An enhanced tracking control of marine surface vessels based on adaptive integral sliding mode control and disturbance observer.

In this paper, a new control methodology is developed to enhance the tracking performance of fully actuated surface vessels based on an integrating between an adaptive integral sliding mode control (AISMC) and a disturbance observer (DO). First, an integral sliding mode control (ISMC), in which the backstepping control technique is used as the nominal controller, is designed for the system. The major features, i.e., benefits and drawbacks, of the ISMC are discussed thoroughly. Then, to enhance the tracking performance of the system, an adaptive technique and a new disturbance observer based on sliding mode technique are developed and integrated into the ISMC. The stability of the closed-loop system is proved based on Lyapunov criteria. Computer simulation is performed to illustrate the tracking performance of the proposed controller and compare with the existing controllers for the tracking control of a surface vessel. The simulation results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed strategy.