Dynamic coupling and control issues for a lightweight underwater vehicle manipulator system

This paper presents a study of the interaction effects between a lightweight underwater vehicle and the attached manipulator. Based on a tree representation of the system, the dynamic and hydrodynamic model of the UVMS is computed and the coupling effects are analysed. Simulations show that having a manipulator with considerable mass compared with the vehicle significantly influences the stability of the system. Gaining a clear understanding of the coupling effects is important for designing the control laws. Moreover, it is possible that incorporating these disturbances in the control methods can improve the performance of the UVMS.