Simulation of a Digital Filter/Estimator for the Navigation of Large Ships in Confined Waters

Aeronautical and marine casualty statistics indicate that the human being, when under stress or at times of peak load, can be a poor co-ordinator of the information available to him, particularly when that information is from a number of different sources, as is often the case in modern ships. Integration and co-ordination of information and its useful application in a closed loop feedback system can reduce the probability of accident as has already been demonstrated in the case of automatic landing systems for aircraft.This paper describes the development of a digital fi1ter/estimator for use in conjunction with an optimal controller in the navigation of large ships in the approaches to a port.