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The article considers the issues of automatic control of the vessel movement with a redundant control structure. Redundant structures are now widely used on all vessels with a dynamic positioning system to improve control efficiency (accuracy, maneuverability, reduce energy consumption and emissions), reliability and environmental safety. A brief review of the literature on the use of redundant structures to improve control efficiency is made. In open sources, the authors have not found solutions that improve the efficiency of the control by using redundant structures of actuators. Therefore, it was concluded that the development of such systems is relevant. Several schemes for splitting control into executive devices of a redundant structure, including an optimal splitting scheme, are considered. A comparative analysis of the considered splitting schemes with the optimal one is carried out. Comparative analysis showed that the use of optimal control of the redundant structure of actuators allows increasing the accuracy of dynamic positioning by (20-40)%, depending on the direction of the created control, as well as reducing fuel consumption by (30-100)%, which determines its advantages over known solutions. The mathematical and software support for an automatic optimal control system with redundant control has been developed. The operability and efficiency of the mathematical and software support were tested in a closed circuit with a control object in the MATLAB environment. The conducted experiments confirmed the operability and efficiency of the developed method, algorithms and software and allow to recommend them for practical use in the development of vessel control systems with redundant control structures.

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The issues of automatic vessel control in a storm are considered in the paper. Vessel control in a storm is the most difficult stage in the vessel’s wiring, as it requires quick decisions to be made in difficult conditions. Practical experience shows that the deterioration of the working conditions of the crew is usually associated with an increase in the number of control errors, which is completely unacceptable in stormy conditions. To assess the safe speed and course in a storm, Yu. V. Remez has proposed a universal storm diagram, which allows identifying unfavourable combinations of vessel speed and course angles of the waves – the resonant zones, and avoid them. The universal Remez diagram provides for graphical calculations, which, in combination with the visual determination of the wave parameters, gives a very low accuracy. The article examines the possibility of automatic control of a vessel in a storm by automatic measurement of motion parameters and wave parameters, automatic calculation in the onboard controller of the vessel optimal safe speed and course during a storm, automatic maintenance of the optimal safe speed and course of the vessel. The automatic control significantly increases the accuracy of calculations, excludes the human factor, reduces the depletion of the crew, and increases the reliability of the vessel control in a storm. The efficiency and effectiveness of the method, algorithmic and software were tested on Imitation Modelling Stand in a closed loop with mathematical vessel models of the navigation simulator Navi Trainer 5000.

The object of research is the processes of automatic optimal passing of one's own ship with many dangerous targets, including maneuvering ones, by the method of constructing the area of permissible passing parameters in the on-board computer. According to the European Maritime Safety Agency (EMSA), the largest number of ship accidents in 2014–2019 occurred due to collision (32 %). On modern ships, for observation and passing with targets, ARPA (automatic radar plotting aid) is used, which allows to automate manual operations, and the built-in function «Playing the maneuver» provides the navigator with a convenient graphic interface for solving passing problems. At the same time, ARPA is an automated system that assumes the presence of an operator in the control circuit. The presence of a person in the control circuit is related to the «human factor», which is a prerequisite for the occurrence of various types of accidents, including ship collisions. The most effective means of reducing the influence of the «human factor» on control processes is the introduction of automatic control modules in automated systems. The paper develops a method for the passing module, which allows automatic and optimal passing with many targets, including maneuvering ones. The number of targets for passing is not limited by the method, but is limited only by the capabilities of the ARPA to track the targets. The obtained results are explained by the fact that at each step of the on-board computer, a region of permissible passing parameters is constructed for all purposes, passing parameters that optimize a given optimality criterion are selected from the constructed region, the selected parameters are used as software in the control law. The developed method can be used on ships, subject to integration into the existing automated system of an on-board computer with an open architecture, to increase the capabilities of automatic traffic control, in this case, the possibility of automatic optimal passing with many objectives, including maneuvering.