Modeling and cooperative path following control of USVs-UAVs via the event-triggered communication

The modeling and coordination of heterogeneous vehicles, including underactuated surface vessels and unmanned aerial vehicles (USVs-UAVs), present a central challenge, imposing constraints on the design of guidance and control systems for the seamless execution of maritime missions. This paper studies the model dynamics and coordination problem of the USVs-UAVs for implementing a path following mission. For achieving a cooperative design with a focusing on consistency, a second-order cooperative model is developed for USVs-UAVs in an inertial coordinate system that involves the reconstruction of the kinetic model of an USV. This simplifies the formulation of a control algorithm, making it more suitable for engineering applications. Further, a cooperative virtual path is planned for USVs-UAVs with the help of the event-triggered communication, leading to reduced utilization of communication bandwidth resources. This can provide a desired signal, including the position signal and attitude signal, for the USVs and UAVs to follow, ensuring that the desired formation is achieved regardless of the initial positions. Connected to the model dynamics and cooperative virtual path, a robust control algorithm is designed to guarantee that the USVs-UAVs can adhere to the desired path with satisfactory performance. Finally, two numerical examples are carried out to validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.