arXiv subjects

Maximilian Pierer von Esch

Publications and source records attributed to Maximilian Pierer von Esch.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Asynchronous Sensitivity-Based Distributed NMPC

This paper presents a cooperative distributed model predictive control (MPC) scheme for nonlinear continuous-time systems. The centralized optimal control problem is solved asynchronously via a fixed number of sensitivity-based distributed programming (SBDP) iterations. The proposed scheme requires only neighbor-to-neighbor communication and no synchronization between agents during optimization. Under nominal MPC stability and bounded information delay, local exponential stability is established for a sufficiently large number of per-agent SBDP iterations. Numerical and hardware-in-the-loop results on both Ethernet and Wi-Fi demonstrate the benefits of an asynchronous execution, reducing execution times by over 60% while maintaining comparable closed loop performance.

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arXiv2026

Enforcing Convergence in Sensitivity-based Distributed Programming via Transformed Primal-Dual Updates

Sensitivity-based distributed programming (SBDP) is a decomposition method for solving large-scale nonlinear programs over graph-structured networks. However, its convergence depends on the strength and structure of subsystem coupling. To address this limitation, we propose SBDP+, a distributed optimization scheme based on a structured primal-dual operator design. The method employs first-order sensitivities and primal decomposition to construct low-dimensional local subproblems that are solved in parallel using neighbor-to-neighbor communication. In contrast to SBDP, SBDP+ introduces a novel primal-dual update that ensures convergence under general coupling structures. Specifically, we establish local linear convergence for non-convex problems under standard regularity conditions. Numerical experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of SBDP+ and highlight improved robustness compared to SBDP and representative distributed optimization methods in applications such as statistical learning.

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arXiv2026

Sensitivity-Based Distributed Programming for Non-Convex Optimization

This paper presents a novel sensitivity-based distributed programming (SBDP) approach for non-convex, large-scale nonlinear programs (NLP). The algorithm relies on first-order sensitivities to cooperatively solve the central NLP in a distributed manner with only neighbor-to-neighbor communication and parallelizable local computations. The decoupling of the subsystems is based on primal decomposition. We derive sufficient local convergence conditions for non-convex problems. Furthermore, we consider the SBDP method in a distributed optimal control context and derive favorable convergence properties in this setting. We illustrate these theoretical findings and the performance of the proposed method with a comparison to state-of-the-art algorithms and simulations of various distributed optimization and control problems.

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arXiv2025

An Overview of Sensitivity-Based Distributed Optimization and Model Predictive Control

This paper presents a concise overview of sensitivity-based methods for solving large-scale optimization problems in distributed fashion. The approach relies on sensitivities and primal decomposition to achieve coordination between the subsystems while requiring only local computations with neighbor-to-neighbor communication. We give a brief historical synopsis of its development and apply it to both static and dynamic optimization problems. Furthermore, a real-time capable distributed model predictive controller is proposed which is experimentally validated on a coupled watertank system.

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arXiv2024

Sensitivity-Based Distributed Model Predictive Control for Nonlinear Systems under Inexact Optimization

This paper presents a distributed model predictive control (DMPC) scheme for nonlinear continuous-time systems. The underlying distributed optimal control problem is cooperatively solved in parallel via a sensitivity-based algorithm. The algorithm is fully distributed in the sense that only one neighbor-to-neighbor communication step per iteration is necessary and that all computations are performed locally. Sufficient conditions are derived for the algorithm to converge towards the central solution. Based on this result, stability is shown for the suboptimal DMPC scheme under inexact minimization with the sensitivity-based algorithm and verified with numerical simulations. In particular, stability can be guaranteed with either a suitable stopping criterion or a fixed number of algorithm iterations in each MPC sampling step which allows for a real-time capable implementation.

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