PSO approach for a PID back-stepping control method in stabilizing an underactuated X4-AUV

This paper presents a particle swarming optimization (PSO) approach in optimizing the performance of the back-stepping control strategies application in stabilizing an underactuated X-4 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The PSO was used to optimize the PID back-stepping controller parameter gain. Twelve controller parameter gains were generated using PSO. The simulation results have shown that the PSO has demonstrated a better performance as compared the manual tuning. The proposed control shows improvements in settling time, and it has rapid responses compare than a controller with manual tuning parameters. The effectiveness of the controllers is verified in a computer simulation using MATLAB software.