An Adaptive MIMO VSC Algorithm, and its Application to the Control of an Underwater Vehicle

Abstract

Discrete-time Variable Structure Control (VSC) for MIMO systems is addressed in this note. Two control techniques, consisting in VSC laws cascaded to a Generalized Minimum Variance (GMV) controller, are presented. The former algorithm refers to a completely known system, while the latter has been designed to deal with parameter uncertainties in the plant. The presented algorithms have been applied to the problem of position and orientation control of an underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). Resulting performances have been tested by vsimulation, modelling the ROV with a nonlinear continuous-time equations system. Parameter variations have been applied to the plant parameters, and the presence of measurement noise has been considered.