Terminal navigation and control for docking an underactuated autonomous underwater vehicle

Robust and accurate vehicle guidance and control are critically important for docking an underactuated Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to a small and simple docking structure. In this work, only one high-power LED light is used for AUV visual guidance. Without the distance information, we estimate the relative heading, and control the AUV to track the docking station axis line with constant heading. The method is then modified to cope with the environment with current. Finally, the traditional PID control is used for yaw control. Through simulation and preliminary pool experiment, the performance of the navigation and control system are verified.