Related papers: Timescale Separation in Autonomous Optimization
We present a real-time-capable set-based framework for closed-loop predictive control of autonomous systems using tools from computational geometry, dynamic programming, and convex optimization. The control architecture relies on the…
A framework is introduced for sequentially solving convex stochastic minimization problems, where the objective functions change slowly, in the sense that the distance between successive minimizers is bounded. The minimization problems are…
Optimization problems in engineering and applied mathematics are typically solved in an iterative fashion, by systematically adjusting the variables of interest until an adequate solution is found. The iterative algorithms that govern these…
Policy iteration is one of the classical frameworks of reinforcement learning, which requires a known initial stabilizing control. However, finding the initial stabilizing control depends on the known system model. To relax this requirement…
The selection of an appropriate control strategy is essential for ensuring safe operation in autonomous driving. While numerous control strategies have been developed for specific driving scenarios, a comprehensive comparative assessment of…
We study the problem of \textit{safe control of linear dynamical systems corrupted with non-stochastic noise}, and provide an algorithm that guarantees (i) zero constraint violation of convex time-varying constraints, and (ii) bounded…
We expose in a tutorial fashion the mechanisms which underlie the synthesis of optimization algorithms based on dynamic integral quadratic constraints. We reveal how these tools from robust control allow to design accelerated gradient…
Achieving optimality in controlling physical systems is a profound challenge across diverse scientific and engineering fields, spanning neuromechanics, biochemistry, autonomous systems, economics, and beyond. Traditional solutions, relying…
Solving optimal control problems (OCPs) of autonomous agents operating under spatial and temporal constraints fast and accurately is essential in applications ranging from eco-driving of autonomous vehicles to quadrotor navigation. However,…
This paper is devoted to distributed continuous-time and discrete-time optimization problems with nonuniform convex constraint sets and nonuniform stepsizes for general differentiable convex objective functions. The communication graphs are…
The problem of steering a particular class of $n$-dimensional continuous-time dynamical systems towards the minima of a function without gradient information is considered. We propose an hybrid controller, implementing a discrete-time…
In this paper we study simulation based optimization algorithms for solving discrete time optimal stopping problems. This type of algorithms became popular among practioneers working in the area of quantitative finance. Using large…
In this paper, we consider the notion of resilience of a dynamical system, defined by the maximum disturbance a controlled dynamical system can withstand while satisfying given temporal logic specifications. Given a dynamical system and a…
In this paper, problems of optimal control are considered where in the objective function, in addition to the control cost there is a tracking term that measures the distance to a desired stationary state. The tracking term is given by some…
Recent analyses of certain gradient descent optimization methods have shown that performance can degrade in some settings - such as with stochasticity or implicit momentum. In deep reinforcement learning (Deep RL), such optimization methods…
This paper introduces a model-based approach for training feedback controllers for an autonomous agent operating in a highly nonlinear (albeit deterministic) environment. We desire the trained policy to ensure that the agent satisfies…
Numerous Optimization Algorithms have a time-varying update rule thanks to, for instance, a changing step size, momentum parameter or, Hessian approximation. In this paper, we apply unrolled or automatic differentiation to a time-varying…
This paper introduces a new framework for analyzing the stability of discrete-time model predictive controllers acting on continuous-time systems. The proposed framework introduces the distinction between discretization time (used to…
The performance, reliability, cost, size and energy usage of computing systems can be improved by one or more orders of magnitude by the systematic use of modern control and optimization methods. Computing systems rely on the use of…
It is well-known that proper scaling can increase the efficiency of computational problems. In this paper we define and show that a balancing technique can substantially improve the computational efficiency of optimal control algorithms. We…