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This paper presents a framework for the safety-critical control of robotic systems, when safety is defined on safe regions in the configuration space. To maintain safety, we synthesize a safe velocity based on control barrier function…

Robotics · Computer Science 2022-11-21 Tamas G. Molnar , Ryan K. Cosner , Andrew W. Singletary , Wyatt Ubellacker , Aaron D. Ames

In the context of safety-critical control, we propose and analyse the use of Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) to limit the kinetic energy of torque-controlled robots. The proposed scheme is able to modify a nominal control action in a…

Robotics · Computer Science 2024-11-05 Federico Califano , Daniel Logmans , Wesley Roozing

Using control barrier functions (CBFs) as safety filters provides a computationally inexpensive yet effective method for constructing controllers in safety-critical applications. However, using CBFs requires the construction of a valid CBF,…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2024-02-15 Bolun Dai , Prashanth Krishnamurthy , Farshad Khorrami

This tutorial provides a critical review of the practical application of Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) in robotic safety. While the theoretical foundations of CBFs are well-established, I identify a recurring gap between the mathematical…

Robotics · Computer Science 2026-03-10 Taekyung Kim

Safe navigation for multi-robot systems requires enforcing safety without sacrificing task efficiency under decentralized decision-making. Existing decentralized methods often assume robot homogeneity, making shared safety requirements…

Robotics · Computer Science 2026-04-16 Joonkyung Kim , Yanze Zhang , Wenhao Luo , Yiwei Lyu

In robotic manipulation, end-effector compliance is an essential precondition for performing contact-rich tasks, such as machining, assembly, and human-robot interaction. Most robotic arms are position-controlled stiff systems at a hardware…

Many robot manipulation tasks require the robot to make and break contact with objects and surfaces. The dynamics of such changing-contact robot manipulation tasks are discontinuous when contact is made or broken, and continuous elsewhere.…

Robotics · Computer Science 2021-06-22 Saif Sidhik , Mohan Sridharan , Dirk Ruiken

In this paper, an adaptive controller is designed for the synchronization of the trajectory of a robot with unknown kinematics and dynamics to that of the current human trajectory in the task space using the delayed human trajectory…

Robotics · Computer Science 2025-09-30 Rounak Bhattacharya , Vrithik R. Guthikonda , Ashwin P. Dani

This paper addresses the problem of safety-critical control for systems with unknown dynamics. It has been shown that stabilizing affine control systems to desired (sets of) states while optimizing quadratic costs subject to state and…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2021-03-31 Wei Xiao , Calin Belta , Christos G. Cassandras

An outstanding challenge for the widespread deployment of robotic systems like autonomous vehicles is ensuring safe interaction with humans without sacrificing performance. Existing safety methods often neglect the robot's ability to learn…

Robotics · Computer Science 2023-11-03 Haimin Hu , Zixu Zhang , Kensuke Nakamura , Andrea Bajcsy , Jaime F. Fisac

This paper presents a safety-guaranteed, runtime-efficient imitation learning framework for spacecraft close proximity control. We leverage Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) for safety certificates and Control Lyapunov Functions (CLFs) for…

Robotics · Computer Science 2026-03-20 Alexander Meinert , Niklas Baldauf , Peter Stadler , Alen Turnwald

Safety is one of the fundamental problems in robotics. Recently, one-step or multi-step optimal control problems for discrete-time nonlinear dynamical system were formulated to offer tracking stability using control Lyapunov functions…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2021-10-04 Jun Zeng , Zhongyu Li , Koushil Sreenath

This work presents a unified approach for collision avoidance using Collision-Cone Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) in both ground (UGV) and aerial (UAV) unmanned vehicles. We propose a novel CBF formulation inspired by collision cones, to…

Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) have become a popular tool for enforcing set invariance in safety-critical control systems. While guaranteeing safety, most CBF approaches are myopic in the sense that they solve an optimization problem at…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2020-08-11 Max Cohen , Calin Belta

Abrupt maneuvers by surrounding vehicles (SVs) can typically lead to safety concerns and affect the task efficiency of the ego vehicle (EV), especially with model uncertainties stemming from environmental disturbances. This paper presents a…

Robotics · Computer Science 2024-03-08 Lei Zheng , Rui Yang , Zengqi Peng , Wei Yan , Michael Yu Wang , Jun Ma

Designing safety-critical controllers for acceleration-controlled unicycle robots is challenging, as control inputs may not appear in the constraints of control Lyapunov functions(CLFs) and control barrier functions (CBFs), leading to…

Robotics · Computer Science 2025-03-11 Jihao Huang , Jun Zeng , Xuemin Chi , Koushil Sreenath , Zhitao Liu , Hongye Su

Recent Foundation Model-enabled robotics (FMRs) display greatly improved general-purpose skills, enabling more adaptable automation than conventional robotics. Their ability to handle diverse tasks thus creates new opportunities to replace…

The optimal performance of robotic systems is usually achieved near the limit of state and input bounds. Model predictive control (MPC) is a prevalent strategy to handle these operational constraints, however, safety still remains an open…

Systems and Control · Electrical Eng. & Systems 2021-03-24 Jun Zeng , Bike Zhang , Koushil Sreenath

Construction automation increasingly requires autonomous mobile robots, yet robust autonomy remains challenging on construction sites. These environments are dynamic and often visually occluded, which complicates perception and navigation.…

Robotics · Computer Science 2026-02-16 Johannes Mootz , Reza Akhavian

Reinforcement Learning (RL) has shown promise in control tasks but faces significant challenges in real-world applications, primarily due to the absence of safety guarantees during the learning process. Existing methods often struggle with…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-04-29 Donghe Chen , Han Wang , Lin Cheng , Shengping Gong