A terminal sliding mode fuzzy control based on multiple sliding surfaces was proposed for ship course tracking steering, which takes account of rudder characteristics and parameter uncertainty. In order to solve the problem, the controller was designed by employing the universal approximation property of fuzzy logic system, the advantage of Nussbaum function, and using multiple sliding mode control algorithm based on the recursive technique. In the last step of designing, a nonsingular terminal sliding mode was utilized to drive the last state of the system to converge in a finite period of time, and high-order sliding mode control law was designed to eliminate the chattering and make the system robust. The simulation results showed that the controller designed here could track a desired course fast and accurately. It also exhibited strong robustness peculiarly to system, and had better adaptive ability than traditional PID control algorithms.
