Remote tube MPC over lossy networks for constrained control without prediction consistency

In this work we consider the problem of controlling a dynamical system affected by bounded disturbances and subject to constraints through a wireless network. Existing works guarantee constraint satisfaction despite packet losses and delays by enforcing the past input sequence used in the estimation at the remote unit and the past input sequence applied at the plant to be the same. This condition, typically referred to as prediction consistency, requires strong assumptions on the network, such as a TCP-like protocol or a known delay bound, and conservative control design. In this work, we propose a novel approach to enforce constraints without requiring prediction consistency by handling unmatched input sequences as an additive disturbance. We define a theoretically sound Tube MPC to be implemented at the remote side and we introduce a novel acceptance rule at the plant side that allows to use control packets even if the past input sequences used in the estimation and applied at the plant are different. Simulations with real Wi-Fi channel realizations show that the proposed strategy has a more reactive response and better performance compared to existing solutions.