Hybrid Model Predictive Control Based on Wireless Sensor Feedback An Experimental Study.pdfVIP

Hybrid Model Predictive Control Based on Wireless Sensor Feedback: An Experimental Study Alberto Bemporad, Stefano Di Cairano, Erik Henriksson and Karl Henrik Johansson Abstract— This paper presents the design and the exper- imental validation of model predictive control (MPC) of a hybrid dynamical process based on measurements collected by a wireless sensor network. The proposed setup is the prototype of an industrial application in which a remote station controls the process via wireless network links. The experimental platform is a laboratory process consisting of four infrared lamps, controlled in pairs by two on/off switches, and of a transport belt, where moving parts equipped with wireless sensors are heated by the lamps. By approximating the stationary heat spatial distribution as a piecewise affine function of the position along the belt, the resulting plant model is a hybrid dynamical system. The control architecture is based on the reference governor approach: the process is actuated by a local controller, while a hybrid MPC algorithm running on a remote base station sends optimal belt velocity set-points and lamp on/off Fig. 1. Experiment at the Automatic Control Lab, University of Siena. commands over a network link exploiting the information received through the wireless network. A discrete-time hybrid model of the process is used for the hybrid MPC algorithm and for the state estimator. The usage of wireless technology within feedback control loops raises, however, new challenges. The network medium I . INTRODUCTION