Nonlinear Attitude Control of a Spherical Underwater Vehicle

In this work, we present the design, implementation, and testing of an attitude control system based on State Feedback Linearization (FL) of a prototype spherical underwater vehicle. The vehicle is characterized by a manifold design thruster configuration for both locomotion and maneuvering, as well as on a novel pendulum-based passive pitch control mechanism. First, the mechanical design and onboard electronics set up of the spherically shaped...