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Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles

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A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Robotics and Automation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2024) | Viewed by 8552

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Zhaoyu Wei

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Guest Editor

School of Oceanography, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
Interests: unmanned aerial and underwater vehicle; ocean robotics; underwater detection

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent decades, underwater vehicles have drawn increasing attention from engineers and researchers in the field of ocean research, mainly due to the importance in their wide applications, such as safety search and rescue, oil pipeline inspection, ship physical examination and repair, scientific research and teaching, underwater entertainment, energy industry, underwater archaeology, underwater sunken ship investigation, deep-water cage fishery, and artificial reef surveys. In addition, to develop the most advanced underwater vehicles, researchers need comprehensive consideration of a variety of aspects regarding vehicles, such as the general design, navigation and control, power and thrust system, obstacle avoidance, planning and decision, as well as all kinds of acoustic and optical sensors.

This Special Issue aims to introduce the state of art in the field of underwater vehicles. The issue welcomes all kinds of underwater vehicles, such as ROV, AUV, UG, UAUV, and all the research and review topics associated with underwater vehicles, such as novel design, navigation and control, planning, and decisions.

Dr. Zhaoyu Wei
Guest Editor

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Keywords

unmanned aerial and underwater vehicle
ocean robotics
underwater detection

Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4678 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on Variable-Swept Hybrid Aerial Underwater Vehicle Plunge-Diving Control Based on Adaptive Dynamic Surface Control

by Beibei Xing, Zhaoyu Wei, Mingqing Lu and Fei Liao

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(18), 10201; https://doi.org/10.3390/app131810201 - 11 Sep 2023

Viewed by 787

Abstract

The variation in aerodynamic parameters during the process of a variable sweepback hybrid aerial underwater vehicle (HAUV) affects flight stability. During the air–water trans-media locomotion, there are medium mutations and solid–liquid gas coupling phenomena, resulting in the complex dynamic process of HAUV. To ensure stable control during the trans-media process of a variable sweepback vehicle, this study proposes a neural-network-based adaptive dynamic surface control method for aircraft flight-path angle. This method aims to establish an effective control model for the entire process of air to media transition, in response to the characteristics of uncertainty and external disturbances in the process of variable backsweeping in the air and media transition. By utilizing the multibody dynamics method, the dynamic equations for variable-swept vehicles are established and transformed into a rigorous feedback system with model uncertainty. The adaptive dynamic surface method in this paper introduces a first-order filter, which overcomes the “differential explosion” problem in traditional backstepping control design through differential filtering; the unknown parameters present in the model are estimated online through adaptive laws, and the uncertain parts of the system are overcome through nonlinear damping items. By analyzing Lyapunov stability, the semi-global stability of the required closed-loop system can be obtained, and adjusting the controller parameters can make the tracking error infinitely small. Numerical simulations are conducted to illustrate the tracking control of flight-path angles for different plunge-diving angle rates and strategy of ingress. The results show that HAUV with variable-swept configuration with different strategy has a great effect on the stability of plunge-diving locomotion; the designed controller can effectively track the target trajectory and has a certain degree of robustness and adaptability. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles)

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22 pages, 847 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Disturbance Observer-Based Robust Take-Off Control for a Semi-Submersible Permeable Slender Hybrid Unmanned Aerial Underwater Quadrotor

by Fei Liao and Dezhang Ye

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(16), 9318; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13169318 - 16 Aug 2023

Viewed by 573

Abstract

The development of hybrid unmanned aerial underwater vehicles (HAUVs) compatible with the advantages of the aerial vehicles and the underwater vehicles is of great significance. This paper presents the first study on a new HAUV layout using four rotors to realize the medium crossing motion of a transverse slender body similar to the fuselage of a missile or a submarine, that is, the hybrid aerial underwater quadrotor (HAUQ). Then, a robust control strategy is proposed for the take-off HAUQ on the water in the presence of unknown disturbances and complex model dynamic uncertainties. As a semi-submersible HAUQ rises straight from the water, the inside of the slender fuselage placed horizontally is filled with water. The center of the mass, the moment of inertia, and the arm of the force of the HAUQ will change rapidly in the take-off phase from the water because of the rapid nonuniform change in mass caused by the passive fast drainage. It is difficult to establish an accurate mathematical model of the complex dynamic changes caused by the multi-media dynamics, the fast changing buoyancy, and the added mass crossing the air–water surface. Therefore, an uncertain kinematic and dynamic model is established through the passive, fast, nonuniform change and the complex dynamics are considered as the unknown terms, and the external disturbances of gust and other factors are assumed as the bounded disturbance input. A robust design approach is introduced to deal with the fast time-varying mass disturbance based on the input-to-state stability (ISS) theorem. The complex dynamics are estimated using the basis function and the unknown weight parameters, and the adaptive laws are adopted for the on-line estimation of the unknown weight parameters. Considering the residual disturbance of the uncertain nonlinear system as a total disturbance term, a disturbance observer is introduced for disturbance observation. The numerical simulation shows the feasibility and robustness of the proposed algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles)

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25 pages, 11347 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Adaptive Finite-Time Trajectory Tracking Control for Coaxial HAUVs Facing Uncertainties and Unknown Environmental Disturbances

by Mingqing Lu, Fei Liao, Beibei Xing, Zhaolin Fan, Yumin Su and Wenhua Wu

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(14), 8026; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13148026 - 9 Jul 2023

Viewed by 888

Abstract

In this paper, the problems of system design, dynamic modeling, and trajectory tracking control of coaxial hybrid aerial underwater vehicles (HAUVs) with time-varying model parameters and composite marine environment disturbances are investigated. It is clear that a stable transition between different media remains a challenge in the practical implementation of amphibious tasks. For HAUVs, accurate dynamic modeling to describe complex dynamic variations during vehicle takeoff from underwater to air is a huge challenge. Meanwhile, due to the rapid changes in model parameters and the external environment, vehicles are likely to fall into the sea during the cross-domain process. An integrated continuous dynamic model considering hydrodynamic changes is established by introducing a linear switching coefficient during the process of trans-medium motion. A nonsingular fast terminal sliding-mode control (NFTSMC) algorithm combined with adaptive technology is used to design the position and attitude of the controller. With no previous knowledge of external interferences and lumped uncertainties of the HAUV, the adaptive NFTSMC (ANFTSMC) algorithm achieves the control objectives; at the same time, the inherent chattering problems of sliding mode control (SMC) are weakened. The finite-time stability of the global system is proven strictly using a series of mathematical derivations based on Lyapunov theory. The effect of the controller applied is analyzed through a series of simulations with representative working conditions. The results show that the proposed ANFTSMC can realize a “seamless” air–water trans-medium process, which proves the superiority and robustness of the proposed control algorithm. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles)

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15 pages, 2931 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Control Problem of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles Based on Strongly Coupled Radial Basis Function Conditions

by Qinghe Zhang, Longchuan Guo, Md Abrar Hasan Sohan and Xiaoqing Tian

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(13), 7732; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13137732 - 29 Jun 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1229

Abstract

This paper addresses tracking control problems for autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) systems with coupled nonlinear functions. For the first time, the radial basis function (RBF) is applied to the model reference adaptive control system, and the vehicle horizontal plane model is proposed. When the AUV movement is affected by the driving force, ocean resistance, and the force generated by the water current, the expected output of the AUV’s system is difficult to meet the expectations, making the AUV trajectory tracking problems challenging. There are two main options for finding suitable controllers for AUVs. The first is making the AUV model achieve better stability using a more complex controller. The second is the simpler controller structure, which can ensure faster system feedback. The RBF and model reference adaptive control (MEAC) system are combined to increase the number of hidden layers, increasing the AUV tracking stability. Because the embedded computing module of an AUV is a bit limited, 31 hidden layers are chosen to simplify the controller structures. A couple of Lyapunov functions are designed for the expected surge and sway velocities, and the vehicle tracking error gradually converges to (0,0). The controller design results are imported into the AUV actuator model by software, and after 0.64 s, the AUV tracking error is less than 1%. At last, the vehicle tracking experiments were carried out, showing that after 0.5 s, the AUV tracking error was less than 1%. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles)

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27 pages, 3159 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Modification of Nonlinear Controller for Asymmetric Marine Vehicles Moving in Horizontal Plane

by Przemyslaw Herman

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(12), 7242; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13127242 - 17 Jun 2023

Viewed by 590

Abstract

This paper considers a trajectory-tracking control algorithm for underactuated marine vehicles moving horizontally in which the current in the North-East-Down frame is constant. This algorithm is a modification of a control scheme based on the input-output feedback linearization method for which the application condition is that the vehicle is symmetric with respect to the left and right sides. The proposed control scheme can be applied to a fully asymmetric model, and, therefore, the geometric center can be different from the center of mass in both the longitudinal and lateral directions. A velocity transformation to generalized vehicle equations of motion was used to develop a suitable controller. Theoretical considerations were supported by simulation tests performed for a model with 3 degrees of freedom, in which the performance of the proposed algorithm was compared with that of the original algorithm and the selected control scheme based on a combination of backstepping and integral sliding mode control approaches. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles)

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20 pages, 9423 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Design and Implementation of a Six-Degrees-of-Freedom Underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle

by Khaled M. Salem, Mohammed Rady, Hesham Aly and Haitham Elshimy

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(12), 6870; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13126870 - 6 Jun 2023

Viewed by 2494

Abstract

In recent decades, there has been considerable interest in developing underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) due to their vital role in exploring ocean depths to perform missions in various applications, including offshore oil and gas, military and defense, scientific research, and aquaculture. To this end, researchers must consider multiple aspects to develop ROVs, such as general design, power and thrust system, navigation and control, and obstacle avoidance. Accordingly, this paper proposes an integrated framework for designing and implementing an ROV prototype, considering the mechanical, electrical, and software systems. Eventually, image processing was implemented using Python to examine the ROV’s capabilities in performing underwater missions. The proposed design employs six thrusters to provide controllability of the ROV in six-degrees-of-freedom (DOF). We coated the track width of the printed circuit board (PCB) with a composite mixture of tin, silver, and gold to resist corrosion and harsh environments, enhance the circuit performance and solderability, and increase its life span. The PCB was designed to sustain 30 A with 10 cm × 10 cm dimensions. The image processing results revealed that the proposed ROV could successfully identify the benthic species, follow the desired routes, detect cracks, and analyze obstacles. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles)

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20 pages, 5733 KiB

Open AccessArticle

ROV State Estimation Using Mixture of Gaussian Based on Expectation-Maximization Cubature Particle Filter

by Biao Wang, Chunhao Chen, Zhe Jiang and Yu Zhao

Appl. Sci. 2023, 13(10), 5885; https://doi.org/10.3390/app13105885 - 10 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1312

Abstract

The underwater motion of the ROV is affected by various environmental factors, such as wind, waves, and currents. The complex relationship between these disturbance variables results in non-Gaussian noise distribution, which cannot be handled by the classical Kalman filter. For the accurate and real-time observation of ROV climbing, and, at the same time, to reduce the influence of the uncertainty of the noise distribution, the ROV state filter is designed based on the mixture of Gaussian model theory with the expectation-maximization cubature particle filter (EM-MOGCPF). The EM-MOGCPF considers different sensor measurement noises, and the addition of mixture of Gaussian (MOG) improves the fineness and real-time properties, while the expectation-maximization (EM) reduces the complexity of the algorithm. To estimate the ROV xyz-axis and yaw angular states, we establish a four-degree-of-freedom (4-DOF) ROV kinetics model, which uses a simulation platform for multiple sea state degrees. The results show that the EM-MOGCPF effectively improves the estimation accuracy and exhibits strong adaptability to nonlinear and non-Gaussian environments. We believe that this algorithm holds promise in solving the state estimation challenge in these difficult environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Implementation of Underwater Vehicles)

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