Sliding mode reference conditioning for path following applied to an AUV.*

:This work presents a dynamic model for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), a validation of this model together with the simulator obtained from its application and an implementation of sliding mode reference conditioning (SMRC). This last technique is proposed in order to follow a path at maximum speed with bounded errors in a dynamical framework, taking care of the saturation in systems actuators, resulting in an improvement of the path tracking time.