Impedance control of underwater vehicle-manipulator systems (UVMS)

An impedance control scheme for an autonomous underwater robotic system is proposed. This robotic system is composed of a six degree-of-freedom autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and a robotic arm that is mounted on the AUV. First, a dynamic model for the whole underwater vehicle-manipulator system (UVMS) considering various hydrodynamic effects is derived using a quasi-Langrange method. This model is later used to implement the proposed impedance controller. The impedance controller is designed considering the whole UVMS as one dynamic system. Extensive computer simulations are performed to verify the efficacy of the proposed control scheme and the results are presented in the paper