Trajectory tracking of underactuated underwater vehicles

This paper deals with a control strategies for underactuated underwater vehicles whose target is the tracking of a space trajectory. A cascade control strategy is employed which brings to a control law consisting of: 1) a kinematic control law, derived from the vehicle kinematic model, which forces this model to track the reference trajectory; and 2) a dynamic control law which forces the system to track the reference signals given by the kinematic control law. Conditions for asymptotic tracking of the trajectory are given with reference to the standard dynamical model of the above vehicle. An observer of the marine current is also added in order to process the control law. Simulation tests illustrate the proposed approach.