A Highly Maneuverable Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (HM-AUV) is a novel type of underwater vehicle designed to navigate in constrained and difficult to reach environments. The vehicle used in this thesis has a unique 3-thruster configuration that allows it to produce motion among the different axis of motion by adjusting its thruster tilt angles. The focus of this thesis is to develop a control scheme that can take advantage of this unique thruster configuration in order for the HM-AUV to maneuver among tight spaces. The developed controller achieves control over most of the HM-AUV's axis of motion directly while managing to control its lateral, or sway, movement via a novel direct sway control technique. With the implemented control scheme, the HM-AUV is able to achieve complex motions, albeit at a slow rate due to the underpowered thrusters that are installed in the vehicle.
Keywords:
Underwater Vehicles; AUVs; Control; PID