LoL-NMPC: Low-Level Dynamics Integration in Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Gupta, Parakh M., Procházka, Ondřej, Hřebec, Jan, Novosad, Matej, Pěnička, Robert, Saska, Martin
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Gupta, Parakh M.
Procházka, Ondřej
Hřebec, Jan
Novosad, Matej
Pěnička, Robert
Saska, Martin
author_facet Gupta, Parakh M.
Procházka, Ondřej
Hřebec, Jan
Novosad, Matej
Pěnička, Robert
Saska, Martin
contents [Accepted to IROS 2025] In this paper, we address the problem of tracking high-speed agile trajectories for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs), where model inaccuracies can lead to large tracking errors. Existing Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller(NMPC) methods typically neglect the dynamics of the low-level flight controllers such as underlying PID controller present in many flight stacks, and this results in sub-optimal tracking performance at high speeds and accelerations. To this end, we propose a novel NMPC formulation, LoL-NMPC, which explicitly incorporates low-level controller dynamics and motor dynamics in order to minimize trajectory tracking errors while maintaining computational efficiency. By leveraging linear constraints inside low-level dynamics, our approach inherently accounts for actuator constraints without requiring additional reallocation strategies. The proposed method is validated in both simulation and real-world experiments, demonstrating improved tracking accuracy and robustness at speeds up to 98.57 km/h and accelerations of 3.5 g. Our results show an average 21.97 % reduction in trajectory tracking error over standard NMPC formulation, with LoL-NMPC maintaining real-time feasibility at 100 Hz on an embedded ARM-based flight computer.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2506_02169
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle LoL-NMPC: Low-Level Dynamics Integration in Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Gupta, Parakh M.
Procházka, Ondřej
Hřebec, Jan
Novosad, Matej
Pěnička, Robert
Saska, Martin
Robotics
[Accepted to IROS 2025] In this paper, we address the problem of tracking high-speed agile trajectories for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAVs), where model inaccuracies can lead to large tracking errors. Existing Nonlinear Model Predictive Controller(NMPC) methods typically neglect the dynamics of the low-level flight controllers such as underlying PID controller present in many flight stacks, and this results in sub-optimal tracking performance at high speeds and accelerations. To this end, we propose a novel NMPC formulation, LoL-NMPC, which explicitly incorporates low-level controller dynamics and motor dynamics in order to minimize trajectory tracking errors while maintaining computational efficiency. By leveraging linear constraints inside low-level dynamics, our approach inherently accounts for actuator constraints without requiring additional reallocation strategies. The proposed method is validated in both simulation and real-world experiments, demonstrating improved tracking accuracy and robustness at speeds up to 98.57 km/h and accelerations of 3.5 g. Our results show an average 21.97 % reduction in trajectory tracking error over standard NMPC formulation, with LoL-NMPC maintaining real-time feasibility at 100 Hz on an embedded ARM-based flight computer.
title LoL-NMPC: Low-Level Dynamics Integration in Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2506.02169