Related papers: Trajectory-Oriented Optimization Via Adaptive Thom…
Epidemiological models must be calibrated to ground truth for downstream tasks such as producing forward projections or running what-if scenarios. The meaning of calibration changes in case of a stochastic model since output from such a…
Stochastic simulators are an indispensable tool in many branches of science. Often based on first principles, they deliver a series of samples whose distribution implicitly defines a probability measure to describe the phenomena of…
Bayesian optimization (BO) is a powerful framework for estimating parameters of expensive simulation models, particularly in settings where the likelihood is intractable and evaluations are costly. In stochastic models every simulation is…
Real-world experiments involve batched & delayed feedback, non-stationarity, multiple objectives & constraints, and (often some) personalization. Tailoring adaptive methods to address these challenges on a per-problem basis is infeasible,…
We propose a sampling-based trajectory optimization methodology for constrained problems. We extend recent works on stochastic search to deal with box control constraints,as well as nonlinear state constraints for discrete dynamical…
Iterative trajectory optimization techniques for non-linear dynamical systems are among the most powerful and sample-efficient methods of model-based reinforcement learning and approximate optimal control. By leveraging time-variant local…
Trajectory optimization is a fundamental stochastic optimal control problem. This paper deals with a trajectory optimization approach for dynamical systems subject to measurement noise that can be fitted into linear time-varying stochastic…
Trajectory optimization under uncertainty underpins a wide range of applications in robotics. However, existing methods are limited in terms of reasoning about sources of epistemic and aleatoric uncertainty, space and time correlations,…
Motion planning is a key aspect of robotics. A common approach to address motion planning problems is trajectory optimization. Trajectory optimization can represent the high-level behaviors of robots through mathematical formulations.…
In many situations, simulation models are developed to handle complex real-world business optimisation problems. For example, a discrete-event simulation model is used to simulate the trailer management process in a big Fast-Moving Consumer…
Robotic systems must be able to quickly and robustly make decisions when operating in uncertain and dynamic environments. While Reinforcement Learning (RL) can be used to compute optimal policies with little prior knowledge about the…
Sample-based trajectory optimisers are a promising tool for the control of robotics with non-differentiable dynamics and cost functions. Contemporary approaches derive from a restricted subclass of stochastic optimal control where the…
In this paper, we propose a stochastic optimization method that adaptively controls the sample size used in the computation of gradient approximations. Unlike other variance reduction techniques that either require additional storage or the…
Ideally, robots should move in ways that maximize the knowledge gained about the state of both their internal system and the external operating environment. Trajectory design is a challenging problem that has been investigated from a…
Motion trajectory planning is one crucial aspect for automated vehicles, as it governs the own future behavior in a dynamically changing environment. A good utilization of a vehicle's characteristics requires the consideration of the…
Optimization of expensive computer models with the help of Gaussian process emulators in now commonplace. However, when several (competing) objectives are considered, choosing an appropriate sampling strategy remains an open question. We…
Controller tuning and parameter optimization are crucial in system design to improve closed-loop system performance. Bayesian optimization has been established as an efficient model-free controller tuning and adaptation method. However,…
Optimization lies at the heart of machine learning and signal processing. Contemporary approaches based on the stochastic gradient method are non-adaptive in the sense that their implementation employs prescribed parameter values that need…
The process of calibrating computer models of natural phenomena is essential for applications in the physical sciences, where plenty of domain knowledge can be embedded into simulations and then calibrated against real observations. Current…
Joint space trajectory optimization under end-effector task constraints leads to a challenging non-convex problem. Thus, a real-time adaptation of prior computed trajectories to perturbation in task constraints often becomes intractable.…