Cooperative Circumnavigation for Multiple Unmanned Surface Vehicles Without External Localization
2026-06-03 • Robotics
Robotics
AI summaryⓘ
The authors propose a way for multiple unmanned boats to circle around a target in a perfect circle without relying on GPS or other external positioning systems. They use different types of sensors and communication between the boats to figure out where each boat and the target are relative to each other. The authors use special math filters to estimate positions and design a controller to keep the boats in formation while ensuring the system can track the target well. Their method is tested successfully with computer simulations.
Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs)Target circumnavigationKalman FilterMaximum Correntropy Kalman FilterPseudo-Linear Kalman FilterHeterogeneous perceptionCoupled oscillatorFormation controlPersistent excitationObservability
Authors
Xueming Liu, Lin Li, Xiang Zhou, Tianjiang Hu, Qingrui Zhang
Abstract
This paper proposes a cooperative target circumnavigation framework for multiple unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) operating without external localization. The objective is to maintain a uniform circular formation of a specified radius around a target using only limited onboard sensing. The framework adopts a heterogeneous perception strategy that distinguishes between the asymmetric sensing relationships with the target and among the USVs. Specifically, the USVs obtain relative range and displacement measurements through active perception and inter-vehicle communication, while bearing measurements to a non-cooperative target are acquired via passive sensors. To estimate relative positions--both among USVs and between each USV and the target--we employ a Maximum Correntropy Kalman Filter and a Pseudo-Linear Kalman Filter, respectively. A coupled oscillator-based formation controller is designed to ensure system observability while achieving circumnavigation. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that the controller ensures the relative motions between the USVs, as well as that between each USV and the target, satisfy the persistent excitation condition, thereby guaranteeing observability of the Kalman-based filters. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated through numerical simulations.