Neural NMPC through Signed Distance Field Encoding for Collision Avoidance
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arXiv
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| Autori principali: | , , |
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| Natura: | Preprint |
| Pubblicazione: |
2025
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| _version_ | 1866914171840364544 |
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| author | Jacquet, Martin Harms, Marvin Alexis, Kostas |
| author_facet | Jacquet, Martin Harms, Marvin Alexis, Kostas |
| contents | This paper introduces a neural Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) framework for mapless, collision-free navigation in unknown environments with Aerial Robots, using onboard range sensing. We leverage deep neural networks to encode a single range image, capturing all the available information about the environment, into a Signed Distance Function (SDF). The proposed neural architecture consists of two cascaded networks: a convolutional encoder that compresses the input image into a low-dimensional latent vector, and a Multi-Layer Perceptron that approximates the corresponding spatial SDF. This latter network parametrizes an explicit position constraint used for collision avoidance, which is embedded in a velocity-tracking NMPC that outputs thrust and attitude commands to the robot. First, a theoretical analysis of the contributed NMPC is conducted, verifying recursive feasibility and stability properties under fixed observations. Subsequently, we evaluate the open-loop performance of the learning-based components as well as the closed-loop performance of the controller in simulations and experiments. The simulation study includes an ablation study, comparisons with two state-of-the-art local navigation methods, and an assessment of the resilience to drifting odometry. The real-world experiments are conducted in forest environments, demonstrating that the neural NMPC effectively performs collision avoidance in cluttered settings against an adversarial reference velocity input and drifting position estimates. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2511_21312 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | Neural NMPC through Signed Distance Field Encoding for Collision Avoidance Jacquet, Martin Harms, Marvin Alexis, Kostas Robotics This paper introduces a neural Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) framework for mapless, collision-free navigation in unknown environments with Aerial Robots, using onboard range sensing. We leverage deep neural networks to encode a single range image, capturing all the available information about the environment, into a Signed Distance Function (SDF). The proposed neural architecture consists of two cascaded networks: a convolutional encoder that compresses the input image into a low-dimensional latent vector, and a Multi-Layer Perceptron that approximates the corresponding spatial SDF. This latter network parametrizes an explicit position constraint used for collision avoidance, which is embedded in a velocity-tracking NMPC that outputs thrust and attitude commands to the robot. First, a theoretical analysis of the contributed NMPC is conducted, verifying recursive feasibility and stability properties under fixed observations. Subsequently, we evaluate the open-loop performance of the learning-based components as well as the closed-loop performance of the controller in simulations and experiments. The simulation study includes an ablation study, comparisons with two state-of-the-art local navigation methods, and an assessment of the resilience to drifting odometry. The real-world experiments are conducted in forest environments, demonstrating that the neural NMPC effectively performs collision avoidance in cluttered settings against an adversarial reference velocity input and drifting position estimates. |
| title | Neural NMPC through Signed Distance Field Encoding for Collision Avoidance |
| topic | Robotics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.21312 |