arXiv subjects

Victor G. Lopez

Publications and source records attributed to Victor G. Lopez.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Robust stability of event-triggered nonlinear moving horizon estimation

In this work, we propose an event-triggered moving horizon estimation (ET-MHE) scheme for the remote state estimation of general nonlinear systems. In the presented method, whenever an event is triggered, a single measurement is transmitted and the nonlinear MHE optimization problem is subsequently solved. If no event is triggered, the current state estimate is updated using an open-loop prediction based on the system dynamics. Moreover, we introduce a novel event-triggering rule under which we demonstrate robust global exponential stability of the ET-MHE scheme, assuming a suitable detectability condition is met. In addition, we show that with the adoption of a varying horizon length, a tighter bound on the estimation error can be achieved. Finally, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed method through two illustrative examples.

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arXiv2026

Sample-based detectability and moving horizon state estimation of continuous-time systems

In this paper we propose a detectability condition for nonlinear continuous-time systems with irregular/infrequent output measurements, namely a sample-based version of incremental integral input/output-to-state stability (i-iIOSS). We provide a sufficient condition for an i-iIOSS system to be sample-based i-iIOSS. This condition is also exploited to analyze the relationship between sample-based i-iIOSS and sample-based observability for linear systems, such that previously established sampling strategies for linear systems can be used to guarantee sample-based i-iIOSS. Furthermore, we present a sample-based moving horizon estimation scheme, for which robust stability can be shown. Finally, we illustrate the applicability of the proposed estimation scheme through a biomedical simulation example.

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arXiv2026

Robust and efficient data-driven predictive control

We propose a robust and efficient data-driven predictive control (eDDPC) scheme which is more sample efficient (requires less offline data) compared to existing schemes, and is also computationally efficient. This scheme employs a recently proposed data-based representation of linear time-invariant (LTI) systems as a predictor. Such a representation serves as an alternative to Hankel-based predictors obtained from, e.g., the so-called fundamental lemma, and can be derived by exploiting the kernel structure of shallow Hankel matrices of data. This allows for application of our proposed scheme using very short (and potentially irregularly measured) noisy input-output data, the amount of which is independent of the prediction horizon. To account for measurement noise, we provide a novel result that quantifies the uncertainty between the true (unknown) restricted behavior of the system and the estimated one from noisy data. Furthermore, we show that the robust eDDPC scheme is recursively feasible and that the resulting closed-loop system is practically exponentially stable. Finally, we compare the performance of this scheme to existing ones on a case study of a four tank system.

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arXiv2026

Notes on data-driven output-feedback control of linear MIMO systems

Recent works have approached the data-driven design of dynamic output-feedback controllers for discrete-time LTI systems by constructing non-minimal state vectors composed of past inputs and outputs. Depending on the system's complexity (order $n$, lag $\ell$ and number of outputs $p$), it was observed in several works that such an approach presents significant limitations. In particular, many works require to restrict the class of LTI systems to those satisfying the relation $p\ell=n$. In this note, we show how to address the general MIMO case (for which $p\ell\geq n$ in general) by constructing an alternative non-minimal state vector from data. Different from the existing literature, our method guarantees the satisfaction of certain rank conditions when the system is persistently excited, thereby facilitating the direct data-driven dynamic output-feedback control of MIMO systems by applying methods that were originally developed for the input-state data setting.

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arXiv2026

Local Observability and Moving Horizon Estimation-based Training of Feedforward Neural Networks

In this paper, we propose a moving horizon estimation (MHE)-based training method for feedforward neural networks (FNNs) with rectified linear unit (ReLU) activation functions to determine their ideal weights from a control-theoretic perspective. This allows for a rigorous theoretical analysis of the trained network. First, we reformulate the FNN as a dynamical system with the weights as states. Then, we investigate the local observability of such a system. For two-layer FNNs with fixed output weights, we derive a sufficient condition under which the observability rank condition holds, ensuring a locally observable state. We also show that multi-layer FNNs in general fail to satisfy the observability rank condition. Based on this analysis, we develop a persistently exciting (PE) input design method, which renders a state distinguishable from its neighbors. The resulting local observability provides convergence guarantees for the proposed MHE-based training, where only the projection of the state onto the observable subspace is updated using a fixed-length window of input-output data. The effectiveness of the approach is illustrated via numerical examples.

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arXiv2026

Beyond Shrinkage: Foundations of Data-Driven Control for Piecewise Affine Systems

Data-enabled predictive control (DeePC) has recently attracted attention as a promising approach for controlling systems directly from raw data, without requiring an explicit identification step. However, DeePC has not yet been extended to piecewise affine (PWA) systems, despite their extensive use in the (predictive) control literature and their universal approximation capabilities. To address this gap, in this work, we lay the foundations for data-enabled predictive control of PWA systems, providing: $(i)$ their behavioral characterization; $(ii)$ an extension of Willems' Fundamental Lemma to represent their behavior from raw data; $(iii)$ an analysis of the coherence of DeePC strategies using a linear predictor and shrinkage regularizers; and $(iv)$ a study of the impact of misclassification errors on structuring data for prediction. Our theoretical findings are validated by numerical results on a simple example, emphasizing the need to extend beyond a regularized version of the foundational DeePC framework to design control actions that are both effective and coherent with a PWA system's behavior, thus ensuring the controller's explainability.

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arXiv2026

Data-Based Control of Continuous-Time Linear Systems with Performance Specifications

The design of direct data-based controllers has become a fundamental part of control theory research in the last few years. In this paper, we consider three classes of data-based state feedback control problems for linear systems. These control problems are such that, besides stabilization, some additional performance requirements must be satisfied. First, we formulate and solve a trajectory-reference control problem, on which desired closed-loop trajectories are known and a controller that allows the system to closely follow those trajectories is computed. Then, the solution of the LQR problem for continuous-time systems is presented. Finally, we consider the case in which the precise position of the desired poles of the closed-loop system is known, and introduce a data-based variant of a robust pole-placement procedure. The applicability of the proposed methods is tested using numerical simulations.

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arXiv2026

On Data-based Nash Equilibria in LQ Nonzero-sum Differential Games

This paper considers data-based solutions of linear-quadratic nonzero-sum differential games. Two cases are considered. First, the deterministic game is solved and Nash equilibrium strategies are obtained by using persistently excited data from the multiagent system. Then, a stochastic formulation of the game is considered, where each agent measures a different noisy output signal and state observers must be designed for each player. It is shown that the proposed data-based solutions of these games are equivalent to known model-based procedures. The resulting data-based solutions are validated in a numerical experiment.

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arXiv2026

Estimating Hormone Concentrations in the Pituitary-Thyroid Feedback Loop from Irregularly Sampled Measurements

Model-based control techniques have recently been investigated for the recommendation of medication dosages to address thyroid diseases. These techniques often rely on knowledge of internal hormone concentrations that cannot be measured from blood samples. Moreover, the measurable concentrations are typically only obtainable at irregular sampling times. In this work, we empirically verify a notion of sample-based detectability that accounts for irregular sampling of the measurable concentrations on two pituitary-thyroid loop models representing patients with hypo- and hyperthyroidism, respectively, and include the internal concentrations as states. We then implement sample-based moving horizon estimation for the models, and test its performance on virtual patients across a range of sampling schemes. Our study shows robust stability of the estimator across all scenarios, and that more frequent sampling leads to less estimation error in the presence of model uncertainty and misreported dosages.

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arXiv2026

Data-based Moving Horizon Estimation under Irregularly Measured Data

In this work, we introduce a sample- and data-based moving horizon estimation framework for linear systems. We perform state estimation in a sample-based fashion in the sense that we assume to have only few, irregular output measurements available. This setting is encountered in applications where measuring is expensive or time-consuming. Furthermore, the state estimation framework does not rely on a standard mathematical model, but on an implicit system representation based on measured data. We prove sample-based practical robust exponential stability of the proposed estimator under mild assumptions. Furthermore, we apply the proposed scheme to estimate the states of a gastrointestinal tract absorption system.

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arXiv2026

An Output Feedback Q-learning Algorithm for Optimal Control of Nonlinear Systems with Koopman Linear Embedding

In the reinforcement learning literature, strong theoretical guarantees have been obtained for algorithms applicable to LTI systems. However, in the nonlinear case only weaker results have been obtained for algorithms that mostly rely on the use of function approximation strategies like, for example, neural networks. In this paper, we study the applicability of a known output-feedback Q-learning algorithm to the class of nonlinear systems that admit a Koopman linear embedding. This algorithm uses only input-output data, and no knowledge of either the system model or the Koopman lifting functions is required. Moreover, no function approximation techniques are used, and the same theoretical guarantees as for LTI systems are preserved. Furthermore, we analyze the performance of the algorithm when the Koopman linear embedding is only an approximation of the real nonlinear system. A simulation example verifies the applicability of this method.

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arXiv2026

Sample-based Moving Horizon Estimation

In this paper, we propose a sample-based moving horizon estimation (MHE) scheme for general nonlinear systems to estimate the current system state using irregularly and/or infrequently available measurements. The cost function of the MHE optimization problem is suitably designed to accommodate these irregular output sequences. We also establish that, under a suitable sample-based detectability condition known as sample-based incremental input/output-to-state stability (i-IOSS), the proposed sample-based MHE achieves robust global exponential stability (RGES). Additionally, for the case of linear systems, we draw connections between sample-based observability and sample-based i-IOSS. This demonstrates that previously established conditions for linear systems to be sample-based observable can be utilized to verify or design sampling strategies that satisfy the conditions to guarantee RGES of the sample-based MHE. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed sample-based MHE is illustrated through a simulation example.

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arXiv2026

Tuning the burn-in phase in training recurrent neural networks improves their performance

Training recurrent neural networks (RNNs) with standard backpropagation through time (BPTT) can be challenging, especially in the presence of long input sequences. A practical alternative to reduce computational and memory overhead is to perform BPTT repeatedly over shorter segments of the training data set, corresponding to truncated BPTT. In this paper, we examine the training of RNNs when using such a truncated learning approach for time series tasks. Specifically, we establish theoretical bounds on the accuracy and performance loss when optimizing over subsequences instead of the full data sequence. This reveals that the burn-in phase of the RNN is an important tuning knob in its training, with significant impact on the performance guarantees. We validate our theoretical results through experiments on standard benchmarks from the fields of system identification and time series forecasting. In all experiments, we observe a strong influence of the burn-in phase on the training process, and proper tuning can lead to a reduction of the prediction error on the training and test data of more than 60% in some cases.

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arXiv2025

Inference in Latent Force Models Using Optimal State Estimation

Latent force models, a class of hybrid modeling approaches, integrate physical knowledge of system dynamics with a latent force - an unknown, unmeasurable input modeled as a Gaussian process. In this work, we introduce two optimal state estimation frameworks to reconstruct the latent forces and to estimate the states. In contrast to state-of-the-art approaches, the designed estimators enable the consideration of system-inherent constraints. Finally, the performance of the novel frameworks is investigated in several numerical examples. In particular, we demonstrate the performance of the new framework in a real-world biomedical example - the hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis - using hormone measurements.

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arXiv2025

Data-driven stabilization of nonlinear systems via descriptor embedding

We introduce the notion of descriptor embedding for nonlinear systems and use it for the data-driven design of stabilizing controllers. Specifically, we provide sufficient data-dependent LMI conditions which, if feasible, return a stabilizing nonlinear controller of the form $u=K(x)Z(x)$ where $K(x)$ belongs to a polytope and $Z$ is a user-defined function. The proposed method is then extended to account for the presence of uncertainties and noisy data. Furthermore, a method to estimate the resulting region of attraction is given using only data. Simulation examples are used to illustrate the results and compare them to existing methods from the literature.

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arXiv2025

Local Observability of a Class of Feedforward Neural Networks

Beyond the traditional neural network training methods based on gradient descent and its variants, state estimation techniques have been proposed to determine a set of ideal weights from a control-theoretic perspective. Hence, the concept of observability becomes relevant in neural network training. In this paper, we investigate local observability of a class of two-layer feedforward neural networks~(FNNs) with rectified linear unit~(ReLU) activation functions. We analyze local observability of FNNs by evaluating an observability rank condition with respect to the weight matrix and the input sequence. First, we show that, in general, the weights of FNNs are not locally observable. Then, we provide sufficient conditions on the network structures and the weights that lead to local observability. Moreover, we propose an input design approach to render the weights distinguishable and show that this input also excites other weights inside a neighborhood. Finally, we validate our results through a numerical example.

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arXiv2025

Gaussian Process-Based Nonlinear Moving Horizon Estimation

In this paper, we propose a novel Gaussian process-based moving horizon estimation (MHE) framework for unknown nonlinear systems. On the one hand, we approximate the system dynamics by the posterior means of the learned Gaussian processes (GPs). On the other hand, we exploit the posterior variances of the Gaussian processes to design the weighting matrices in the MHE cost function and account for the uncertainty in the learned system dynamics. The data collection and the tuning of the hyperparameters are done offline. We prove robust stability of the GP-based MHE scheme using a Lyapunov-based proof technique. Furthermore, as additional contribution, we derive a sufficient condition under which incremental input/output-to-state stability (a nonlinear detectability notion) is preserved when approximating the system dynamics using, e.g., machine learning techniques. Finally, we illustrate the performance of the GP-based MHE scheme in two simulation case studies and show how the chosen weighting matrices can lead to an improved performance compared to standard cost functions.

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arXiv2025

On sample-based functional observability of linear systems

Sample-based observability characterizes the ability to reconstruct the internal state of a dynamical system by using limited output information, i.e., when measurements are only infrequently and/or irregularly available. In this work, we investigate the concept of functional observability, which refers to the ability to infer a function of the system state from the outputs, within a samplebased framework. Here, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for a system to be sample-based functionally observable, and formulate conditions on the sampling schemes such that these are satisfied. Furthermore, we provide a numerical example, where we demonstrate the applicability of the obtained results.

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