Related papers: Autonomous Satellite Rendezvous and Proximity Oper…
Spacecraft rendezvous enables on-orbit servicing, debris removal, and crewed docking, forming the foundation for a scalable space economy. Designing such missions requires rapid exploration of the tradespace between control cost and flight…
Powered descent guidance (PDG) problems subject to six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) dynamics allow for enforcement of practical attitude constraints. However, numerical solutions to 6DOF PDG problems are challenging due to fast rotational…
This paper considers risk-sensitive model predictive control for stochastic systems with a decision-dependent distribution. This class of systems is commonly found in human-robot interaction scenarios. We derive computationally tractable…
This paper compares the required fuel usage for forced and unforced motion of a chaser satellite engaged in Rendezvous, Proximity Operations, and Docking (RPOD) maneuvers. Improved RPOD models are vital, particularly as the space industry…
This paper presents a method to control a manipulator system grasping a rigid-body payload so that the motion of the combined system in consequence of externally applied forces to be the same as another free-floating rigid-body (with…
The paper provides a new approach to utilizing space environmental forces in time- and energy-optimal, propellant-less spacecraft rendezvous missions. Considering the nonlinear form of the relative dynamic equations, rendezvous missions are…
This paper considers the problem of robot motion planning in a workspace with obstacles for systems with uncertain 2nd-order dynamics. In particular, we combine closed form potential-based feedback controllers with adaptive control…
This paper considers the problem of achieving attitude consensus in spacecraft formations with bounded, time-varying communication delays between spacecraft connected as specified by a strongly connected topology. A state feedback con-…
This paper presents an integrated Reinforcement Learning (RL) and Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework for autonomous satellite docking with a partially filled fuel tank. Traditional docking control faces challenges due to fuel sloshing…
Future Mars missions will require advanced guidance, navigation, and control algorithms for the powered descent phase to target specific surface locations and achieve pinpoint accuracy (landing error ellipse $<$ 5 m radius). The latter…
This article addresses obstacle avoidance motion planning for autonomous vehicles, specifically focusing on highway overtaking maneuvers. The control design challenge is handled by considering a mathematical vehicle model that captures both…
Autonomous satellite servicing missions must execute close-range rendezvous under stringent safety and operational constraints while remaining computationally tractable for onboard use and robust to uncertainty in sensing, actuation, and…
We consider stochastic model predictive control of a multi-agent systems with constraints on the probabilities of inter-agent collisions. We first study a sample-based approximation of the collision probabilities and use this approximation…
This paper presents a computationally efficient robust model predictive control law for discrete linear time invariant systems subject to additive disturbances that may depend on the state and/or input norms. Despite the dependency being…
Autonomous inspection in hazardous environments requires AI agents that can interpret high-level goals and execute precise control. A key capability for such agents is spatial grounding, for example when a drone must center a detected…
Platooning connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) provide significant benefits in terms of traffic efficiency and fuel economy. However, most existing platooning systems assume the availability of pre-determined plans, which is not…
The multiple spacecraft guidance problem for proximity flight in libration point orbit is considered. A nonlinear optimal control problem with continuous-time path constraints enforcing minimum separation between each spacecraft is…
The problem of enhancing Quality-of-Service (QoS) in power constrained, mobile relay beamforming networks, by optimally and dynamically controlling the motion of the relaying nodes, is considered, in a dynamic channel environment. We assume…
Approaching a tumbling target safely is a critical challenge in space debris removal missions utilizing robotic manipulators onboard servicing satellites. In this work, we propose a trajectory planning method based on nonlinear optimization…
This article addresses the obstacle avoidance problem for setpoint stabilization and path-following tasks in complex dynamic 2D environments that go beyond conventional scenes with isolated convex obstacles. A combined motion planner and…