Robust Perception-Based Navigation using PAC-NMPC with a Learned Value Function

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Polevoy, Adam, Gonzales, Mark, Kobilarov, Marin, Moore, Joseph
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2023
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author Polevoy, Adam
Gonzales, Mark
Kobilarov, Marin
Moore, Joseph
author_facet Polevoy, Adam
Gonzales, Mark
Kobilarov, Marin
Moore, Joseph
contents Nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) is typically restricted to short, finite horizons to limit the computational burden of online optimization. As a result, global planning frameworks are frequently necessary to avoid local minima when using NMPC for navigation in complex environments. By contrast, reinforcement learning (RL) can generate policies that minimize the expected cost over an infinite-horizon and can often avoid local minima, even when operating only on current sensor measurements. However, these learned policies are usually unable to provide performance guarantees (e.g., on collision avoidance), especially when outside of the training distribution. In this paper, we augment Probably Approximately Correct NMPC (PAC-NMPC), a sampling-based stochastic NMPC algorithm capable of providing statistical guarantees of performance and safety, with an approximate perception-based value function trained via RL. We demonstrate in simulation that our algorithm can improve the long-term behavior of PAC-NMPC while outperforming other approaches with regards to safety for both planar car dynamics and more complex, high-dimensional fixed-wing aerial vehicle dynamics. We also demonstrate that, even when our value function is trained in simulation, our algorithm can successfully achieve statistically safe navigation on hardware using a 1/10th scale rally car in cluttered real-world environments using only current sensor information.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2309_13171
institution arXiv
publishDate 2023
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Robust Perception-Based Navigation using PAC-NMPC with a Learned Value Function
Polevoy, Adam
Gonzales, Mark
Kobilarov, Marin
Moore, Joseph
Robotics
Nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) is typically restricted to short, finite horizons to limit the computational burden of online optimization. As a result, global planning frameworks are frequently necessary to avoid local minima when using NMPC for navigation in complex environments. By contrast, reinforcement learning (RL) can generate policies that minimize the expected cost over an infinite-horizon and can often avoid local minima, even when operating only on current sensor measurements. However, these learned policies are usually unable to provide performance guarantees (e.g., on collision avoidance), especially when outside of the training distribution. In this paper, we augment Probably Approximately Correct NMPC (PAC-NMPC), a sampling-based stochastic NMPC algorithm capable of providing statistical guarantees of performance and safety, with an approximate perception-based value function trained via RL. We demonstrate in simulation that our algorithm can improve the long-term behavior of PAC-NMPC while outperforming other approaches with regards to safety for both planar car dynamics and more complex, high-dimensional fixed-wing aerial vehicle dynamics. We also demonstrate that, even when our value function is trained in simulation, our algorithm can successfully achieve statistically safe navigation on hardware using a 1/10th scale rally car in cluttered real-world environments using only current sensor information.
title Robust Perception-Based Navigation using PAC-NMPC with a Learned Value Function
topic Robotics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2309.13171