A Modular Framework for Distributed Model Predictive Control of Nonlinear Continuous-Time Systems (GRAMPC-D)

TL;DR

This paper introduces GRAMPC-D, a modular open-source framework for distributed model predictive control of nonlinear continuous-time systems, emphasizing computational efficiency and flexibility for embedded hardware and networked agents.

Contribution

It presents a novel modular framework that unifies centralized and distributed MPC using ADMM and neighbor approximation, supporting multiple programming interfaces.

Findings

Efficient distributed MPC implementation for nonlinear systems.

Supports plug-and-play and network data exchange.

Open-source with C++ and Python interfaces.

Abstract

The modular open-source framework GRAMPC-D for model predictive control of distributed systems is presented in this paper. The modular concept allows to solve optimal control problems (OCP) in a centralized and distributed fashion using the same problem description. It is tailored to computational efficiency with the focus on embedded hardware. The distributed solution is based on the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) and uses the concept of neighbor approximation to enhance convergence speed. The presented framework can be accessed through Cpp and Python and also supports plug-and-play and data exchange between agents over a network.