Design of ship course-keeping system via active disturbance rejection control using a full-scale realistic ship model

Abstract The paper discusses the classic problem of designing automatic ship course-keeping control systems using a relatively new methodology called Active Disturbance Rejection Control (ADRC). A comparative analysis of simulation results obtained via ADRC versus a traditional autopilot based on the PID algorithm was performed. The novelty of this article lies in the use of a complete realistic mathematical model of the ship both as a simulation model and as a framework for derivation a simplified model structure, appropriate for controller design. The results obtained indicate higher efficiency of the ADRC autopilot compared to the PID variant. Another important feature of using ADRC control over PID is the elimination of the tuning problem.