Relay-type safeguarding regulator for MPC with unknown computational time

A hot topic of research in the model predictive control community is the real-time implementation of MPC controllers for “fast” systems (e.g. in automotive and aerospace applications). The controller needs to optimize a control sequence on-line while maintaining strict constraints on the time of computations. In this work-in-progress paper we discuss the possibility of asynchronous MPC computations while maintaining the stability of the closed-loop system. In case the computations cannot be performed within the available time slot and this can affect the stability of the closed-loop system, a second controller is activated, which is based on the explicitly constructed MPC cost function. In the case of continuous linear plant dynamics and polyhedral cost, this approach leads to the easily implementable relay-type control.