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This technical report provides an in-depth evaluation of both established and state-of-the-art methods for simulating constrained rigid multi-body systems with hard-contact dynamics, using formulations of Nonlinear Complementarity Problems…
A control optimization approach is presented for a chaser spacecraft tasked with maintaining proximity to a target space object while avoiding collisions. The target object trajectory is provided numerically to account for both passive…
This paper studies the optimal control problem for discrete-time nonlinear systems and an approximate dynamic programming-based Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme is proposed for minimizing a quadratic performance measure. In the…
In this paper we present a hierarchical multi-rate control architecture for nonlinear autonomous systems operating in partially observable environments. Control objectives are expressed using syntactically co-safe Linear Temporal Logic…
We present an efficient optimization framework that solves trajectory optimization problems by decoupling state variables from timing variables, thereby decomposing a challenging nonlinear programming (NLP) problem into two easier…
Mixed integer linear programming (MILP) has seen a sharp rise in use for engineering optimization applications in recent years. Even for initially non-linear problems, it is often the method of choice. Then, the non-linear functions have to…
This paper considers an optimization problem for a dynamical system whose evolution depends on a collection of binary decision variables. We develop scalable approximation algorithms with provable suboptimality bounds to provide…
In this work we propose a Model Predictive Control (MPC) formulation that splits constraints in two different types. Motivated by safety considerations, the first type of constraint enforces a control-invariant set, while the second type…
For combinatorial optimization problems, model-based paradigms such as mixed-integer programming (MIP) and constraint programming (CP) aim to decouple modeling and solving a problem: the `holy grail' of declarative problem solving. We…
This article presents the first mixed-integer linear programming (MILP)-based iterative algorithm to solve factorable mixed-integer nonlinear programs (MINLPs) with bounded, differentiable periodic functions to global optimality with an…
Challenges in last-mile delivery have encouraged innovative solutions like crowdsourced delivery, where online platforms leverage the services of drivers who occasionally perform delivery tasks for compensation. A key challenge is that…
Generating time-optimal, collision-free trajectories for autonomous mobile robots involves a fundamental trade-off between guaranteeing safety and managing computational complexity. State-of-the-art approaches formulate spline-based motion…
We consider the problem of controlling a Markov decision process (MDP) with a large state space, so as to minimize average cost. Since it is intractable to compete with the optimal policy for large scale problems, we pursue the more modest…
Non-convex, nonlinear gas network optimization models are used to determine the feasibility of flows on existing networks given constraints on network flows, gas mixing, and pressure loss along pipes. This work improves two existing gas…
In this paper, we investigate a class of non-convex sum-of-ratios programs relevant to decision-making in key areas such as product assortment and pricing, and facility location and cost planning. These optimization problems, characterized…
We examine robust output feedback control of discrete-time nonlinear systems with bounded uncertainties affecting the dynamics and measurements. Specifically, we demonstrate how to construct semi-infinite programs that produce gains to…
Robots must satisfy safety-critical state and input constraints despite disturbances and model mismatch. We introduce a robust model predictive control (RMPC) formulation that is fast, scalable, and compatible with real-time implementation.…
In this paper, we present a method to initialize at a feasible point and unfailingly solve a non-convex optimization problem in which a set-point motion is planned for a multi-link manipulator under state and control constraints. We…
Model-based policy optimization often struggles with inaccurate system dynamics models, leading to suboptimal closed-loop performance. This challenge is especially evident in Model Predictive Control (MPC) policies, which rely on the model…
Mixed-integer nonlinear programmings (MINLPs) are powerful formulation tools for task planning. However, it suffers from long solving time especially for large scale problems. In this work, we first formulate the task planning problem for…