Cooperative Rendezvous and Docking for Underwater Robots using Model Predictive Control and Dual Decomposition

Abstract

This paper considers the problem of rendezvous and docking with visual constraints in the context of underwater robots with camera-based navigation. The objective is the convergence of the vehicles to a common point while maintaining visual contact. The proposed solution includes the design of a distributed model predictive controller based on dual decomposition, which allows for optimization in a decentralized fashion. The proposed distributed controller enables rendezvous and docking between vehicles while maintaining visual contact.