arXiv subjects

Daniel Axehill

Publications and source records attributed to Daniel Axehill.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Optimized and kinematically feasible multi-agent motion planning

Multi-agent motion planning (MAMP) is an important problem for autonomous systems with multiple agents. In this work we propose a two-step method for finding optimized and kinematically feasible solutions to MAMP problems. The first step finds an initial feasible solution using state-of-the-art methods such as conflict-based search (CBS) or priority-based search (PBS), and the second step is an improvement step which improves the solution by solving a multi-phase optimal control problem (OCP) where the initial solution is used to warm-start the solver. We also propose a method for generating motion primitives in an optimized way under the constraint that the primitive durations are all multiples of the same sample time. We evaluate our proposed framework on a MAMP problem for tractor-trailer systems. We extend the safe interval path planning with interval projections (SIPP-IP) algorithm so it can handle more general cost functions and larger agents, but our results show that for the tractor-trailer system a simple lattice-based planner performs better due to less conservative collision checks. Our experiments also indicate that CBS performs better than PBS for this system as it achieves a higher success rate in environments with obstacles and had a lower average runtime, although both planners achieve solutions of similar quality after the improvement step.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2026

Multi-Agent Motion Planning for Simultaneous Arrival using Time-Reversed Search and Distributed Optimal Control

In this work we consider the multi-agent motion planning (MAMP) problem with the constraint that agents arrive at their respective goals at the same time. For the special case where all agents are initially at rest we propose a two-step method for finding optimized and kinematically feasible solutions. The first step finds an initial feasible solution by applying a state-of-the-art MAMP algorithm (conflict-based search and safe interval path planning with interval projection) backward. The algorithm is complete, and we provide necessary conditions for when it is also optimal. The second step is an improvement step where a receding-horizon optimal control problem (OCP) is posed and the solution found in the first step is used to warm-start the solver. To improve scalability we propose to solve the OCP in a distributed manner using the nonlinear alternating direction method of multipliers (NADMM). We evaluate the proposed framework in numerical experiments on a car-like vehicle. The results show that the backward planning algorithm successfully finds feasible and collision-free solutions, and that the improvement step further improves the quality of the solutions. Compared to solving the OCPs in a centralized manner, using nonlinear ADMM reduces the computation time.

math.OC↗

arXiv2026

On Real-Time Feasibility of High-Rate MPC using an Active-Set Method on Nano-Quadcopters

Deploying Model Predictive Control on nano-scale aerial platforms is challenging due to the severe computational limitations of onboard microcontrollers. This paper presents an experimental study with computational focus of a dual active-set solver (DAQP) applied to the low-level control of a Crazyflie 2.1 nano-quadcopter. Unlike previous approaches that utilize first-order methods for low-level stabilization or restrict active-set solvers to high-level control, this work demonstrates the successful deployment of a dual active-set method executing at 500 Hz on an STM32F405 microcontroller. We provide a direct benchmark against a state-of-the-art ADMM-based solver (TinyMPC), revealing that the active-set method yields lower execution times for the flight envelopes considered. Furthermore, to manage the complexity of certifying the solver's real-time feasibility, we introduce a data-driven set selection method using Principal Component Analysis. Using this approach, state-of-the-art real-time certification methods can be applied to confirm or reject real-time feasibility already off-line prior to flight. More generally, the experimental results validate that active-set methods are a highly competitive alternative for high-frequency control on resource-constrained hardware and the possibility for their real-time certification adds reliability.

math.OC↗

arXiv2025

Adaptive Lattice-based Motion Planning

This paper proposes an adaptive lattice-based motion planning solution to address the problem of generating feasible trajectories for systems, represented by a linearly parameterizable non-linear model operating within a cluttered environment. The system model is considered to have uncertain model parameters. The key idea here is to utilize input/output data online to update the model set containing the uncertain system parameter, as well as a dynamic estimated parameter of the model, so that the associated model estimation error reduces over time. This in turn improves the quality of the motion primitives generated by the lattice-based motion planner using a nominal estimated model selected on the basis of suitable criteria. The motion primitives are also equipped with tubes to account for the model mismatch between the nominal estimated model and the true system model, to guarantee collision-free overall motion. The tubes are of uniform size, which is directly proportional to the size of the model set containing the uncertain system parameter. The adaptive learning module guarantees a reduction in the diameter of the model set as well as in the parameter estimation error between the dynamic estimated parameter and the true system parameter. This directly implies a reduction in the size of the implemented tubes and guarantees that the utilized motion primitives go arbitrarily close to the resolution-optimal motion primitives associated with the true model of the system, thus significantly improving the overall motion planning performance over time. The efficiency of the motion planner is demonstrated by a suitable simulation example that considers a drone model represented by Euler-Lagrange dynamics containing uncertain parameters and operating within a cluttered environment.

cs.RO↗

arXiv2025

A Unifying Complexity-Certification Framework for Branch-and-Bound Algorithms for Mixed-Integer Linear and Quadratic Programming

In model predictive control (MPC) for hybrid systems, solving optimization problems efficiently and with guarantees on worst-case computational complexity is critical to satisfy the real-time constraints in these applications. These optimization problems often take the form of mixed-integer linear programs (MILPs) or mixed-integer quadratic programs (MIQPs) that depend on system parameters. A common approach for solving such problems is the branch-and-bound (B&B) method. This paper extends existing complexity certification methods by presenting a unified complexity-certification framework for B&B-based MILP and MIQP solvers, specifically for the family of multi-parametric MILP and MIQP problems that arise in, e.g., hybrid MPC applications. The framework provides guarantees on worst-case computational measures, including the maximum number of iterations or relaxations B&B algorithms require to reach optimality. It systematically accounts for different branching and node selection strategies, as well as heuristics integrated into B&B, ensuring a comprehensive certification framework. By offering theoretical guarantees and practical insights for solver customization, the proposed framework enhances the reliability of B&B for real-time application. The usefulness of the proposed framework is demonstrated through numerical experiments on both random MILPs and MIQPs, as well as on MIQPs arising from a hybrid MPC problem.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2025

Parallel Domain-Decomposition Algorithms for Complexity Certification of Branch-and-Bound Algorithms for Mixed-Integer Linear and Quadratic Programming

When implementing model predictive control (MPC) for hybrid systems with a linear or a quadratic performance measure, a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) or a mixed-integer quadratic program (MIQP) needs to be solved, respectively, at each sampling instant. Recent work has introduced the possibility to certify the computational complexity of branch-and-bound (B&B) algorithms when solving MILP and MIQP problems formulated as multi-parametric MILPs (mp-MILPs) and mp-MIQPs. Such a framework allows for computing the worst-case computational complexity of standard B&B-based MILP and MIQP solvers, quantified by metrics such as the total number of LP/QP iterations and B&B nodes. These results are highly relevant for real-time hybrid MPC applications. In this paper, we extend this framework by developing parallel, domain-decomposition versions of the previously proposed algorithm, allowing it to scale to larger problem sizes and enable the use of high-performance computing (HPC) resources. Furthermore, to reduce peak memory consumption, we introduce two novel modifications to the existing (serial) complexity certification framework, integrating them into the proposed parallel algorithms. Numerical experiments show that the parallel algorithms significantly reduce computation time while maintaining the correctness of the original framework.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2024

A High-Performant Multi-Parametric Quadratic Programming Solver

We propose a combinatorial method for computing explicit solutions to multi-parametric quadratic programs, which can be used to compute explicit control laws for linear model predictive control. In contrast to classical methods, which are based on geometrical adjacency, the proposed method is based on combinatorial adjacency. After introducing the notion of combinatorial adjacency, we show that the explicit solution forms a connected graph in terms of it. We then leverage this connectedness to propose an algorithm that computes the explicit solution. The purely combinatorial nature of the algorithm leads to computational advantages since it enables demanding geometrical operations (such as computing facets of polytopes) to be avoided. Compared with classical combinatorial methods, the proposed method requires fewer combinations to be considered by exploiting combinatorial connectedness. We show that an implementation of the proposed method can yield a speedup of about two orders of magnitude compared with state-of-the-art software packages such as MPT and POP.

math.OC↗

arXiv2023

Fusion framework and multimodality for the Laplacian approximation of Bayesian neural networks

This paper considers the problem of sequential fusion of predictions from neural networks (NN) and fusion of predictions from multiple NN. This fusion strategy increases the robustness, i.e., reduces the impact of one incorrect classification and detection of outliers the \nn has not seen during training. This paper uses Laplacian approximation of Bayesian NNs (BNNs) to quantify the uncertainty necessary for fusion. Here, an extension is proposed such that the prediction of the NN can be represented by multimodal distributions. Regarding calibration of the estimated uncertainty in the prediction, the performance is significantly improved by having the flexibility to represent a multimodal distribution. Two class classical image classification tasks, i.e., MNIST and CFAR10, and image sequences from camera traps of carnivores in Swedish forests have been used to demonstrate the fusion strategies and proposed extension to the Laplacian approximation.

eess.SP↗

arXiv2023

Extended target tracking utilizing machine-learning software -- with applications to animal classification

This paper considers the problem of detecting and tracking objects in a sequence of images. The problem is formulated in a filtering framework, using the output of object-detection algorithms as measurements. An extension to the filtering formulation is proposed that incorporates class information from the previous frame to robustify the classification, even if the object-detection algorithm outputs an incorrect prediction. Further, the properties of the object-detection algorithm are exploited to quantify the uncertainty of the bounding box detection in each frame. The complete filtering method is evaluated on camera trap images of the four large Swedish carnivores, bear, lynx, wolf, and wolverine. The experiments show that the class tracking formulation leads to a more robust classification.

cs.CV↗

arXiv2023

On the validity of using the delta method for calculating the uncertainty of the predictions from an overparameterized model

The uncertainty in the prediction calculated using the delta method for an overparameterized (parametric) black-box model is shown to be larger or equal to the uncertainty in the prediction of a canonical (minimal) model. Equality holds if the additional parameters of the overparameterized model do not add flexibility to the model. As a conclusion, for an overparameterized black-box model, the calculated uncertainty in the prediction by the delta method is not underestimated. The results are shown analytically and are validated in a simulation experiment where the relationship between the normalized traction force and the wheel slip of a car is modelled using e.g., a neural network

eess.SY↗

arXiv2023

Exact Worst-Case Execution-Time Analysis for Implicit Model Predictive Control

We propose the first method that determines the exact worst-case execution time (WCET) for implicit linear model predictive control (MPC). Such WCET bounds are imperative when MPC is used in real time to control safety-critical systems. The proposed method applies when the quadratic programming solver in the MPC controller belongs to a family of well-established active-set solvers. For such solvers, we leverage a previously proposed complexity certification framework to generate a finite set of archetypal optimization problems; we prove that these archetypal problems form an execution-time equivalent cover of all possible problems; that is, that they capture the execution time for solving any possible optimization problem that can be encountered online. Hence, by solving just these archetypal problems on the hardware on which the MPC is to be deployed, and by recording the execution times, we obtain the exact WCET. In addition to providing formal proofs of the methods efficacy, we validate the method on an MPC example where an inverted pendulum on a cart is stabilized. The experiments highlight the following advantages compared with classical WCET methods: (i) in contrast to classical static methods, our method gives the exact WCET; (ii) in contrast to classical measurement-based methods, our method guarantees a correct WCET estimate and requires fewer measurements on the hardware.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2023

Uncertainty quantification in neural network classifiers -- a local linear approach

Classifiers based on neural networks (NN) often lack a measure of uncertainty in the predicted class. We propose a method to estimate the probability mass function (PMF) of the different classes, as well as the covariance of the estimated PMF. First, a local linear approach is used during the training phase to recursively compute the covariance of the parameters in the NN. Secondly, in the classification phase another local linear approach is used to propagate the covariance of the learned NN parameters to the uncertainty in the output of the last layer of the NN. This allows for an efficient Monte Carlo (MC) approach for: (i) estimating the PMF; (ii) calculating the covariance of the estimated PMF; and (iii) proper risk assessment and fusion of multiple classifiers. Two classical image classification tasks, i.e., MNIST, and CFAR10, are used to demonstrate the efficiency the proposed method.

cs.LG↗

arXiv2022

BnB-DAQP: A Mixed-Integer QP Solver for Embedded Applications

We propose a mixed-integer quadratic programming (QP) solver that is suitable for use in embedded applications, for example, hybrid model predictive control (MPC). The solver is based on the branch-and-bound method, and uses a recently proposed dual active-set solver for solving the resulting QP relaxations. Moreover, we tailor the search of the branch-and-bound tree to be suitable for embedded applications on limited hardware; we show, for example, how a node in the branch-and-bound tree can be represented by only two integers. The embeddability of the solver is shown by successfully running MPC of an inverted pendulum on a cart with contact forces on an MCU with limited memory and computing power.

math.OC↗

arXiv2022

Lift, Partition, and Project: Parametric Complexity Certification of Active-Set QP Methods in the Presence of Numerical Errors

When Model Predictive Control (MPC) is used in real-time to control linear systems, quadratic programs (QPs) need to be solved within a limited time frame. Recently, several parametric methods have been proposed that certify the number of computations active-set QP solvers require to solve these QPs. These certification methods, hence, ascertain that the optimization problem can be solved within the limited time frame. A shortcoming in these methods is, however, that they do not account for numerical errors that might occur internally in the solvers, which ultimately might lead to optimistic complexity bounds if, for example, the solvers are implemented in single precision. In this paper we propose a general framework that can be incorporated in any of these certification methods to account for such numerical errors.

math.OC↗

arXiv2022

Robust Lattice-based Motion Planning

This paper proposes a robust lattice-based motion-planning algorithm for nonlinear systems affected by a bounded disturbance. The proposed motion planner utilizes the nominal disturbance-free system model to generate motion primitives, which are associated with fixed-size tubes. These tubes are characterized through designing a feedback controller, that guarantees boundedness of the errors occurring due to mismatch between the disturbed nonlinear system and the nominal system. The motion planner then sequentially implements the tube-based motion primitives while solving an online graph-search problem. The objective of the graph-search problem is to connect the initial state to the final state, through sampled states in a suitably discretized state space, such that the tubes do not pass through any unsafe states (representing obstacles) appearing during runtime. The proposed strategy is implemented on an Euler-Lagrange based ship model which is affected by significant wind disturbance. It is shown that the uncertain system trajectories always stay within a suitably constructed tube around the nominal trajectory and terminate within a region around the final state, whose size is dictated by the size of the tube.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2022

Overall Complexity Certification of a Standard Branch and Bound Method for Mixed-Integer Quadratic Programming

This paper presents a method to certify the computational complexity of a standard Branch and Bound method for solving Mixed-Integer Quadratic Programming (MIQP) problems defined as instances of a multi-parametric MIQP. Beyond previous work, not only the size of the binary search tree is considered, but also the exact complexity of solving the relaxations in the nodes by using recent result from exact complexity certification of active-set QP methods. With the algorithm proposed in this paper, a total worst-case number of QP iterations to be performed in order to solve the MIQP problem can be determined as a function of the parameter in the problem. An important application of the proposed method is Model Predictive Control for hybrid systems, that can be formulated as an MIQP that has to be solved in real-time. The usefulness of the proposed method is successfully illustrated in numerical examples.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2021

A Dual Active-Set Solver for Embedded Quadratic Programming Using Recursive LDL' Updates

In this paper we present a dual active-set solver for quadratic programming which has properties suitable for use in embedded model predictive control applications. In particular, the solver is efficient, can easily be warm-started, and is simple to code. Moreover, the exact worst-case computational complexity of the solver can be determined offline and, by using outer proximal-point iterations, ill-conditioned problems can be handled in a robust manner.

math.OC↗

arXiv2021

PMBM filter with partially grid-based birth model with applications in sensor management

This paper introduces a Poisson multi-Bernoulli mixture (PMBM) filter in which the intensities of target birth and undetected targets are grid-based. A simplified version of the Rao-Blackwellized point mass filter is used to predict the intensity of undetected targets, and the density of targets detected for the first time are approximated as Gaussian. Whereas conventional PMBM filter implementations typically use Gaussian mixtures to model the intensity of undetected targets, the proposed representation allows the intensity to vary over the region of interest with sharp edges around the sensor's field of view, without using a large number of Gaussian mixture components. This reduces the computational complexity compared to the conventional approach. The proposed method is illustrated in a sensor management setting where trajectories of sensors with limited fields of view are controlled to search for and track the targets in a region of interest.

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