The Minkowski Wrap: A Relativistic Speed Limiter

Abstract

In special relativity, a particle can experience constant acceleration, but at the same time, its motion is constrained by the velocity limit imposed by the speed of light $c$. Inspired by this principle, we propose a method for enforcing velocity bounds in control systems by replacing $c$ with the maximum attainable speed of the system. We refer to this as the ``Minkowski wrap," the operation of deforming the phase portrait of a system so as to enforce desired speed limits. We apply this idea to shape the input generated by a state-feedback stabilizing controller and time-optimal controller considering controlling a double integrator system. By applying Pontryagin's Maximum Principle, we show that the time-optimal control of a wrapped double-integrator system is bang-bang. The proposed method transforms the classical double-integrator dynamics into a ``wrapped" system that respects velocity bounds without the need for clipping, offering an explicit nonlinear feedback control strategy conducive to safety applications.

6 pages, 5 figures, to appear in the proceedings of The 65th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control, CDC 2026