Model-Free Containment Control of Underactuated Surface Vessels Under Switching Topologies Based on Guiding Vector Fields and Data-Driven Neural Predictors

This article investigates the model-free containment control of multiple underactuated unmanned surface vessels (USVs) subject to unknown kinetic models. A novel cooperative control architecture is presented for achieving a containment formation under switching topologies. Specifically, a path-guided distributed containment motion generator (CMG) is first proposed for generating reference points according to the underlying switching topologies. Next, guiding-vector-field-based guidance laws are designed such that each USV can track its reference point, enabling smooth transitions during topology switching. Finally, data-driven neural predictors by utilizing real-time and historical data are developed for estimating total uncertainties and unknown input gains, simultaneously. Based on the learned knowledge from neural predictors, adaptive kinetic control laws are designed and no prior information on kinetic model parameters is required. By using the proposed method, the fleet is able to converge to the convex hull spanned by multiple virtual leaders under switching topologies regardless of fully unknown kinetic models. Through stability analyses, it is proven that the closed-loop control system is input-to-state stable and the tracking errors are uniformly ultimately bounded. Simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed cooperative control architecture for multiple underactuated USVs with fully unknown kinetic models.