Formation tracking control of autonomous underwater vehicles based on line-of-sight guidance

Navigation on a formation is of significant importance for improving Autonomous Underwater Vehicles' (AUVs) underwater operational capability and survivability. Taking a triangle formation constituted by three AUVs as a case for study, a relative distance and angle control (d-φ) law based on Leader-Follower formation strategy and feedback linearization technique was derived out. At the same time, a variable structure control law was proposed to keep the AUV track along the predefined trajectory by minimizing the cross track error, which is calculated from the line-of-sight angle. The simulation results show that the proposed method is feasible, and the formation tracking problem of cooperative control of multiple AUVs is well resolved.