Robust Sliding Mode Control for the Electro-Optical Observatory Drive System of a Patrol Ship

Abstract

. Electro-optical tracking devices play a crucial role in modern civil monitoring and observation systems, such as coastal surveillance, maritime navigation assistance, and environmental monitoring. However, the tracking performance of their drive systems can be significantly degraded by external disturbances such as ocean waves, platform vibrations, and environmental uncertainties. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a robust sliding mode control (SMC) strategy integrated with a disturbance observer for the electro-optical observation drive system of a maritime monitoring platform. The proposed controller is designed to enhance robustness against nonlinearities and external disturbances while ensuring high tracking accuracy. A stability analysis is provided to guarantee convergence of the tracking error under bounded disturbances. The effectiveness of the approach is validated through numerical simulations in MATLAB/Simulink, where the proposed SMC demonstrates superior performance compared to conventional control schemes. Results confirm that the controller ensures precise tracking and robust disturbance rejection in realistic maritime conditions, making it a promising solution for improving the operational reliability of shipborne electro-optical observation systems.