Cross-track control for underactuated autonomous vehicles

This paper considers 3-dimensional cross-track control for a class of underactuated autonomous vehicles. A control strategy is presented that guarantees global k-exponential stability of the cross-track error to straight line trajectories in three dimensional space. The results are based on a Line-of-Sight guidance algorithm and stability results are proven using nonlinear cascaded systems theory. Globally k-exponentially stabilizing controllers are synthesized using the technique of sliding mode with eigenvalue decomposition, and the performance of the proposed control strategyis evaluated bya case studywith an AUV.