Sea Trials Summarization on Fundamental Formation Control of Multiple Cruising AUVs

In the 2nd term SIP project (SIP2), “Innovative Technology for Exploration of Deep Sea Resources” in Japan, National Maritime Research Institute, NMRI, is promoting the AUVs control system construction initiatively together with the leading agency, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, JAMSTEC. To promote future high-level formation control, two types of fundamental formation control tests were tried using two AUVs and one ASV in the sea. One of them is virtual leader-follower control, and the other is centralized AUV control by one ASV. Seafloor topography mapping at the coast in Japan was successfully conducted by the two control methods with AUVs as test trials. In this paper, the results of the fundamental formation control tests of them are reported and summarized. Detailed consideration of the test results is represented using a simple simulation of AUVs in the latter half of this paper. Moreover, the plan for the promotion of the formation control system that will be done in near future is introduced.