Education in the field of intelligent ships falls under higher maritime engineering education, characterized by a broad knowledge base and high practical requirements. The development and application of intelligent ships have a significant impact on higher maritime education and talent cultivation in ship and ocean engineering. A common issue exists in intelligent ship education, where theory learning is emphasized at the cost of design education and practice application, making it difficult for students to apply theoretical knowledge to solve complex problems in the research and development of unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). To address this challenge, this paper proposes an integrated and continuous experimental teaching platform for the development and verification of USV motion control systems, with the goal of enhancing students’ hands-on capabilities in this field.

This paper applies a model-based design and development paradigm to the practical teaching of USV navigation control systems. This paradigm has become an advanced and practical design and development model for such systems. Centered on the progression from basic navigation control principles to practice implementation, the model-based paradigm is integrated throughout the entire experimental teaching process, from development to verification. Experimental teaching cases are designed based on the typical three-degree-of-freedom planar motion equations of USVs and the classic “guidance-navigation-control” architecture. These cases involve constructing a digital USV controlled object model and an autonomous navigation control system. Through model-in-the-loop (MIL), software-in-the-loop, and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulations, algorithms and key software and hardware are tested and verified in a serialized and phased manner. This approach mitigates the high cost and risk associated with real-vehicle testing while guiding students through experimental tasks, such as motion modeling, multiwaypoint tracking control, remote operation, and state machine design for autonomous mission switching. Finally, the key software and hardware verified through multiple simulation tests are deployed to a consumer-grade USV platform for field testing.

This paper presents a comprehensive experimental teaching platform for USV motion control systems, constructed based on a model-based design approach using MATLAB simulation tools, projected-based case studies, Raytheon V5 Nano controller, 0.68-meter consumer-grade USVs, and other software and hardware. Students engage in a full development cycle, from theoretical design and MIL simulation, to HIL simulation involving real vehicles and controllers, and finally to real-vehicle testing for the verification of autonomous navigation tasks. Through this integrated process design and innovative training approach, the platform successfully achieves the goal of unifying teaching and practice in the design and development of USV motion control systems.

The integrated experimental teaching platform for USV motion control developed in this paper covers the entire process of “theory, design, and practice,” providing continuous and integrated experimental teaching from simulation to real-world application. Closely aligned with theoretical instruction, the platform supports comprehensive and challenging experimental tasks, such as motion modeling, algorithm design, motion control, and parameter tuning. This approach enhances students’ abilities in system-level experimental design, verification, and independent innovative practice. The development process is seamlessly linked and logically coherent, effectively fulfilling the training goal of integrated and continuous experimental teaching for USV navigation control. The platform enables students to master the core methodologies and workflows involved in the design and verification of control systems for intelligent marine equipment, laying a solid foundation for scientific research and engineering applications in the field of intelligent unmanned systems.