Trajectory Tracking Control of Underactuated USV with Model Perturbation and External Interference

Abstract

This paper presents an improved trajectory tracking controller based backstepping control algorithm to address the trajectory tracking problem of an underactuated Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV). A Three Degree of Freedom (DOF) underactuated maneuvering motion model for water-jet-propelled USV is established, and controller can track both straight line trajectory and curve trajectory with relatively high accuracy. The stability of USV system is proved by BIBO (bounded-input-bounded-output stable) characteristics, then simulation experiments are carried out to demonstrate the robustness and precise control performance of the controller.