A fuzzy controller for underwater vehicle-manipulator systems

In this paper, a fuzzy logic controller is proposed for trajectory tracking of underwater-manipulator systems (UVMS). The controller is designed based on VD control method with gain tuning based on the fuzzy logic heuristics. The proposed fuzzy controller has the advantages that it does not require a model of the vehicle/manipulator system dynamics, and ensures robust performance in the presence of disturbances and dynamic interactions. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller, several simulations using a five degree of freedom UVMS are presented. The results show that the new controller provides robust performance of trajectory tracking in the presence of uncertainties about the dynamics and the hydrodynamic disturbances

I. INTRODUCTION

Underwater robotics is becoming a very important scientific area due to its many applications in environmental monitoring, marine biology, naval warfare and reconnaissance, and homeland security [1]. Remotely operated vehicles (ROV) and autonomous/unmanned underwater vehicles (AUV/UUV) are the main types of underwater robots currently being used. Due to advantages of low cost, operational efficiency, and flexibility of automation, AUVs are increasingly used to perform operations performed hitherto by ROVs [2].