Dynamic Maneuvering Decision-Making Approach for Ships Navigating Using Ship Routing Systems in a Complex Estuary: A Case Study on the Liuhe River

Abstract

Autonomous ships in different water areas have garnered significant attention. Researchers have gradually expanded their focus from simple open waters to more complex waters. This paper presents a dynamic maneuvering decision-making approach for ships navigating using ship routing systems in a complex estuary (SRSCE). First, a digital environment is constructed for the SRSCE taking into account the unique characteristics of these waters. Then, a collision-avoidance mechanism is developed by integrating navigational rules with ship behavioral constraints in these waters. Finally, time-sequence rolling is employed to achieve more accurate and dynamic maneuvering decision-making. It can reduce errors caused by model inaccuracies, control parameters, and situation awareness. The mouth of China’s Liuhe River of China is chosen as a case study to demonstrate the collision-avoidance decision-making (CAD) system’s performance. The experiments showed that the proposed method can safely avoid collisions in a complex environment and track the route in real time. This approach provides novel insights and methods for the development of intelligent navigation technology in SRSCE.