Higher-order sliding mode control for trajectory tracking of air cushion vehicle

The air cushion vehicle (ACV) is an amphibian complex system with strong nonlinearity, internal unmodeled dynamics, and external disturbances. This article presents a new multivariable higher-order sliding mode (HOSM) control scheme on trajectory tracking of ACV. With two longitudinal thrusters, the ACV is modeled as an uncertain nonlinear system with less degree of freedom to be actuated. The control approach includes nominal continuous control law and super-twisting second-order sliding mode control part. The former is employed to stabilize nominal systems at origin in finite time and improve transient process. The latter is used to alleviate chattering of controlling force in surge and controlling torque in yaw, and overcome system uncertainties. A Lyapunov approach is used to testify finite time stability. The simulations for straight line and circular trajectories are presented to evaluate the applicability, robustness and superiority of the proposed approach.