Development of Formation Control System for Multiple AUVs with Sonar Interference Avoidance Function

Although research has been conducted on the simultaneous operation of multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to improve the efficiency of oceanographic surveys, it has become clear that sonar interference occurs between AUVs that are in close proximity. In this study, a formation control system was developed for actual operation at sea, based on the assumption of an operational system with an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) and multiple AUVs. A control algorithm was implemented to maintain the AUVs within the desired range of the ASV, ensure communication, and avoid sonar interference by sending commands to increase or decrease the speed of the AUVs. Simulations were performed to verify the effectiveness of the developed method for the operation of one ASV and 10 AUVs. Evaluation scores for the distance between vehicles were introduced to quantify the effectiveness of the algorithm. The proposed method obtained the highest scores for formation control in the assumed operational scenarios. This confirms the effectiveness of the proposed method in avoiding the side-by-side relationships that cause sonar interference.