Nonlinear receding horizon control: Stability without stabilizing constraints

Almost all proposed approaches to nonlinear receding horizon control with guaranteed stability are based on adding stabilizing constraints, using linearizations of the system, or knowing an upper bound on the value function of an infinite horizon optimal control problem. In this contribution, we present a new approach using none of these ingredients. The idea is to use a dynamic receding horizon controller, where the dynamic part is introduced to tune emphasis between short-range optimality and stability. The result is a design procedure applicable to a nontrivial class of unconstrained nonlinear systems.