Analyses of autonomous underwater vehicle trajectory tracking control algorithms

In this study, the horizontal trajectory tracking problem under the presence of parameter distortion is discussed for underwater vehicles that perform their duties autonomously in the work area where they are assigned without being directly guided by an operator. In the problem of following a determined trajectory, in addition to the PD controller, which is frequently used in the literature, the use of a backstepping controller, a sliding mode controller and a linear quadratic regulator has been proposed, and the performances of these controller structures have been tested on a sinusoidal trajectory. It has been ensured that the proposed controllers perform with high sensitivity, anti-interference and fast response compared to the controllers in the literature. Finally, the stable behavior of the system is demonstrated on simulation by using Lyapunov's stability principle to prove the stability of the backstepping and sliding mode controller. It has been verified that all proposed controllers follow the desired trajectory under the same disturbance effect in the simulation environment. In addition, the sharp transitions in the proposed backstop controller are eliminated with the sliding mode controller and possible malfunctions that may occur on the system are prevented.