Structure-Preserving Safe and Robust Formation Control of Autonomous Surface Vehicles via a Port-Hamiltonian Framework

Authors

Zehua Jia, Kun Xie, Xiaoshan Bai, Shan Xue, Weidong Zhang

Abstract

This article proposes a robust and safe structure-preserving formation control framework for multiple autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs) within a port-Hamiltonian (PH) formulation. Different from conventional signal-based designs, the proposed approach regulates formation behaviors from an energy perspective, where the desired formation configuration is explicitly embedded into the closed-loop Hamiltonian and shaped via interconnection and damping assignment passivity-based control (IDA-PBC). This energy-centric design yields a physically interpretable and engineering-friendly controller, facilitating systematic tuning and practical implementation. To enhance robustness against time-varying environmental disturbances and model uncertainties, a structure-preserving observer is introduced to estimate and compensate lumped uncertainties without disrupting the intrinsic PH interconnection and damping structure. Furthermore, prescribed performance control is incorporated into the PH framework as a safety-oriented auxiliary mechanism, by transforming safety-constrained formation errors into PH-compatible states, thereby guaranteeing intervehicle collision avoidance during close-proximity operations while maintaining PH structure. Rigorous stability analysis establishes the input-to-state stability of the resulting closed-loop system. Numerical simulations and robot operating system (ROS)/Gazebo-based experiments validate the effectiveness and practicality of the proposed structure-preserving observer-based IDA-PBC (SPO-IDA) formation control strategy for safe and robust multi-ASV formation control in dynamic marine environments.

Citation

• Journal: IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics
• Year: 2026
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 8080–8091
• Publisher: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
• DOI: 10.1109/tii.2026.3690546

BibTeX

@article{Jia_2026,
  title={{Structure-Preserving Safe and Robust Formation Control of Autonomous Surface Vehicles via a Port-Hamiltonian Framework}},
  volume={22},
  ISSN={1941-0050},
  DOI={10.1109/tii.2026.3690546},
  number={9},
  journal={IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics},
  publisher={Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)},
  author={Jia, Zehua and Xie, Kun and Bai, Xiaoshan and Xue, Shan and Zhang, Weidong},
  year={2026},
  pages={8080--8091}
}

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