Collision avoidance for formation of autonomous ships using separation and recovery mechanism combine artificial potential field method

It is essential to investigate the path planning and tracking problem for maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS). This study proposed an automatic collision avoidance method based on the separation and recovery mechanism with formation of MASS (F-MASS). First, the marine environment model utilized S-57 electric navigation chart (ENC) data for construction. The Scan-searching method was proposed for multipath and path-optimized redistribution method was developed to address MASS congestion. The formation pattern transformation was settled by separation and recovery mechanism. Considered the 'unmanned-manned' encounter situation, formulated avoidance strategies for both the MASS formation and manned ships encounters. Finally, the simulation experiment was carried out in the sea near Zhoushan port to verify the effectiveness of the algorithm. The results indicated that the method can satisfy the integrated operation of collision avoidance in a complex environment and can offer effective collision avoidance strategies for F-MASSs navigating in complex marine environments.