MPC-based Motion Planning and Control Enables Smarter and Safer Autonomous Marine Vehicles:Perspectives and a Tutorial Survey

Autonomous marine vehicles(AMVs)have received considerable attention in the past few decades,mainly because they play essential roles in broad marine applications such as environmental monitoring and resource exploration.Recent advances in the field of communication technologies,perception capability,computational power and advanced optimization algorithms have stimulated new interest in the development of AMVs.In order to deploy the constrained AMVs in the complex dynamic maritime environment,it is crucial to enhance the guidance and control capabilities through effective and practical planning,and control algorithms.Model predictive control(MPC)has been exceptionally successful in different fields due to its ability to systematically handle constraints while optimizing control performance.This paper aims to provide a review of recent progress in the context of motion planning and control for AMVs from the perceptive of MPC.Finally,future research trends and directions in this substantial research area of AMVs are highlighted.

Hybrid Dynamic Variables-Dependent Event-Triggered Fuzzy Model Predictive Control

This article focuses on dynamic event-triggered mechanism(DETM)-based model predictive control(MPC) for T-S fuzzy systems.A hybrid dynamic variables-dependent DETM is carefully devised,which includes a multiplicative dynamic variable and an additive dynamic variable.The addressed DETM-based fuzzy MPC issue is described as a “min-max” optimization problem(OP).To facilitate the co-design of the MPC controller and the weighting matrix of the DETM,an auxiliary OP is proposed based on a new Lyapunov function and a new robust positive invariant(RPI) set that contain the membership functions and the hybrid dynamic variables.A dynamic event-triggered fuzzy MPC algorithm is developed accordingly,whose recursive feasibility is analysed by employing the RPI set.With the designed controller,the involved fuzzy system is ensured to be asymptotically stable.Two examples show that the new DETM and DETM-based MPC algorithm have the advantages of reducing resource consumption while yielding the anticipated performance.

Model Predictive Control for Cascaded H-Bridge PV Inverter with Capacitor Voltage Balance

We designed an improved direct-current capacitor voltage balancing control model predictive control(MPC)for single-phase cascaded H-bridge multilevel photovoltaic(PV)inverters.Compared with conventional voltage balanc-ing control methods,the method proposed could make the PV strings of each submodule operate at their maximum power point by independent capacitor voltage control.Besides,the predicted and reference value of the grid-connected current was obtained according to the maximum power output of the maximum power point tracking.A cost function was con-structed to achieve the high-precision grid-connected control of the CHB inverter.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed control method was verified through a semi-physical simulation platform with three submodules.

Event-triggered MPC Design for Distributed Systems With Network Communications

This paper deals with the communication problem in the distributed system, considering the limited battery power in the wireless network and redundant transmission among nodes. We design an event-triggered model predictive control(ET-MPC) strategy to reduce the unnecessary communication while promising the system performance. On one hand, for a linear discrete time-invariant system, a triggering condition is derived based on the Lyapunov stability. Here, in order to further reduce the communication rate, we enforce a triggering condition only when the Lyapunov function will exceed its value at the last triggered time, but an average decrease is guaranteed. On the other hand, the feasibility is ensured by minimizing and optimizing the terminal constrained set between the maximal control invariant set and the target terminal set. Finally, we provide a simulation to verify the theoretical results. It's shown that the proposed strategy achieves a good trade-off between the closed-loop system performance and communication rate.

A Survey of Output Feedback Robust MPC for Linear Parameter Varying Systems

For constrained linear parameter varying(LPV)systems,this survey comprehensively reviews the literatures on output feedback robust model predictive control(OFRMPC)over the past two decades from the aspects on motivations,main contributions,and the related techniques.According to the types of state observer systems and scheduling parameters of LPV systems,different kinds of OFRMPC approaches are summarized and compared.The extensions of OFRMPC for LPV systems to other related uncertain systems are also investigated.The methods of dealing with system uncertainties and constraints in different kinds of OFRMPC optimizations are given.Key issues on OFRMPC optimizations for LPV systems are discussed.Furthermore,the future research directions on OFRMPC for LPV systems are suggested.

Polyhedral Feasible Set Computation of MPC-Based Optimal Control Problems

Feasible sets play an important role in model predictive control(MPC) optimal control problems(OCPs). This paper proposes a multi-parametric programming-based algorithm to compute the feasible set for OCP derived from MPC-based algorithms involving both spectrahedron(represented by linear matrix inequalities) and polyhedral(represented by a set of inequalities) constraints. According to the geometrical meaning of the inner product of vectors, the maximum length of the projection vector from the feasible set to a unit spherical coordinates vector is computed and the optimal solution has been proved to be one of the vertices of the feasible set. After computing the vertices,the convex hull of these vertices is determined which equals the feasible set. The simulation results show that the proposed method is especially efficient for low dimensional feasible set computation and avoids the non-unicity problem of optimizers as well as the memory consumption problem that encountered by projection algorithms.

Distributed MPC for Reconfigurable Architecture Systems via Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers

This paper investigates the distributed model predictive control(MPC)problem of linear systems where the network topology is changeable by the way of inserting new subsystems,disconnecting existing subsystems,or merely modifying the couplings between different subsystems.To equip live systems with a quick response ability when modifying network topology,while keeping a satisfactory dynamic performance,a novel reconfiguration control scheme based on the alternating direction method of multipliers(ADMM)is presented.In this scheme,the local controllers directly influenced by the structure realignment are redesigned in the reconfiguration control.Meanwhile,by employing the powerful ADMM algorithm,the iterative formulas for solving the reconfigured optimization problem are obtained,which significantly accelerate the computation speed and ensure a timely output of the reconfigured optimal control response.Ultimately,the presented reconfiguration scheme is applied to the level control of a benchmark four-tank plant to illustrate its effectiveness and main characteristics.

Machine Learning Accelerated Real-Time Model Predictive Control for Power Systems

This paper presents a machine-learning-based speedup strategy for real-time implementation of model-predictive-control(MPC)in emergency voltage stabilization of power systems.Despite success in various applications,real-time implementation of MPC in power systems has not been successful due to the online control computation time required for large-sized complex systems,and in power systems,the computation time exceeds the available decision time used in practice by a large extent.This long-standing problem is addressed here by developing a novel MPC-based framework that i)computes an optimal strategy for nominal loads in an offline setting and adapts it for real-time scenarios by successive online control corrections at each control instant utilizing the latest measurements,and ii)employs a machine-learning based approach for the prediction of voltage trajectory and its sensitivity to control inputs,thereby accelerating the overall control computation by multiple times.Additionally,a realistic control coordination scheme among static var compensators(SVC),load-shedding(LS),and load tap-changers(LTC)is presented that incorporates the practical delayed actions of the LTCs.The performance of the proposed scheme is validated for IEEE 9-bus and 39-bus systems,with±20%variations in nominal loading conditions together with contingencies.We show that our proposed methodology speeds up the online computation by 20-fold,bringing it down to a practically feasible value(fraction of a second),making the MPC real-time and feasible for power system control for the first time.

Noncooperative Model Predictive Game With Markov Jump Graph

In this paper,the distributed stochastic model predictive control(MPC)is proposed for the noncooperative game problem of the discrete-time multi-player systems(MPSs)with the undirected Markov jump graph.To reflect the reality,the state and input constraints have been considered along with the external disturbances.An iterative algorithm is designed such that model predictive noncooperative game could converge to the socalledε-Nash equilibrium in a distributed manner.Sufficient conditions are established to guarantee the convergence of the proposed algorithm.In addition,a set of easy-to-check conditions are provided to ensure the mean-square uniform bounded stability of the underlying MPSs.Finally,a numerical example on a group of spacecrafts is studied to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Flexible predictive power-split control for battery-supercapacitor systems of electric vehicles using IVHS

The utilization of traffic information received from intelligent vehicle highway systems(IVHS) to plan velocity and split output power for multi-source vehicles is currently a research hotspot. However, it is an open issue to plan vehicle velocity and distribute output power between different supply units simultaneously due to the strongly coupling characteristic of the velocity planning and the power distribution. To address this issue, a flexible predictive power-split control strategy based on IVHS is proposed for electric vehicles(EVs) equipped with battery-supercapacitor system(BSS). Unlike hierarchical strategies to plan vehicle velocity and distribute output power separately, a monolayer model predictive control(MPC) method is employed to optimize them online at the same time. Firstly, a flexible velocity planning strategy is designed based on the signal phase and time(SPAT) information received from IVHS and then the Pontryagin’s minimum principle(PMP) is adopted to formulate the optimal control problem of the BSS. Then, the flexible velocity planning strategy and the optimal control problem of BSS are embedded into an MPC framework, which is online solved using the shooting method in a fashion of receding horizon. Simulation results verify that the proposed strategy achieves a superior performance compared with the hierarchical strategy in terms of transportation efficiency, battery capacity loss, energy consumption and computation time.

Robust model predictive control for continuous uncertain systems with state delay

This paper is concerned with robust model predictive control for linear continuous uncertain systems with state delay and control constraints, A piecewise constant control sequence is calculated by minimizing the upper-bound of the infinite horizon quadratic cost function, At each sampling time, the sufficient conditions for the existence of the model predictive control are derived, and expressed as a set of linear matrix inequalities. The robust stability of the closed-loop svstems is guaranteed bv the proposed design method. A numerical example is given to illustrate the main results.

Energy Control of Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles Using Model Predictive Control With Route Preview

The paper proposes an adoption of slope,elevation,speed and route distance preview to achieve optimal energymanagement of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles(PHEVs).Theapproach is to identify route features from historical and real-time traffic data,in which information fusion model and trafficprediction model are used to improve the information accuracy.Then,dynamic programming combined with equivalent con-sumption minimization strategy is used to compute an optimalsolution for real-time energy management.The solution is thereference for PHEV energy management control along the route.To improve the system's ability of handling changing situation,the study further explores predictive control model in the real-time control of the energy.A simulation is performed to modelPHEV under above energy control strategy with route preview.The results show that the average fuel consumption of PHEValong the previewed route with model predictive control(MPC)strategy can be reduced compared with optimal strategy andbase control strategy.

Model-based Predictive Control for Spatially-distributed Systems Using Dimensional Reduction Models

In this paper, a low-dimensional multiple-input and multiple-output （MIMO） model predictive control （MPC） configuration is presented for partial differential equation （PDE） unknown spatially-distributed systems （SDSs）. First, the dimension reduction with principal component analysis （PCA） is used to transform the high-dimensional spatio-temporal data into a low-dimensional time domain. The MPC strategy is proposed based on the online correction low-dimensional models, where the state of the system at a previous time is used to correct the output of low-dimensional models. Sufficient conditions for closed-loop stability are presented and proven. Simulations demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the proposed methodologies.

Operation Efficiency Optimisation Modelling and Application of Model Predictive Control

The efficiency of any energy system can be charaterised by the relevant efficiency components in terms of performance, operation, equipment and technology(POET). The overall energy efficiency of the system can be optimised by studying the POET energy efficiency components. For an existing energy system, the improvement of operation efficiency will usually be a quick win for energy efficiency. Therefore, operation efficiency improvement will be the main purpose of this paper. General procedures to establish operation efficiency optimisation models are presented. Model predictive control, a popular technique in modern control theory, is applied to solve the obtained energy models. From the case studies in water pumping systems, model predictive control will have a prosperous application in more energy efficiency problems.

Finite-Control-Set Model Predictive Control of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor Drive Systems——An Overview

Permanent magnet synchronous motors(PMSMs)have been widely employed in the industry. Finite-control-set model predictive control(FCS-MPC), as an advanced control scheme, has been developed and applied to improve the performance and efficiency of the holistic PMSM drive systems. Based on the three elements of model predictive control, this paper provides an overview of the superiority of the FCS-MPC control scheme and its shortcomings in current applications. The problems of parameter mismatch, computational burden, and unfixed switching frequency are summarized. Moreover, other performance improvement schemes, such as the multi-vector application strategy, delay compensation scheme, and weight factor adjustment, are reviewed. Finally, future trends in this field is discussed, and several promising research topics are highlighted.

Robust Control Design of Wheeled Inverted Pendulum Assistant Robot

This paper examines the design concept and mobile control strategy of the human assistant robot I-PENTAR(inverted pendulum type assistant robot). The motion equation is derived considering the non-holonomic constraint of the twowheeled mobile robot. Different optimal control approaches are applied to a linearized model of I-PENTAR. These include linear quadratic regulator(LQR), linear quadratic Gaussian control(LQG), H_2 control and H_∞ control. Simulation is performed for all the approaches yielding good performance results.

Design of Networked Control Systems with Bounded Arbitrary Time Delays

This paper is mainly concerned with the model predictive control （MPC） of networked control systems （NCSs） with uncertain time delay and data packets disorder. The network-induced time delay is described as bounded and arbitrary process. For the usual state feedback controller, by considering all the possibilities of delays, an augmented state space model of the closed-loop system, which characterizes all the delay cases, is obtained. The stability conditions are given according to the Lyapunov method based on this augmented model. The stability property is inherited in MPC which explicitly considers the physical constraints. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed MPC.

Survey on nonlinear reconfigurable flight control

An overview on nonlinear reconfigurable flight control approaches that have been demonstrated in flight-test or highfidelity simulation is presented. Various approaches for reconfigurable flight control systems are considered, including nonlinear dynamic inversion, parameter identification and neural network technologies, backstepping and model predictive control approaches. The recent research work, flight tests, and potential strength and weakness of each approach are discussed objectively in order to give readers and researchers some reference. Finally, possible future directions and open problems in this area are addressed.

Model Predictive Control of Nonlinear Systems: Stability Region and Feasible Initial Control

This paper proposes a new method for model predictive control （MPC） of nonlinear systems to calculate stability region and feasible initial control profile/sequence, which are important to the implementations of MPC. Different from many existing methods, this paper distinguishes stability region from conservative terminal region. With global linearization, linear differential inclusion （LDI） and linear matrix inequality （LMI） techniques, a nonlinear system is transformed into a convex set of linear systems, and then the vertices of the set are used off-line to design the controller, to estimate stability region, and also to determine a feasible initial control profile/sequence. The advantages of the proposed method are demonstrated by simulation study.

An Efficient Constrained Model Predictive Control Algorithm Based on Approximate Computation

The on line computational burden related to model predictive control (MPC) of large scale constrained systems hampers its real time applications and limits it to slow dynamic process with moderate number of inputs. To avoid this, an efficient and fast algorithm based on aggregation optimization is proposed in this paper. It only optimizes the current control action at time instant k , while other future control sequences in the optimization horizon are approximated off line by the linear feedback control sequence, so the on line optimization can be converted into a low dimensional quadratic programming problem. Input constraints can be well handled in this scheme. The comparable performance is achieved with existing standard model predictive control algorithm. Simulation results well demonstrate its effectiveness.