Designing Efficient Trajectories for Underwater Vehicles Using Geometric Control Theory

In this paper, we consider the minimum time problem for underwater vehicles. Using Lagrangian mechanics, we write the equations of motion for marine vehicles with 6 degrees of freedom as a controlled mechanical system. We then apply the necessary conditions from the maximum principle for a trajectory to be time optimal. Using techniques from differential geometry we analyze the resuls. Finally we supplement the theoretical study with numerical simulations.