Design of a sliding mode fuzzy controller for the guidance and control of an autonomous underwater vehicle

This work demonstrates the feasibility of applying a sliding mode fuzzy controller to motion control and line of sight guidance of an autonomous underwater vehicle. The design method of the sliding mode fuzzy controller offers a systematical means of constructing a set of shrinking-span and dilating-span membership functions for the controller. Stability and robustness of the control system are guaranteed by properly selecting the shrinking and dilating factors of the fuzzy membership functions. Control parameters selected for a testbed vehicle, AUV-HM1, are evaluated through tank and field experiments. Experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed controller in dealing with model uncertainties, non-linearities of the vehicle dynamics, and environmental disturbances caused by ocean currents and waves.     

基于iSIGHT重于水的无人自治潜水器概念设计及优化方法

介绍一种新型重于水的无人自治潜水器的概念设计及主艇体优化方法,阐述了主艇体、机翼、尾翼等设计原理。以飞鱼Ⅱ设计过程为例,详细描述了重于水的无人自治潜水器概念设计流程,并通过iSIGHT优化设计软件对主艇体的设计参数进行优化。优化结果表明,优化后主艇体重量能够减小48%,阻力减小2.9%。     

Experiments on vision guided docking of an autonomous underwater vehicle using one camera

This paper introduces an underwater docking procedure for the test-bed autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) platform called ISiMI using one charge-coupled device (CCD) camera. The AUV is optically guided by lights mounted around the entrance of a docking station and a vision system consisting of a CCD camera and a frame grabber in the AUV. This paper presents an image processing procedure to identify the dock by discriminating between light images, and proposes a final approach algorithm based on the vision guidance. A signal processing technique to remove noise on the defused grabbed light images is introduced, and a two-stage final approach for stable docking at the terminal instant is suggested. A vision-guidance controller was designed with conventional PID controllers for the vertical plane and the horizontal plane. Experiments were conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the vision-guided docking system of the AUV.     

Closed-loop randomized kinodynamic path planning for an autonomous underwater vehicle

A randomized kinodynamic path planning algorithm based on the incremental sampling-based method is proposed here as the state-of-the-art in this field applicable in an autonomous underwater vehicle. Designing a feasible path for this vehicle from an initial position and velocity to a target position and velocity in three-dimensional spaces by considering the kinematic constraints such as obstacles avoidance and dynamic constraints such as hard bounds and non-holonomic characteristic of AUV are the main motivation of this research. For this purpose, a closed-loop rapidly-exploring random tree (CL-RRT) algorithm is presented. This CL-RRT consists of three tightly coupled components: a RRT algorithm, three fuzzy proportional-derivative controllers for heading and diving control and a six degree-of-freedom nonlinear AUV model. The branches of CL-RRT are expanded in the configuration space by considering the kinodynamic constraints of AUV. The feasibility of each branch and random offspring vertex in the CL-RRT is checked against the mentioned constraints of AUV. Next, if the planned branch is feasible by the AUV, then the control signals and related vertex are recorded through the path planner to design the final path. This proposed algorithm is implemented on a single board computer (SBC) through the xPC Target and then four test-cases are designed in 3D space. The results of the processor-in-the-loop tests are compared by the conventional RRT and indicate that the proposed CL-RRT not only in a rapid manner plans an initial path, but also the planned path is feasible by the AUV.     

The Morpheus ultramodular autonomous underwater vehicle

The Advanced Marine Systems Lab at Florida Atlantic University has developed a new ultramodular plastic mini autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV), called the Morpheus, for littoral military and coastal oceanographic sampling, survey, and mapping. The name Morpheus was chosen because the Greek god Morpheus could change shape or "morph." The higher degree of modularity of the Morpheus AUV allows it to "morph" or change its size and components for different applications. This vehicle is composed of modular injection-molded plastic pressure vessels and a cabling system that allow the modules to be rearranged without rewiring bulkheads. The plastic pressure vessels are inexpensive, inherently mass-producible, extremely corrosion-resistant, and have low magnetic signatures. The pressure vessels are small but are sized to fit most standard electronic board standards. The mini AUV can be anywhere from 4 to 10 ft in length, depending on its mission. The vehicle architecture is an adaptation of the Ocean Explorer AUV system and uses an ANSI 709.1 (LonTalk) distributed control network for connecting all sensors and actuator subsystems as smart nodes. The modularity in containers, control, and power makes this vehicle rapidly reconfigurable and easy to repair or upgrade. This paper will present details of the motivation, design, and construction of the new mini AUV. The Morpheus was deployed during the summer of 2000 in field exercises for very shallow and shallow water mine counter measures. Some results from these tests will be presented     

自治水下机器人机械手系统协调运动研究

简单描述了自治水下机器人搭载的三功能水下电动机械手的设计,鉴于自治水下机器人-机械手系统运动学冗余、内部可能干涉以及载体圆筒式外形等特点,将惩罚调节因子引入系统运动学伪逆矩阵,保证了关节在允许范围内运动,避免载体大幅度姿态变化及载体与机械手之间的干涉,同时采用梯度投影法优化海流作用下的系统推力。仿真表明,该算法在解决系统冗余度的同时,有效地协调多任务下的系统动作。     

Using Common LISP in the EAVE autonomous underwater vehicle

The Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory of the University of New Hampshire has ported the University of Utah's Portable Common LISP Subset (PLCS) to the experimental autonomous vehicle (EAVE) underwater autonomous vehicle. Using Common LISP in the EAVE autonomous vehicle is expected to improve programmer productivity and software portability. Using the LISP interpreter allows for software changes to be made while in the field, thus saving time during vehicle operations. Issues concerning the operation of LISP in a real-time environment, such as the impact of garbage collection (GC), have been resolved by using an efficient version of Common LISP and by using LISP) at the high-end of a time-based software hierarchy     

Chemical plume tracing via an autonomous underwater vehicle

Olfactory-based mechanisms have been hypothesized for biological behaviors including foraging, mate-seeking, homing, and host-seeking. Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) capable of such chemical plume tracing feats would have applicability in searching for environmentally interesting phenomena, unexploded ordinance, undersea wreckage, and sources of hazardous chemicals or pollutants. This article presents an approach and experimental results using a REMUS AUV to find a chemical plume, trace the chemical plume to its source, and maneuver to reliably declare the source location. The experimental results are performed using a plume of Rhodamine dye developed in a turbulent, near-shore, oceanic fluid flow.     

A technique for autonomous underwater vehicle route planning

If an underwater vehicle is to be completely autonomous, it must have the ability to plan paths around obstacles in order to operate safely. Many solutions to the problem of planning the path of a robot around obstacles have been proposed, but all are limited in some way. An algorithm using artificial potential fields to aid in path planning is presented. The planning consists of applying potential fields around obstacles and using these fields to select a safe path. The advantage of using potential fields is that they offer a relatively fast and effective way to solve for safe paths. A trial path is chosen and then modified under the influence of the potential field until an appropriate path is found. By considering the entire path, the problem of being trapped in a local minimum is greatly reduced, allowing the method to be used for global planning. The algorithm was tried with success on many different planning problems. The examples provided illustrate the algorithm's application to two- and three-dimensional planning problems     

Robust broadband beam-forming based on the feature of underwater target radiated noise

To the problem of the unknown underwater target detection, according to the feature that the underwater target radiated noise contains the stable line spectrum, a weighted method based on the main-to-side lobe ratio (MSLR) is proposed for broadband beam-forming. This weighted method can be implemented by using the following steps. Firstly, optimize the spatial spectrum of each frequency unit by the second-order cone programming (SOCP), and obtain the optimized spatial spectrum with lower side lobe. Secondly, construct weighting factors based on the MSLR of the optimized spatial spectrums to from weight factors. Lastly, cumulate the spatial spectrum of each frequency unit via the weight statistical method of this paper. This method can restrain the disturbance of background noise, enhance the output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and overcome the difficulty of traditional four-dimensional display. The theoretical analysis and simulation results both verify that this method can well enhance the spatial spectrum of line spectrum units, restrain the spatial spectrum of background noise units, and improve the performance of the broadband beam-forming.     

Model reference adaptive autopilot with anti-windup compensator for an autonomous underwater vehicle: Design and hardware in the loop implementation results

In this paper, a novel model reference adaptive controller with anti-windup compensator (MRAC_AW) is proposed for an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). Input saturations and parametric uncertainties are among the practical problems in the control of autonomous vehicles. Hence, utilizing a proper adaptive controller with the ability to handle actuator saturations is of a particular value. The proposed technique of this paper incorporates the well-posed model reference adaptive control with integral state feedback and a modern anti-windup scheme to present an appropriate performance in practical conditions of an AUV. Stability of the proposed method is analyzed by Lyapunov theory. Then, the proposed controller is implemented in the hardware in the loop simulation of AUV. For this purpose, the introduced method is implemented in an onboard computer to be checked in a real-time dynamic simulation environment. Obtained results in the presence of real hardware of system, actuators, computational delays and real-time execution verify the effectiveness of proposed scheme.     

A waypoint-tracking controller for a biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicle

This work develops a control system for the waypoint-tracking of a biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicle (BAUV). The BAUV swims forward by oscillating its body and caudal fin. It turns by bending its body and caudal fin toward the turning direction. The control algorithm uses the oscillating frequency to control the forward velocity, and applies a body-spline offset parameter to control the heading velocity. The motion of the BAUV is undulatory, so moving averages of swimming velocity and heading errors are used as feedback signals. The stability of the control system is discussed using a Lyapunov function. Finally, the effectiveness of the control algorithm is experimentally confirmed.     

Seaglider: a long-range autonomous underwater vehicle foroceanographic research

Seagliders are small, reusable autonomous underwater vehicles designed to glide from the ocean surface to a programmed depth and back while measuring temperature, salinity, depth-averaged current, and other quantities along a sawtooth trajectory through the water. Their low hydrodynamic drag and wide pitch control range allow glide slopes in the range 0.2 to 3. They are designed for missions in a range of several thousand kilometers and durations of many months. Seagliders are commanded remotely and report their measurements in near real time via wireless telemetry. The development and operation of Seagliders and the results of field trials in Puget Sound are reported     

Propeller underwater radiated noise: A comparison between model scale measurements in two different facilities and full scale measurements

The prediction of propeller induced pressure fluctuations and underwater radiated noise is a subject of great and increasing interest in marine engineering. Nevertheless, the full-scale prediction of these negative effects, even though based on dedicated model scale tests represents still a challenging task. This is due to different phenomena, among which scale effects on cavitation and ship wake, confined environment and near field effects in model tests play an important role; the analysis of these problems is made difficult by the rather limited amount of available data from sea trials and to the complexities of the phenomena, most of which related to cavitation on the propeller blades, that are present in the measurements carried out in cavitation tunnels, depressurized towing tanks or circulating channels.In the present work, the subject has been studied with reference to a four blades conventional CP propeller of a coastal tanker.Cavitation tunnel tests have been carried out in two rather different facilities, at UNIGE cavitation tunnel and at SSPA large cavitation tunnel.Results from model scale tests processed with different treatments are then compared with full scale measurements performed by SSPA on the same propeller in terms of cavitation extension and radiated noise.The analysis is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of different experimental setups, testing procedures and scaling laws.     

水下滑翔器整体外形设计及水动力性能分析

对水下滑翔器的整体外形设计与水动力性能进行研究。在Slocum等几种典型水下滑翔器样机的基础上,对滑翔器的主体和附体进行一体化设计,得到阻力最小的新型水下滑翔器构型设计。利用CFD方法对水下滑翔器进行模拟仿真,通过分析对比五种主体构型,得到了比较合理的主体线型,然后用正交设计方法和曲线拟合法对附体进行了优选工作,最后得到了性能更优的整体载体外形。模拟仿真实验表明,滑翔器在8°左右攻角航行时,具有最大的升阻比;和Slocum等经典样机相比,新的载体具有更好的水动力性能。通过上述研究工作,也可以缩短水下滑翔器研制周期,降低设计成本,并为水下滑翔器的更优设计提供了有力的技术指导和参考。     

Application of particle filter combined with extended Kalman filter in model identification of an autonomous underwater vehicle based on experimental data

This study proposes a method for identification of the nonlinear dynamic model of an AUV while some states are unmeasured; hence, it concentrates on a nonlinear “state and parameter estimation” issue. In this method, a local linearization is used for solving the nonlinear dynamics based on the extended Kalman filter (EKF), and a particle filter (PF) is used to minimize errors and variances of the nonlinear system. In other words, the PF is combined with the EKF in the form of the extended Kalman particle filter (EKPF). The EKPF method is independent of the initial values and satisfies the limits of the parameters and also the assumption that the hydrodynamic coefficients are constant. Hence, it is shown when the ranges or signs of some parameters are known, the EKPF is a more accurate estimator than the EKF. Moreover, a new simulation is done using the model estimated by the EKPF and the results are compared and validated with the measured data of a new experimental test. It is shown that the obtained model can predict the trajectory path with the total normalized root-mean-square error (NRMSE) of 14% and the surge mean speed with the NRMSE of 5%; and it describes the 6DOF motion of the AUV more accurate than the EKF model.     

Wave effects on ascending and descending motions of the autonomous underwater vehicle

In the paper, a hydrodynamic model including the characteristics of maneuvering and seakeeping is developed to simulate the six-degree of freedom motions of the underwater vehicle steering near the sea surface. The corresponding wave exciting forces on the underwater vehicle moving in waves are calculated by the strip theory, which is based on the source distribution method. With the hydrodynamic coefficients relevant to the maneuvering and seakeeping, the fourth-order Runge–Kutta numerical method is adopted to solve the equations of motions and six-degrees of freedom of the motions for the underwater vehicle steering near the free surface can be obtained. The wave effect on the corresponding motions of the underwater vehicle is investigated and some interesting phenomena with respect to different wave frequencies and headings are observed. The hydrodynamic numerical model developed here can be served as a valuable tool for analyzing the ascending and descending behaviors of the underwater vehicle near the sea surface.     

近海海上风电场水下噪声传播模型适用性研究

通过现场采集近海海上风电场工程区运营期风机水下噪声和背景噪声数据,计算了噪声信号的倍频带声压级,功率谱级和峰值声压级,确定了海上风电场水下噪声总声源级为148.3 d B,以此开展近海海上风电工程风机水下噪声频域特性、功率密度谱特性等研究。在此基础上使用Kraken简正波模型和Bellhop射线模型对风电场运营期风机水下噪声在水平与垂直方向上的传播进行模拟,模拟了噪声在不同频带内的衰减程度,结果显示模型模拟结果在不同频率下的衰减趋势有着很大差异,产生了明显的多途干涉现象,通过实测数据对建立的噪声传播模型进行验证,发现Kraken简正波模型在500 Hz以下,Bellhop射线模型在500 Hz以上适合模拟实际水下噪声传播情形,同时海区本身背景噪声的存在会对预测的准确性产生影响。这些结论可用于进一步对近海海上风电场水下噪声传播的研究。     

考虑自由面反射作用的圆柱流噪声计算

对于现代舰船而言噪声是其关键性能之一,目前水下航行体的流激噪声预测方法已经较为成熟,但是水面舰船的水动力噪声研究起步较晚,还没有形成系统的预报方法和控制手段。使用开源CFD工具包OpenFOAM求解器,流场通过大涡模拟方法求解,自由液面则依靠VOF方法捕捉,通过Curle方程预测远场噪声,基于镜像法考虑自由面的反射作用,数值模拟近自由面圆柱周围的声场分布。开展了Re=3 900下距离自由液面不同高度的圆柱辐射噪声求解,主要结合流场分析自由面对声场的扰动作用和不同深度对水下几何体流噪声的影响。初步考虑了自由液面波形对辐射噪声的反射作用,为后续预测水面舰船的水动力噪声特性提供依据,自由面对辐射噪声的阻抗等作用还需进一步研究。