Iterative Tuning of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Robotic Manufacturing Tasks

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Ingole, Deepak, Bhend, Valentin, Murali, Shiva Ganesh, Dobrich, Oliver, Rupenyan, Alisa
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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author Ingole, Deepak
Bhend, Valentin
Murali, Shiva Ganesh
Dobrich, Oliver
Rupenyan, Alisa
author_facet Ingole, Deepak
Bhend, Valentin
Murali, Shiva Ganesh
Dobrich, Oliver
Rupenyan, Alisa
contents Manufacturing processes are often perturbed by drifts in the environment and wear in the system, requiring control re-tuning even in the presence of repetitive operations. This paper presents an iterative learning framework for automatic tuning of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) weighting matrices based on task-level performance feedback. Inspired by norm-optimal Iterative Learning Control (ILC), the proposed method adaptively adjusts NMPC weights Q and R across task repetitions to minimize key performance indicators (KPIs) related to tracking accuracy, control effort, and saturation. Unlike gradient-based approaches that require differentiating through the NMPC solver, we construct an empirical sensitivity matrix, enabling structured weight updates without analytic derivatives. The framework is validated through simulation on a UR10e robot performing carbon fiber winding on a tetrahedral core. Results demonstrate that the proposed approach converges to near-optimal tracking performance (RMSE within 0.3% of offline Bayesian Optimization (BO)) in just 4 online repetitions, compared to 100 offline evaluations required by BO algorithm. The method offers a practical solution for adaptive NMPC tuning in repetitive robotic tasks, combining the precision of carefully optimized controllers with the flexibility of online adaptation.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2512_13170
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Iterative Tuning of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Robotic Manufacturing Tasks
Ingole, Deepak
Bhend, Valentin
Murali, Shiva Ganesh
Dobrich, Oliver
Rupenyan, Alisa
Robotics
Machine Learning
Systems and Control
Optimization and Control
Manufacturing processes are often perturbed by drifts in the environment and wear in the system, requiring control re-tuning even in the presence of repetitive operations. This paper presents an iterative learning framework for automatic tuning of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) weighting matrices based on task-level performance feedback. Inspired by norm-optimal Iterative Learning Control (ILC), the proposed method adaptively adjusts NMPC weights Q and R across task repetitions to minimize key performance indicators (KPIs) related to tracking accuracy, control effort, and saturation. Unlike gradient-based approaches that require differentiating through the NMPC solver, we construct an empirical sensitivity matrix, enabling structured weight updates without analytic derivatives. The framework is validated through simulation on a UR10e robot performing carbon fiber winding on a tetrahedral core. Results demonstrate that the proposed approach converges to near-optimal tracking performance (RMSE within 0.3% of offline Bayesian Optimization (BO)) in just 4 online repetitions, compared to 100 offline evaluations required by BO algorithm. The method offers a practical solution for adaptive NMPC tuning in repetitive robotic tasks, combining the precision of carefully optimized controllers with the flexibility of online adaptation.
title Iterative Tuning of Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Robotic Manufacturing Tasks
topic Robotics
Machine Learning
Systems and Control
Optimization and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.13170