Fuzzy control of a sailboat

This paper describes a combined helm-sails controller for a sailboat based on fuzzy logic. Autonomous navigation of sailboats is a very nonlinear and time-variant problem, and modeling ship dynamics considering all real phenomena is a very complex task. Besides, it has to compensate for stochastic disturbances acting upon it, such as wind, waves, and currents. Heuristics in sailing plays an important role: sailing rules obtained from skippers can be included in a knowledge base to govern the boat correctly in different conditions. The controller measures variables such as heading and wind angle. If processes the data through a fuzzy inference system according to a sailing knowledge base and actuates the helm and the sails. Experiments with a scale prototype show the ability of a fuzzy controller to govern the helm and trim the sails on a sailboat Sea navigation aid systems and autonomous ocean sampling vehicles could be some areas of application of such a fuzzy system. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Inc.