α-RACER: Real-Time Algorithm for Game-Theoretic Motion Planning and Control in Autonomous Racing using Near-Potential Function

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Kalaria, Dvij, Maheshwari, Chinmay, Sastry, Shankar
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2024
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author Kalaria, Dvij
Maheshwari, Chinmay
Sastry, Shankar
author_facet Kalaria, Dvij
Maheshwari, Chinmay
Sastry, Shankar
contents Autonomous racing extends beyond the challenge of controlling a racecar at its physical limits. Professional racers employ strategic maneuvers to outwit other competing opponents to secure victory. While modern control algorithms can achieve human-level performance by computing offline racing lines for single-car scenarios, research on real-time algorithms for multi-car autonomous racing is limited. To bridge this gap, we develop game-theoretic modeling framework that incorporates the competitive aspect of autonomous racing like overtaking and blocking through a novel policy parametrization, while operating the car at its limit. Furthermore, we propose an algorithmic approach to compute the (approximate) Nash equilibrium strategy, which represents the optimal approach in the presence of competing agents. Specifically, we introduce an algorithm inspired by recently introduced framework of dynamic near-potential function, enabling real-time computation of the Nash equilibrium. Our approach comprises two phases: offline and online. During the offline phase, we use simulated racing data to learn a near-potential function that approximates utility changes for agents. This function facilitates the online computation of approximate Nash equilibria by maximizing its value. We evaluate our method in a head-to-head 3-car racing scenario, demonstrating superior performance compared to several existing baselines.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2412_08855
institution arXiv
publishDate 2024
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle α-RACER: Real-Time Algorithm for Game-Theoretic Motion Planning and Control in Autonomous Racing using Near-Potential Function
Kalaria, Dvij
Maheshwari, Chinmay
Sastry, Shankar
Robotics
Computer Science and Game Theory
Autonomous racing extends beyond the challenge of controlling a racecar at its physical limits. Professional racers employ strategic maneuvers to outwit other competing opponents to secure victory. While modern control algorithms can achieve human-level performance by computing offline racing lines for single-car scenarios, research on real-time algorithms for multi-car autonomous racing is limited. To bridge this gap, we develop game-theoretic modeling framework that incorporates the competitive aspect of autonomous racing like overtaking and blocking through a novel policy parametrization, while operating the car at its limit. Furthermore, we propose an algorithmic approach to compute the (approximate) Nash equilibrium strategy, which represents the optimal approach in the presence of competing agents. Specifically, we introduce an algorithm inspired by recently introduced framework of dynamic near-potential function, enabling real-time computation of the Nash equilibrium. Our approach comprises two phases: offline and online. During the offline phase, we use simulated racing data to learn a near-potential function that approximates utility changes for agents. This function facilitates the online computation of approximate Nash equilibria by maximizing its value. We evaluate our method in a head-to-head 3-car racing scenario, demonstrating superior performance compared to several existing baselines.
title α-RACER: Real-Time Algorithm for Game-Theoretic Motion Planning and Control in Autonomous Racing using Near-Potential Function
topic Robotics
Computer Science and Game Theory
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2412.08855