Searcharxiv⌕ Search

arXiv subjects

Warren E. Dixon

Publications and source records attributed to Warren E. Dixon.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Concurrent learning for parameter estimation using dynamic state-derivative estimators

A concurrent learning (CL)-based parameter estimator is developed to identify the unknown parameters in a linearly parameterized uncertain control-affine nonlinear system. Unlike state-of-the-art CL techniques that assume knowledge of the state-derivative or rely on numerical smoothing, CL is implemented using a dynamic state-derivative estimator. A novel purging algorithm is introduced to discard possibly erroneous data recorded during the transient phase for concurrent learning. Since purging results in a discontinuous parameter adaptation law, the closed-loop error system is modeled as a switched system. Asymptotic convergence of the error states to the origin is established under a persistent excitation condition, and the error states are shown to be ultimately bounded under a finite excitation condition. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed parameter estimator.

eess.SY↗

Model-based reinforcement learning for infinite-horizon approximate optimal tracking

This paper provides an approximate online adaptive solution to the infinite-horizon optimal tracking problem for control-affine continuous-time nonlinear systems with unknown drift dynamics. Model-based reinforcement learning is used to relax the persistence of excitation condition. Model-based reinforcement learning is implemented using a concurrent learning-based system identifier to simulate experience by evaluating the Bellman error over unexplored areas of the state space. Tracking of the desired trajectory and convergence of the developed policy to a neighborhood of the optimal policy are established via Lyapunov-based stability analysis. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed technique.

eess.SY↗

Efficient model-based reinforcement learning for approximate online optimal

In this paper the infinite horizon optimal regulation problem is solved online for a deterministic control-affine nonlinear dynamical system using the state following (StaF) kernel method to approximate the value function. Unlike traditional methods that aim to approximate a function over a large compact set, the StaF kernel method aims to approximate a function in a small neighborhood of a state that travels within a compact set. Simulation results demonstrate that stability and approximate optimality of the control system can be achieved with significantly fewer basis functions than may be required for global approximation methods.

eess.SY↗

Time-Varying Input and State Delay Compensation for Uncertain Nonlinear Systems

A robust controller is developed for uncertain, second-order nonlinear systems subject to simultaneous unknown, time-varying state delays and known, time-varying input delays in addition to additive, sufficiently smooth disturbances. An integral term composed of previous control values facilitates a delay-free open-loop error system and the development of the feedback control structure. A stability analysis based on Lyapunov-Krasovskii (LK) functionals guarantees uniformly ultimately bounded tracking under the assumption that the delays are bounded and slowly varying.

eess.SY↗

Online Approximate Optimal Station Keeping of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Online approximation of an optimal station keeping strategy for a fully actuated six degrees-of-freedom autonomous underwater vehicle is considered. The developed controller is an approximation of the solution to a two player zero-sum game where the controller is the minimizing player and an external disturbance is the maximizing player. The solution is approximated using a reinforcement learning-based actor-critic framework. The result guarantees uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) convergence of the states and UUB convergence of the approximated policies to the optimal polices without the requirement of persistence of excitation.

eess.SY↗

Stationary Cycling Induced by Switched Functional Electrical Stimulation Control

Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is used to activate the dysfunctional lower limb muscles of individuals with neuromuscular disorders to produce cycling as a means of exercise and rehabilitation. However, FES-cycling is still metabolically inefficient and yields low power output at the cycle crank compared to able-bodied cycling. Previous literature suggests that these problems are symptomatic of poor muscle control and non-physiological muscle fiber recruitment. The latter is a known problem with FES in general, and the former motivates investigation of better control methods for FES-cycling.In this paper, a stimulation pattern for quadriceps femoris-only FES-cycling is derived based on the effectiveness of knee joint torque in producing forward pedaling. In addition, a switched sliding-mode controller is designed for the uncertain, nonlinear cycle-rider system with autonomous state-dependent switching. The switched controller yields ultimately bounded tracking of a desired trajectory in the presence of an unknown, time-varying, bounded disturbance, provided a reverse dwell-time condition is satisfied by appropriate choice of the control gains and a sufficient desired cadence. Stability is derived through Lyapunov methods for switched systems, and experimental results demonstrate the performance of the switched control system under typical cycling conditions.

eess.SY↗

Decentralized Rendezvous of Nonholonomic Robots with Sensing and Connectivity Constraints

A group of wheeled robots with nonholonomic constraints is considered to rendezvous at a common specified setpoint with a desired orientation while maintaining network connectivity and ensuring collision avoidance within the robots. Given communication and sensing constraints for each robot, only a subset of the robots are aware or informed of the global destination, and the remaining robots must move within the network connectivity constraint so that the informed robots can guide the group to the goal. The mobile robots are also required to avoid collisions with each other outside a neighborhood of the common rendezvous point. To achieve the rendezvous control objective, decentralized time-varying controllers are developed based on a navigation function framework to steer the robots to perform rendezvous while preserving network connectivity and ensuring collision avoidance. Only local sensing feedback, which includes position feedback from immediate neighbors and absolute orientation measurement, is used to navigate the robots and enables radio silence during navigation. Simulation results demonstrate the performance of the developed approach.

eess.SY↗

Containment Control for a Social Network with State-Dependent Connectivity

Social interactions influence our thoughts, opinions and actions. In this paper, social interactions are studied within a group of individuals composed of influential social leaders and followers. Each person is assumed to maintain a social state, which can be an emotional state or an opinion. Followers update their social states based on the states of local neighbors, while social leaders maintain a constant desired state. Social interactions are modeled as a general directed graph where each directed edge represents an influence from one person to another. Motivated by the non-local property of fractional-order systems, the social response of individuals in the network are modeled by fractional-order dynamics whose states depend on influences from local neighbors and past experiences. A decentralized influence method is then developed to maintain existing social influence between individuals (i.e., without isolating peers in the group) and to influence the social group to a common desired state (i.e., within a convex hull spanned by social leaders). Mittag-Leffler stability methods are used to prove asymptotic stability of the networked fractional-order system.

eess.SY↗

Navigation Function Based Decentralized Control of A Multi-Agent System with Network Connectivity Constraints

A wide range of applications require or can benefit from collaborative behavior of a group of agents. The technical challenge addressed in this chapter is the development of a decentralized control strategy that enables each agent to independently navigate to ensure agents achieve a collective goal while maintaining network connectivity. Specifically, cooperative controllers are developed for networked agents with limited sensing and network connectivity constraints. By modeling the interaction among the agents as a graph, several different approaches to address the problems of preserving network connectivity are presented, with the focus on a method that utilizes navigation function frameworks. By modeling network connectivity constraints as artificial obstacles in navigation functions, a decentralized control strategy is presented in two particular applications, formation control and rendezvous for a system of autonomous agents, which ensures global convergence to the unique minimum of the potential field (i.e., desired formation or desired destination) while preserving network connectivity. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the developed strategy.

eess.SY↗

Concurrent learning-based online approximate feedback-Nash equilibrium solution of N-player nonzero-sum differential games

This paper presents a concurrent learning-based actor-critic-identifier architecture to obtain an approximate feedback-Nash equilibrium solution to an infinite horizon N-player nonzero-sum differential game online, without requiring persistence of excitation (PE), for a nonlinear control-affine system. Under a condition milder than PE, uniformly ultimately bounded convergence of the developed control policies to the feedback-Nash equilibrium policies is established.

eess.SY↗

Tracking Control for FES-Cycling based on Force Direction Efficiency with Antagonistic Bi-Articular Muscles

A functional electrical stimulation (FES)-based tracking controller is developed to enable cycling based on a strategy to yield force direction efficiency by exploiting antagonistic bi-articular muscles. Given the input redundancy naturally occurring among multiple muscle groups, the force direction at the pedal is explicitly determined as a means to improve the efficiency of cycling. A model of a stationary cycle and rider is developed as a closed-chain mechanism. A strategy is then developed to switch between muscle groups for improved efficiency based on the force direction of each muscle group. Stability of the developed controller is analyzed through Lyapunov-based methods.

eess.SY↗

Decentralized formation control with connectivity maintenance and collision avoidance under limited and intermittent sensing

A decentralized switched controller is developed for dynamic agents to perform global formation configuration convergence while maintaining network connectivity and avoiding collision within agents and between stationary obstacles, using only local feedback under limited and intermittent sensing. Due to the intermittent sensing, constant position feedback may not be available for agents all the time. Intermittent sensing can also lead to a disconnected network or collisions between agents. Using a navigation function framework, a decentralized switched controller is developed to navigate the agents to the desired positions while ensuring network maintenance and collision avoidance.

eess.SY↗

Online Approximate Optimal Path-Following for a Kinematic Unicycle

Online approximation of an infinite horizon optimal path-following strategy for a kinematic unicycle is considered. The solution to the optimal control problem is approximated using an approximate dynamic programming technique that uses concurrent-learning-based adaptive update laws to estimate the unknown value function. The developed controller overcomes challenges with the approximation of the infinite horizon value function using an auxiliary function that describes the motion of a virtual target on the desired path. The developed controller guarantees uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) convergence of the vehicle to a desired path while maintaining a desired speed profile and UUB convergence of the approximate policy to the optimal policy. Simulation results are included to demonstrate the controller's performance.

eess.SY↗

Optimizing Network Topology to Reduce Aggregate Traffic in Systems of Mobile Robots

Systems of networked mobile robots, such as unmanned aerial or ground vehicles, will play important roles in future military and commercial applications. The communications for such systems will typically be over wireless links and may require that the robots form an ad hoc network and communicate on a peer-to-peer basis. In this paper, we consider the problem of optimizing the network topology to minimize the total traffic in a network required to support a given set of data flows under constraints on the amount of movement possible at each mobile robot. In this paper, we consider a subclass of this problem in which the initial and final topologies are trees, and the movement restrictions are given in terms of the number of edges in the graph that must be traversed. We develop algorithms to optimize the network topology while maintaining network connectivity during the topology reconfiguration process. Our topology reconfiguration algorithm uses the concept of prefix labelling and routing to move nodes through the network while maintaining network connectivity. We develop two algorithms to determine the final network topology: an optimal, but computationally complex algorithm, and a greedy suboptimal algorithm that has much lower complexity. We present simulation results to compare the performance of these algorithm.

cs.NI↗