Adaptive trajectory tracking controller for planar vehicles

In the paper the problem of trajectory tracking control for planar vehicles is considered. The proposed adaptive control algorithm is realized using the earth-frame representation. The controller is expressed in terms of some generalized velocity components (GVCs) arising from the inertia matrix decomposition. The main feature of the regulator is that its gain matrix always depends on the dynamics of the vehicle. Consequently, the system response is fast and the errors convergence can be quickly achieved. The stability of the closed-loop system is proved based on the Lyapunov's direct method and an adaptive control technique. The simulation experiment is performed on a 3 DOF underwater vehicle moving horizontally. The results show that the control algorithm works correctly the errors convergence to the neighborhood of the point zero is ensured.