Development of a Dynamic Positioning System for the ReVolt Model Ship

Abstract

A Dynamic Positioning (DP) control system is developed, implemented and tested for a scale model of DNV GL’s concept ship ReVolt. This model-scale ship is used as a test platform for sensors and control systems used in autonomous vessels, and this paper focuses on the functionality and implementation of the components and control system required to achieve DP capabilities on the ReVolt model ship. The DP system consists of a 3-Degree of Freedom reference filter, Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller with a model-based reference feedforward, and a thrust allocation module from DNV GL. The DP system is implemented on ReVolt’s onboard computer, which runs the Robot Operating System (ROS) on top of a Linux shell. Field tests are conducted, with the main objective to achieve station keeping and low-speed maneuvering capabilities for ReVolt. Different setups in the thrust allocation and controller are assessed by performance metrics to determine the best overall setup for ReVolt.