Finite-time Distributed Control of Autonomous Surface Vehicles with Velocity Constraints

This paper investigates the finite-time distributed formation maneuvering control for multiple autonomous surface vessels (ASVs) systems, in which not only velocity and formation error constraints are simultaneously considered, but also the existence of actuator faults and multiple uncertainties are tolerated. To deal with the serious uncertainty and two classes of constrained signals, an improved adaptive backstepping and barrier function are combined in a unified distributed framework. Afterwards, by introducing a nonlinear tracking differentiator to estimate the derivative of the virtual controller, a finite-time distributed maneuvering controller is constructed for each ASV to reduce the computational complexity caused by the traditional backstepping method. Based on the finite-time stability theory, the constructed distributed controller for each ASV can ensure that the closed-loop system realizes the semiglobally finite-time stability, the velocity and formation error of each ASV remain within the defined compact set and the desired formation is achieved within a finite time. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is proved by simulation example.