Reliability Analysis of Multi-Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Cooperative Systems Based on Fuzzy Control

Abstract

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) perform a wide range of functions, since underwater circumstances are diverse and varied and resources are plentiful. However, existing prevalent theoretical computation methods for classifying underwater environments are unable to keep up with the constantly evolving and complicated undersea world. Therefore, in the design process of multi-AUV cooperative systems, there is usually some uncertainty in the parameters. This uncertainty creates some challenges in the design process and affects the system’s performance. In this study, a reliability-based multidisciplinary design optimization is presented, in which some of the problem parameters are uncertain. In this regard, it is assumed that some of the problem parameters are in the form of fuzzy numbers. We develop a multi-AUV cooperative system dependability model based on fuzzy control, leveraging the membership function of fuzzy control to thoroughly evaluate the environmental effects. We propose a method to evaluate the reliability of multi-AUV cooperative systems, which is of practical value. This solution can be used to evaluate and examine the cooperative system’s dependability in an unidentified underwater environment. The factors contributing to the reliability of multi-AUV cooperative systems are obtained. The results show that these contributing factors reflect different aspects of reliability for multi-AUV cooperative systems. It is possible to determine the reliability variation in the population of underwater vehicles operating in a complex underwater environment, which establishes a solid foundation for the further optimization of multi-AUV cooperative systems.