Aiming at solving the problem of multi -AUVs formation control based on range measurement, two formation control schemes are proposed according to range measuring information. One of them treats the formation as a model consisting of springs and masses, with damping taken into account. The formation control law is then given by simulating the vibration process of the model. This method is featured by all parameters having certain physical meanings. An analysis is made on the influence of parameter change on the performance of formation control, with a law of choosing parameters given based on the viscous damping oscillation model. The other scheme is derived by establishing an objective function that represents the status of the formation. The sufficient condition for the object function to converge is analyzed and its control law is given. The methods for estimating real-time orientation and range information are given respectively for the two schemes. It has been proved theoretically that both schemes can tolerate a certain error in orientation information. Experiments are carried out to demonstrate that the proposed methods are effective.
