Online optimization and path-following control of AUVs for piecewise linear paths

CHEN Shuwen; YAN Tianhong; ZHANG Yuxuan; WANG Rixian

doi:10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0166

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CHEN Shuwen, YAN Tianhong, ZHANG Yuxuan, WANG Rixian. Online optimization and path-following control of AUVs for piecewise linear paths[J]. Journal of Unmanned Undersea Systems. doi: 10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0166

Citation:

CHEN Shuwen, YAN Tianhong, ZHANG Yuxuan, WANG Rixian. Online optimization and path-following control of AUVs for piecewise linear paths[J]. Journal of Unmanned Undersea Systems. doi: 10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0166

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Online optimization and path-following control of AUVs for piecewise linear paths

doi: 10.11993/j.issn.2096-3920.2025-0166

College of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, China Jiliang University, Hang’zhou 310018, China

Received Date: 2025-12-13
Accepted Date: 2026-01-26
Rev Recd Date: 2026-01-21

Available Online: 2026-07-15

Abstract

Abstract

Aiming at the problem of excessive tracking error caused by tangential jumps at switching points during the piecewise linear path tracking of autonomous underwater vehicle(AUV), this paper proposes an online path optimization method based on overlapping sliding windows. This method overlaps the windows to enable the new window to inherit the latter part of the optimization results from the previous window, thereby mitigating the end effects and decision myopia. The optimization of the path in the window gives priority to the parameterized cubic Bézier curve(PCBC) algorithm. When this algorithm is not applicable, an improved particle swarm optimization(PSO) is used to optimize the control points of the cubic Bézier curve, so as to obtain optimized path segments that meet the performance requirements. To achieve high-precision tracking of the optimized path segments by the AUV, this paper designs an improved line-of-sight(LOS) guidance method based on adaptive look-ahead distance, which dynamically adjusts the look-ahead distance by fusing tracking error, path curvature and navigation speed to improve guidance accuracy. Simulation analysis and sea trials verify the superiority of the improved LOS and the engineering practicability of its integration with the path optimization method.
- autonomous underwater vehicles,
- path optimization,
- overlapping sliding window,
- cubic Bézier curve,
- improved line-of-sight

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References(16)

References

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