Abstract

With the advances of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, AI-enabled functions are now increasingly embedded in real-time control, planning and decision loops in robotics and autonomous systems. Optimisation/search methods are behind many AI algorithms, so the interaction between optimisation algorithms and feedback loop is becoming even more important and complicated. Model predictive control (MPC) or receding horizon control (RHC) provides a promising vehicle to bring optimisation from its open loop nature into a closed loop fashion so enables autonomous systems to deal with unexpected events and uncertainty arising in environment and information. This talk briefly reviews the 30 years journey in the development of stability theory for MPC and recent progress. New stability theory will be presented which provides a better way in achieving stability guarantee for MPC of any length of horizon without the need of adding a terminal weight in the cost function for online optimisation. Numerical examples will be presented to illustrate the new stability analysis tools. It is hoped that this work will trigger more research into understanding the interaction between optimisation and feedback loops in both the AI and the control community so ensure efficiency and safety of future robotics and autonomous systems.

Dr Wen-Hua Chen holds a Professorship in Autonomous Vehicles in the Department ofAeronautical and Automotive Engineering at Loughborough University, UK. Prof. Chen hasconsiderable experience in control, signal processing and artificial intelligence and theirapplications in aerospace, automotive and agriculture systems. In the last 15 years, he hasbeen working on the development and application of unmanned aircraft systems and intelligentvehicle technologies, spanning autopilots, situational awareness, decision making, verification,remote sensing for precision agriculture and environment monitoring. His unmanned vehiclesrelated research is widely supported by the UK government and industry. He is a CharteredEngineer, and a Fellow of IEEE , the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution ofEngineering and Technology, UK. Recently Prof Chen was awarded an EPSRC (Engineeringand Physical Science Research Council) Established Career Fellowship in developing controltheory for the next generation of control systems to enable high levels of automation such asrobotics and autonomous systems.

Zoom meeting link: https://zoom.us/j/93349961156