Related papers: Computing feasible trajectories for constrained ma…

In many mobile robotics scenarios, such as drone racing, the goal is to generate a trajectory that passes through multiple waypoints in minimal time. This problem is referred to as time-optimal planning. State-of-the-art approaches either…

We address the challenge of real-time planning of minimum-time trajectories over multiple waypoints, onboard multirotor UAVs. Previous works demonstrated that achieving a truly time-optimal trajectory is computationally too demanding to…

Spacecraft operations are influenced by uncertainties such as dynamics modeling, navigation, and maneuver execution errors. Although mission design has traditionally incorporated heuristic safety margins to mitigate the effect of…

This paper presents a novel methodology to enforce motion safety guarantees even in the event of a sudden loss of control capabilities by any agent within a multi-agent system. This passive safety methodology permits the replacement of…

We consider output trajectory tracking for a class of uncertain nonlinear systems whose internal dynamics may be modelled by infinite-dimensional systems which are bounded-input, bounded-output stable. We describe under which conditions…

The paper develops the Adaptive Dynamic Programming Toolbox (ADPT), which solves optimal control problems for continuous-time nonlinear systems. Based on the adaptive dynamic programming technique, the ADPT computes optimal feedback…

We address the design and synthesis of optimal control strategies for high-dimensional stochastic dynamical systems. Such systems may be deterministic nonlinear systems evolving from random initial states, or systems driven by random…

Capabilities of long-range flight and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) are essential for Urban Air Mobility (UAM). Tiltrotor VTOLs have the advantage of balancing control simplicity and system complexity due to their redundant control…

Direct collocation methods are powerful tools to solve trajectory optimization problems in robotics. While their resulting trajectories tend to be dynamically accurate, they may also present large kinematic errors in the case of constrained…

This paper demonstrates a refined approach to solving dynamic optimization problems for underactuated marine surface vessels. To this end the differential flatness of a mathematical model assuming full actuation is exploited to derive an…

CAV platooning technology has received considerable attention in the past few years, driven by the next generation smart transportation systems. Unlike most of the existing platooning methods that focus on linear vehicle dynamics of CAVs,…

This paper presents a novel model predictive control strategy for controlling autonomous motion systems moving through an environment with obstacles of general shape. In order to solve such a generic non-convex optimization problem and find…

Motion planning for autonomous vehicles requires spatio-temporal motion plans (i.e. state trajectories) to account for dynamic obstacles. This requires a trajectory tracking control process which faithfully tracks planned trajectories. In…

Nonlinear control-affine systems with time-varying vector fields are considered in the paper. We propose a unified control design scheme with oscillating inputs for solving the trajectory tracking and stabilization problems. This…

Control synthesis under constraints is at the forefront of research on autonomous systems, in part due to its broad application from low-level control to high-level planning, where computing control inputs is typically cast as a constrained…

This paper presents the mathematical modeling, controller design, and flight-testing of an over-actuated Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) tiltwing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Based on simplified aerodynamics and first-principles, a…

We study tracking control for nonlinear systems with known relative degree and stable internal dynamics by the recently introduced technique of Funnel MPC. The objective is to achieve the evolution of the tracking error within a prescribed…

We address the risk bounded trajectory optimization problem of stochastic nonlinear robotic systems. More precisely, we consider the motion planning problem in which the robot has stochastic nonlinear dynamics and uncertain initial…

This paper presents a new model-based algorithm that computes predictive optimal controls on-line and in closed loop for traditionally challenging nonlinear systems. Examples demonstrate the same algorithm controlling hybrid impulsive,…

We propose a robust nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) scheme for trajectory-tracking control of autonomous vehicles at the limits of handling on non-planar road surfaces. We derive the dynamics from first principles and selectively…