BESO-PPF: A PPF-optimized ship heading controller based on backstepping control and the ESO

A high-performance heading controller plays a crucial role in navigational safety. Enhancing the controller’s anti-disturbance capability and response speed often introduce a trade-off with increased control jitters. Therefore, it is essential to improve the overall performance. In this study, we propose the ship heading controller named BESO-PPF that introduces backstepping control and the extended state observer (ESO) with the PPF, which stands for the particle swarm optimization (PSO), the parameter adjustment index (PAI), and the fuzzy rules, to optimize the system parameters. Initially, the controller, which combines backstepping control with an improved ESO with higher accuracy, is designed to enhance the system’s anti-disturbance ability. The stability of this controller is proven using the Lyapunov method. Then, the response speed of this controller is enhanced by the PSO, and the rudder jitters are mitigated through the PAI, which is optimized by the fuzzy rules. Finally, the simulation of a training vessel named Yulong is performed to validate the effectiveness of the algorithm. The results demonstrate that the performance of the optimized controller is improved significantly. •A heading controller with an improved ESO based on backstepping to enhance anti-disturbance.•The system parameters are optimized by the PSO to enhance the controller’s response speed.•the PAI mitigates jitters, with real-time optimization by the fuzzy rules, improving adaptability.