Adaptive model predictive control for constrained nonlinear systems

A true adaptive nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) algorithm must address the issue of robustness to model uncertainty while the estimator is evolving. Unfortunately, this may not be achieved without introducing extra degree of conservativeness and/or computational complexity in the controller calculations. To attenuate this problem, we employ a finite time identifier and propose an adaptive predictive control structure that reduces to a nominal MPC problem when exact parameter estimates are obtained. The adaptive MPC is formulated in such a way that useful excitation is automatically injected into the closed loop system to decrease the identification period.