Experimental Results of Nonlinear Model-Based Predictive Controller for the Qbot2e Differential Drive Mobile Robot

Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) is a powerful and versatile control technique widely applicable to various systems, including mobile robots. This paper introduces an NMPC controller specifically designed for the Qbot2e dif-ferential drive mobile robot. The controller is implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink environment, utilizing the NLMPC and FORCESPRO toolboxes for optimization and deployment. To ensure stability, terminal state equality constraints are incorpo-rated. Through a series of real-time simulations, the controller demonstrates exceptional performance in achieving both posture stabilization and trajectory tracking with remarkable accuracy. The findings of this study highlight the potential of NMPC as a promising control technique for mobile robots. The results not only indicate the efficacy and ease of implementation of NMPC, thanks to its constraint handling capabilities but also showcase its superiority over existing state-of-the-art methods. This work contributes to advancing the understanding and utilization of NMPC in the field of mobile robotics.