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1. Derivative-Based Koopman Operators for Real-Time Control of Robotic Systems

   https://doi.org/10.1109/TRO.2021.3076581  

   Mamakoukas, Giorgos; L. Castano, Maria; Tan, Xiaobo; D. Murphey, Todd (May 2021, IEEE Transactions on Robotics)

   null (Ed.)

   This paper presents a generalizable methodology for data-driven identification of nonlinear dynamics that bounds the model error in terms of the prediction horizon and the magnitude of the derivatives of the system states. Using higher order derivatives of general nonlinear dynamics that need not be known, we construct a Koopman operator-based linear representation and utilize Taylor series accuracy analysis to derive an error bound. The resulting error formula is used to choose the order of derivatives in the basis functions and obtain a data-driven Koopman model using a closed-form expression that can be computed in real time. Using the inverted pendulum system, we illustrate the robustness of the error bounds given noisy measurements of unknown dynamics, where the derivatives are estimated numerically. When combined with control, the Koopman representation of the nonlinear system has marginally better performance than competing nonlinear modeling methods, such as SINDy and NARX. In addition, as a linear model, the Koopman approach lends itself readily to efficient control design tools, such as LQR, whereas the other modeling approaches require nonlinear control methods. The efficacy of the approach is further demonstrated with simulation and experimental results on the control of a tail-actuated robotic fish. Experimental results show that the proposed data-driven control approach outperforms a tuned PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) controller and that updating the data-driven model online significantly improves performance in the presence of unmodeled fluid disturbance. This paper is complemented with a video: https://youtu.be/9 wx0tdDta0. 

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2. Tensor-Based Koopman Operator and Its Application to Optimal Control Problems

   https://doi.org/10.2514/1.G008913  

   Xu, Zhi; Dai, Ran; Howell, Kathleen C (June 2025, Journal of Guidance, Control, and Dynamics)

   The Koopman operator theory provides a global linearization framework for general nonlinear dynamics, offering significant advantages for system analysis and control. However, practical applications typically involve approximating the infinite-dimensional Koopman operator in a lifted space spanned by a finite set of observable functions. The accuracy of this approximation is the key to effective Koopman operator-based analysis and control methods, generally improving as the dimension of the observables increases. Nonetheless, this increase in dimensionality significantly escalates both storage requirements and computational complexity, particularly for high-dimensional systems, thereby limiting the applicability of these methods in real-world problems. In this paper, we address this problem by reformulating the Koopman operator in tensor format to break the curse of dimensionality associated with its approximation through tensor decomposition techniques. This effective reduction in complexity enables the selection of high-dimensional observable functions and the handling of large-scale datasets, which leads to a precise linear prediction model utilizing the tensor-based Koopman operator. Furthermore, we propose an optimal control framework with the tensor-based Koopman operator, which adeptly addresses the nonlinear dynamics and constraints by linear reformulation in the lifted space and significantly reduces the computational complexity through separated representation of the tensor structure. 

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3. System norm regularization methods for Koopman operator approximation

   https://doi.org/10.1098/rspa.2022.0162  

   Dahdah, Steven; Forbes, James R. (September 2022, Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences)

   Approximating the Koopman operator from data is numerically challenging when many lifting functions are considered. Even low-dimensional systems can yield unstable or ill-conditioned results in a high-dimensional lifted space. In this paper, Extended Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) and DMD with control, two methods for approximating the Koopman operator, are reformulated as convex optimization problems with linear matrix inequality constraints. Asymptotic stability constraints and system norm regularizers are then incorporated as methods to improve the numerical conditioning of the Koopman operator. Specifically, the H ∞   norm is used to penalize the input–output gain of the Koopman system. Weighting functions are then applied to penalize the system gain at specific frequencies. These constraints and regularizers introduce bilinear matrix inequality constraints to the regression problem, which are handled by solving a sequence of convex optimization problems. Experimental results using data from an aircraft fatigue structural test rig and a soft robot arm highlight the advantages of the proposed regression methods. 

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4. Local Koopman Operators for Data-Driven Control of Robotic Systems

   https://doi.org/10.15607/RSS.2019.XV.054  

   Mamakoukas, Giorgos; Castano, Maria; Tan, Xiaobo; Murphey, Todd (June 2019, Robotics: science and systems)

   This paper presents a data-driven methodology for linear embedding of nonlinear systems. Utilizing structural knowledge of general nonlinear dynamics, the authors exploit the Koopman operator to develop a systematic, data-driven approach for constructing a linear representation in terms of higher order derivatives of the underlying nonlinear dynamics. With the linear representation, the nonlinear system is then controlled with an LQR feedback policy, the gains of which need to be calculated only once. As a result, the approach enables fast control synthesis. We demonstrate the efficacy of the approach with simulations and experimental results on the modeling and control of a tail-actuated robotic fish and show that the proposed policy is comparable to backstepping control. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first experimental validation of Koopman-based LQR control. 

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5. Koopman-Based Modeling of an Open Cathode Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell Stack

   Huo, Da; Peng, Qian; Hall, Carrie (October 2023, Proceedings of the Modeling, Estimation, and Control Conference)

   open-cathode proton exchange membrane; data-driven modeling; Koopman operator; physics-based modeling; control-oriented modeling (Ed.)

   Accurate modeling is crucial for the effective design and control of fuel cell stacks. Although physics-based models are widely used, data-driven methods such as the Koopman operator have not been fully explored for fuel cell modeling. In this paper, a Koopman-based approach is utilized to model the thermal dynamics of a 5 kW open cathode proton exchange membrane fuel cell stack. A physics-based model is used as the baseline for comparison. By varying the cooling fan rotational speed, the dynamics of the fuel cell stack were measured from the low load of near 0 kW to about 5 kW. Compared to experimental results, the steady-state absolute errors of Koopman-based models are within 3%. Additionally, once given sufficient dimension, the development effort required for the Koopman-based model is relatively low compared to the traditional physics-based approach, while still achieving a high level of accuracy. These findings suggest the Koopman operator may be a suitable alternative approach for fuel cell stack modeling that enables the development of more accurate and efficient modeling methods for fuel cell systems and facilitates the implementation of the linear optimal algorithms. 

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