Nonlinear state-constrained control. Application to the dynamic positioning of ships

The control design proposed here is based on a general framework of control of nonlinear systems with state-&-input constraints, recently proposed by some of the authors in [1] (summary available in [2]). Thus, this is part of a series of real applications to support the theoretical results. In particular, here the result is applied to the problem of dynamic positioning of ships with nonlinear position constraints. The solution proposed solves the problem by means of diffeomorphisms which transform the nonlinear constrained control problem into an unconstrained one. A real scenario of the ship crossing through a strait has been tested in a realistic simulator developed by a world leader shipbuilding company [3]. As a plus, the solution proposed could alleviate the computational burden of motion planning in dynamic positioning of ships.