A method of artificial potential fields for the determination of ship’s safe trajectory

Various methods of trajectory determination are used for finding solutions to collision situations involving ships. This applies to avoiding collisions with other ships or stationary objects. In addition to the methods generally used, new or modified versions of methods derived from other modes of transport are proposed. One of the algorithms for route determination serving to avoid obstructions is the method of artificial potential fields, used for determining routes of mobile robots. The method is used in maritime transport, for instance for detecting anomalies in ship movement. The article presents the method of potential fields used for solving the problem of route selection avoiding navigational dangers and obstacles. This article presents an algorithm of route determination based on the said method, its implementation in the MATLAB program and examples of application for the ship’s safe trajectory determination in some navigational situations.