Abstract
This paper presents a distributed coordination algorithm for multiple, buoyancy controlled underwater robots to achieve a moving formation in a shear flow. This work is motivated by the deployment of a swarm of ocean-going robots called Driftcam to observe the pelagic scattering layer. Driftcam horizontal motion is determined by the flow field and the vertical motion is regulated by the buoyancy control. Pairwise range measurements are available to the Driftcam network via acoustic transponders. A formation buoyancy controller is designed using the backstep** method; deviation from the desired formation is measured by a potential function. Numerical simulations illustrate the efficacy of the control algorithm and motivate ongoing and future efforts to estimate of the scattering layer density.
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Wei, C., Paley, D.A. (2023). Distributed Spacing Control for Multiple, Buoyancy-Controlled Underwater Robots. In: LaValle, S.M., O’Kane, J.M., Otte, M., Sadigh, D., Tokekar, P. (eds) Algorithmic Foundations of Robotics XV. WAFR 2022. Springer Proceedings in Advanced Robotics, vol 25. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-21090-7_6
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