Intelligent behaviour-based team UUVs cooperation and navigation in a water flow environment

This paper considers the problem of intelligent behaviour-based team unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) cooperation and navigation, especially in a water flow environment. Animals often have behaviour which aims to maintain them living as groups. We learn from animals’ typical group behaviour and develop behaviour-based rules for team cooperation of UUVs. We create simulation scenarios in which a team of vehicles cooperate to track a target in a water current environment. This paper customises several behaviour-based rules to satisfy the requirement of the desired scenarios. We use fuzzy logic controllers to set different priority weights for each rule on-line according to the situation that the vehicles meet. The decision of the vehicle's next step steering direction is made by the combination of these rules multiplied by the relative priority weights. The line-of-sight guidance law is modified as the navigation rule in a water flow environment. The dynamic manoeuvring model of a real small UUV, SUBZERO III, is used in the simulation. The simulation results indicate that the entire system is successful in reaching the target without any collision within the scenario. The different trajectories and travel times are compared and discussed when normal and modified line-of-sight guidance rules are applied.