An Integrated Experimental System for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Swarm Control

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. 2025 Oct 17;25(20):6413. doi: 10.3390/s25206413

Algorithm 1 Integrated UUV swarm development workflow.

Require:
User-defined swarm control task, Number of UUVs N
Ensure:
Deployed and operational UUV swarm with real-time monitoring
1:
Stage 1: Algorithm Design and System Configuration
2:
Construct the global swarm control algorithm G using the graphical interface.
3:
Decompose G into N individual controller algorithms $C_{1}, C_{2}, \dots, C_{N}$ , each encapsulated as a sub-device module.
4:
For each sub-device $C_{i}$ , assign a unique controller IP address $I P_{i}$ .
5:
Stage 2: System-wide Co-simulation and Validation
6:
Simulate the entire swarm system within the unified virtual environment.
7:
Validate collective behaviors, inter-agent interactions, and control logic.
8:
Tune parameters of $C_{1}, C_{2}, \dots, C_{N}$ based on simulation results.
9:
if performance is unsatisfactory then
10:
goto Line 2 ▹ Refine the algorithm design
11:
end if
12:
Stage 3: Automated Code Generation & Partitioning
13:
For the validated global algorithm G, invoke the automated code generation engine.
14:
The engine compiles G and automatically partitions it into $N + 1$ executables: $E_{1}, E_{2}, \dots, E_{N}$ for each sub-device, and $E_{m a i n}$ for the main coordinator (if any).
15:
The engine automatically resolves and embeds UDP communication protocols between $E_{1}, E_{2}, \dots, E_{N}, E_{m a i n}$ based on the signal lines in G.
16:
Stage 4: Distributed Deployment
17:
Deploy each executable $E_{i}$ to its corresponding physical controller at address $I P_{i}$ via the platform’s one-click deployment interface.
18:
Establish communication links between the controllers and the central monitoring server.
19:
Stage 5: Real-time Operation & Monitoring
20:
Activate the swarm. Each controller i executes its respective algorithm $E_{i}$ .
21:
Initiate real-time data stream from all controllers to the server.
22:
Visualize swarm kinematics and dynamics in the 3D digital twin interface.
23:
Monitor key signals and perform online parameter tuning via the customizable dashboard.
24:
while swarm mission is ongoing do
25:
Continue monitoring and logging.
26:
end while