Path following control of underactuated ship based on nonlinear backstepping

The problem of path following control for underactuated surface ship is addressed in this paper. Path tracking error dynamics are obtained using diffeomorphism transformation and virtual guidance in Serret-Frenet frame. The linear feedback term is designed in kinematic loop to stabilize the position tracking subsystem, which can avoid the complexity of recomputing the derivative of stabilization term, and then the path following error can be guarantee stable. Finally, simulation experiments are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of proposed control method.