Homing guidance algorithm for an autonomous underwater vehicle based on dipolar field

To solve the intelligent docking problem of an under-actuated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), a dipolar field-based homing guidance method is proposed. The total docking process is composed of two phases, namely the preparation phase and the homing phase. In the preparation phase, by using the conventional line-of-sight way-point guidance, the AUV approaches to the station over a certain distance where the AUV can locate the transponders accurately. In the homing phase, the AUV obtains its coordinates in the glo-bal docking frame using the measured locations of transponders, and moves to the station along the entrance direction under the dipolar field-based guidance. The adaptive non-singular terminal sliding mode control is used to ensure the robustness and adaptability of yaw angle tracking. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed homing guidance strategy.