Underwater Robots: Motion and Force Control of Vehicle-Manipulator Systems

This book deals with the main control aspects in underwater manipulation tasks. The mathematical model with significant impact on the control strategy is discussed. The problem of controlling a 6-degrees-of-freedoms autonomous underwater vehicle is deeply investigated and a survey of fault detection/tolerant strategies for unmanned underwater vehicles is provided; experimental results obtained with the vehicle ODIN are presented. The presence of a manipulator is further studied in the aspects of kinematic, dynamic and interaction control. The purpose of this second edition is to add material not covered in the first edition as well as streamline and improve the previous material.