Ship Path Following Control Based on Modified Line of Sight Guidance Law

A modified line-of-sight (LOS) guidance law that can be adaptively adjusted according to a reference path is presented for the development of smart ships and the realisation of autonomous navigation. A time varying lookahead distance and an advanced turning strategy, based on the path turning angle, are proposed to achieve flexible steering tracking capability. The path following control experiment was conducted with the container ship ZYHY LV SHUI 01 serving as the control object. The results of the simulation experiment demonstrate that the proposed MLOS algorithm is capable of adapting to changes in the path and achieving smooth steering, which enhances the accuracy of the tracking process, reduces energy consumption, and reduces the steering frequency. These outcomes are of great significance for smart ships to achieve autonomous navigation.