High-Performance Trajectory Tracking MPC for Quadcopters with Coupled Time-Varying Constraints and Stability Proofs
Abstract
In this paper, we present a cascade control structure to address the trajectory tracking problem for quadcopters, ensuring uniform global asymptotic stability of the state tracking error dynamics. An MPC strategy based on a 12-dimensional prediction model is proposed for the outer loop, explicitly accounting for time-varying coupled constraints, where multiple variables are interdependent and need to be handled together. The outer-loop controller generates an acceleration reference, which is then converted into attitude and angular velocity references, later tracked by a nonlinear inner-loop controller. Numerical simulations validate the approach, demonstrating enhanced performance in precise and fast tracking by imposing less conservative constraints than existing approaches, while still guaranteeing stability.
Cite
@article{arxiv.2509.01767,
title = {High-Performance Trajectory Tracking MPC for Quadcopters with Coupled Time-Varying Constraints and Stability Proofs},
author = {Maedeh Izadi and A. T. J. R. Cobbenhagen and R. L. Sommer and A. R. P. Andrien and E. Lefeber and W. P. M. H. Heemels},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2509.01767},
year = {2025}
}
Comments
9 pages, 4 figures, submitted to 2025 IEEE 64th Conference on Decision and Control (CDC)