Title: On the dynamic properties and control of underactuated surface vessels

Authors: Jawhar Ghommam, Faical Mnif, Abderraouf BenAli, Nabil Derbel

Addresses: Intelligent Control Design and Optimization of Complex Systems Unit, ENIS, Tunisia. ' Intelligent Control Design and Optimization of Complex Systems Unit, ENIS, Tunisia. ' Laboratoire de Vision et de Robotique, Orleans, France. ' Intelligent Control Design and Optimization of Complex Systems Unit, ENIS, Tunisia

Abstract: In the present work we study the problem of controlling the planar position and orientation of an autonomous surface vessel using two independent thrusters. It is first shown that although the system is not asymptotically stabilisable to a given equilibrium configuration using a time-invariant continuous feedback, it is strongly accessible and Small Time Locally Controllable (STLC) at any equilibrium. A discontinuous time invariant controller is then constructed to almost exponentially stabilises the system to the desired configuration. Simulation and concluding remarks are then exposed.

Keywords: discontinuous control; underactuated surface vessels; Brockett integrator; controllability; accessibility; second order non-holonomic constraints; independent thrusters; planar position; planar orientation; planar pose; time invariant control; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMIC.2007.014326

International Journal of Modelling, Identification and Control, 2007 Vol.2 No.1, pp.49 - 57

Published online: 01 Jul 2007 *

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