Monte Carlo-based path following precision analysis of marine vehicles with sensor measurement errors and random wave excitation

This paper focuses on precision analysis for path following control of marine vehicles based on Monte Carlo. Due to the uncertainty factors such as sensor measurement errors and wave forces, it is valuable to analyze the influence of various random variables and input parameters on the control accuracy of marine vehicles. Firstly, the vehicle model with uncertainties composed of measurement errors of posture sensors and time-varying random wave forces is established. Subsequently, a dedicated framework based on Monte Carlo simulation for accuracy analysis of marine vehicles is presented to reveal the relationship between the variation of motion accuracy and the random factors. In addition, an improved combined random number generator (RNG) is designed to generate the random variables required in the Monte Carlo simulation. Its superiority over the traditional RNG is demonstrated through statistical tests. Finally, comparative simulations illustrate that the designed Monte Carlo-based precision analysis system for path following control of marine vehicles can be utilized successfully for reliability evaluation, sensors parameter selection and control performance comparison.