A distributed control system for an autonomous underwater vehicle

A new distributed control system using CAN bus for an autonomous underwater vehicle(AUV) was developed. In the well defined hierarchy architecture, this control system consists of the task layer by the multi-function teleoperator, the coordination layer by the management and logging center, and the control layer by the navigation control center and other executor control nodes. The realtime control and non-realtime task management are separated and realized by the different control nodes, which is convenient to maintain and upgrade the system. In the real experiment, the distributed control system worked well, and the AUV executed the preprogrammed mission completely and exactly, which proved the successfulness of this system design.