A practical path tracking method for autonomous underwater gilders using iterative algorithm

This paper proposes a path tracking method to solve the engineering problem that how to keep gliders travelling along predetermined routes automatically without using ocean current information. The path tracking method is low cost in computational and without additional sensors on gliders. In the first half year of 2015, two sea trials of glides with different purposes were implemented, in which the path tracking is in use to reduce the cost of manual observation. The final trajectory of gliders and other related results show that the path tracking method is practical and effective.