Abstract:
A virtual structure formation control method based on a Serret-Frenet coordinate system is proposed for the formation path following control of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles(AUVs). The formation control system is composed of two parts, namely, the path following control for each AUV and the consistency coordination control for the path following reference points of multiple AUVs. Firstly, a path following reference point is defined for each AUV which moves along the desired path, and a Serret-Frenet coordinate system, which takes the reference point as its origin, is built to describe the formation path following errors and the dynamic model. The course angle and velocity are prop-erly controlled to make the AUV converge to its predefined desired position in the Serret-Frenet coordinate system. Secondly, a proportional-integral consistency algorithm for path parameters is designed for all AUVs to make the virtual reference points synchronously move at a given change rate along the desired path with the desired velocity. At last, three AUVs in following a desired path with a certain formation are simulated, and the results validate the effectiveness of the proposed control method.