Global Exponential Trajectory Tracking Control of Underactuated Surface Vehicles Using Dynamic Surface Control Approach

In this paper, a dynamic surface control based trajectory tracking control (DSC-TTC) scheme for an underactuated surface vehicle (USV) is proposed. Control laws for two independent inputs of the USV are designed subsequently within the DSC-TTC scheme by utilizing the structure of tracking error dynamics. In the DSC-TTC scheme, the DSC approach is incorporated into the backstepping technique to avoid differentiation of intermediate virtual signals and circumvent the curse of dimension, thereby resulting in global exponential stability. Simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed DSC-TTC scheme is effective and efficient.