Line-of-sight based three-dimensional path following control for an underactuated robotic dolphin

Jincun Liu, Zhenna Liu, Junzhi Yu

Abstract: This paper investigates the three-dimensional (3-D) path following control problem for an under-actuated robotic dolphin. With a comprehensive consideration of the mechanical constraint and swimming principle of the robotic dolphin, a decoupling motion strategy is proposed to produce yaw and pitch maneuvers simultaneously. Then, kinematics and dynamics models for 3-D dolphin-like swimming are established, followed by simulations of the path following control. Furthermore, a novel lookahead based 3-D line-of-sight (LOS) guidance law is developed and implemented to obtain desired attitude angles with its simplicity, intuitiveness, and small computational footprint. Finally, simulation results illustrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed path following control methods.