An OOSEM-Based Design Pattern for the Development of AUV Controllers

Abstract

This article introduces a new design pattern that provides an optimal solution for the systematic development of AUV controllers. In this study, a hybrid control model is designed on the basis of the OOSEM (Object-Oriented Systems Engineering Method), combined with MDA (Model-Driven Architecture) concepts, real-time UML/SysML (Unified Modeling Language/Systems Modeling Language), and the UKF (unscented Kalman filter) algorithm. This hybrid model enables the implementation of the control elements of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), which are considered HDSs (hybrid dynamic systems), and it can be adapted for reuse for most standard AUV platforms. To achieve this goal, a dynamic AUV model is integrated with the specializations of the OOSEM/MDA, in which an analysis model is clarified via a use-case model definition and then combined with HA (hybrid automata) to precisely define the control requirements. Next, the designed model is tailored via real-time UML/SysML to obtain the core control blocks, which describe the behaviors and structures of the control parts in detail. This design model is then transformed into an implementation model with the assistance of round-trip engineering to conveniently realize a controller for AUVs. Based on this new model, a feasible AUV controller for low-cost, turtle-shaped AUVs is implemented, and it is utilized to perform planar trajectory tracking.