Path following control of the wave glider in waves and currents

Abstract

The wave glider is a type of wave-propelled, persistent, unmanned ocean vehicle, which has wide application prospects in marine environmental monitoring, marine ecological research, military, etc. However, due to the low speed and weak maneuvering features, it is challenging to control the wave glider accurately under the environmental disturbances. In this study, a path following approach for the wave glider is proposed based on the line-of-sight (LOS) algorithm and the proposed restricted circle. A four-degree-of-freedom mathematical model of the float and submarine glider of the wave glider is adopted. The path following simulations of the wave glider under different conditions are conducted to investigate the influences of environmental disturbances, radius of the restricted circle, look-ahead distance of the LOS algorithm and control mode after entering the restricted circle. The simulation results show that the wave glider is able to accomplish the path following task with the proposed path following strategies under different sea states.