Cooperative Control of Multi-USVs for Offshore Target Transfer Based on Adaptive Sliding Mode Method

In order to realize the autonomous transfer task of offshore target, a multi-unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) cooperative control strategy based on adaptive sliding mode control is proposed in this paper. Firstly, based on the model of the offshore target and the catenary of the towing cable, the mathematical model of four USVs’ coordinated towing of the unknown target was established. Secondly, based on the adaptive sliding mode control method, a multi-USVs cooperative controller is designed to estimate the model unknown perturbations and external disturbances of target ship and USVs. Then, the stability of the established cooperative control strategy is proved based on Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the proposed cooperative control strategy is verified by computer simulation. The simulation results show that the proposed multi-USVs cooperative controller can self-adapt to the towed transport trajectory tracking task when the transport target platform parameters are unknown, and has the ability to adapt to the external environment disturbances. The proposed cooperative control strategy can provide theoretical guidance for the cooperative transfer task of offshore platforms.