FPGA implementation of predictive control

In this paper, we propose an implementation of a synthesizable VHDL program of generalized predictive control (GPC) without constraints on a map XC3S700A Xilinx Starter Kit using the Xilinx ISE 10.1 software. The control strategy was applied to a second order state system. The VHDL language was used as a programming tool. Real variables were described with the fixed-point representation to overcome the overflow problems during the computations in the VHDL program. The use of FPGA circuits presents a good choice regarding to the problem of computation time encountered in predictive algorithms. A GPC Matlab program was also implemented in order to make a performance comparison. The simulation results show a good set-point tracking.