Control method of amphibious vehicle distributed cooperative control system
By employing a distributed cooperative control system with attitude control, path tracking, and power distribution modules, the problems of insufficient single architecture, environmental adaptability, and robustness of existing amphibious vehicle control systems are solved, achieving efficient attitude and path control and improving the system's flexibility and stability.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-12-15
- Publication Date
- 2026-04-07
AI Technical Summary
Existing amphibious vehicle control systems suffer from problems such as a single control architecture, insufficient dynamic adaptability to switching between land and water environments, low communication efficiency, and insufficient robustness, which limit the system's performance and reliability in complex environments.
A distributed cooperative control system is adopted, including an attitude control module, a path tracking module, and a power distribution module. It uses multi-source sensors to collect data in real time, establishes an independent state model and an event-triggered controller output update mechanism, improves the decoupling and independent optimization between modules, and enhances the system's flexibility and robustness.
It achieves high-precision attitude and path control for amphibious vehicles when switching between land and water environments, improves the system's communication efficiency and real-time performance, enhances its anti-interference capability against external disturbances, and improves the system's stability and reliability.
Smart Images
Figure CN121806997A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This invention belongs to the field of amphibious vehicle control, specifically, it relates to a control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles. Background Technology
[0002] Existing amphibious vehicle control systems have revealed several significant technical shortcomings in practical applications, limiting their performance and reliability in complex environments. These include:
[0003] (1) The control architecture is simple and lacks modular design.
[0004] Traditional amphibious vehicle control systems generally employ a centralized control architecture, such as schemes based on proportional-integral-derivative (PID) control or model predictive control (MPC). These methods heavily rely on real-time acquisition and processing of global state information and lack modular and distributed design concepts. The drawback of a centralized architecture is its poor fault tolerance; if the core control module fails or computing resources are limited, the entire system may face the risk of instability or even failure. Furthermore, centralized control struggles to decouple and independently optimize modules when handling multiple parallel tasks, limiting the system's flexibility and scalability.
[0005] (2) Insufficient dynamic adaptability to the transition between land and water environments
[0006] Amphibious vehicles face significant differences in dynamic characteristics when switching between land and water environments. These differences include the dynamics of wheeled drive on land versus propellers in water, variations in water resistance, and dynamic adjustments to the center of gravity distribution. However, existing control methods typically fail to adequately model and optimize for these differences, leading to inconsistencies in attitude control and path tracking performance during environment transitions. For example, when transitioning from land to water, vehicles may experience attitude drift or path deviation due to a failure to adjust control parameters in a timely manner, severely impacting operational smoothness and safety.
[0007] (3) Low communication efficiency and difficulty in ensuring real-time performance.
[0008] Traditional amphibious vehicle control systems often rely on periodic communication mechanisms, such as those based on a Controller Area Network (CAN bus), with a typical communication cycle of 50 milliseconds. This mechanism is clearly insufficient in scenarios with high real-time requirements, exhibiting issues such as time jitter (typically ≥10 milliseconds) and low bandwidth utilization. Time jitter can lead to delays or inconsistencies in control commands, while wasted bandwidth limits the system's data transmission capabilities in highly dynamic environments. Especially when rapid responses to external disturbances or environmental changes are required, communication bottlenecks can directly impact control accuracy and system stability.
[0009] (4) Insufficient robustness and limited ability to resist disturbances
[0010] Existing control systems lack targeted quantitative modeling and robust design when dealing with external disturbances (such as crosswinds, water flow disturbances, or terrain changes). Traditional methods often fail to adequately consider the dynamic characteristics of these disturbances, making it difficult to guarantee system stability in complex environments. For example, in the case of multiple actuators working together, the lack of an effective coordination mechanism may lead to mutual interference of control commands, resulting in vehicle vibration or loss of control risks. This lack of robustness is particularly prominent in high-dynamic, high-disturbance scenarios, severely restricting the reliability and environmental adaptability of amphibious vehicles.
[0011] In summary, the shortcomings of existing amphibious vehicle control systems mainly lie in their singular control architecture, poor adaptability to environmental changes, low communication efficiency, and insufficient robustness. These problems not only limit the system's performance but also pose challenges to the safety and reliability of amphibious vehicles in complex environments. Therefore, this invention proposes a control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles. Summary of the Invention
[0012] This invention aims to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and proposes a control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles, so as to achieve the following objectives: realize distributed cooperative control of amphibious vehicles and improve system communication efficiency and robustness.
[0013] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: a control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles, the system comprising an attitude control module, a path tracking module, and a power distribution module, the method comprising:
[0014] Real-time data collection of current amphibious vehicle status is achieved through multi-source sensors;
[0015] State models for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module are established respectively.
[0016] Controllers were designed for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module, respectively.
[0017] Based on the current status data of amphibious vehicles, establish an event-triggered controller output update mechanism.
[0018] Preferably, the multi-source sensors include a six-axis IMU and a pressure sensor for the attitude control module; a GPS and an angular velocity meter for the path tracking module; and a torque sensor and a flow velocity meter for the power distribution module.
[0019] Preferably, the state model of the attitude control module is as follows:
[0020] Attitude control state equation ;
[0021] in .
[0022] Preferably, the state model of the path tracking module is as follows:
[0023] The path tracking state equation is ;
[0024] in .
[0025] Preferably, the state model of the power distribution module is as follows:
[0026] The state equation for power distribution is: ;
[0027] in .
[0028] Preferably, the event-triggered controller output update mechanism includes: designing independent triggering conditions for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module respectively.
[0029] Attitude control: Based on roll angle error, when the roll angle error satisfies:
[0030] This triggers an update to the attitude control output;
[0031] in, Represents the roll angle at time t; Indicates the desired roll angle; This indicates the preset roll angle error threshold;
[0032] Path tracking: Based on path deviation error, when the path deviation satisfies:
[0033] This triggers an update to the path tracing control output.
[0034] in, This represents the path deviation error at time t; This indicates the preset path deviation error threshold.
[0035] Power distribution: Based on thrust error, when the thrust error satisfies:
[0036] This triggers an update to the power distribution control output.
[0037] in, This represents the propulsive force at time t; Indicates the desired driving force; This indicates the preset propulsion error threshold.
[0038] Preferably, the triggering conditions are normalized, including:
[0039] Define normalization error: ;
[0040] when When this happens, the corresponding controller output is updated;
[0041] in, Represents a pre-defined, extremely small positive constant; This represents the preset threshold for the i-th signal.
[0042] Preferably, the attitude control module uses a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) as the controller.
[0043] Preferably, the path tracking module uses a sliding mode controller as the controller.
[0044] Preferably, the power distribution module uses an adaptive PID controller as the controller.
[0045] The technical effects of this invention are as follows:
[0046] This invention employs a system design with attitude control, path tracking, and power distribution modules for coordinated control of amphibious vehicles, meeting the dynamic response requirements and high-precision attitude and path coordination control needs during land-to-water transitions. Through modular design of these modules, the invention achieves decoupling and independent optimization, improving system flexibility and scalability. The invention fully models and optimizes the dynamic characteristics of amphibious vehicles during land-to-water environment transitions, ensuring consistent attitude control and path tracking performance. The event-triggered controller output update mechanism designed in this invention only updates communication and control when system state changes significantly, avoiding redundant communication in traditional time-triggered mechanisms and improving communication efficiency and real-time performance. Attached Figure Description
[0047] Figure 1 A flowchart of a control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation
[0048] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. This is to help those skilled in the art to have a more complete, accurate, and in-depth understanding of the inventive concept and technical solutions of the present invention, and to facilitate its implementation. It should be noted that the terms "first," "second," etc., used in this application are only for the convenience of describing the technical solutions and to distinguish components; the corresponding component configurations may be the same or different, and are not intended to limit the scope of this application. To make the technical solutions of the present invention clearer, the present invention will be explained and illustrated through the following embodiments.
[0049] This embodiment provides a control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles, aiming to solve the problems of insufficient adaptability of attitude and path control in traditional amphibious vehicle control systems during land-water environment switching; low communication efficiency, poor real-time performance, and resource waste; and insufficient robustness to external disturbances in modular distributed control systems due to inter-module coupling. The system includes an attitude control module, a path tracking module, and a power distribution module.
[0050] Attitude control module: By adjusting the vehicle's counterweight and buoyancy device, it counteracts heave and roll disturbances caused by uneven terrain on land or waves on water. For example, when operating on water, it suppresses vertical displacement of the vehicle by dynamically adjusting the air pressure distribution of the buoyancy chamber; when operating on land, it counteracts lateral tilt by moving the counterweight to adjust the center of gravity.
[0051] Path tracking module: Based on high-precision GPS and IMU data, it dynamically adjusts the vehicle's heading and speed to ensure path tracking accuracy on land or water. For underwater turbulence or crosswinds on land, it uses vector thrusters to adjust direction and thrust, reducing path deviation.
[0052] Power distribution module: By optimizing power output (such as wheel drive or propeller propulsion), it balances the power demand in land and water environments and counteracts external disturbances (such as water flow impact or terrain resistance).
[0053] The multi-module design achieves an organic unity of attitude control, path tracking, and power distribution, improving the system's control accuracy in complex environments and enhancing its robustness and fault tolerance to external disturbances. Based on the above system, this embodiment constructs a corresponding control method, such as... Figure 1 As shown, the specific methods include:
[0054] Real-time data collection of current amphibious vehicle status is achieved through multi-source sensors;
[0055] State models for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module are established respectively.
[0056] Controllers were designed for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module, respectively.
[0057] Based on the current status data of amphibious vehicles, establish an event-triggered controller output update mechanism.
[0058] The multi-source sensors include a six-axis IMU and a pressure sensor for the attitude control module; a GPS and an angular velocity meter for the path tracking module; and a torque sensor and a water flow velocity meter for the power distribution module.
[0059] For the control analysis of the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module, it is first necessary to establish the corresponding dynamic state model, which will facilitate the subsequent controller design.
[0060] The state model of the attitude control module in this embodiment is as follows:
[0061] Attitude control state equation ;
[0062] in .
[0063] The state model of the path tracking module in this embodiment is as follows:
[0064] The path tracking state equation is ;
[0065] in .
[0066] The state model of the power distribution module in this embodiment is as follows:
[0067] The state equation for power distribution is: ;
[0068] in .
[0069] This embodiment fully models and optimizes the differences in dynamic characteristics of amphibious vehicles when switching between land and water environments, ensuring the consistency of attitude control and path tracking performance during the environment switching process.
[0070] Then, this embodiment designs an event-triggered controller output update mechanism, including: designing independent triggering conditions for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module respectively.
[0071] Attitude control: Based on roll angle error, when the roll angle error satisfies:
[0072] This triggers an update to the attitude control output;
[0073] in, Represents the roll angle at time t; Indicates the desired roll angle; This indicates the preset roll angle error threshold;
[0074] Path tracking: Based on path deviation error, when the path deviation satisfies:
[0075] This triggers an update to the path tracing control output.
[0076] in, This represents the path deviation error at time t; This indicates the preset path deviation error threshold.
[0077] Power distribution: Based on thrust error, when the thrust error satisfies:
[0078] This triggers an update to the power distribution control output.
[0079] in, This represents the propulsive force at time t; Indicates the desired driving force; This indicates the preset propulsion error threshold.
[0080] This event-triggered controller output update mechanism ensures that system control data and sensor data are transmitted only when an event is triggered, reducing the system communication bandwidth requirements and improving the real-time performance of system control.
[0081] Furthermore, because the physical meaning and numerical range of the errors in the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module typically differ significantly, even slight fluctuations in larger errors (such as thrust error) can trigger control updates, while smaller errors (such as roll angle error), even with large relative deviations, may be ignored. This leads to uneven distribution of system resources, resulting in decreased system performance or even instability, and hindering control coordination between modules. Therefore, this embodiment employs a normalization process for the triggering conditions, including:
[0082] Define normalization error: ;
[0083] when When this happens, the corresponding controller output is updated;
[0084] in, Represents a pre-defined, extremely small positive constant; This represents the preset threshold for the i-th signal.
[0085] This normalization method eliminates the differences in dimensions and orders of magnitude of the original errors, ensuring that the triggering conditions truly reflect the relative severity of errors within each module. After normalization, as long as the error reaches a level of concern relative to its historical or expected range, it can be triggered fairly, thereby achieving control coordination among the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module.
[0086] In this embodiment, controllers are designed for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module to update the control output. Furthermore, Lyapunov stability analysis is incorporated into the controller design process to enhance the system's robustness.
[0087] The attitude control module employs a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) as the controller, as attitude control is typically the foundation of the overall system stability. The LQR is particularly well-suited for this type of task because it is a full-state feedback controller that simultaneously considers all state variables (e.g., roll angle and roll rate) and mathematically optimizes the control parameters to achieve the best overall system performance.
[0088] The path tracking module employs a sliding mode controller. Path tracking modules typically face complex external environments (such as road surface changes and wind speed disturbances), often exhibiting uncertainties. Sliding mode control, however, possesses strong robustness against uncertainties. By designing a sliding surface and a control law, the system state is pulled to this surface within a finite time. Once reached, the system state slides along the sliding surface towards an equilibrium point. During this phase, the system exhibits strong resistance to parameter changes and external disturbances.
[0089] The power distribution module employs an adaptive PID controller. Power distribution modules typically have a fast dynamic response and a relatively deterministic model; their primary control objective is to quickly and accurately track the desired command. The adaptive PID controller, with its simple structure and low computational cost, is well-suited for rapid execution in scenarios like power distribution that require high-frequency real-time control. Furthermore, the integral term in the PID controller accumulates errors and ultimately eliminates steady-state errors, ensuring that the propulsion force accurately reaches the set value. By introducing the adaptive mechanism, the controller can better adapt to changes in the system's operating point (such as variations in propulsion efficiency at different speeds), maintaining good control performance under various operating conditions.
[0090] The present invention has been described above by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the specific implementation of the present invention is not limited to the above-described manner. Any non-substantial improvements made using the inventive concept and technical solution; or the direct application of the inventive concept and technical solution to other situations without modification, are all within the protection scope of the present invention.
Claims
1. A control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles, characterized in that: The system includes an attitude control module, a path tracking module, and a power distribution module; the method includes: Real-time data collection of current amphibious vehicle status is achieved through multi-source sensors; State models for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module are established respectively. Controllers were designed for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module, respectively. Based on the current status data of amphibious vehicles, establish an event-triggered controller output update mechanism.
2. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multi-source sensors include a six-axis IMU and a pressure sensor for the attitude control module; a GPS and an angular velocity meter for the path tracking module; and a torque sensor and a water flow velocity meter for the power distribution module.
3. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The state model of the attitude control module is as follows: Attitude control state equation ; in .
4. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The state model of the path tracking module is as follows: The path tracking state equation is ; in .
5. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The state model of the power distribution module is as follows: The state equation for power distribution is: ; in .
6. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The event-triggered controller output update mechanism includes: designing independent triggering conditions for the attitude control module, path tracking module, and power distribution module respectively. Attitude control: Based on roll angle error, when the roll angle error satisfies: This triggers an update to the attitude control output; in, Represents the roll angle at time t; Indicates the desired roll angle; This indicates the preset roll angle error threshold; Path tracking: Based on path deviation error, when the path deviation satisfies: This triggers an update to the path tracing control output. in, This represents the path deviation error at time t; This indicates the preset path deviation error threshold. Power distribution: Based on thrust error, when the thrust error satisfies: This triggers an update to the power distribution control output. in, This represents the propulsive force at time t; Indicates the desired driving force; This indicates the preset propulsion error threshold.
7. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 6, characterized in that: The triggering conditions are normalized, including: Define normalization error: ; when When this happens, the corresponding controller output is updated; in, Represents a pre-defined, extremely small positive constant; This represents the preset threshold for the i-th signal.
8. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The attitude control module uses a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) as the controller.
9. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The path tracking module uses a sliding mode controller as the controller.
10. The control method for a distributed cooperative control system for amphibious vehicles according to claim 1, characterized in that: The power distribution module uses an adaptive PID controller as the controller.