Related papers: Relaxation methods for optimal control problems
In this paper we consider a method of solving optimal stopping problems in discrete and continuous time based on their dual representation. A novel and generic simulation-based optimization algorithm not involving nested simulations is…
We consider an optimal control problem for a non-autonomous model of ODEs that describes the evolution of the number of customers in some firm. Namely we study the best marketing strategy. Considering a $L^2$ cost functional, we establish…
Here and in a follow-on paper, we consider a simple control problem in which the underlying dynamics depend on a parameter $a$ that is unknown and must be learned. In this paper, we assume that $a$ is bounded, i.e., that $|a| \le…
This paper addresses two related problems in optimal control. The first investigation consists of compatibility issues between two classical approaches to deriving necessary conditions for optimal control problems with a final target: the…
We present an explicit solution to the discrete-time Bellman equation for minimax optimal control of positive systems under unconstrained disturbances. The primary contribution of our result relies on deducing a bound for the disturbance…
Contraction theory is an analytical tool to study differential dynamics of a non-autonomous (i.e., time-varying) nonlinear system under a contraction metric defined with a uniformly positive definite matrix, the existence of which results…
We introduce an alternative approach for the analysis and numerical approximation of the optimal feedback control mapping. It consists in looking at a typical optimal control problem in such a way that feasible controls are mappings…
This paper addresses a nonlinear partial differential control system arising in population dynamics. The system consist of three diffusion equations describing the evolutions of three biological species: prey, predator, and food for the…
We address combinatorial problems that can be formulated as minimization of a partially separable function of discrete variables (energy minimization in graphical models, weighted constraint satisfaction, pseudo-Boolean optimization, 0-1…
We present an optimisation-based method for synthesising a dynamic regret optimal controller for linear systems with potentially adversarial disturbances and known or adversarial initial conditions. The dynamic regret is defined as the…
We propose a novel and efficient lifting approach for the optimal control of rigid-body systems with contacts to improve the convergence properties of Newton-type methods. To relax the high nonlinearity, we consider the state, acceleration,…
The paper is concerned with an optimal control problem governed by a state equation in form of a generalized abstract operator differential equation involving a maximal monotone operator. The state equation is uniquely solvable, but the…
In this paper we consider new regularization methods for linear inverse problems of dynamic type. These methods are based on dynamic programming techniques for linear quadratic optimal control problems. Two different approaches are…
This paper studies the stochastic optimal control problem for systems with unknown dynamics. A novel decoupled data based control (D2C) approach is proposed, which solves the problem in a decoupled "open loop-closed loop" fashion that is…
In recent papers it has been suggested that human locomotion may be modeled as an inverse optimal control problem. In this paradigm, the trajectories are assumed to be solutions of an optimal control problem that has to be determined. We…
In this paper, we introduce methods from convex optimization to solve the multimarginal transport type problems arise in the context of density functional theory. Convex relaxations are used to provide outer approximation to the set of…
This paper studies constrained optimal impulse control problems of a deterministic system described by a (semi)flow, where the performance measures are the discounted total costs including both the costs incurred with applying impulses as…
We consider control systems governed by nonlinear O.D.E.'s that are affine in the time-derivative du/dt of the control u. The latter is allowed to be an integrable, possibly of unbounded variation function, which gives the system an…
Reinforcement learning (RL) is currently one of the most prominent methods for optimizing dynamical systems, with breakthrough results across various fields. The framework is based on the concept of a Markov decision process (MDP), leading…
The article discusses the gradient discretisation method (GDM) for distributed optimal control problems governed by diffusion equation with pure Neumann boundary condition. Using the GDM framework enables to develop an analysis that…