[Explainer] What Is Model Predictive Control? Why Robots Execute Only the First Move

Quadruped robot predicting future poses while committing to the first platform

Model predictive control forecasts a robot’s short-term motion, optimizes actions under explicit constraints, executes only the first input and then solves again. This explainer uses legged locomotion to show the principle—and the limits imposed by model error, computation deadlines and safety requirements.