Article
Chemistry, Analytical
Rafael Carbonell, Angel Cuenca, Vicente Casanova, Ricardo Piza, Julian J. Salt Llobregat
Summary: This paper proposes a path-following motion control method for a two-wheel drive unmanned ground vehicle (UGV), utilizing dual-rate extended Kalman filtering techniques to estimate fast-rate non-available position and orientation measurements, and designing a fast-rate dynamic controller that outperforms the slow-rate counterpart.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Zhengyuan Liu, Yanzhou Li, Yuanqing Wu, Shenghuang He
Summary: This paper investigates the formation control of nonholonomic unmanned ground vehicles using an unscented Kalman filter-based sensor fusion approach. By establishing the motion model of a single vehicle and the formation model of multiple vehicles, the formation control problem is transformed into a stability problem of an error dynamic system. The asymptotic stability condition of the error dynamic system is derived by designing an appropriate Lyapunov function. The leader-following formation is achieved through the design of effective control vectors and the use of an unscented Kalman filter-based state estimation algorithm. Simulation examples are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed formation control algorithm.
Article
Engineering, Manufacturing
Yun-Ping Sun, Yen-Chu Liang
Summary: Industry 4.0 accelerates the development of unmanned technology, reducing labor costs and achieving high automation in manufacturing systems. The study proposes a comprehensive design method for path-following control of unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), including guidance and control design, vector field guidance, and multi-sensor fusion. The proposed method is theoretically analyzed and fine-tuned in practice, and field test results demonstrate its superior performance.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS PART B-JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING MANUFACTURE
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Antonio Gonzalez, Angel Cuenca, Julian Salt, Jelle Jacobs
Summary: This paper addresses the robust stability and disturbance rejection performance analysis of an energy-efficient control in the framework of Networked Control System (NCS). The proposed control scheme integrates various techniques aimed at reducing energy consumption and bandwidth usage, with robust stability analysis conducted using Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI). Experimental validation on tracking control for an Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV) with limited battery capacity and computation capabilities demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach.
INFORMATION SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Thor Fossen
Summary: This article introduces a design method for ship control systems for path following, which uses heading and course angle autopilots in conjunction with a proportional line-of-sight guidance law. For smaller vessels where expensive gyrocompasses cannot be afforded, feedback control is achieved by computing ground course and speed using global navigation satellite systems. An extended Kalman filter is used to efficiently estimate the ground course and speed, and can be extended to include other sensory systems. By combining target-tracking models and kinematic equations, the filter's convergence and accuracy are significantly improved. Simulation studies demonstrate the successful estimation of ground course and speed during path following, eliminating the need for a compass when combined with a course autopilot.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Chaofang Hu, Ge Qu, Hyo-Sang Shin, Antonios Tsourdos
Summary: This paper proposes a cooperative path planning method using multiple UAVs to track an unknown ground moving target. By forecasting target state, considering multiple priorities and objectives, and designing collision avoidance constraints, effective path planning is achieved.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMS SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Han Shen, Guanghui Wen, Yuezu Lv, Jun Zhou, Linan Wang
Summary: In this article, a new adaptive unscented Kalman filter is proposed for parameter estimation of nonlinear unmanned surface vessel (USV) models with unknown statistical characteristics of process noises. The parameter estimation problem is transformed into a state estimation problem by extending parameters and unknown inputs into augmented states. An adaptive law is designed to estimate the high-dimensional covariance matrix of the process noise. The proposed estimation approach is verified through practical experiments and numerical simulations.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL INFORMATICS
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Donghua Zhao, Xiaochen Liu, HuiJun Zhao, Chenguang Wang, Jun Tang, Jun Liu, Chong Shen
Summary: A cubature Kalman filter with multi-rate residual correction algorithm for fusing INS and PC navigation outputs, along with a long short-term memory network for PC output prediction and fusion, is proposed. Experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of this method in ground-vehicle navigation tests.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Wonseok Choi, Hosun Kang, Jangmyung Lee
Summary: A robust localization algorithm using DDQN-AM has been proposed for an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to accurately follow desired trajectory under high wave and wind conditions. Experimental results show that DDQN-AM improved position error by 57.6% compared to existing approaches and reduced average running time by 1 minute, 30 seconds.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONTROL AUTOMATION AND SYSTEMS
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Zhiyuan Sun, Huawei Sun, Ping Li, Xiaowen Li, Lei Du
Summary: This paper introduces an algorithm to solve the interception problem of escaping targets, by introducing a guidance interception algorithm and a Kalman filter to predict the trajectory of escaping targets, as well as a disturbance observer to estimate external disturbance and model uncertainty. The simulation and experimental results validate the effectiveness of the method.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Mathematics
Qian Zhang, Yifan Xu, Xueyun Wang, Zelong Yu, Tianyi Deng
Summary: This article presents an innovative method for online calibration of the pitot tube and estimation of wind field, with analysis of the observability of EKF and experimental validation showing the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Shih-Lin Lin, Bing-Han Wu
Summary: The increase in global vehicles has led to a rise in serious traffic accidents. Autonomous vehicles with LiDAR face challenges in adverse weather conditions, but a new method combining Kalman filter and point cloud denoising has shown effective improvement of 10% to 30% in the LiDAR stereo images. This method could have widespread applications in the future.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2021)
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Hector Rodriguez-Rangel, Luis Alberto Morales-Rosales, Rafael Imperial-Rojo, Mario Alberto Roman-Garay, Gloria Ekaterine Peralta-Penunuri, Mariana Lobato-Baez
Summary: As automobiles have brought about increased urban mobility, the concern for road safety has also risen. This paper presents a system that generates a dataset from highway videos and utilizes statistical and machine learning methods to estimate car speeds in real-time. The Linear Regression Model (LRM) achieved the best results, outperforming several state-of-the-art works, and proves to be a fast and efficient method for speed estimation.
APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Oktawia Lewicka, Mariusz Specht, Andrzej Stateczny, Cezary Specht, Czeslaw Dyrcz, Pawel Dabrowski, Bartosz Szostak, Armin Halicki, Marcin Stateczny, Szymon Widzgowski
Summary: This article explores the measurements and conversion of data from the coastal zone using various methods. The study presents different transformation methods and evaluates their effects on the tombolo measurement campaign in Sopot conducted in 2018. The results suggest that the adjustment calculus method is most effective for plane coordinates, while the method of P.S. Dabrowski et al. is best for height coordinates. It is recommended to develop a new transformation method based on the synthesis of these two existing methods.
Article
Engineering, Aerospace
Guoxi Xu, Zibin Sun, Haiming Liu, Yan Zhou, Xiaoran Gong, Shengping Gong
Summary: In this paper, the control problem of unmanned aerial vehicles in the levitation and landing phases is studied. The dynamics of drones are modeled and simplified, and adaptive and deep neural network controllers are used for control. Experimental results show that the neural network enhanced controller performs better than the adaptive controller and traditional PID controller.
AEROSPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Oystein Volden, Annette Stahl, Thor I. Fossen
Summary: This paper introduces an independent stereo-vision based positioning system for docking operations, which utilizes a learning-based object detection model and a mix of data-driven and traditional computer vision methods to achieve robust detections in outdoor environments. Experimental results show the system's accuracy and reliability in various docking scenarios.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT ROBOTICS AND APPLICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Thor Fossen
Summary: This article introduces a design method for ship control systems for path following, which uses heading and course angle autopilots in conjunction with a proportional line-of-sight guidance law. For smaller vessels where expensive gyrocompasses cannot be afforded, feedback control is achieved by computing ground course and speed using global navigation satellite systems. An extended Kalman filter is used to efficiently estimate the ground course and speed, and can be extended to include other sensory systems. By combining target-tracking models and kinematic equations, the filter's convergence and accuracy are significantly improved. Simulation studies demonstrate the successful estimation of ground course and speed during path following, eliminating the need for a compass when combined with a course autopilot.
JOURNAL OF MARINE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Robotics
Petter Solnor, Oystein Volden, Kristoffer Gryte, Slobodan Petrovic, Thor Fossen
Summary: Driven by advances in information and communication technologies, industries are increasingly using unmanned and autonomous vehicles for various services. However, these vehicles are susceptible to cyber-physical attacks, and the true impact of these attacks and corresponding security measures are unclear. This study demonstrates advanced manipulation attacks against an underactuated Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) and proposes countermeasures using state-of-the-art cryptography. Through field experiments, the study shows the effects of these attacks on the guidance, navigation, and control system, and the effectiveness of the proposed countermeasures.
JOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Johann A. Dirdal, Roger Skjetne, Jan Rohac, Thor Fossen
Summary: This study demonstrates the generalization of the phase-time-path-differences (PTPDs) method to a portable shipboard array of sensors for estimating wave direction and wave number, proposing an unscented Kalman filter algorithm for online estimation. Experimental results confirm the feasibility of estimating wave parameters from the motions of a surface vessel equipped with inertial measurement units (IMUs).
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Petter Solnor, Slobodan Petrovic, Thor I. Fossen
Summary: We propose encrypted guidance systems that can be remotely hosted without revealing confidential information to the host. By operating on encrypted position measurements, encrypted waypoints, and the bearing between each waypoint, our guidance system effectively prevents the cloud host from identifying the vehicle's position. Through field experiments, we demonstrate the practicality of an encrypted guidance system for autonomous vehicles.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON VEHICULAR TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Thor I. Fossen
Summary: The aim of this paper is to develop a kinematic model for vehicle path-following systems, where control inputs are the pitch and yaw angles $(\theta, \psi)$ together with the surge velocity $u$. The outer control loop is designed as a nonlinear path-following guidance law, while the inner control loops use commercial autopilot systems to stabilize the pitch and yaw angles. The main contribution is a novel kinematic amplitude-phase representation of the North-East-Down (NED) positional rates, which replaces the traditional Euler angle rotation matrix representation, allowing for the design of vehicle guidance laws using nonlinear control theory and Lyapunov stability analysis.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Celine Tran, Ivan Gushkov, Kristoffer Nordvik, Simen T. Roang, Simen B. Lysthaug, Babak Ommani, Thor I. Fossen, Vahid Hassani, Vidar Smines, Tor A. Johansen
Summary: This paper investigates the analysis of control systems designed to maximize the operability limits for launching and recovering ROVs from small unmanned surface vessels (USVs). Through numerical simulation analysis, the choice of control algorithms and tuning parameters is found to have a significant impact on the system's operability, which should be carefully designed and tuned to optimize the operability limits for specific sea states, weather conditions, and operational setups.
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Thor I. Fossen
Summary: This article serves as a tutorial for engineers to develop and implement low-cost underwater vehicle inertial navigation systems. It introduces the use of a discrete-time unit quaternion error-state Kalman filter for sensor fusion and highlights the need for long-endurance autonomous underwater vehicles. The open-source filter architecture allows for additional sensor integration, and the article also aims to enable in-house development of strapdown INS for vendors of low-cost AUV systems. A case study of an AUV with standard sensor suite demonstrates the performance of the ESKF aided by time-delayed position measurements.
CONTROL ENGINEERING PRACTICE
(2023)
Article
Automation & Control Systems
Thor I. Fossen
Summary: This brief introduces a new nonlinear adaptive line-of-sight (ALOS) guidance law that compensates for drift forces and is proven to have uniform semiglobal exponential stability. It outperforms the classical integral line-of-sight (ILOS) and adaptive ILOS guidance laws when dealing with rapidly varying sideslip angles caused by disturbances.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON CONTROL SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Marine
Robert Skulstad, Guoyuan Li, Thor I. Fossen, Houxiang Zhang
Summary: Dynamic positioning (DP) is a key technology for ship autonomy, allowing ships to maintain position and maneuver at low speeds using thrusters. However, traditional control allocation methods that handle thruster constraints may require significant computational resources. In this study, a neural network was trained to evaluate the mapping between motion controller requests and thruster commands, resulting in similar performance with reduced power consumption when compared to state-of-the-art control allocation methods.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Oystein Volden, David Cabecinhas, Antonio Pascoal, Thor I. Fossen
Summary: Accurate navigation data is crucial for safe ship maneuvering in narrow harbor environments. This study proposes a GNSS-free sensor suite consisting of visual, acoustic, and inertial sensors to aid navigation in harbor environments. The system utilizes a doppler velocity log and a visual fiducial system for robust state estimation. Benchmarking against a dual-antenna real-time kinematic GNSS receiver, the proposed system demonstrates the benefits of supplementing landmark-based navigation with acoustic measurements in adverse scenarios. Overall, it can enhance safety in harbor maneuvering.
Article
Engineering, Marine
Johann A. Dirdal, Roger Skjetne, Jan Rohac, Thor I. Fossen
Summary: This study investigates the potential of a new signal-based approach for shipboard wave estimation. The approach uses phase-time-path-differences (PTPDs) from shipboard sensors to determine wave propagation direction and wave number. The researchers propose a methodology using fast Fourier transform (FFT), unscented Kalman filter (UKF), and a single inertial measurement unit (IMU) to estimate the wave parameters. The experimental results show that the proposed method achieves similar accuracy and online performance compared to existing wave measurement technology, while being cost-effective, easy to install, flexible, and robust against environmental influences.
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Oystein Volden, Annette Stahl, Thor I. Fossen
Summary: Docking is a critical operation for autonomous surface vehicles, and a low-cost visual-inertial navigation system is proposed for automatic docking of small vehicles. The system uses easily identifiable tags as a reference on the dockside and fuses camera-tag pose and inertial data to estimate the vehicle's state. The proposed method performs well on regular and adverse weather conditions and can supplement traditional navigation systems for docking operations.
Proceedings Paper
Automation & Control Systems
Melih Akdag, Thor I. Fossen, Tor A. Johansen
Summary: There are several collision avoidance algorithms available for autonomous ships, but most of them only use observed position and velocity information without considering other ships' intentions. As the use of large-sized autonomous ships in logistics increases, it becomes crucial for autonomous ships to collaborate and negotiate with other ships in order to prevent collisions.
Article
Engineering, Electrical & Electronic
Robert Skulstad, Guoyuan Li, Thor Fossen, Bjornar Vik, Houxiang Zhang
Summary: This article proposes a tool for onboard support that offers position predictions based on an integration of a supervised machine learning (ML) model of the ship into the ship dynamic model, significantly improving the prediction accuracy during docking operations.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INSTRUMENTATION AND MEASUREMENT
(2021)
