Fuzzy logic for depth control of unmanned undersea vehicles

Fuzzy logic is a viable control strategy for depth control of undersea vehicles. It has been applied to the low speed ballast control problem for ARPA´s unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV), designed and built by Draper. A fuzzy logic controller has been designed and tested in simulation that issues pump commands to effect changes in the UUV depth, while also regulating the pitch angle of the vehicle. The fuzzy logic controller performs comparably to the current ballast control design. The controller is also less sensitive to variations in the vehicle configuration and dynamics. The benefits of the fuzzy logic approach for this problem are: 1) simplicity, by not requiring a dynamic model, thus allowing for rapid development of a working design and less sensitivity to plant variations; 2) better matching of the control strategy and complexity with performance objectives and limitations; 3) the insight provided and easy modification of the controller, through the use of linguistic rules