A waypoint-tracking controller for a biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicle

This work develops a control system for the waypoint-tracking of a biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicle (BAUV). The BAUV swims forward by oscillating its body and caudal fin. It turns by bending its body and caudal fin toward the turning direction. The control algorithm uses the oscillating frequency to control the forward velocity, and applies a body-spline offset parameter to control the heading velocity. The motion of the BAUV is undulatory, so moving averages of swimming velocity and heading errors are used as feedback signals. The stability of the control system is discussed using a Lyapunov function. Finally, the effectiveness of the control algorithm is experimentally confirmed.