A PAC-Bayesian Framework for Optimal Control with Stability Guarantees

Fuente: arXiv
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Autori principali: Boroujeni, Mahrokh Ghoddousi, Galimberti, Clara Lucía, Krause, Andreas, Ferrari-Trecate, Giancarlo
Natura: Preprint
Pubblicazione: 2024
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author Boroujeni, Mahrokh Ghoddousi
Galimberti, Clara Lucía
Krause, Andreas
Ferrari-Trecate, Giancarlo
author_facet Boroujeni, Mahrokh Ghoddousi
Galimberti, Clara Lucía
Krause, Andreas
Ferrari-Trecate, Giancarlo
contents Stochastic Nonlinear Optimal Control (SNOC) involves minimizing a cost function that averages out the random uncertainties affecting the dynamics of nonlinear systems. For tractability reasons, this problem is typically addressed by minimizing an empirical cost, which represents the average cost across a finite dataset of sampled disturbances. However, this approach raises the challenge of quantifying the control performance against out-of-sample uncertainties. Particularly, in scenarios where the training dataset is small, SNOC policies are prone to overfitting, resulting in significant discrepancies between the empirical cost and the true cost, i.e., the average SNOC cost incurred during control deployment. Therefore, establishing generalization bounds on the true cost is crucial for ensuring reliability in real-world applications. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach that leverages PAC-Bayes theory to provide rigorous generalization bounds for SNOC. Based on these bounds, we propose a new method for designing optimal controllers, offering a principled way to incorporate prior knowledge into the synthesis process, which aids in improving the control policy and mitigating overfitting. Furthermore, by leveraging recent parametrizations of stabilizing controllers for nonlinear systems, our framework inherently ensures closed-loop stability. The effectiveness of our proposed method in incorporating prior knowledge and combating overfitting is shown by designing neural network controllers for tasks in cooperative robotics.
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publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle A PAC-Bayesian Framework for Optimal Control with Stability Guarantees
Boroujeni, Mahrokh Ghoddousi
Galimberti, Clara Lucía
Krause, Andreas
Ferrari-Trecate, Giancarlo
Systems and Control
Stochastic Nonlinear Optimal Control (SNOC) involves minimizing a cost function that averages out the random uncertainties affecting the dynamics of nonlinear systems. For tractability reasons, this problem is typically addressed by minimizing an empirical cost, which represents the average cost across a finite dataset of sampled disturbances. However, this approach raises the challenge of quantifying the control performance against out-of-sample uncertainties. Particularly, in scenarios where the training dataset is small, SNOC policies are prone to overfitting, resulting in significant discrepancies between the empirical cost and the true cost, i.e., the average SNOC cost incurred during control deployment. Therefore, establishing generalization bounds on the true cost is crucial for ensuring reliability in real-world applications. In this paper, we introduce a novel approach that leverages PAC-Bayes theory to provide rigorous generalization bounds for SNOC. Based on these bounds, we propose a new method for designing optimal controllers, offering a principled way to incorporate prior knowledge into the synthesis process, which aids in improving the control policy and mitigating overfitting. Furthermore, by leveraging recent parametrizations of stabilizing controllers for nonlinear systems, our framework inherently ensures closed-loop stability. The effectiveness of our proposed method in incorporating prior knowledge and combating overfitting is shown by designing neural network controllers for tasks in cooperative robotics.
title A PAC-Bayesian Framework for Optimal Control with Stability Guarantees
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2403.17790