Towards a co-design implementation of a system for model predictive control

Abstract

Panagiotis Vouzis, Leonidas G. Bleris, Mayuresh V. Kothare, and Mark Arnold Traditional control techniques face limitations when applied to novel technological applications that are characterized by increased complexity. As an example in biomedical applications, such as active implantable devices, a violation of constraints or a failure to meet control objectives can threaten human life. Model Predictive Control (MPC) appears to be a suitable choice for many of these problems [1]. MPC relies on solving computationally optimization problems characterized by abundant matrix operations with the complexity of the operations increasing considerably with the size of the parameters involved. In this work we provide a framework for the development of low-power and small-chip area real-time MPC implementations, based on codesign analysis, i.e., the cooperative design of hardware and software to achieve the most efficient system. Notably, embedded MPC can be used for numerous areas including biomedical, automotive, robotics or aeronautic applications.