Robust MPC trajectory tracking of AUV with varying hydrodynamics coefficients

Abstract

AUV (autonomous underwater vehicle) refers to a submersible vehicle that can function underwater on its own without human assistance. AUVs are now extensively utilized in underwater surveillance and patrol, resource exploitation, marine environment exploration, and other civil and military domains due to the quick advancement of navigation control, fluid simulation, and energy technologies. Unlike autonomous vehicles that operate on roads, autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) must navigate through more complicated underwater environments, which are subject to more challenging dynamic coefficients. The primary purpose of this thesis is to establish a reliable MPC controller for trajectory-tracking tasks with fluctuating hydrodynamic coefficients when the AUV has varying angular and linear velocities. The two main innovations of the proposed approach are as follows: firstly, the use of multiple Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) methods to determine time-varying coefficients instead of assuming constant values, and secondly, the design of a robust controller capable of handling disturbances and uncertainties.

Date of Award	2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Supervisor	Ling SHI (Supervisor)