Coordinated Control for Trajectory Tracking of Multiple UUVs with Input Saturation

The coordinated control has been widely used to realize multiple UUVs (Unmanned Underwater Vehicles) track the expected trajectory in formation. As the forces and moments are bounded in real actuators, the input can't be infinite. In order to address the problem, a coordinated control law considering control input saturation is proposed in this paper. The multiple-input multiple-output system of UUV motion is simplified as second-order integral equations by using linearization method. Then, the control object of multiple UUVs is represented. All positon state and velocity state of each UUV are unanimous asymptotically with designed coordinated controller of multi-UUV with input saturation. Furthermore, the stability is proven based on Lyapunov theory and LaSalle's Invariance principle. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control law is verified by simulation, all UUVs can track the expected path in fixed distances.