Singularity-Free Fixed-Time Cooperative Tracking Control of Unmanned Surface Vehicles with Model Uncertainties

This article addresses the problem of singularity-free fixed-time tracking control for multiple unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) with model uncertainties. To compensate for the uncertain nonlinearities in the multi-USV systems, fuzzy logic approximators are employed to estimate unknown hydrodynamic parameters. By integrating adaptive fixed-time control theory with backstepping methodology, a novel singularity-free fixed-time consensus control scheme is developed, incorporating a error switching mechanism to prevent singularities arising from the differentiation of speed control laws. Through rigorous analysis via fixed-time stability theory, the proposed control scheme guarantees that consensus tracking errors reach a small region around zero within fixed-time. Numerical simulations demonstrate the efficacy of the presented method.