Distributed Control Barrier Functions for Safe Multi-Vehicle Navigation in Heterogeneous USV Fleets
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arXiv
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| _version_ | 1866909992525758464 |
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| author | Paine, Tyler Long, Brendan Wenger, Jeremy DeFilippo, Michael Usevitch, James Benjamin, Michael |
| author_facet | Paine, Tyler Long, Brendan Wenger, Jeremy DeFilippo, Michael Usevitch, James Benjamin, Michael |
| contents | Collision avoidance in heterogeneous fleets of uncrewed vessels is challenging because the decision-making processes and controllers often differ between platforms, and it is further complicated by the limitations on sharing trajectories and control values in real-time. This paper presents a pragmatic approach that addresses these issues by adding a control filter on each autonomous vehicle that assumes worst-case behavior from other contacts, including crewed vessels. This distributed safety control filter is developed using control barrier function (CBF) theory and the application is clearly described to ensure explainability of these safety-critical methods. This work compares the worst-case CBF approach with a Collision Regulations (COLREGS) behavior-based approach in simulated encounters. Real-world experiments with three different uncrewed vessels and a human operated vessel were performed to confirm the approach is effective across a range of platforms and is robust to uncooperative behavior from human operators. Results show that combining both CBF methods and COLREGS behaviors achieves the best safety and efficiency. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_11335 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Distributed Control Barrier Functions for Safe Multi-Vehicle Navigation in Heterogeneous USV Fleets Paine, Tyler Long, Brendan Wenger, Jeremy DeFilippo, Michael Usevitch, James Benjamin, Michael Robotics Systems and Control Collision avoidance in heterogeneous fleets of uncrewed vessels is challenging because the decision-making processes and controllers often differ between platforms, and it is further complicated by the limitations on sharing trajectories and control values in real-time. This paper presents a pragmatic approach that addresses these issues by adding a control filter on each autonomous vehicle that assumes worst-case behavior from other contacts, including crewed vessels. This distributed safety control filter is developed using control barrier function (CBF) theory and the application is clearly described to ensure explainability of these safety-critical methods. This work compares the worst-case CBF approach with a Collision Regulations (COLREGS) behavior-based approach in simulated encounters. Real-world experiments with three different uncrewed vessels and a human operated vessel were performed to confirm the approach is effective across a range of platforms and is robust to uncooperative behavior from human operators. Results show that combining both CBF methods and COLREGS behaviors achieves the best safety and efficiency. |
| title | Distributed Control Barrier Functions for Safe Multi-Vehicle Navigation in Heterogeneous USV Fleets |
| topic | Robotics Systems and Control |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.11335 |