Low-Complexity Explicit MPC Controller for Vehicle Lateral Motion Control

We consider the problem of controlling the vehicle lateral motion in highway scenarios while guaranteeing safety. We propose a solution consisting of a Low-Complexity Explicit Model Predictive Controller (LC-EMPC), where the lateral deviation from the desired path is hard constrained according to prescribed bounds. The robust satisfaction of such safety constraints can be achieved by imposing the terminal state to enter a Robust Invariant Set (RIS), which is known to result into a potentially high number of additional constraints, thus increasing the computational complexity of the controller. Our controller, instead, relies on recent results on the calculation of low-complexity RIS to significantly reduce the number of constraints in the MPC controller. Simulation results show that the designed controller is able to meet the desired objectives with highly reduced complexity.