Date of Award
Summer 2025
Embargo Period
1-1-2035
Access Type
Thesis - ERAU Login Required
Degree Name
Master of Science in Unmanned and Autonomous Systems Engineering
Department
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Committee Chair
Darris White
Committee Chair Email
white4fa@erau.edu
Committee Co-Chair
Eric Coyle
Committee Co-Chair Email
coylee1@erau.edu
First Committee Member
Richard Stansbury
First Committee Member Email
stansbur@erau.edu
College Dean
James W. Gregory
Abstract
Over-actuated surface vessels require control–allocation strategies that compute commands based on a surge–sway–yaw force vector among multiple independently steerable thrusters without violating actuator constraints. Conventional methods either solve a constrained optimization at every control step—incurring variable computational load—or apply pseudo-inverse heuristics that risk constraint violations. This thesis derives a closedform, limit-aware solution for a Unmanned Surface Vessel with two independent, steerable thrusters that achieves optimal accuracy with constant-time complexity. The proposed framework recasts allocation as an analytic inverse-kinematics problem. The attainable force workspace is partitioned into sixteen mutually exclusive operating classes, each defined by saturating two actuator variables (thrust or angle) at their nearest limits. Within each class, concise algebraic expressions yield the remaining control commands, and a scalar factor rescales end-point solutions to any interior point. A deterministic decision tree, synthesized from twenty-six boundary inequalities, selects the unique feasible class in O(1) time while guaranteeing respect for asymmetric thrust bounds for stern mounted thrusters and reduced steering envelopes of (|φ| ≤ 90°). By unifying analytic transparency with real-time efficiency, the closed-form solution presented here establishes a robust foundation for precision station keeping, autonomous docking, and fault-tolerant maneuvering of future over-actuated surface vessels operating under stringent actuator constraints.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Aggarwal, Sarthak, "Deriving a Closed-Form Solution for Over-Actuated Surface Vessels with Actuator Constraints" (2025). Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses. 918.
https://commons.erau.edu/edt/918
