Structure-Preserving Port-Hamiltonian Tracking Control of USVs via Quadratic Error Energy Formulation

Authors

Siyi Pang, Xindan Hu, Junqi Wang, Fangran Zhao, Xiaoyu Qin, Weijun Zhou

Abstract

The paper presents a structure-preserving port-amiltonian (PH) tracking control method for a 3-DOF unmanned surface vessel (USV). The proposed approach constructs a quadratic error Hamiltonian directly in the physical coordinates, without any input or state transformations. By maintaining the geometric interconnection between the pose and velocity dynamics, the closed-loop system preserves the canonical PH structure in which dissipation is injected only through the velocity error channels. A closed-form control law is derived, consisting of a reference-side feedforward term and energy-consistent damping and stiffness injections, optionally complemented by a port-based PI correction to enhance robustness. The resulting error-PH system satisfies a passivity-based energy balance, and asymptotic convergence of both position and velocity errors is established via LaSalle’s invariance principle. Simulation studies on a 3-DOF USV model verify the effectiveness of the proposed controller in improving tracking accuracy and transient response while preserving physical consistency.

Citation

• Journal: 2025 4th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Computer Engineering (ICARCE)
• Year: 2025
• Volume:
• Issue:
• Pages: 1–6
• Publisher: IEEE
• DOI: 10.1109/icarce67182.2025.11361686

BibTeX

@inproceedings{Pang_2025,
  title={{Structure-Preserving Port-Hamiltonian Tracking Control of USVs via Quadratic Error Energy Formulation}},
  DOI={10.1109/icarce67182.2025.11361686},
  booktitle={{2025 4th International Conference on Automation, Robotics and Computer Engineering (ICARCE)}},
  publisher={IEEE},
  author={Pang, Siyi and Hu, Xindan and Wang, Junqi and Zhao, Fangran and Qin, Xiaoyu and Zhou, Weijun},
  year={2025},
  pages={1--6}
}

Download the bib file

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