Related papers: Sample-Efficient and Smooth Cross-Entropy Method M…
Sampling-based model predictive control (MPC) is effective for nonlinear systems but often produces non-smooth control inputs due to random sampling. To address this issue, we extend the model predictive path integral (MPPI) framework with…
Cross-Entropy Method (CEM) is commonly used for planning in model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) where a centralized approach is typically utilized to update the sampling distribution based on only the top-$k$ operation's results on…
In this paper, a safe and learning-based control framework for model predictive control (MPC) is proposed to optimize nonlinear systems with a non-differentiable objective function under uncertain environmental disturbances. The control…
Recent works in high-dimensional model-predictive control and model-based reinforcement learning with learned dynamics and reward models have resorted to population-based optimization methods, such as the Cross-Entropy Method (CEM), for…
We study the cross-entropy method (CEM) for the non-convex optimization of a continuous and parameterized objective function and introduce a differentiable variant that enables us to differentiate the output of CEM with respect to the…
Trajectory optimizers for model-based reinforcement learning, such as the Cross-Entropy Method (CEM), can yield compelling results even in high-dimensional control tasks and sparse-reward environments. However, their sampling inefficiency…
Sampling-based model predictive control methods like MPPI and CEM are essential for real-time control of nonlinear robotic systems, particularly where discontinuous dynamics preclude gradient-based optimization. However, these methods…
Current state-of-the-art model-based reinforcement learning algorithms use trajectory sampling methods, such as the Cross-Entropy Method (CEM), for planning in continuous control settings. These zeroth-order optimizers require sampling a…
Sampling-based Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a flexible control framework that can reason about non-smooth dynamics and cost functions. Recently, significant work has focused on the use of machine learning to improve the performance of…
In this work we present a new method of black-box optimization and constraint satisfaction. Existing algorithms that have attempted to solve this problem are unable to consider multiple modes, and are not able to adapt to changes in…
We present a novel approach to enhance the performance of sampling-based Model Predictive Control (MPC) in constrained optimization by leveraging products of experts. Our methodology divides the main problem into two components: one focused…
The cross entropy (CE) method is a model based search method to solve optimization problems where the objective function has minimal structure. The Monte-Carlo version of the CE method employs the naive sample averaging technique which is…
Sampling-based model predictive control (MPC) offers strong performance in nonlinear and contact-rich robotic tasks, yet often suffers from poor exploration due to locally greedy sampling schemes. We propose \emph{Model Tensor Planning}…
Tight performance specifications in combination with operational constraints make model predictive control (MPC) the method of choice in various industries. As the performance of an MPC controller depends on a sufficiently accurate…
We propose a model predictive control (MPC) scheme with sampled-data input which ensures output-reference tracking within prescribed error bounds for relative-degree-one systems. Hereby, we explicitly deduce bounds on the required maximal…
The Cross-Entropy Method (CEM) is a widely adopted trajectory optimizer in model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL), but its unimodal sampling strategy often leads to premature convergence in multimodal landscapes. In this work, we propose…
Nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) has gained widespread use in many applications. Its formulation traditionally involves repetitively solving a nonlinear constrained optimization problem online. In this paper, we investigate NMPC…
Distributed model predictive control methods for uncertain systems often suffer from considerable conservatism and can tolerate only small uncertainties due to the use of robust formulations that are amenable to distributed design and…
Sampling-based methods have become a cornerstone of contemporary approaches to Model Predictive Control (MPC), as they make no restrictions on the differentiability of the dynamics or cost function and are straightforward to parallelize.…
The cross-entropy (CE) method is a popular stochastic method for optimization due to its simplicity and effectiveness. Designed for rare-event simulations where the probability of a target event occurring is relatively small, the CE-method…