Constrained MPC-Based Motion Planning for Morphing Quadrotors in Ultra-Narrow Passages under Limited Perception

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel MPC-based motion planning framework with a smooth obstacle cost function enabling morphing quadrotors to navigate ultra-narrow passages using limited perception, demonstrated through simulations and experiments.

Contribution

A new obstacle avoidance cost function for nonlinear MPC that effectively navigates narrow gaps with limited perception, applicable to various mobile robots.

Findings

Successful traversal of narrow corridors in simulations and experiments.

The proposed cost function outperforms traditional artificial potential field costs in tight spaces.

Implementation code is publicly available for broader use.

Abstract

This paper introduces a motion planning framework to plan morphology and trajectory for morphing quadrotors under extremely constrained environments. We develop a novel obstacle avoidance cost function for nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) that enables navigation through extremely narrow gaps under limited perception from a 2D LiDAR. Classical artificial potential field-based costs typically have a high cost in narrow passages, artificially blocking the navigable path. In contrast, we propose a smooth exponential obstacle cost that preserves low traversal cost within narrow gaps while maintaining strong collision avoidance behavior. The formulation avoids hard activation thresholds and introduces a cost reduction factor to reduce the cost within narrow passages. Direct use of 2D LiDAR measurements in MPC allows navigation around arbitrarily shaped obstacles. The method is embedded within an acados-based nonlinear MPC framework. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate successful traversal of narrow corridors where typical repulsive cost functions would fail. The approach provides a computationally efficient and practical solution for navigating through tight spaces while maintaining safety from the obstacles. While we are implementing the framework on the morphing quadrotors, the cost function formulation is general-purpose for any mobile robot application, and is not limited to the morphing quadrotors. The implementation code is available at \href{https://github.com/harshjmodi1996/morphocopter_mpc}{Github Repo} and a short video is available at \href{https://zh.engr.tamu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/310/2026/03/MPC_MorphoCopter_video.mp4}{Video Link}.