Robust control and fuzzy logic guidance for an unmanned surface vehicle

Abstract

This work deals with guidance and control of an unmanned surface vehicle which has the mission to monitor autonomously the water quality condition in Peruvian sea onshore. The vehicle is a catamaran class with two slender bodies propelled by two electric thrusts in differential and common modes in order to maneuver in surge and in yaw directions. A multivariable control approach is proposed in order to control these two variables and a fuzzy logic-based guidance tracks predefined trajectories at the sea surface. The conjunction between robust control and guidance algorithms is validated numerically and the results show good stability and performance despite the presence of disturbance, noise sensors and model uncertainties.