Including human performance in the dynamic model of a sailing yacht: a matlab-simulink based tool

Description/Abstract

A sailing simulator is described that takes into account human factors with respect to strategic decisions during a race. Models for yacht-crew interaction have been designed and implemented for the helmsman and the sail tailers, as well as a ‘routing engine’ that solves problems of a strategical and a tactical nature (e.g. navigation in windshifts, collision avoidance). One or more users can interact with the simulator, so that their behaviour and decision-making process can be recorded, analyzed and compared to that of the automatic crews. The software was implemented in MATLAB-Simulink and consists of two modules: ‘Robo-Yacht’, for solo and drag races, and ‘Robo-Race’ for fleet regattas. In the latter case, a real-time animation of the race is delivered to the user in real-time within a virtual reality environment. A series of case studies are presented that demonstrate realistic interactions between a yacht whose decisions are made by a sailor and a mini fleet of autonomous yachts.