Three-dimensional leader-follower formation control of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles based on line-of-sight measurements using the backstepping method

This article presents the three-dimensional leader-follower formation control strategy of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles on the basis of line-of-sight measurement. Sensors on autonomous underwater vehicles can measure line-of-sight range and bearing information, and autonomous underwater vehicles in formation do not require mutual exchange with one another, which could avoid the problem of data transmission delay. The proposed Lyapunov-based backstepping approach is developed for the formation controller. The backstepping controller propels the follower autonomous underwater vehicles to follow the desired virtual reference route provided according to the range and bearing information of the leader autonomous underwater vehicle and the predetermined formation. Simulation results indicate that follower autonomous underwater vehicles can travel along the desired route and successfully achieve the designed formation shape. The effectiveness of the employed method is validated.