2005), “Depth control of the Infante AUV using gainscheduled reduced-order output feedback

Abstract. The paper addresses the problem of autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) control in the absence of full state information. An application is made to the control of a prototype AUV in the vertical plane. The methodology adopted for controller design is nonlinear gain scheduling control, whereby a set of linear, dynamic reduced order output feedback controllers are designed and scheduled on the vehicle’s forward speed. The paper summarizes the basic controller design steps, describes a technique for practical implementation of the nonlinear control systems derived, and presents experimental results obtained with the INFANTE AUV during tests at sea. Copyright c©2005 IFA