Adaptive trajectory tracking control for remotely operated vehicles considering thruster dynamics and saturation constraints

Zhenzhong Chu; Xianbo Xiang; Daqi Zhu; Chaomin Luo; De Xie

doi:10.1016/j.isatra.2019.11.032

Adaptive trajectory tracking control for remotely operated vehicles considering thruster dynamics and saturation constraints

ISA Trans. 2020 May:100:28-37. doi: 10.1016/j.isatra.2019.11.032. Epub 2019 Dec 6.

Authors

Zhenzhong Chu¹, Xianbo Xiang², Daqi Zhu³, Chaomin Luo⁴, De Xie⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China; Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Maritime Search/Rescue and Underwater Vehicles, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: zzchu@shmtu.edu.cn.
² School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: xbxiang@hust.edu.cn.
³ Shanghai Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Maritime Search/Rescue and Underwater Vehicles, Shanghai Maritime University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: zdq367@aliyun.com.
⁴ Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, USA. Electronic address: luoch@udmercy.edu.
⁵ School of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China. Electronic address: dexie@hust.edu.cn.

PMID: 31837809
DOI: 10.1016/j.isatra.2019.11.032

Abstract

This paper discusses the problem of adaptive trajectory tracking control for remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). Considering thruster dynamics, a third-order state space equation is used to describe the dynamic model of ROVs. For the problem of unknown dynamics and partially known input gain, an adaptive sliding mode control design scheme based on RBF neural networks is developed using a backstepping design technique. Because of the saturation constraints of the thrusters, a first-order auxiliary state system is applied, and subsequently, a saturation factor is constructed for designing adaptive laws to ensure the stability of the adaptive trajectory tracking system when the thrusters are saturated. The proposed controller guaranteed that trajectory tracking errors are uniformly ultimately bounded (UUD). Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is verified by simulations.

Keywords: Adaptive control; Remotely operated vehicle; Saturation constraints; Thruster dynamics; Trajectory tracking.