Fuzzy sliding-mode controller for the motion of autonomous underwater vehicle

The paper addresses the problems of motion control in autonomous underwater vehicle. It is established a simplified mathematical model of AUV's pitch motion in vertical plane by linearizing the nonlinear model at a specified operating point. A fuzzy sliding-mode controller was designed to control the AUV's pitch motion under the disturbance of ocean current. The computer simulation results showed that the proposed controller was effective in eliminating the effects of modeling uncertainty and external disturbance. The system presented good performances during pitch-tracking and was effective in eliminating system chatting.