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Main Authors: Gracia, Ibon, Lahijanian, Morteza
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13377
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author Gracia, Ibon
Lahijanian, Morteza
author_facet Gracia, Ibon
Lahijanian, Morteza
contents We study the asymptotic optimality of abstraction-based control synthesis algorithms. Specifically, we consider uncertain MDP (UMDP) abstraction, and investigate whether refinement leads to optimal results, i.e., an optimal controller and zero error bound. Additionally, we study completeness of abstraction-refinement algorithms, i.e., that the algorithm produces near-optimal results in finite time. The focus is on nonlinear stochastic systems with general vector fields and temporal logic specifications. We present an algorithm that abstracts the system into a UMDP and synthesizes a controller with performance guarantees via robust dynamic programming. Then, the algorithm iteratively refines the abstraction until a near-optimality criterion is met. A thorough theoretical analysis reveals a sufficient condition, which we denote vanishing ambiguity, guaranteeing asymptotic optimality of the abstraction process and completeness of the algorithm. We show that set-valued MDP abstractions satisfy this criterion, whereas interval MDP abstractions lack such a guarantee.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_13377
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle On the Optimality of Uncertain MDP Abstractions
Gracia, Ibon
Lahijanian, Morteza
Systems and Control
We study the asymptotic optimality of abstraction-based control synthesis algorithms. Specifically, we consider uncertain MDP (UMDP) abstraction, and investigate whether refinement leads to optimal results, i.e., an optimal controller and zero error bound. Additionally, we study completeness of abstraction-refinement algorithms, i.e., that the algorithm produces near-optimal results in finite time. The focus is on nonlinear stochastic systems with general vector fields and temporal logic specifications. We present an algorithm that abstracts the system into a UMDP and synthesizes a controller with performance guarantees via robust dynamic programming. Then, the algorithm iteratively refines the abstraction until a near-optimality criterion is met. A thorough theoretical analysis reveals a sufficient condition, which we denote vanishing ambiguity, guaranteeing asymptotic optimality of the abstraction process and completeness of the algorithm. We show that set-valued MDP abstractions satisfy this criterion, whereas interval MDP abstractions lack such a guarantee.
title On the Optimality of Uncertain MDP Abstractions
topic Systems and Control
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.13377