Js) and a hull motion model related to a hull motion of the ship (1), and a control command unit (15) controls both rotational frequency of a main engine and a rudder angle of a ship (1), based on the route command (Es), the ship information (Js), and the external force vector (Ve) .