A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point Guidance

Surface target salvage is a crucial component of marine emergencies. Although unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have emerged as effective alternative platforms to traditional artificial salvage, salvage target tracking remains a challenging issue. Therefore, this paper proposes a salvage target track...

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Main Authors: Jiahe Liu, Chao Liu, Mingmei Wen, Yang Wang, Jinzhe Wang, Rencheng Zheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/6/1158
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author Jiahe Liu
Chao Liu
Mingmei Wen
Yang Wang
Jinzhe Wang
Rencheng Zheng
author_facet Jiahe Liu
Chao Liu
Mingmei Wen
Yang Wang
Jinzhe Wang
Rencheng Zheng
author_sort Jiahe Liu
collection DOAJ
description Surface target salvage is a crucial component of marine emergencies. Although unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have emerged as effective alternative platforms to traditional artificial salvage, salvage target tracking remains a challenging issue. Therefore, this paper proposes a salvage target tracking (STT) algorithm which enables rapid approach (RA) to the salvage target, while maintaining an appropriate salvage distance that keeps the surface target within the operational range in the terminal tracking (TT) phase. In the RA phase, the model predictive line-of-sight (PLOS) guidance algorithm is proposed to estimate and compensate for the drift angle encountered when following a curved path. In the TT phase, a guidance algorithm based on the key point is proposed to track the salvage target. To achieve the goals in the RA phase and the TT phase, a heading and speed controller based on proportional–integral–derivative control is proposed to track the desired signals computed by the PLOS and key point guidance algorithms. To verify the effectiveness of the STT algorithm, simulation analysis is conducted for the PLOS guidance algorithm and key point guidance algorithm. The simulation results show that the proposed PLOS guidance algorithm has the lowest cross-tracking error compared with the traditional LOS, integral LOS, and adaptive error constraint LOS. Moreover, the distance between the USV and the salvage target is less than the operating radius of the salvage operation. The results demonstrate that the proposed STT algorithm is capable of maintaining the appropriate salvage distance while tracking the salvage target.
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issn 2077-1312
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spelling doaj-art-b74564cd2b8047729ef06695c86cbb5e2025-08-20T03:16:32ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122025-06-01136115810.3390/jmse13061158A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point GuidanceJiahe Liu0Chao Liu1Mingmei Wen2Yang Wang3Jinzhe Wang4Rencheng Zheng5School of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116024, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, ChinaSchool of Mechanical Engineering, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300354, ChinaSurface target salvage is a crucial component of marine emergencies. Although unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) have emerged as effective alternative platforms to traditional artificial salvage, salvage target tracking remains a challenging issue. Therefore, this paper proposes a salvage target tracking (STT) algorithm which enables rapid approach (RA) to the salvage target, while maintaining an appropriate salvage distance that keeps the surface target within the operational range in the terminal tracking (TT) phase. In the RA phase, the model predictive line-of-sight (PLOS) guidance algorithm is proposed to estimate and compensate for the drift angle encountered when following a curved path. In the TT phase, a guidance algorithm based on the key point is proposed to track the salvage target. To achieve the goals in the RA phase and the TT phase, a heading and speed controller based on proportional–integral–derivative control is proposed to track the desired signals computed by the PLOS and key point guidance algorithms. To verify the effectiveness of the STT algorithm, simulation analysis is conducted for the PLOS guidance algorithm and key point guidance algorithm. The simulation results show that the proposed PLOS guidance algorithm has the lowest cross-tracking error compared with the traditional LOS, integral LOS, and adaptive error constraint LOS. Moreover, the distance between the USV and the salvage target is less than the operating radius of the salvage operation. The results demonstrate that the proposed STT algorithm is capable of maintaining the appropriate salvage distance while tracking the salvage target.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/6/1158salvage target trackingline-of-sight guidance algorithmpath followingmodel predictionkey point guidance algorithm
spellingShingle Jiahe Liu
Chao Liu
Mingmei Wen
Yang Wang
Jinzhe Wang
Rencheng Zheng
A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point Guidance
Journal of Marine Science and Engineering
salvage target tracking
line-of-sight guidance algorithm
path following
model prediction
key point guidance algorithm
title A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point Guidance
title_full A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point Guidance
title_fullStr A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point Guidance
title_full_unstemmed A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point Guidance
title_short A Salvage Target Tracking Algorithm for Unmanned Surface Vehicles Combining Improved Line-of-Sight and Key Point Guidance
title_sort salvage target tracking algorithm for unmanned surface vehicles combining improved line of sight and key point guidance
topic salvage target tracking
line-of-sight guidance algorithm
path following
model prediction
key point guidance algorithm
url https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/13/6/1158
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