Switching control of an underwater glider with independently controllable wings

The dynamic, control-oriented model of an underwater glider with independently controllable wings is presented. The onboard vehicle’s actuators are a ballast tank and two hydrodynamic wings. A control strategy is proposed to improve the vehicle’s maneuverability. In particular, a switching control law, together with a backstepping feedback scheme, is designed to limit the energy-inefficient actions of the ballast tank and hence to enforce efficient maneuvers. The case study considered here is an underwater vehicle with hydrodynamic wings behind its main hull. This unusual structure is motivated by the recently introduced concept of the underwater wave glider, which is a vehicle capable of both surface and underwater navigation. The proposed control strategy is validated via numerical simulations, in which the simulated vehicle has to perform three-dimensional path-following maneuvers.