A New Tracking Controller Design for adaptive control to underwater vehicles can be found in Refs.
关4,5兴. Reference 关6兴 provides a review of various control strategies
Underwater Vehicles Using
Quadratic Stabilization
R. Prasanth Kumar
School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering,
Gyeongsang National University,
Jinju 660 701, Republic of Korea
e-mail: rprasanthkumar@gmail.com
Anirvan Dasgupta1
e-mail: anir@mech.iitkgp.ernet.in
C. S. Kumar
e-mail: kumar@mech.iitkgp.ernet.in
Department of Mechanical Engineering,
Indian Institute of Technology,
Kharagpur 721 302, India
This paper proposes a new tracking controller for autonomous
underwater vehicles (AUVs) using the concept of simultaneous
quadratic stabilization. The nonlinear underwater vehicle system
is viewed as a set of locally linear time invariant systems obtained
by linearizing the system equations on the reference trajectory
about some discrete points. A single stabilizing controller is then
designed for the set of systems so obtained. However, this control-
ler requires the exact parameters of the system. Since the hydro-
dynamic parameters of AUVs are generally not known with suffi-
cient accuracy, the proposed controller is used for the known part
of the dynamics and an adaptation algorithm is used to estimate
the unknown parameters online and compensate for the rest of the
plant dynamics. The proposed controller can thus adaptively
handle the complete nonlinear uncertain dynamics of the plant.
Simulation results are presented and discussed for a typical
AUV. 关DOI: 10.1115/1.2837451兴
1 Introduction
The autonomous underwater vehicle 共AUV兲 has become an im-
portant tool for undersea intervention. For a given mission, an
AUV has to guide itself through unknown environments for a
considerable amount of time in the absence of human intelligence.
The presence of hydrodynamic effects on the vehicle, nonlinear
thruster dynamics, and uncertainty in the system parameters make
the underwater vehicle system difficult to control.
Several control strategies have been proposed in literature for
efficient control of underwater vehicles. Yoerger and Slotine 关1兴
proposed a sliding mode technique for a robust trajectory control
of underwater vehicles neglecting the coupled dynamics. Healey
and Lienard 关2兴 used a sliding mode control for decoupled steer-
ing, diving, and speed control. Linearized equations of motion of
the underwater vehicle were used in the design of the controller.
Goheen and Jefferys 关3兴 proposed multivariable self-tuning auto-
pilots for autopositioning of AUVs and remotely operated vehicles
共ROVs兲 in the presence of model uncertainties. Application of
1
Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Dynamic Systems Division of ASME for publication in the
JOURNAL OF DYNAMIC SYSTEMS, MEASUREMENT, AND CONTROL. Manuscript received
July 14, 2006; final manuscript received August 9, 2007; published online February
29, 2008. Review conducted by Mark Costello.
Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control
Copyright © 2008 by ASME
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for underwater vehicles.
The thruster dynamics is known to be nonlinear and time vary-
ing. Dynamics of thrusters play a prominent role in the overall
vehicle dynamics, especially during vehicle hovering and posi-
tioning 关7兴. Experiments in Refs. 关8,9兴 on thruster control show
that better control in positioning is possible using more precise
thruster models 关10,11兴.
Of the many approaches available, the application of linear
multivariable theory has received wide acceptance because of its
simplicity and ease of understanding. In this approach, the non-
linear system is viewed as a set of locally linear time-invariant
共LTI兲 systems at discrete points on some specified trajectory. In
such a situation, it is desirable to have a single stabilizing control-
ler for the above mentioned set of LTI systems and, hence, for the
overall nonlinear system. This motivates the study of the simulta-
neous stabilization 共SS兲 problem, which addresses the design of a
single feedback controller for stabilizing a finite number of plants.
Using the Lyapunov stability theory, Barmish 关12兴 gave a nec-
essary and sufficient condition from the quadratic stabilizability
共QS兲 of linear structured uncertain systems associated with the
synthesis of a nonlinear feedback controller. The QS problem is to
find a controller and a common quadratic Lyapunov function for a
set of systems. Bernussou et al. 关13兴 and Geromel et al. 关14兴
proposed a linear programing approach to solve the robust stabi-
lization problem using the concepts of QS. By their method, the
existence of a single controller is contingent on the existence of a
solution to the linear programing problem. Kar and Dasgupta 关15兴
showed that a set of LTI systems in block companion form is
simultaneously quadratically stabilizable by a single static state
feedback controller. An algorithm for the design of a single stabi-
lizing feedback controller was proposed and applied to the trajec-
tory control of a two link robotic manipulator with the control
structure described in Ref. 关16兴.
However, in Ref. 关15兴, the availability of the exact model of the
system is assumed. In most practical situations, this is never sat-
isfied. This paper addresses the practical limitation of the work in
Ref. 关15兴 and proposes a new control algorithm for underwater
vehicle control using simultaneous quadratic stabilization 共SQS兲
with adaptation to handle uncertainties in the hydrodynamic pa-
rameters. The proposed control scheme takes care of the effects of
the complete nonlinear uncertain dynamics. However, in doing so,
it does not increase the computations to handle nonlinearities
since the linearized model has to be computed only once and can
be done offline if the trajectory is planned beforehand. This is
especially true when we have closed form optimal trajectories as
proposed in Ref. 关17兴. In the first two sections, the concept of SQS
is reviewed and the stabilization algorithm is briefly described.
Next, the application of the stabilization algorithm to underwater
vehicles is discussed. In order to cope with uncertainty in hydro-
dynamic parameters, the control law is extended to include adap-
tation. This essentially makes the overall control system nonlinear.
Finally, simulation results are presented for an AUV undergoing a
typical maneuver. Results show the effectiveness of the proposed
control scheme.
2 Simultaneous Quadratic Stabilization
The problem of SQS of a set of LTI systems is stated as fol-
lows. Consider a family of multi-input systems 兵Ai , B其, i
= 0 , 1 , . . . , l, which are described by the state equation
ẋ = Aix + Bu 共1兲
where Ai 苸 R n⫻n
and B 苸 R . A set of systems 兵Ai , B其 is SQS if
n⫻m
there exists matrices W = WT ⬎ 0 and K such that the following
inequality holds:
xT关共Ai − BK兲TW−1 + W−1共Ai − BK兲兴x ⬍ 0
MARCH 2008, Vol. 130 / 024502-1
 ∀x 苸 Rn and ∀ i = 0,1, . . . ,l 共2兲
where V1 = x W x ⬎ 0 is the common Lyapunov function, u
T −1

= −Kx, and K is the state feedback gain matrix.

It can be noted that the expression on the left hand side of Eq.
共2兲 is V̇1. By choosing
␥i T −1
K= B W 共3兲
2
the inequality in Eq. 共2兲 leads to
AiW + WAiT − ␥iBBT ⬍ 0 共4兲
Finsler’s lemma 关18兴 states that there exists a set of scalars 兵␥i其
that satisfy the above inequality if
xT关AiW + WAiT兴x ⬍ 0 共5兲
T Fig. 1 Inertial and body-coordinate frames
for all x belonging to the null space of B .
By choosing ␥ 艌 max兵␥i其, the inequality in Eq. 共4兲 is always
satisfied. This gives a single stabilizing feedback gain matrix for
the given set of LTI systems. The procedure for determining W attitude vector expressed in absolute frame. The matrices M, C,
and ␥i, which satisfies this inequality, is outlined in Ref. 关15兴. and D are 6 ⫻ 6, and the vectors g, ␶, ␯, and ␩ are 6 ⫻ 1.
The relationship between velocities in vehicle and absolute
3 Stabilization Algorithm frames can be expressed as
The procedure for determining a single static state feedback ␩˙ = J共␩兲␯ 共11兲
stabilizing gain matrix as given in Ref. 关15兴 is summarized below.
The matrix A is assumed to be in block companion form as where J共␩兲 is the Jacobian matrix, ␩ = 关␩T1 ␩T2 兴T, ␩1 = 关x y z兴T rep-

冋 册
resents the position, ␩2 = 关␾ ␪ ␺兴T is the vector of Euler angles
A11 A12 representing the orientation in 3-2-1 convention. Figure 1 shows
A= 共6兲
Ai21 Ai22 the inertial and vehicle/body-coordinate frames with marine nota-
tion for the six degrees of freedom. Surge, sway, and heave are
1. Calculate F such that A11 + A12F is stable. Calculate W1 by motions along X0, Y 0, and Z0 axes, respectively, expressed in
solving the Lyapunov equation body-coordinate frame.
The forces and moments on the vehicle are given by
共A11 + A12F兲W1 + W1共A11 + A12F兲T = Q0 共7兲
␶ = B tu t 共12兲
where Q0 is any 共n − m兲 ⫻ 共n − m兲 dimensional negative defi-
nite matrix. where Bt is the thruster mapping matrix and ut is the vector of
2. Compute WT2 = FW1. thrusts from thrusters. The thruster mapping matrix can be ob-
3. Select W3 such that W3 ⬎ WT2 W−1 tained from the knowledge of thruster locations, as shown in Fig.
1 W2 to ensure that

冋 册
2. The thrusters are so arranged that they can together provide
W1 W2 force/moment along/about any direction; i.e., the vehicle is fully
W= actuated.
WT2 W3
The static thruster model is considered for simulation assuming
is a positive definite matrix. Choose W3 = R + WT2 W−1
1 W 2, that the thruster dynamics have much smaller time constant than
where R is any positive definite matrix. the vehicle dynamics 关20兴. In this case, the thrust from each
4. Compute ␥i for each nominal point such that thruster is given by
␥iIm ⬎ 共q2i − qiTQ−1
0 q i兲 共8兲
where
qi = A11W2 + A12W3 + W1共Ai21兲T + W2Ai22

q2i = Ai21W2 + Ai22W3 + WT2 共Ai21兲T + W3共Ai22兲T

The feedback gain parameter ␥ is taken as
␥ 艌 max兵␥i其 共9兲

4 Dynamics and Control of an Underwater Vehicle

The equations of motion of an underwater vehicle can be writ-
ten in matrix form as follows 关19兴.
M ␯˙ + C共␯兲␯ + D共␯兲␯ + g共␩兲 = ␶ 共10兲
where M is the mass matrix that includes a rigid body mass matrix
and an added mass matrix, C共␯兲 is the Coriolis and centripetal
matrix due to rigid body mass and added mass, D共␯兲 is the hy-
drodynamic damping matrix, g共␩兲 is the resultant vector of buoy-
ancy and gravitational forces, ␶ is the resultant vector of applied
forces and moments acting on the vehicle, ␯ is the vector of ve-
locities in vehicle coordinate frame, and ␩ is the position and Fig. 2 Thruster locations on the vehicle

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 Equation 共16兲 can be linearized about the ith nominal point on
the reference trajectory at time t⬘ as follows. Neglecting the
higher order terms,

␰˙ r共ti兲 + ␦␰˙ i共t⬘兲 = Ă„␰r共ti兲… + B␶˘ r共ti兲 +

⳵Ă
⳵␰
冏 冏 ri
␦␰i共t⬘兲 + B„␦␶˘ i共t⬘兲

+ ␶˘ ⌰共t兲… + ⌽1⌰ 共21兲

where the total control input ␶˘ 共t兲 is written as the sum of ␶˘ r共ti兲,
␦␶˘ i共t⬘兲, and ␶˘ ⌰共t兲, and the matrix

Fig. 3 Reference and actual trajectories 冏 冏 冋⳵Ă

⳵␰ ri
=
A11 A12
Ai21 Ai22
册 共22兲

is evaluated at ␰r共ti兲. ␶˘ ⌰共t兲 is the adaptive control input, which is

zero when there is no uncertainty.
Fth = Cth⍀兩⍀兩 共13兲 Similarly, Eq. 共19兲 can be linearized about the ith nominal point
where Cth is the thruster constant and ⍀ is the propeller angular as

冏 冏
velocity.
The equations of motion of underwater vehicles are linear in the ⳵Ă
system parameters, which are assumed to be constant 共see Refs. ␰˙ r共ti兲 + ␦␰˙ ri共t⬘兲 = Ă„␰r共ti兲… + B␶˘ r共ti兲 + ␦␰ri共t⬘兲 + B␦␶˘ ri共t⬘兲
⳵␰ ri
关19,20兴兲. Equation 共10兲 can be grouped into known and unknown
terms as 共23兲

M 0␯˙ + C0共␯兲␯ + D0共␯兲␯ + g0共␩兲 + M ⌬␯˙ + C⌬共␯兲␯ + D⌬共␯兲␯ where ␦␶˘ ri共t⬘兲 is the deviation of the reference control input de-
termined using Eq. 共23兲 as follows:

冏 冏
+ g ⌬共 ␩ 兲 = ␶ 共14兲
where M 0, C0, D0, and g0 are known and M ⌬, C⌬, D⌬, and g⌬ are ⳵Ă
␦␶˘ ri共t⬘兲 = BT␦␰˙ ri共t⬘兲 − BT ␦␰ri共t⬘兲 共24兲
unknown. The unknown quantities can be linearly parametrized as ⳵␰ ri

M ⌬␯˙ + C⌬共␯兲␯ + D⌬共␯兲␯ + g⌬共␩兲 = ⌽共␯˙ , ␯, ␩兲⌰ 共15兲 Defining the state error vector as ˜␰ = ␰r − ␰, one can write from
where ⌰ is a vector of unknown constant parameters. Eqs. 共21兲 and 共23兲
Equation 共10兲 can be written as a state space form,

␰˙ = Ă共␰兲 + B␶˘ + ⌽1⌰ 共16兲

␦␰˙ ri共t⬘兲 − ␦␰˙ i共t⬘兲 = 冏 冏⳵Ă
⳵␰ ri
„␦␰ri共t⬘兲 − ␦␰i共t⬘兲… + B„␦␶˘ ri共t⬘兲 − ␦␶˘ i共t⬘兲

where − ␶˘ ⌰共t兲… 共25兲

冏 冏
␰ = 关␩T ␩˙ T兴T
˜␰˙ 共t⬘兲 = ⳵Ă ˜␰共t⬘兲 + B„␦␶˘ 共t⬘兲 − ␦␶˘ 共t⬘兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲… 共26兲
␶˘ = J共␩兲M −1
0 ␶ ⳵␰
ri i ⌰

冋册
ri

Ă1
冋 册 0 Since ˜␰共t⬘兲 = ˜␰共t兲 and ␶˘ 共t兲 = ␶˘ r共ti兲 + ␦␶˘ i共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ ⌰共t兲, one can write

冏 冏
Ă共␰兲 = , B=
Ă2 I6⫻6
˜␰˙ 共t兲 = ⳵Ă ˜␰共t兲 + B„␦␶˘ 共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ 共t 兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲… − ⌽ ⌰ 共27兲
ri r i 1
⳵␰
Ă1 = ␩
˙ ri

When there is no uncertainty, i.e., ␶˘ ⌰ = 0 and ⌰ = 0, we get

0 共g0共␩兲
JM −1 + C 0共 ␩ , ␩
˙ 兲J ␩
˙兲− 0 D 0共 ␩ , ␩
JM −1 ˙ 兲J−1␩ + J̇J ␩
冏 冏
−1 −1
Ă2 = − ˙ ˙
˜␰˙ 共t兲 = ⳵Ă

冋 册
˜␰共t兲 + B„␦␶˘ 共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ 共t 兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲… 共28兲
ri r i
0 ⳵␰ ri
⌽1 =
0 ⌽
− JM −1 Equation 共28兲 is in block companion form and is similar to the
regulator system in Eq. 共1兲 where the control input tends to reduce
Figure 3 shows the reference and actual trajectories along with
the state error to zero. The common quadratic Lyapunov function
the deviations from the ith nominal point on the reference trajec-
tory. At any point of time t⬘ between ti and ti+1, the deviation of in this case would be V1 = ˜␰TW−1˜␰.
the reference trajectory from the ith nominal point is given by For the underwater vehicle system considered, A11 = 06⫻6 and
A12 = I6⫻6. The other two matrices, A21 and A22, are computed
␦␰ri共t⬘兲 = ␰r共t⬘兲 − ␰r共ti兲 共17兲 numerically. Therefore, F can be chosen as −I, makes A11 + A12F
Similarly, the deviation of the actual trajectory from the ith nomi- stable. Now, W1 can be chosen as I6⫻6, which satisfies the
nal point is given by Lyapunov inequality.
Then,
␦␰i共t⬘兲 = ␰共t⬘兲 − ␰r共ti兲 共18兲
Q0 = − 2I6⫻6
Let ␶˘ r共ti兲 be the ith nominal control input that satisfies

␰˙ r共t兲 = Ă„␰r共t兲… + B␶˘ r共t兲 共19兲 W2 = − I6⫻6

at the time instant ti. Therefore, W3 = 2I6⫻6 with R = I6⫻6

T˙
␶˘ r共ti兲 = B ␰r共ti兲 − B Ă„␰r共ti兲…
T
共20兲 Therefore,

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 Fig. 4 Structure of underwater vehicle control systems

W= 冋 I6⫻6 − I6⫻6
− I6⫻6 2I6⫻6
册 共29兲 冏 冏
˜␰˙ 共t兲 = ⳵Ă
⳵␰
˜␰共t兲 + B„␦␶˘ 共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ 共t 兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲 + ␶˘ … − B␶˘ − ⌽ ⌰
ri
ri r i ⌰ ⌰ 1

The value of feedback gain parameter ␥ depends on the trajectory 共33兲

chosen. For each nominal point, ␥i is chosen as the maximum
eigenvalue of 共q2i − qTi Q−1 where ␶˘ ⌰ and ⌰ are not necessarily zero. Let the new Lyapunov
0 qi兲. function be
The feedback control input that makes V̇1 negative definite, i.e.,

冋冏 冏 册 V2 = ˜␰TW−1˜␰ + ⌰
˜ T⌫−1⌰
˜ ⬎0 共34兲
˜␰TW−1 ⳵Ă ˜␰共t兲 + B„␦␶˘ 共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ 共t 兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲… ⬍ 0
ri r i 共30兲 where
⳵␰ ri
⌰ ˆ
˜ =⌰−⌰ 共35兲
is calculated as
␥ is the error in a parameter estimate, ⌰ ˆ is an estimate of param-
␦␶˘ ri共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ r共ti兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲 = − BTW−1˜␰ 共31兲 eters, and ⌫ is a positive definite adaptive gain matrix. Then,
2
which gives the total control input as ˙ ˜˙
V̇2 = 2˜␰TW−1˜␰ + 2⌰
˜ T⌫−1⌰ 共36兲
␶˘ 共t兲 = ␶˘ r共ti兲 + ␶˘ ff + ␶˘ fb 共32兲
˜˙ T⌫−1⌰
V̇2 = V̇1 − 2˜␰TW−1共B␶˘ ⌰ + ⌽1⌰兲 + 2⌰ ˜ 共37兲
where ␶˘ ff = ␦␶˘ ri共t⬘兲 and ␶˘ fb = ␥ / 2BTW−1˜␰.
In Eq. 共21兲, the nominal terms on both sides of the equation are The term V̇1 is similar to the one given in Eq. 共30兲 and is given
exactly canceled only at the nominal points. The nominal terms by

冋冏 冏 册
can be approximately canceled between the nominal points by
˜␰TW−1 ⳵Ă
adding a feedforward controller to the incremental system, as
˜␰共t兲 + B„␦␶˘ 共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ 共t 兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲 + ␶˘ … 共38兲
shown in Fig. 4. ⳵␰
ri r i ⌰
ri
The purpose of feedforward controller is to assist the feedback
controller. In the case of the vehicle control system shown in Fig. which can be made negative definite by choosing
4, ␶˘ r共ti兲 is constant between the nominal points. The incremental ␥
feedforward controller based on the linearized model combined ␦␶˘ ri共t⬘兲 + ␶˘ r共ti兲 − ␶˘ 共t兲 + ␶˘ ⌰ = − BTW−1˜␰ 共39兲
with ␶˘ r共ti兲 acts on the system to cancel out the terms related to 2
reference trajectory. In other words, the incremental feedforward Therefore, the total control input in this case is given by
controller interpolates 共based on the linearized model兲 the nominal
␶˘ 共t兲 = ␶˘ r共ti兲 + ␶˘ ff + ␶˘ fb + ␶˘ ⌰ 共40兲
control input between the nominal points. The remaining pertur-
bation terms are reduced to zero by the feedback controller. The term B␶˘ ⌰ in Eq. 共37兲 is chosen as −⌽1⌰ ˆ . Since ⌰ is a
˙˜ ˙ˆ
constant vector of unknown parameters, ⌰ = −⌰. Then,
5 Adaptation to Uncertainties
The hydrodynamic parameters are those that affect the vehicle V̇2 = V̇1 − 2˜␰TW−1⌽1⌰ ˆ˙ T⌫−1⌰
˜ − 2⌰ ˜ 共41兲
behavior when it is in motion. The added mass parameters which
make up the added mass matrix and the linear and quadratic drag By choosing the adaptive control law as
parameters which make up the damping matrix come under this
category. The hydrodynamic parameters of an underwater vehicle ˆ˙ = − ⌫⌽TW−1˜␰
⌰ 共42兲
1
are generally not known with sufficient accuracy. Traditionally, Eq. 共41兲 becomes
these parameters are estimated using the planar-motion-
mechanism 共PMM兲 test. Another approach is to use an observer to V̇2 = V̇1 艋 0 共43兲
estimate these parameters 关21兴. These offline approaches are ap-
proximate and do not theoretically guarantee stability for the con- which is negative semidefinite. Using Barbalat’s lemma 关22兴, it
troller described in the previous section where exact values of the can be proven that V̇2 → 0 as t → ⬁. This means that V̇1 in Eq. 共30兲
system parameters are required. This stringent requirement can be approaches zero asymptotically and V2 is bounded. This ensures
removed by considering a regression based online estimation asymptotic tracking of the desired trajectory, but the parameter
scheme. The estimated parameters are then used to update the estimation error does not converge to zero, which is not actually
controller parameters for each sampling interval such that the sta- required in the present case. The adaptive part of the control law is
bility is guaranteed and the tracking error decreases asymptoti- given by
cally.
␶˘ ⌰ = JM −1 ˆ
In the presence of uncertainty, Eq. 共27兲 can be rewritten as 0 ⌽⌰ 共44兲

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 Fig. 5 Position and attitude tracking error: ¯ for ⌫ = 0, --- for ⌫ = 2 Ã 103I, and — for ⌫ = 5 Ã 103I. „a… Error in x versus time. „b…
Error in y versus time. „c… Error in z versus time. „d… Error in ␾ versus time. „e… Error in ␪ versus time. „f… Error in ␺ versus time.

6 Simulation forces, and center of buoyancy are assumed to be at the centroid

The vehicle chosen for simulation is a six degrees of freedom of the vehicle. The center of gravity is 0.02 m below the center of
vehicle with six thrusters 关17兴. The vehicle hydrodynamic param- buoyancy.
eters from Ref. 关23兴 have been used for simulation with nearly The following helical reference trajectory has been chosen for
50% uncertainty. The center of added mass, center of dissipative designing and simulating the controller.

Fig. 6 Position and attitude tracking error with nonzero initial error: ¯ for ⌫ = 0, --- for ⌫ = 2 Ã 103I, and — for ⌫ = 5 Ã 103I. „a…
Error in x versus time. „b… Error in y versus time. „c… Error in z versus time. „d… Error in ␾ versus time. „e… Error in ␪ versus time.
„f… Error in ␺ versus time.

Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement, and Control MARCH 2008, Vol. 130 / 024502-5

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 冋
␩ref = r cos as r sin as bs 0 0
␲
2
+ as 册 T
where r = 10 m, b = 0.3, and a = 冑共1 − b2兲 / r2. The parameter s is an
arc length, which varies with respect to time as follows:
冦 冧
0.08t3 − 0.008t4 , 0艋t⬍5
5 + 2共t − 5兲, 5 艋 t 艋 27
− 100352共t − 27兲 + 5184共t2 − 272兲
s共t兲 = 49 +
125
− 118共t3 − 273兲 + t4 − 274
+ , 27 ⬍ t 艋 32
125
First, the trajectory is discretized by choosing 160 equidistant
node points at which the dynamics is linearized to obtain a set of
LTI systems. For each nominal point, the algorithm is used to
determine ␥i. Calculations in the first three steps of the algorithm
need to be done only once. For the given trajectory, ␥max is found
to be 7.5.
The procedure for determining ␥ need not be repeated for every
trajectory. This is because the acceptable values for ␥ can be any-
thing above that determined from the algorithm. It can be deter-
mined for some typical trajectories that an AUV is required to
follow and the maximum value of ␥ can be used for the design of
the controller. Though higher values of ␥ give faster convergence,
for the present simulation a value of 8 is chosen.
For the desired trajectory given, the variation of tracking errors
in position and attitude with zero initial error for various values of
adaptive gain is shown in Fig. 5. With zero adaptive gain, though
the system is not unstable, the performance is poor as the control-
ler operates based only on the nominal plant. With the increase in
adaptive gain, the tracking error reduces asymptotically to zero. A
corresponding variation of error with nonzero initial error in ␩ of
−共1 , 0.8, 0.5, 0.5, 0.3, 0.4兲 is shown in Fig. 6. In this figure, the
performance with and without the adaptive controller seems to
match. However, it is to be noticed that the initial error is high
and, therefore, the tracking errors are mostly not visible in that
scale. One exception is the case of error in ␪, as shown in Fig.
6共e兲.
7 Conclusions
This paper describes a new method of designing a linear track-
ing controller for AUVs using the concept of quadratic stabiliza-
tion. The underwater vehicle system is linearized about some
points on the reference trajectory, and a single state feedback sta-
bilizing controller is designed. In order to handle uncertainty in
the vehicle parameters, an adaptive scheme is used to estimate
unknown parameters online. The effectiveness of the controller is
demonstrated through numerical simulation. The proposed scheme
will be used for tracking optimal trajectories determined using the
methods discussed in Ref. 17.
024502-6 / Vol. 130, MARCH 2008
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