Autonomous Operation Control Technology for Underwater Vehicle-Manipulator Systems in Complex Marine Environments

Abstract

Complex marine environments demand autonomous underwater operations. The underwater vehicle manipulator system (UVMS) has become an essential tool for such tasks. However, strong coupling, nonlinearity, and external disturbances still greatly limit its performance. This paper gives a systematic look at UVMS autonomous operation control technology. Two main parts are covered: motion control and vehicle‑manipulator coordinated control, along with their practical implementation approaches. It focuses on three research directions: adaptive robust control based on disturbance observation, optimization-based trajectory prediction and control, and dexterous manipulation based on task-priority coordination. The field still has some serious bottlenecks. Non‑stationary disturbances are not well suppressed. High computational costs get in the way of real‑time use. And dynamic adaptability in coordinated control remains limited. Looking ahead, three future directions are worth pursuing: intelligent anti‑disturbance architectures, efficient optimization algorithms, and adaptive coordinated control mechanisms. This paper provides insightful guidance for the development of high-performance UVMS, and identifies key development trends for future autonomous underwater operation systems.