Nonlinear model predictive control for path following problems

Summary This paper presents a general nonlinear model predictive control scheme for path following problems. Path following problem of nonlinear systems is transformed into a parameter‐dependent regulation problem. Sufficient conditions for recursive feasibility and asymptotic convergence of the given scheme are presented. Furthermore, a polytopic linear differential inclusion‐based method of choosing a suitable terminal penalty and the corresponding terminal constraint are proposed. To illustrate the implementation of the nonlinear model predictive control scheme, the path following problem of a car‐like mobile robot is discussed, and the control performance is confirmed by simulation results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.