Design and Energy Consumption Optimization of an Automatic Hybrid Sailboat

To perform high endurance ocean cruise mission, energy is of paramount importance for Autonomous Surface Vehicles (ASVs). Autonomous sailboats, as a new type of ASV, can provide an energy-saving solution. However, conventional autonomous sailboats have low mobility in complex marine environment. Hybrid sailboat, which is equipped with an auxiliary electric propulsion system, can solve both energy and mobility problems. To achieve ocean cruise mission, the energy consumption of hybrid sailboat needs to be optimized. In this paper, the control method of the hybrid system is redesigned to address this problem. Moreover, to solve the problem of sideways drift when sailing upwind, the course stability of hybrid sailboat needs to be enhanced. This paper presents an efficient design optimization to reduce leeway angle. Notably, the leeway angle can be reduced by 55.4% and about 58.9% of energy is saved on average. Our optimization strategy can enable hybrid sailboat to sail more stable and longer.