Development and Identification of a Linear Low-Speed Ship Maneuvering Model from Full-Scale Data

Agnes N. Mwange; Taichi Kambara; Kouki Wakita; Kazuyoshi Hosogaya; Atsuo Maki

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arXiv · 2607.01739

Development and Identification of a Linear Low-Speed Ship Maneuvering Model from Full-Scale Data

Agnes N. Mwange·Taichi Kambara·Kouki Wakita·Kazuyoshi Hosogaya·Atsuo Maki

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Abstract

Despite significant technological progress, the realization of fully autonomous berthing and unberthing remains a significant challenge. One of the primary obstacles is the complex, non-linear nature of low-speed ship dynamics, which are difficult to model and control and often necessitate equally complex maneuvering models and control systems. This study proposes a simplified approach to bridge this gap by modeling the ship dynamics in the form of a time-invariant, continuous-time linear state-space system. The model parameters are estimated through system identification using the Covariance Adaptation Strategy Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES) applied to full-scale maneuvering data. Validation results demonstrate a strong agreement between the model output and empirical data. This outcome demonstrates the significant potential of simplified models to effectively define the maneuvering motion of a ship at low speeds.

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Agnes N. Mwange, Taichi Kambara, Kouki Wakita, Kazuyoshi Hosogaya, Atsuo Maki. 2026-07-02. Development and Identification of a Linear Low-Speed Ship Maneuvering Model from Full-Scale Data. https://arxiv.org/abs/2607.01739

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