This paper proposes a control method that ensures safety for nonlinear discrete-time systems even in the presence of computation delays. In recent years, ensuring safety has become a critical issue in fields such as autonomous driving and robotics, where it is essential to prevent systems from entering dangerous states. In this context, shield-based control, which modifies control inputs only when safety constraints are violated, has attracted considerable attention.

On the other hand, computation delays are inevitable in digital control systems, and they can degrade control performance and compromise safety. To address this issue, this paper combines a delay compensation method based on state prediction with shield synthesis to construct a new safe control framework for nonlinear discrete-time systems. The proposed method consists of a predictor that accounts for computation delays and a shield that enforces safety specifications, thereby achieving an integrated framework that satisfies both control performance and safety requirements.

The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through numerical simulations using a discrete-time model of a unicycle-type mobile robot. The results show that the robot successfully avoids unsafe regions while achieving control objectives. In contrast, without the proposed method, the robot stagnates near unsafe regions, highlighting the effectiveness of the approach.

This study addresses two important issues—computation delays and safety—in an integrated manner, and provides a framework applicable to a wide range of nonlinear discrete-time systems. Therefore, this paper represents a significant contribution to the field and is highly deserving of the Best Paper Award.