Related papers: Model Predictive Path-Following for Constrained Di…
Efficient real-time trajectory planning and control for fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles is challenging due to their non-holonomic nature, complex dynamics, and the additional uncertainties introduced by unknown aerodynamic effects. In…
Time-optimal trajectories drive quadrotors to their dynamic limits, but computing such trajectories involves solving non-convex problems via iterative nonlinear optimization, making them prohibitively costly for real-time applications. In…
Soft robots have the potential to interact with sensitive environments and perform complex tasks effectively. However, motion plans and trajectories for soft manipulators are challenging to calculate due to their deformable nature and…
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…
This article addresses the obstacle avoidance problem for setpoint stabilization and path-following tasks in complex dynamic 2D environments that go beyond conventional scenes with isolated convex obstacles. A combined motion planner and…
We consider the tracking of geometric paths in output spaces of nonlinear systems subject to input and state constraints without pre-specified timing requirements. Such problems are commonly referred to as constrained output path-following…
Model predictive control (MPC) has established itself as the primary methodology for constrained control, enabling general-purpose robot autonomy in diverse real-world scenarios. However, for most problems of interest, MPC relies on the…
The aim of this work is to control the longitudinal position of an autonomous vehicle with an internal combustion engine. The powertrain has an inherent dead-time characteristic and constraints on physical states apply since the vehicle is…
This paper studies the $\alpha$-stability property of differentially flat nonlinear dynamical systems. The results build off the recently introduced notion of $\alpha$-stability, which is particularly amenable to characterize the ability of…
The design of the path-following controller is crucial for reliable autonomous vehicle operation. This design problem is especially challenging for a general 2-trailer with a car-like tractor due to the vehicle's unstable joint-angle…
In order to mitigate economical, ecological, and societal challenges in electric scooter (e-scooter) sharing systems, we develop an autonomous e-scooter prototype. Our vision is to design a fully autonomous prototype that can find its way…
We study distributed control for a network of nonlinear, differentially flat subsystems subject to dynamic coupling. Although differential flatness simplifies planning and control for isolated subsystems, the presence of coupling can…
Collaborative robots and space manipulators contain significant joint flexibility. It complicates the control design, compromises the control bandwidth, and limits the tracking accuracy. The imprecise knowledge of the flexible joint…
We present an algorithm for robust model predictive control with consideration of uncertainty and safety constraints. Our framework considers a nonlinear dynamical system subject to disturbances from an unknown but bounded uncertainty set.…
This work develops a novel trajectory planner for human-robot handovers. The handover requirements can naturally be handled by a path-following-based model predictive controller, where the path progress serves as a progress measure of the…
This paper proposes a framework for adaptively learning a feedback linearization-based tracking controller for an unknown system using discrete-time model-free policy-gradient parameter update rules. The primary advantage of the scheme over…
In the real-world, self-driving vehicles are required to achieve steering maneuvers in both uncontrolled and uncertain environments while maintaining high levels of safety and passengers' comfort. Ignoring these requirements would…
Performing highly agile dynamic motions, such as jumping or running on uneven stepping stones has remained a challenging problem in legged robot locomotion. This paper presents a framework that combines trajectory optimization and model…
A reliable controller is critical for execution of safe and smooth maneuvers of an autonomous vehicle. The controller must be robust to external disturbances, such as road surface, weather, wind conditions, and so on. It also needs to deal…
This article presents an in-depth review of the topic of path following for autonomous robotic vehicles, with a specific focus on vehicle motion in two dimensional space (2D). From a control system standpoint, path following can be…