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Related papers: Optimal navigation of microswimmers in complex and…

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Motivated by the applications, a class of optimal control problems is investigated, where the goal is to influence the behavior of a given population through another controlled one interacting with the first. Diffusive terms accounting for…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2023-03-10 Stefano Almi , Marco Morandotti , Francesco Solombrino

Zermelo's navigation problem seeks the trajectory of minimal travel time between two points in a fluid flow. We address this problem for an agent -- such as a micro-robot or active particle -- that is advected by a two-dimensional flow,…

Fluid Dynamics · Physics 2025-12-29 Vladimir Parfenyev

Efficient point-to-point navigation in the presence of a background flow field is important for robotic applications such as ocean surveying. In such applications, robots may only have knowledge of their immediate surroundings or be faced…

Microscopic self-propelled swimmers capable of autonomous navigation through complex environments provide appealing opportunities for localization, pick-up and delivery of micro-and nanoscopic objects. Inspired by motile cells and bacteria,…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2012-05-07 W. Yang , V. R. Misko , K. Nelissen , M. Kong , F. M. Peeters

The task of maneuvering ships in confined environments is a difficult task for a human operator. One major reason is due to the complex and slow dynamics of the ship which need to be accounted for in order to successfully steer the vehicle.…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2020-05-07 Kristoffer Bergman , Oskar Ljungqvist , Jonas Linder , Daniel Axehill

We propose a information theoretical framework to capture transition and information costs of network navigation models. Based on the minimum description length principle and the Markov decision process, we demonstrate that efficient global…

Social and Information Networks · Computer Science 2020-01-14 Xiaoran Yan , Olaf Sporns , Andrea Avena-Koenigsberger

Optimizing the energy efficiency of driving processes provides valuable insights into the underlying physics and is of crucial importance for numerous applications, from biological processes to the design of machines and robots. Knowledge…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2024-04-02 Sarah A. M. Loos , Samuel Monter , Felix Ginot , Clemens Bechinger

How much work does it cost for a propelled particle to stay localised near a stationary target, defying both thermal noise and a constant flow that would carry it away? We study the control of such a particle in finite time and find optimal…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2026-02-16 Till Welker , Patrick Pietzonka

With the fast and unstoppable evolution of robotics and artificial intelligence, effective autonomous navigation in real-world scenarios has become one of the most pressing challenges in the literature. However, demanding requirements, such…

Robotics · Computer Science 2024-07-11 A. Novo , F. Lobon , H. G. De Marina , S. Romero , F. Barranco

We present theoretical and numerical results concerning the problem to find the path that minimizes the time to navigate between two given points in a complex fluid under realistic navigation constraints. We contrast deterministic Optimal…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2021-03-02 Michele Buzzicotti , Luca Biferale , Fabio Bonaccorso , Patricio Clark di Leoni , Kristian Gustavsson

Efficient navigation in swarms often relies on the emergence of decentralized approaches that minimize traversal time or energy. Stigmergy, where agents modify a shared environment that then modifies their behavior, is a classic mechanism…

Neurons and Cognition · Quantitative Biology 2026-01-08 Vishaal Krishnan , L. Mahadevan

We study an information-based mechanism of self-propulsion in noisy environment. An information swimmer maintains directional motion by periodically measuring its velocity and accordingly adjusting its friction coefficient. Assuming that…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2020-11-18 Chen Huang , Mingnan Ding , Xiangjun Xing

Navigating in a fluid flow while being carried by it, using only information accessible from on-board sensors, is a problem commonly faced by small planktonic organisms. It is also directly relevant to autonomous robots deployed in the…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-10-28 Selim Mecanna , Aurore Loisy , Christophe Eloy

Active many-body systems composed of many interacting degrees of freedom often operate out of equilibrium, giving rise to non-trivial emergent behaviors which can be functional in both evolved and engineered contexts. This naturally…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2023-11-29 Sumit Sinha , Vishaal Krishnan , L Mahadevan

While optimal control theory offers effective strategies for minimizing energetic costs in noisy microscopic systems over finite durations, a significant opportunity lies in exploiting the temporal structure of non-equilibrium forces. We…

Statistical Mechanics · Physics 2025-04-10 Kristian Stølevik Olsen , Rémi Goerlich , Yael Roichman , Hartmut Löwen

Animals use a combination of egocentric navigation driven by the internal integration of environmental cues, interspersed with geocentric course correction and reorientation, often with uncertainty in sensory acquisition of information,…

Biological Physics · Physics 2015-12-22 O. Peleg , L. Mahadevan

Traditional approaches to the design of multi-agent navigation algorithms consider the environment as a fixed constraint, despite the influence of spatial constraints on agents' performance. Yet hand-designing conducive environment layouts…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2023-05-22 Zhan Gao , Amanda Prorok

Trajectory tracking for microswimmers remains a key challenge in microrobotics, where low-Reynolds-number dynamics make control design particularly complex. In this work, we formulate the trajectory tracking problem as an optimal control…

Robotics · Computer Science 2026-02-11 Lucas Palazzolo , Mickaël Binois , Laëtitia Giraldi

Developing behavioral policies designed to efficiently solve target-search problems is a crucial issue both in nature and in the nanotechnology of the 21st century. Here, we characterize the target-search strategies of simple microswimmers…

Soft Condensed Matter · Physics 2023-07-25 Harpreet Kaur , Thomas Franosch , Michele Caraglio

The optimal disturbance rejection control problem is considered for consensus tracking systems affected by external persistent disturbances and noise. Optimal estimated values of system states are obtained by recursive filtering for the…

Robotics · Computer Science 2012-05-09 Jian Yuan Wen-Xia Zhang , Zhou-Hai Zhou