A Comparison Benchmark for Distributed Hybrid MPC Control Methods: Distributed Vehicle Platooning

Distributed model predictive control (MPC) is currently being investigated as a solution to the important control challenge presented by networks of hybrid dynamical systems, for which the computational complexity is often prohibitive. However, a benchmark problem for comparing distributed hybrid MPC solutions is absent from the literature.We propose distributed control of a platoon of autonomous vehicles as a comparison benchmark problem. The problem provides a complex and adaptable case study, upon which existing and future approaches to distributed MPC for hybrid systems can be evaluated. Two hybrid modeling frameworks are presented for the vehicle dynamics. Five hybrid MPC controllers are then evaluated and extensively assessed on the fleet of vehicles. Finally, we comment on the need for new efficient and high performing distributed MPC schemes for hybrid systems.