Introduction to Model Based Predictive Control

Abstract

Model (Based) Predictive Control (MBPC or MPc), is not a specific control strategy but more of a very ample range of control methods developed around certain common ideas. These design methods lead to linear controllers which have practically the same structure and present adequate degrees of freedom. The ideas appearing in greater or lesser degree in all the predictive control family are basically:

• Explicit use of a model to predict the process output at future time instants (horizon).

• Calculation of a control sequence minimizing a certain objective function.

• Receding strategy, so that at each instant the horizon is displaced towards the future, which involves the application of the first control signal of the sequence calculated at each step.