Formation Control Method of Multiple Autonomous Underwater Vehicles for Improving State Estimation Accuracy

This study proposes a method where multiple au-tonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) maintain the formation using relative positioning information obtained through acoustic positioning and communication to achieve stable state estimation. Underwater exploration by multiple AUVs is a useful method because environmental information can be obtained at multiple points simultaneously. However, when AUVs equipped with low-performance sensors are employed, their performance cannot be maintained independently, so a method is necessary to enable them to navigate correctly. This study developed a method to generate control commands to maintain formation based on angle and distance information obtained from acoustic positioning and communication between multiple AUVs, as well as their relative positions to surrounding AUVs. Simulations of autonomous navigation by multiple AUVs were conducted, and it was shown that the proposed method enables AUVs to perform stable state estimation while maintaining formation through the simulations.