Prescribed performance control for vessel formation in noncooperative target tracking

Objectives To address the autonomous operation requirements of unmanned surface vessel (USV) formations in non-cooperative target tracking scenarios, this paper integrates an asynchronous formation guidance framework with robust control strategies, developing a formation prescribed performance control algorithm based on an event-triggered mechanism. Methods Firstly, addressing the dynamic characteristics of non-cooperative targets, decoupling conditions for formation reference signals are systematically designed with an integrated velocity correction mechanism, which effectively ensures the autonomous reconfiguration capability of the formation system. Secondly, the integration of enhanced prescribed performance functions with dynamic event-triggered mechanisms significantly improves the tracking accuracy of USVs for reference trajectories. Based on Lyapunov stability theory, the semi-global uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) stability of the closed-loop system is rigorously proven. Results Finally, two sets of simulation experiments are conducted to quantitatively demonstrate that the developed method possesses the distinctive characteristics of high-precision path tracking, strong robustness, and low communication load for marine vessels. Notably, the algorithm consistently maintains an average tracking accuracy below 0.5 meters. Conclusions The research findings establish a novel theoretical framework and technical implementation pathways for both non-cooperative control and formation reconfiguration in multi-USV systems.