Parametric Programming & Control: From Theory to Practice

Parametric programming provides solution of an optimization problem as a function of the parameters in a computationally efficient manner, without exhaustively enumerating the entire space of parameters. In a model based predictive control framework, parametric programming can be used to obtain optimal control variables as an explicit function of the state variables. The main advantage of this approach is that it reduces on-line control and optimization to simple function evaluations which can be implemented on a simple computational hardware such as a microchip, opening avenues for many applications in chemical, energy, automotive and biomedical systems. This paper presents an overview of parametric programming and control, some recent achievements of its applications and its potential for fast, efficient and portable implementation of advanced model based control technology of the future. 2 E.N. Pistikopoulos et al.