A hybrid MPC approach to the design of a Smart adaptive cruise controller

In this paper we investigate the possibility of applying the hybrid Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework to solve a control problem regarding tracking of a moving vehicle. The study originates from the design of an adaptive cruise controller (ACC) of a Smart car, that aims to closely follow a reference trajectory transmitted by a leading vehicle. The physical behavior of the Smart and the constraints arising from the specifications related to safety and security issues make the hybrid MPC framework suitable for this task. An adaptation of the terminal cost and constraint set MPC approach, which is commonly used for fixed set-point regulation, is employed in order to achieve good tracking of a time-varying reference trajectory. The simulation results indicate the effectiveness of the developed hybrid MPC algorithm and the industrial feasibility with respect to on-line computation restrictions.