Design Depth Controller for Hybrid Autonomous Underwater Vehicle using Backstepping Approach

This paper presents a study on controller design for the hybrid AUV in the vertical plane using the backstepping approach. Firstly, the six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) nonlinear kinematic and dynamic equations of motion for the hybrid AUV is established, and the operating mechanisms of the hybrid AUV are described. Subsequently, the reduced order mathematical model for depth control will be drawn from this 6-DOF model by decoupling and linearizing. Next, the depth controller is designed by the backstepping technique and its stability will be guaranteed by using Lyapunov's theorem. Finally, the results will be presented through the MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation which will prove the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method.