Formation control of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles: a review

Abstract

This paper presents a comprehensive overview of recent developments in formation control of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Several commonly used structures and approaches for formation coordination are listed, and the advantages and deficiencies of each method are discussed. The difficulties confronted in synthesis of a practical AUVs formation system are clarified and analyzed in terms of the characteristic of AUVs, adverse underwater environments, and communication constraints. The state-of-the-art solutions available for addressing these challenges are reviewed comprehensively. Based on that, a brief discussion is made, and a list of promising future work is pointed out, which aims to be helpful for the further promotion of AUVs formation applications.