A recursively feasible distributed robust MPC algorithm for vehicle platooning

This paper considers the design of a feedback robust model predictive control (MPC) algorithm for vehicle platooning. A vehicle platoon is modeled by individual simplified longitudinal dynamics which are coupled through the input of preceding vehicles. The coupled input is regarded as a disturbance and the framework of robust MPC proposed by [Goulart et al., 2006] is adopted for controller design. The main contribution is a feedback robust MPC algorithm with recursive feasibility guarantee in the presence of time–varying disturbance bounds. The proposed algorithm may yield a larger feasible region comparing to the decentralized control scheme, especially when the size of the vehicle platoon increases. Simulations results demonstrate the effectiveness of the distributed MPC algorithm.