Three Dimensional Formation Control to Pursue an Underwater Evader Utilizing Underwater Robots Measuring the Sound Generated from the Evader

This manuscript considers a team of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) such that each UUV measures the arrival time of sound signal generated from the evader. The purpose of the UUV team is to intercept the underwater evader based on the arrival time measurements. We present both the motion control for the UUV team and the algorithm to estimate the evader position in real time. In this manuscript, the UUVs chase the evader while preserving a 3D spherical formation. Moreover, the formation size is controlled adaptively to assure the convergence of the evader estimation. Our tracking approach doesn't require global localization of every UUV. The proposed approach only requires that the central UUV measures the relative position of any other UUV using proximity sensors. Simulations are utilized to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.