Modified set-point controller for underwater vehicles

A modified PD (proportional-derivative) controller for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is presented in this paper. The controller is expressed in terms of first-order equations of motion with a unit inertia matrix. The main difference between the proposed controller and the classical one relies on that the dynamics of the system is taken into account. This property ensures fast error and force convergence to the end-value. The PD controller can be applied for fully actuated AUVs. It is worth noting that the regulator gain matrices are selected based on parameters of the tested vehicle. The stability of the presented control law is proved in the sense of Lyapunov. Moreover, some advantages and observations resulting from the use of the controller are given. The performance of the controller is shown via simulations on a 6-DOF underwater vehicle.