Glider Coordinated Control and Lagrangian Coherent Structures*

We develop a control law to maintain a group of three underwater gliders in an equilateral triangular formation. The triangular shape is ideal to determine temperature and salinity gradients by numerically differentiating individual vehicle measurements. Using gradient information, the formation is able to follow an eddy or track its boundary. We investigate how to maintain stability and robustness of the coordinated control loop in the presence of very strong currents using Lagrangian Coherent Structures (LCS).