Autopilots for Underwater Vehicles: Dynamics, Configurations, and Control

We present an overview of the state-of-the-art for underwater vehicle autopilots. We start by reviewing reference frames, vehicle states, typical control surfaces, equations of motion, and disturbance models. We then consider different possible configurations for the autopilot, including decoupled lateral and longitudinal loops, maneuver and waypoint control. Finally, we consider possible hardware for underwater vehicle autopilots.

I. Introduction

A UTONOMOUS Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) are small, unmanned submersibles. They are intended to provide researchers with simple, long-range, low-cost, rapid response capability to collect pertinent environmental data. There are numerous applications for AUV and ROV, including underwater structure inspection, oceanographic surveys, operations in hazardous environments, and military applications.