Distributed model predictive control for vessel train formations of cooperative multi-vessel systems

IEEE Trans. Intell. Transport. Syst.

Huang

Zheng

et al. 2020

Self Cite

Urban waterways have great potential in cargo transport to relieve the congestion in the overloaded road networks. This paper explores the potential of applying cooperative multi-vessel systems (CMVSs) to improve the safety and efficiency of transport in urban waterway networks. A framework consisting of vessel train formation (VTF) and cooperative waterway intersection scheduling (CWIS) is proposed. Two types of controllers are introduced. Intersection controllers solve the CWIS problems and assign each vessel a desired time of arrival and vessel controllers are responsible for the VTF in waterway segments and the timely arrival at the intersections. An alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM)-based negotiation framework is proposed for the cooperation among the controllers. The simulation experiments involving the scenarios in which up to 50 vessels sailing in the canal network in Amsterdam are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. In the simulation of an isolated intersection, rescheduling is triggered when some vessels cannot arrive on time. Although some ASVs arrive later, the time that is needed for all the ASVs to pass through is the same after rescheduling. Moreover, we compare the cooperative situation with the proposed CMVSs with a baseline situation. In the baseline situation, vessels avoid collisions using the generalized velocity obstacle (GVO) method and cross the intersection with a first in, first out rule. The CMVSs show better path following performance, while the GVO method needs fewer velocity changes. From the perspective of efficiency, the CMVSs help to reduce the total time to pass through the intersection. Index Terms-Cooperative multi-vessel system, cooperative waterway intersection scheduling, waterway network, autonomous surface vessel, cooperative intelligent traffic system. I. INTRODUCTION I N DENSELY populated regions, like cities, road networks are often confronted with congestion and capacity problems. Many cities have considerable waterway resources, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Utrecht in The Netherlands, and cities in Jiangsu and Zhejiang Province, East China (Fig. 1). Waterway transport could offer an Manuscript

Section: B Obstacle Avoidancementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Negotiation Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Cooperative Multi-Vessel Systems in Urban Waterway Networks

IEEE Trans. Intell. Transport. Syst.

Huang

Zheng

et al. 2020

Self Cite

“…The sequence of VCs to carry out computation can be different, such as in order, in reverse, iterative or random. Details about the VTF problem are addressed in [15].…”

Section: Vessel Train Formationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A robust distributed control technique is adopted in [14] so that individual vessels can handle additive disturbances and avoid collision. Enabling the Vessel Train Formation (VTF) of vessels is investigated in [15] where a distributed control scheme is used for simultaneous grouping and collision avoidance of vehicles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Eco-VTF: Fuel-Efficient Vessel Train Formations for All-Electric Autonomous Ships

2019 18th European Control Conference (ECC)

Haseltalab

Garofano

et al. 2019

Self Cite

In this paper, a distributed control approach is proposed to enable fuel-efficient Vessel Train Formations (VTF) in inland waterways and port areas for addressing the efficiency and environmental issues of transport over water. For path tracking, collision avoidance, and consensus over the VTF speed a distributed Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm is adopted which uses the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) to guarantee path following and consensus between vessels. The all-electric Direct Current (DC) configuration is considered for the Power and Propulsion Systems (PPS) of the autonomous vessels under study. Considering their PPS specification, the vessels negotiate with each other to agree on the most efficient speed for all the vessels in the VTF. Simulation results suggest that a significant amount of fuel saving can be obtained by using the proposed approach.

Network‐based robust performance analysis for uncertain systems interconnected over an undirected graph

Zhang

Intl J Robust & Nonlinear

et al. 2020

This article aims at providing tractable conditions of robust performance (RP) analysis for interconnected uncertain system with networked communication, which is composed of heterogeneous uncertain subsystems connected over an undirected graph. Each subsystem communicates with its neighbors through local packet-based communication network asynchronously and independently. First, the interconnected uncertain system with networked communication is modeled as a hybrid system. Then sufficient conditions in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which are related to the interconnection structure and the maximum allowable transmission interval (MATI) of each local network, are derived such that the interconnected uncertain system is robustly asymptotically stable and achieves the desired RP. These conditions only depend on the parameters of individual subsystem and local network. Finally, an example of power system is given to demonstrate the applicability and effectiveness of our results.