Artificial potential field-based swarm finding of the unmanned surface vehicles in the dynamic ocean environment

Abstract

Using multiple unmanned surface vehicle swarms to implement tasks cooperatively is the most advanced technology in recent years. However, how to find which swarm the unmanned surface vehicle belongs to is a meaningful job. So, this article proposed an artificial potential field-based swarm finding algorithm, which applies the potential field force directly to unmanned surface vehicles and leads them to their belonging swarm quickly and accurately. Meanwhile, the proposed algorithm can also maintain the formation stable while following the desired path. Based on the swarm finding algorithm, the artificial potential field-based collision avoidance method and the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea-based dynamic collision avoidance strategy are applied to the swarm control of multi-unmanned surface vehicles to enhance the performance in the dynamic ocean environment. Methods in this article are verified through numerical simulations to illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of proposed schemes.