Fully distributed dynamic event-triggered formation-containment control for networked unmanned surface vehicles with intermittent wireless network communications

Favorable neighboring interactions and economical transmission costs are the foundations of formation-containment control (FCC), while the complex marine environments hamper its expansion on networked unmanned surface vehicles (USVs). In this context, this paper investigates an intermittent dynamic event-triggered control scheme for USVs experiencing communication interruptions to achieve FCC. Specifically, the control architecture consists of two synchronously working sub-layers. In the first layer, an intermittent communications-based formation tracking controller is initially developed to endow USVs with higher endurance against communication interruptions, such that the leader USVs can form a desired formation pattern while following a virtual leader. Meanwhile, a dynamic event-triggered mechanism (DETM) is incorporated into the intermittent controller to reduce the update frequency of control signals with computable minimum inter-event time (MIET). Similarly, an intermittent DETM-based controller is proposed for followers to achieve containment missions in the second layer. Moreover, the global information is unnecessary with time-varying control gains. Finally, the simulations are provided to verify the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed control scheme.