Actuator-Based Control Strategies for Marine Vehicles

A special issue of Actuators (ISSN 2076-0825). This special issue belongs to the section "Control Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 305

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Smart Robot Convergence and Application Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea
Interests: motion control; ship berthing system; dynamic positioning system design and application; vibration control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Smart Mobility Engineering, Pukyong National University, Busan 48513, Republic of Korea
Interests: motion control; ship berthing system; dynamic positioning system design and application; vibration control

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Actuator-based control strategies play an important role in advancing marine vehicle technology, where precise and reliable operation is essential amid complex operating conditions. These control strategies take into account the characteristics of actuators, such as thrust saturation, response delays, nonlinear behavior, actuator fault, variable actuating configurations, etc., to enhance the stability, efficiency, and adaptability of marine vehicle operations. Actuator-based approaches provide integrated and practical control solutions, bridging the gap between control theory and real-life application, moving forward in the direction of sophisticated automated control and fully autonomous technology for marine vehicles.

This Special Issue will collect exciting and valuable results in the field. Contributions are welcome on topics that are related, but not limited, to the following:

  • Actuator dynamics modeling, analysis and design;
  • Control allocation, coordination and optimization;
  • Hybrid propulsion and control systems for vessels;
  • Energy efficiency in actuator operation;
  • Dynamic positioning systems (DPSs);
  • Motion control problems of underwater, surface and aerial marine vehicles;
  • Fault-tolerant control;
  • Other control applications for offshore and onshore systems.

We look forward to your valuable contributions.

Prof. Dr. Young-Bok Kim
Dr. Thinh Huynh
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • actuator-based control
  • motion control
  • marine vehicle
  • control allocation
  • optimization
  • navigation
  • unmanned vehicles

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

21 pages, 4336 KiB  
Article
A Hybrid Flying Robot Utilizing Water Thrust and Aerial Propellers: Modeling and Motion Control System Design
by Thien-Dinh Nguyen, Cao-Tri Dinh, Tan-Ngoc Nguyen, Jung-Suk Park, Thinh Huynh and Young-Bok Kim
Actuators 2025, 14(7), 350; https://doi.org/10.3390/act14070350 - 17 Jul 2025
Viewed by 208
Abstract
In this paper, a hybrid flying robot that utilizes water thrust and aerial propeller actuation is proposed and analyzed, with the aim of applications in hazardous tasks in the marine field, such as firefighting, ship inspections, and search and rescue missions. For such [...] Read more.
In this paper, a hybrid flying robot that utilizes water thrust and aerial propeller actuation is proposed and analyzed, with the aim of applications in hazardous tasks in the marine field, such as firefighting, ship inspections, and search and rescue missions. For such tasks, existing solutions like drones and water-powered robots inherited fundamental limitations, making their use ineffective. For instance, drones are constrained by limited flight endurance, while water-powered robots struggle with horizontal motion due to the couplings between translational motions. The proposed hydro-aerodynamic hybrid actuation in this study addresses these significant drawbacks by utilizing water thrust for sustainable vertical propulsion and propeller-based actuation for more controllable horizontal motion. The characteristics and mathematical models of the proposed flying robots are presented in detail. A state feedback controller and a proportional–integral–derivative (PID) controller are designed and implemented in order to govern the proposed robot’s motion. In particular, a linear matrix inequality approach is also proposed for the former design so that a robust performance is ensured. Simulation studies are conducted where a purely water-powered flying robot using a nozzle rotation mechanism is deployed for comparison, to evaluate and validate the feasibility of the flying robot. Results demonstrate that the proposed system exhibits superior performance in terms of stability and tracking, even in the presence of external disturbances. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Actuator-Based Control Strategies for Marine Vehicles)
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