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Never too Prim to Swim: An LLM-Enhanced RL-based Adaptive S-Surface Controller for AUVs under Extreme Sea Conditions

  • Guanwen Xie
  • , Jingzehua Xu
  • , Yimian Ding
  • , Zhi Zhang
  • , Shuai Zhang
  • , Yi Li

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

The adaptivity and maneuvering capabilities of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) have drawn significant attention in oceanic research, due to the unpredictable disturbances and strong coupling among the AUV's degrees of freedom. In this paper, we developed large language model (LLM)-enhanced reinforcement learning (RL)-based adaptive S-surface controller for AUVs. Specifically, LLMs are introduced for the joint optimization of controller parameters and reward functions in RL training. Using multi-modal and structured explicit task feedback, LLMs enable joint adjustments, balance multiple objectives, and enhance task-oriented performance and adaptability. In the proposed controller, the RL policy focuses on upper-level tasks, outputting task-oriented high-level commands that the S-surface controller then converts into control signals, ensuring cancellation of nonlinear effects and unpredictable external disturbances in extreme sea conditions. Under extreme sea conditions involving complex terrain, waves, and currents, the proposed controller demonstrates superior performance and adaptability in high-level tasks such as underwater target tracking and data collection, outperforming traditional PID and SMC controllers.3

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationIROS 2025 - 2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, Conference Proceedings
EditorsChristian Laugier, Alessandro Renzaglia, Nikolay Atanasov, Stan Birchfield, Grzegorz Cielniak, Leonardo De Mattos, Laura Fiorini, Philippe Giguere, Kenji Hashimoto, Javier Ibanez-Guzman, Tetsushi Kamegawa, Jinoh Lee, Giuseppe Loianno, Kevin Luck, Hisataka Maruyama, Philippe Martinet, Hadi Moradi, Urbano Nunes, Julien Pettre, Alberto Pretto, Tommaso Ranzani, Arne Ronnau, Silvia Rossi, Elliott Rouse, Fabio Ruggiero, Olivier Simonin, Danwei Wang, Ming Yang, Eiichi Yoshida, Huijing Zhao
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages8990-8997
Number of pages8
ISBN (Electronic)9798331543938
DOIs
StatePublished - 2025
Event2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2025 - Hangzhou, China
Duration: Oct 19 2025Oct 25 2025

Publication series

NameIEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems
ISSN (Print)2153-0858
ISSN (Electronic)2153-0866

Conference

Conference2025 IEEE/RSJ International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2025
Country/TerritoryChina
CityHangzhou
Period10/19/2510/25/25

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Software
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Computer Science Applications

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