Self-tuning tracking control of AUVs for inspection task with ocean turbulences and uncertainties

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are increasingly exploited for various precise missions including inspection of subsea systems, hydro-graphic surveys, environmental monitoring, maintenance operations, harbor security operations, and so on. This article presents an improved tracking control approach for such systems subjected to ocean turbulences and uncertainties. The proposed method utilizes self-tuning control parameters and adaptive robust laws to improve the tracking performance and overcome challenges associated with nonlinear dynamics, uncertainties, and external disturbances. The proposed methodology includes the kinematics controller as the outer controller and the kinetics controller as the inner servo loop designed based on an adaptive integral-exponential fast terminal sliding surface. The results indicate a drastic improvement in the integral of error and integral of time multiplied by error compared to relevant control methods algorithms such as sliding mode control (SMC), Adaptive nonlinear control, and terminal SMC in similar working conditions, though the performance of all these algorithms is reasonably acceptable.