Barrier Lyapunov Function-based Backstepping Control for ACV Safety Trajectory Tracking

Considering disturbance uncertainties and turning safety of air cushion vehicles (ACV), a novel trajectory tracking control scheme is proposed based on an exponential convergence disturbance observer, command filter and barrier Lyapunov function (BLF). The disturbance observer with exponential convergence is used to estimate the uncertain environment disturbances. Moreover, a command filter is introduced to limit the designed virtual yaw rate and reduce the computational complexity. By combining a barrier Lyapunov function and the backstepping technique, the trajectory tracking controller is developed such that the yaw rate error is bounded within the safety range. Finally, it is proven that all signals of the closed-loop system are uniformly ultimately bounded. And the simulation results show the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed controller.

I. Introduction

For marine vehicles, living in harmony with the ocean means its safety problem. An air cushion vehicle (ACV), which is a high-performance ship, has a flexible skirt system at the bottom and can be lifted up by air cushion force. Its unique design makes it perform better at high speed, high wave resistance, strong flexibility and amphibious performance. Therefore, the ACV is widely used in the marine transportation, military, rescue mission, scientific and marine development projects etc. But it is noteworthy that the ACV easily emerges the phenomenon of stall, sideslip, roll and drift during turning in high-speed, thus high-precision control and partial state safety constraints is necessary [1].