Modeling, Control and Optimal Trajectory Determination for an Autonomous Sailboat

Abstract: A fleet of autonomous sailboat could change our perception of the planet. An autonomous sailboat could not only conduct environmental research but also perform month long operations through the energy efficient wind propulsion. This thesis is the work behind the development of an autonomous catamaran model sailboat. A new mathematical model is brought forward and implemented for simulations performed alongside the proposed control strategy. The model and control strategy is evaluated and empirically verified to work as a subsystem for the optimal trajectory control approach. This method for planning the trajectory of the boat and still avoiding the constraint of the wind is presented as an important step to achieve the end goal of autonomous sailing. The experimental setup performed well, except for some turbulence induced by the wind fans installed to create the artificial wind field at the test site. Both the mathematical model and the controller cause no issues with regards to simulating the motion of the boat. An extended abstract of the paper submitted related to this thesis has been presented successfully at the International Conference on Robotics and Automation 2017 in Singapore.