Related papers: Convergence of policy gradient methods for finite-…
This paper proposes an iterative distributionally robust model predictive control (MPC) scheme to solve a risk-constrained infinite-horizon optimal control problem. In each iteration, the algorithm generates a trajectory from the starting…
We study a new two-time-scale stochastic gradient method for solving optimization problems, where the gradients are computed with the aid of an auxiliary variable under samples generated by time-varying MDPs controlled by the underlying…
We study derivative-free methods for policy optimization over the class of linear policies. We focus on characterizing the convergence rate of these methods when applied to linear-quadratic systems, and study various settings of driving…
We propose policy gradient algorithms for robust infinite-horizon Markov decision processes (MDPs) with non-rectangular uncertainty sets, thereby addressing an open challenge in the robust MDP literature. Indeed, uncertainty sets that…
This paper presents an algorithmic framework for solving unconstrained stochastic optimization problems using only stochastic function evaluations. We employ central finite-difference based gradient estimation methods to approximate the…
This paper considers the discrete-time, stochastic LQR problem with $p$ steps of disturbance preview information where $p$ is finite. We first derive the solution for this problem on a finite horizon with linear, time-varying dynamics and…
We study the policy iteration algorithm (PIA) for entropy-regularized stochastic control problems on an infinite time horizon with a large discount rate, focusing on two main scenarios. First, we analyze PIA with bounded coefficients where…
We develop a framework for convexifying a fairly general class of optimization problems. Under additional assumptions, we analyze the suboptimality of the solution to the convexified problem relative to the original nonconvex problem and…
We consider (stochastic) softmax policy gradient (PG) methods for bandits and tabular Markov decision processes (MDPs). While the PG objective is non-concave, recent research has used the objective's smoothness and gradient domination…
We study the problem of computing an optimal policy of an infinite-horizon discounted constrained Markov decision process (constrained MDP). Despite the popularity of Lagrangian-based policy search methods used in practice, the oscillation…
The multidimensional Uncertain Volatility Model leads to robust option pricing problems under joint volatility and correlation uncertainty. Their numerical resolution quickly becomes challenging because the associated stochastic control…
The behaviour of a stochastic dynamical system may be largely influenced by those low-probability, yet extreme events. To address such occurrences, this paper proposes an infinite-horizon risk-constrained Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR)…
In this contribution, we present a numerical analysis of the continuous stochastic gradient (CSG) method, including applications from topology optimization and convergence rates. In contrast to standard stochastic gradient optimization…
Policy Gradient (PG) algorithms are among the best candidates for the much-anticipated applications of reinforcement learning to real-world control tasks, such as robotics. However, the trial-and-error nature of these methods poses safety…
A recent article introduced thecontinuous stochastic gradient method (CSG) for the efficient solution of a class of stochastic optimization problems. While the applicability of known stochastic gradient type methods is typically limited to…
This study presents the design, discretization and implementation of the continuous-time linear-quadratic model predictive control (CT-LMPC). The control model of the CT-LMPC is parameterized as transfer functions with time delays, and they…
In this paper, we address Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) problems through a novel iterative algorithm named EXtremum-seeking Policy iteration LQR (EXP-LQR). The peculiarity of EXP-LQR is that it only needs access to a truncated…
We consider a discrete-time linear-quadratic Gaussian control problem in which we minimize a weighted sum of the directed information from the state of the system to the control input and the control cost. The optimal control and sensing…
In this paper, we present a discretization algorithm for finite horizon risk constrained dynamic programming algorithm in [Chow_Pavone_13]. Although in a theoretical standpoint, Bellman's recursion provides a systematic way to find optimal…
In this paper, we propose a class of discrete-time approximation schemes for stochastic optimal control problems under the $G$-expectation framework. The proposed schemes are constructed recursively based on piecewise constant policy. We…