Automatic testing of maritime collision avoidance algorithms
Abstract
For Autonomous Surface Vessels (ASVs) to be put into commercial operation and gainpublic acceptance, they will have to be as safe, or safer then similar vessels operated byhumans. Today, maritime control systems are verified by class societies with establishedmethods, such as hardware-in-the-loop (HIL)-testing. ASVs are equipped with collisionavoidance systems and are critical for the safety of ASV operations. Sparse research existon verification of these systems and their underlying collision avoidance algorithms.
In this thesis a framework for enabling automatic testing of collision avoidance algorithmsis developed. Two collision avoidance algorithms are implemented. One is based onthe velocity obstacle and the other is based on a type model predictive control, calledsimulation-based control behavior selection. These systems are tested in automaticallygenerated scenarios and evaluated using a set of metrics. The implemented metrics aredeveloped in the PhD thesis by Kyle Woerner. The implemented metrics are able to detectCOLREGS violating behaviors and some characteristics of each system are identified.