Input/output variable structure position control of a remotely operated underwater vehicle

Abstract

An adaptive control system for a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) is proposed. The controller is based on a recently developed variable structure model-reference adaptive control (VS-MRAC) design which is particularly advantageous since only input/output (I/O) measurements are needed and the controller design does not require exact knowledge of the ROV parameters. This paper also presents a method for implementing the I/O VS-MRAC as a digital computer algorithm. Simulations carried out with a realistic dynamic model of an actual ROV have shown that this control scheme yields accurate tracking even in the presence of disturbances and measurement noise.<>