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In this work, we consider the distributed optimization of non-smooth convex functions using a network of computing units. We investigate this problem under two regularity assumptions: (1) the Lipschitz continuity of the global objective…
Humanoid robots are designed to perform diverse loco-manipulation tasks. However, they face challenges due to their high-dimensional and unstable dynamics, as well as the complex contact-rich nature of the tasks. Model-based optimal control…
This work addresses an extended class of optimal control problems where a target for a system state has the form of an ellipsoid rather than a fixed, single point. As a computationally affordable method for resolving the extended problem,…
This article proposes an improved trajectory optimization approach for stochastic optimal control of dynamical systems affected by measurement noise by combining optimal control with maximum likelihood techniques to improve the reduction of…
We develop a discrete-time optimal control framework for systems evolving on Lie groups. Our work generalizes the original Differential Dynamic Programming method, by employing a coordinate-free, Lie-theoretic approach for its derivation. A…
Many applications -- including power systems, robotics, and economics -- involve a dynamical system interacting with a stochastic and hard-to-model environment. We adopt a reinforcement learning approach to control such systems.…
The optimal control of a mechanical system is of crucial importance in many realms. Typical examples are the determination of a time-minimal path in vehicle dynamics, a minimal energy trajectory in space mission design, or optimal motion…
Proximal splitting algorithms are well suited to solving large-scale nonsmooth optimization problems, in particular those arising in machine learning. We propose a new primal-dual algorithm, in which the dual update is randomized;…
Trajectory optimization is an efficient approach for solving optimal control problems for complex robotic systems. It relies on two key components: first the transcription into a sparse nonlinear program, and second the corresponding solver…
Distributionally robust optimal control (DROC) is gaining interest. This study presents a reformulation method for discrete DROC (DDROC) problems to design optimal control policies under a worst-case distributional uncertainty. The…
In scenarios where high penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) is connected to the grid over long distances, the output of RES exhibits significant fluctuations, making it difficult to accurately characterize. The intermittency and…
In this paper, we propose two novel decentralized optimization frameworks for multi-agent nonlinear optimal control problems in robotics. The aim of this work is to suggest architectures that inherit the computational efficiency and…
Stochastic and soft optimal policies resulting from entropy-regularized Markov decision processes (ER-MDP) are desirable for exploration and imitation learning applications. Motivated by the fact that such policies are sensitive with…
Real-time control of pumps can be an infeasible task in water distribution systems (WDSs) because the calculation to find the optimal pump speeds is resource-intensive. The computational need cannot be lowered even with the capabilities of…
In robotics, contemporary strategies are learning-based, characterized by a complex black-box nature and a lack of interpretability, which may pose challenges in ensuring stability and safety. To address these issues, we propose integrating…
Dynamic Programming (DP) provides standard algorithms to solve Markov Decision Processes. However, these algorithms generally do not optimize a scalar objective function. In this paper, we draw connections between DP and (constrained)…
Several applications in the scientific simulation of physical systems can be formulated as control/optimization problems. The computational models for such systems generally contain hyperparameters, which control solution fidelity and…
Motion planning under differential constraints is a classic problem in robotics. To date, the state of the art is represented by sampling-based techniques, with the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree algorithm as a leading example. Yet, the…
This paper provides an overview, analysis, and comparison of second-order dynamic optimization algorithms, i.e., constrained Differential Dynamic Programming (DDP) and Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP). Although a variety of these…
Reinforcement learning (RL) excels in optimizing policies for discrete-time Markov decision processes (MDP). However, various systems are inherently continuous in time, making discrete-time MDPs an inexact modeling choice. In many…