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1. Adaptive Trajectory Tracking During Motorized and FES-Induced Biceps Curls via Integral Concurrent Learning

   https://doi.org/10.1115/DSCC2020-3125  

   Allen, Brendon C. ; Stubbs, Kimberly J. ; Dixon, Warren E. ( October 2020 , ASME Dynamic Systems and Control Conference)

   null (Ed.)

   A common rehabilitative technique for those with neuro-muscular disorders is functional electrical stimulation (FES) induced exercise such as FES-induced biceps curls. FES has been shown to have numerous health benefits, such as increased muscle mass and retraining of the nervous system. Closed-loop control of a motorized FES system presents numerous challenges since the system has nonlinear and uncertain dynamics and switching is required between motor and FES control, which is further complicated by the muscle having an uncertain control effectiveness. An additional complication of FES systems is that high gain feedback from traditional robust controllers can be uncomfortable to the participant. In this paper, data-based, opportunistic learning is achieved by implementing an integral concurrent learning (ICL) controller during a motorized and FES-induced biceps curl exercise. The ICL controller uses adaptive feedforward terms to augment the FES controller to reduce the required control input. A Lyapunov-based analysis is performed to ensure exponential trajectory tracking and opportunistic, exponential learning of the uncertain human and machine parameters. In addition to improved tracking performance and robustness, the potential of learning the specific dynamics of a person during a rehabilitative exercise could be clinically significant. Preliminary simulation results are provided and demonstrate an average position error of 0.14 ± 1.17 deg and an average velocity error of 0.004 ± 1.18 deg/s. 

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2. Learning‐based adaptive‐scenario‐tree model predictive control with improved probabilistic safety using robust Bayesian neural networks

   https://doi.org/10.1002/rnc.6560  

   Bao, Yajie ; Chan, Kimberly J. ; Mesbah, Ali ; Velni, Javad Mohammadpour ( December 2022 , International Journal of Robust and Nonlinear Control)

   Scenario‐based model predictive control (MPC) methods can mitigate the conservativeness inherent to open‐loop robust MPC. Yet, the scenarios are often generated offline based on worst‐case uncertainty descriptions obtaineda priori, which can in turn limit the improvements in the robust control performance. To this end, this paper presents a learning‐based, adaptive‐scenario‐tree model predictive control approach for uncertain nonlinear systems with time‐varying and/or hard‐to‐model dynamics. Bayesian neural networks (BNNs) are used to learn a state‐ and input‐dependent description of model uncertainty, namely the mismatch between a nominal (physics‐based or data‐driven) model of a system and its actual dynamics. We first present a new approach for training robust BNNs (RBNNs) using probabilistic Lipschitz bounds to provide a less conservative uncertainty quantification. Then, we present an approach to evaluate the credible intervals of RBNN predictions and determine the number of samples required for estimating the credible intervals given a credible level. The performance of RBNNs is evaluated with respect to that of standard BNNs and Gaussian process (GP) as a basis of comparison. The RBNN description of plant‐model mismatch with verified accurate credible intervals is employed to generate adaptive scenarios online for scenario‐based MPC (sMPC). The proposed sMPC approach with adaptive scenario tree can improve the robust control performance with respect to sMPC with a fixed, worst‐case scenario tree and with respect to an adaptive‐scenario‐based MPC (asMPC) using GP regression on a cold atmospheric plasma system. Furthermore, closed‐loop simulation results illustrate that robust model uncertainty learning via RBNNs can enhance the probability of constraint satisfaction of asMPC.

    

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3. Adaptive NN-Based Boundary Control for Output Tracking of A Wave Equation with Matched and Unmatched Boundary Uncertainties

   https://doi.org/10.23919/ACC53348.2022.9867897  

   Zhang, Jingting ; Stegagno, Paolo ; Zeng, Wei ; Yuan, Chengzhi ( June 2022 , Proceedings of the American Control Conference)

   This paper is focused on the output tracking control problem of a wave equation with both matched and unmatched boundary uncertainties. An adaptive boundary feedback control scheme is proposed by utilizing radial basis function neural networks (RBF NNs) to deal with the effect of system uncertainties. Specifically, two RBF NN models are first developed to approximate the matched and unmatched system uncertain dynamics respectively. Based on this, an adaptive NN control scheme is derived, which consists of: (i) an adaptive boundary feedback controller embedded by the NN model approximating the matched uncertainty, for rendering stable and accurate tracking control; and (ii) a reference model embedded by the NN model approximating the unmatched uncertainty, for generating a prescribed reference trajectory. Rigorous analysis is performed using the Lyapunov theory and the C0-semigroup theory to prove that our proposed control scheme can guarantee closed-loop stability and wellposedness. Simulation study has been conducted to demonstrate effectiveness of the proposed approach. 

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4. Data-Driven Hierarchical Predictive Learning in Unknown Environments

   https://doi.org/10.1109/CASE48305.2020.9216872  

   Vallon, Charlott ; Borrelli, Francesco ( January 2020 , IEEE International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering CASE)

   We propose a hierarchical learning architecture for predictive control in unknown environments. We consider a constrained nonlinear dynamical system and assume the availability of state-input trajectories solving control tasks in different environments. A parameterized environment model generates state constraints specific to each task, which are satisfied by the stored trajectories. Our goal is to find a feasible trajectory for a new task in an unknown environment. From stored data, we learn strategies in the form of target sets in a reduced-order state space. These strategies are applied to the new task in real-time using a local forecast of the new environment, and the resulting output is used as a terminal region by a low-level receding horizon controller. We show how to i) design the target sets from past data and then ii) incorporate them into a model predictive control scheme with shifting horizon that ensures safety of the closed-loop system when performing the new task. We prove the feasibility of the resulting control policy, and verify the proposed method in a robotic path planning application. 

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5. Fast and Guaranteed Safe Controller Synthesis for Nonlinear Vehicle Models

   https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-53288-8\_31  

   Fan, Chuchu ; Miller, Kristina ; Mitra, Sayan ( July 2020 , Computer Aided Verification - 32nd International Conference, {CAV} 2020, Los Angeles, CA, USA, July 21-24, 2020, Proceedings, Part {I})

   We address the problem of synthesizing a controller for nonlinear systems with reach-avoid requirements. Our controller consists of a reference controller and a tracking controller which drives the actual trajectory to follow the reference trajectory. We identify a type of reference trajectory such that the tracking error between the actual trajectory of the closed-loop system and the reference trajectory can be bounded. Moreover, such a bound on the tracking error is independent of the reference trajectory. Using such bounds on the tracking error, we propose a method that can find a reference trajectory by solving a satisfiability problem over linear constraints. Our overall algorithm guarantees that the resulting controller can make sure every trajectory from the initial set of the system satisfies the given reach-avoid requirement. We also implement our technique in a tool FACTEST. We show that FACTEST can find controllers for four vehicle models (3–6 dimensional state space and 2–4 dimensional input space) across eight scenarios (with up to 22 obstacles), all with running time at the sub-second range. 

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