Control of Towing Kites for Seagoing Vessels

TL;DR

This paper details the development and validation of a control system for towing kites used on seagoing vessels, including modeling, controller design, and flight pattern generation based on sea trial data.

Contribution

It introduces a novel dynamic model for kite control and demonstrates its effectiveness through real sea trial data and operational flight success.

Findings

Validated model with sea trial data

Successful operational control of towing kites

Generation of dynamic flight patterns

Abstract

In this paper we present the basic features of the flight control of the SkySails towing kite system. After introduction of coordinate definitions and basic system dynamics we introduce a novel model used for controller design and justify its main dynamics with results from system identification based on numerous sea trials. We then present the controller design which we successfully use for operational flights for several years. Finally we explain the generation of dynamical flight patterns.