SearcharxivSearch

arXiv subjects

Ratnangshu Das

Publications and source records attributed to Ratnangshu Das.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Spatiotemporal Tube-Based Safety-Certificate for Autonomous Navigation of Articulated Vehicles

Articulated vehicles are the workhorses of freight transportation, and their autonomous navigation is challenging. Their physical characteristics and motion constraints pose significant challenges in manoeuvring these vehicles on narrow routes. This paper presents a spatiotemporal tube-based approach to plan autonomous navigation of vehicles like tractor semi-trailers, truck/ tractor trailers, towing Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), and road trains. This planning approach provides a certified path plan for the truck or tractor, ensuring that the towed series of trailers always remains within the road corridor, limited by permissible corrections. The planning leverages the kinematics of the linked elements along with sway constraints to arrive at a safe tube for the actuated prime mover. We modify the spatiotemporal tube using permissible corrections to provide a route safety certificate to the vehicle for the given route. The proposed planning method is verified on a truck-trailer navigation simulation for a complex route.

cs.RO

Input-Constrained Spatiotemporal Tubes for Safe Navigation of Unknown Euler-Lagrange Systems in Dynamic Environments

Safe navigation in dynamic environments is challenging when system dynamics are unknown and actuator inputs are limited. Existing methods either rely on accurate models, require online optimization, or do not explicitly account for input constraints. This paper presents a real-time control framework for unknown Euler-Lagrange systems that guarantees finite-time reach-avoid-stay (FT-RAS) specifications while respecting actuator limits. We extend the spatiotemporal tube (STT) framework by incorporating input constraints into the controller design and derive offline-verifiable feasibility conditions that relate the available control authority to the tube design and uncertainty bounds. The resulting framework is approximation-free and computationally efficient, making it suitable for real-time implementation. The proposed approach is validated through simulations on a mobile robot, a quadrotor, and a spacecraft, together with hardware experiments on a mobile robot, demonstrating safe navigation while satisfying actuator constraints.

eess.SY

Learning Spatiotemporal Tubes for Full Class of Signal Temporal Logic Tasks for Control of Unknown Systems under Input Constraints

This paper presents a Spatiotemporal Tube (STT)-based control framework for general unknown nonlinear Euler-Lagrange (EL) systems subject to input constraints, with the objective of satisfying Signal Temporal Logic (STL) specifications, where confinement of the system trajectory within the STT guarantees the satisfaction of the corresponding STL task. For both single and multi-agent scenarios, the STT corresponding to each agent is modeled as a time-varying ball, whose center and radius are jointly parameterized using a physics-informed neural network (PINN). The robustness metric associated with the STL specification corresponding to the agents is incorporated into the training process as a loss function, enabling the learned tube to encode task-level temporal requirements. For a multi-agent scenario, we introduce an additional robustness metric corresponding to the global task, which, when satisfied, ensures the tubes do not collide with each other. To ensure that the system trajectory remains within the learned STT and thereby satisfies the local and global STL specifications, we propose a control strategy that explicitly accounts for input constraints. In particular, a closed-form control law is developed to keep the trajectory inside the tube while regulating the motion of the tube by enforcing bounds on its evolution depending on the input constraints of the system. The proposed approach has been validated over several case studies.

cs.RO

Learning from Demonstration via Spatiotemporal Tubes for Unknown Euler-Lagrange Systems

We present STT-LfD, a unified Learning from Demonstration (LfD) framework that integrates motion learning with control for unknown Euler-Lagrange systems. Unlike traditional decoupled approaches that track a fixed reference, the proposed method treats demonstrations as a data-driven safety specification. Using heteroscedastic Gaussian Processes, STT-LfD learns Spatiotemporal Tubes (STTs) as an intent envelope that capture time-varying precision requirements of a task. A closed-form feedback controller then enforces these learned constraints while respecting actuator limits, without requiring explicit system identification. The approach preserves the temporal structure of demonstrations, remains computationally efficient, and avoids explicit system identification. Hardware experiments on a mobile robot and a 7-DOF manipulator show that it outperforms baselines in robustness to disturbances and computational speed.

cs.RO

Glycemic Safety Tube: A Provably Safe Control Framework for Artificial Pancreas Systems under Parametric Uncertainty

Type 1 diabetes eliminates the body's ability to produce insulin, making glucose regulation entirely dependent on external insulin delivery and the control algorithm. Existing closed-loop methods either rely on accurate patient-specific models or do not provide formal safety guarantees, and are often computationally demanding for wearable devices. This paper proposes Glycemic Safety Tube Control (GSTC), a model-free and computationally efficient control framework for automated insulin delivery. The method enforces clinically relevant safety bounds on glucose levels by design, ensuring that glucose remains within a prescribed safe range. We also derive feasibility conditions that guarantee safety and input constraint satisfaction under bounded meal disturbances and estimation errors. The performance of GSTC is evaluated against state-of-the-art methods, including linear and nonlinear model predictive control and sliding mode control. The results demonstrate that GSTC maintains safety under varying meal patterns and patient conditions, highlighting its robustness and computational efficiency. Overall, GSTC provides a safe, efficient, and patient-independent approach for next-generation artificial pancreas systems.

eess.SY

Temporal Logic Resilience for Continuous-time Systems

In this paper, we present a novel framework for quantifying a lower bound on resilience in continuous-time (non)linear systems subject to external disturbances while ensuring satisfaction of signal temporal logic specifications. Unlike robustness, which evaluates how well a system satisfies a specification under a given disturbance, resilience measures the maximum disturbance a system can tolerate from a given initial state while maintaining specification satisfaction. We first derive bounds on the perturbed trajectories and then use them to formulate a computational method based on scenario optimization to efficiently compute the maximum admissible disturbance. We validate our approach through case studies, including dc motor, temperature regulation, a nonlinear numerical example, and a vehicle collision avoidance case.

eess.SY

Resilient and Effort-Optimal Controller Synthesis under Temporal Logic Specifications

In this paper, we consider the notions of effort and resilience of a dynamical control system defined by the maximum disturbance the system can withstand while satisfying given finite temporal logic specifications. Given a dynamical system and a specification, the objective is to synthesize the controller such that the system satisfies the specification while maximizing its resilience, taking into account input constraints. In addition, we introduce a new metric, called the effort metric, which characterizes the minimal input bound necessary to satisfy a given specification for a perturbed system. The problem for both metrics is formulated as a robust optimization program where the objective is to compute the maximum resilience for the system with input constraints or the minimal effort while simultaneously synthesizing the corresponding controller parameters. Moreover, we study the trade-off between resilience and effort, where we seek to maximize resilience and minimize the control effort. For linear systems and linear controllers, exact solutions are provided for the class of time-varying polytopic specifications for the closed-loop and open-loop systems. For the case of nonlinear systems, nonlinear controllers, and more general specifications, we leverage tools from the scenario optimization approach, offering a probabilistic guarantee of the solution as well as computational feasibility. Different case studies are presented to illustrate the theoretical results.

eess.SY

Incorporating Social Awareness into Control of Unknown Multi-Agent Systems: A Real-Time Spatiotemporal Tubes Approach

This paper presents a decentralized control framework that incorporates social awareness into multi-agent systems with unknown dynamics to achieve prescribed-time reach-avoid-stay tasks in dynamic environments. Each agent is assigned a social awareness index that quantifies its level of cooperation or self-interest, allowing heterogeneous social behaviors within the system. Building on the spatiotemporal tube (STT) framework, we propose a real-time STT framework that synthesizes tubes online for each agent while capturing its social interactions with others. A closed-form, approximation-free control law is derived to ensure that each agent remains within its evolving STT, thereby avoiding dynamic obstacles while also preventing inter-agent collisions in a socially aware manner, and reaching the target within a prescribed time. The proposed approach provides formal guarantees on safety and timing, and is computationally lightweight, model-free, and robust to unknown disturbances. The effectiveness and scalability of the framework are validated through simulation and hardware experiments on a 2D omnidirectional

eess.SY

Temporal Reach-Avoid-Stay Control for Differential Drive Systems via Spatiotemporal Tubes

This paper presents a computationally lightweight and robust control framework for differential-drive mobile robots with dynamic uncertainties and external disturbances, guaranteeing the satisfaction of Temporal Reach-Avoid-Stay (T-RAS) specifications. The approach employs circular spatiotemporal tubes (STTs), characterized by smoothly time-varying center and radius, to define dynamic safe corridors that guide the robot from the start region to the goal while avoiding obstacles. In particular, we first develop a sampling-based synthesis algorithm to construct a feasible STT that satisfies the prescribed timing and safety constraints with formal guarantees. To ensure that the robot remains confined within this tube, we then analytically design a closed-form control that is computationally efficient and robust to disturbances. The proposed framework is validated through simulation studies on a differential-drive robot and benchmarked against state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating superior robustness, accuracy, and computational efficiency.

cs.RO

Energetic Resilience under Temporal Logic Specifications

In environments with uncertainties or undesirable influences, control systems can require additional energy to achieve their task while remaining resilient to these influences. In this paper, we present an energetic resilience metric that quantifies the maximal additional energy used by a system under undesired effects, while satisfying complex specifications encoded through temporal logic. We prove that this metric satisfies properties that enable its computation even for compositions of these specifications, thus allowing considerations of sequential reachability and safety tasks. For specifications related to finite-horizon reachability and safety, we describe how synthesizing a control input and computing this metric reduces to solving efficient quadratic programs. Two case studies on a fighter-jet model and a planar mobile robot illustrate how the synthesized control inputs satisfy given specifications despite undesired and potentially adversarial effects. Further, we demonstrate how the energetic resilience metric varies with the initial state as well as the magnitude of undesired effects.

eess.SY

Prescribed Performance Control of Unknown Euler-Lagrange Systems Under Input Constraints

In this paper, we present a prescribed performance control framework for trajectory tracking in Euler-Lagrange systems with unknown dynamics and prescribed input constraints. The proposed approach enforces hard funnel constraints, meaning that the prescribed performance bounds must not be violated during operation. We derive feasibility conditions that guarantee the tracking error evolves within these predefined funnels while ensuring bounded control inputs. To handle situations where the feasibility conditions are not satisfied, we introduce two approximation-free control strategies: one that actively drives the error back toward the funnel and another that prioritizes safety by preventing further deviation. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method are demonstrated through simulation studies and hardware experiments, highlighting its suitability for real-world robotic systems operating under strict input limits.

cs.RO

Scalable and Approximation-free Symbolic Control for Unknown Euler-Lagrange Systems

We propose a novel symbolic control framework for enforcing temporal logic specifications in Euler-Lagrange systems that addresses the key limitations of traditional abstraction-based approaches. Unlike existing methods that require exact system models and provide guarantees only at discrete sampling instants, our approach relies only on bounds on system parameters and input constraints, and ensures correctness for the full continuous-time trajectory. The framework combines scalable abstraction of a simplified virtual system with a closed-form, model-free controller that guarantees trajectories satisfy the original specification while respecting input bounds and remaining robust to unknown but bounded disturbances. We provide feasibility conditions for the construction of confinement regions and analyze the trade-off between efficiency and conservatism. Case studies on pendulum dynamics, a two-link manipulator, and multi-agent systems, including hardware experiments, demonstrate that the proposed approach ensures both correctness and safety while significantly reducing computational time and memory requirements. These results highlight its scalability and practicality for real-world robotic systems where precise models are unavailable and continuous-time guarantees are essential.

eess.SY

Spatiotemporal Tubes for Probabilistic Temporal Reach-Avoid-Stay Task in Uncertain Dynamic Environment

In this work, we extend the Spatiotemporal Tube (STT) framework to address Probabilistic Temporal Reach-Avoid-Stay (PrT-RAS) tasks in dynamic environments with uncertain obstacles. We develop a real-time tube synthesis procedure that explicitly accounts for time-varying uncertain obstacles and provides formal probabilistic safety guarantees. The STT is formulated as a time-varying ball in the state space whose center and radius evolve online based on uncertain sensory information. We derive a closed-form, approximation-free control law that confines the system trajectory within the tube, ensuring both probabilistic safety and task satisfaction. Our method offers a formal guarantee for probabilistic avoidance and finite-time task completion. The resulting controller is model-free, approximation-free, and optimization-free, enabling efficient real-time execution while guaranteeing convergence to the target. The effectiveness and scalability of the framework are demonstrated through simulation studies and hardware experiments on mobile robots, a UAV, and a 7-DOF manipulator navigating in cluttered and uncertain environments.

cs.RO

Learning Spatiotemporal Tubes for Temporal Reach-Avoid-Stay Tasks using Physics-Informed Neural Networks

This paper presents a Spatiotemporal Tube (STT)-based control framework for general control-affine MIMO nonlinear pure-feedback systems with unknown dynamics to satisfy prescribed time reach-avoid-stay tasks under external disturbances. The STT is defined as a time-varying ball, whose center and radius are jointly approximated by a Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN). The constraints governing the STT are first formulated as loss functions of the PINN, and a training algorithm is proposed to minimize the overall violation. The PINN being trained on certain collocation points, we propose a Lipschitz-based validity condition to formally verify that the learned PINN satisfies the conditions over the continuous time horizon. Building on the learned STT representation, an approximation-free closed-form controller is defined to guarantee satisfaction of the T-RAS specification. Finally, the effectiveness and scalability of the framework are validated through two case studies involving a mobile robot and an aerial vehicle navigating through cluttered environments.

cs.RO

Computation of Feasible Assume-Guarantee Contracts: A Resilience-based Approach

We propose a resilience-based framework for computing feasible assume-guarantee contracts that ensure the satisfaction of temporal specifications in interconnected discrete-time systems. Interconnection effects are modeled as structured disturbances. We use a resilience metric, the maximum disturbance under which local specifications hold, to refine assumptions and guarantees across subsystems iteratively. We first demonstrate correctness and monotone refinement of guarantees for two subsystems. Then, we extend our approach to general networks of L subsystems using weighted combinations of interconnection effects. We instantiate the framework on linear systems by meeting finite-horizon safety, exact-time reachability, and finite-horizon reachability specifications, and on nonlinear systems by fulfilling general finite-horizon specifications. Our approach is demonstrated through numerical linear examples and a nonlinear DC microgrid case study, showcasing the impact of our framework on verifying temporal logic specifications with compositional reasoning.

eess.SY

Real-Time Spatiotemporal Tubes for Dynamic Unsafe Sets

This paper presents a real-time control framework for nonlinear pure-feedback systems with unknown dynamics to satisfy reach-avoid-stay tasks within a prescribed time in dynamic environments. To achieve this, we introduce a real-time spatiotemporal tube (STT) framework. An STT is defined as a time-varying ball in the state space whose center and radius adapt online using only real-time sensory input. A closed-form, approximation-free control law is then derived to constrain the system output within the STT, ensuring safety and task satisfaction. We provide formal guarantees for obstacle avoidance and on-time task completion. The effectiveness and scalability of the framework are demonstrated through simulations and hardware experiments on a mobile robot and an aerial vehicle, navigating in cluttered dynamic environments.

cs.RO

Approximation-free Control for Signal Temporal Logic Specifications using Spatiotemporal Tubes

This paper presents a spatiotemporal tube (STT)-based control framework for satisfying Signal Temporal Logic (STL) specifications in unknown control-affine systems. We formulate STL constraints as a robust optimization problem (ROP) and recast it as a scenario optimization program (SOP) to construct STTs with formal correctness guarantees. We also propose a closed-form control law that operates independently of the system dynamics, and ensures the system trajectory evolves within the STTs, thereby satisfying the STL specifications. The proposed approach is validated through case studies and comparisons with state-of-the-art methods, demonstrating superior computational efficiency, trajectory quality, and applicability to complex STL tasks.

eess.SY

Spatiotemporal Tubes based Control of Unknown Multi-Agent Systems for Temporal Reach-Avoid-Stay Tasks

The paper focuses on designing a controller for unknown dynamical multi-agent systems to achieve temporal reach-avoid-stay tasks for each agent while preventing inter-agent collisions. The main objective is to generate a spatiotemporal tube (STT) for each agent and thereby devise a closed-form, approximation-free, and decentralized control strategy that ensures the system trajectory reaches the target within a specific time while avoiding time-varying unsafe sets and collisions with other agents. In order to achieve this, the requirements of STTs are formulated as a robust optimization problem (ROP) and solved using a sampling-based scenario optimization problem (SOP) to address the issue of infeasibility caused by the infinite number of constraints in ROP. The STTs are generated by solving the SOP, and the corresponding closed-form control is designed to fulfill the specified task. Finally, the effectiveness of our approach is demonstrated through two case studies, one involving omnidirectional robots and the other involving multiple drones modelled as Euler-Lagrange systems.

eess.SY