*Result*: Learning for Model Predictive Control

Title:
Learning for Model Predictive Control
Authors:
Contributors:
Gravdahl, Jan Tommy, Grøtli, Esten
Publisher Information:
NTNU
Publication Year:
2023
Collection:
NTNU Open Archive (Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet / Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
Document Type:
*Dissertation/ Thesis* doctoral or postdoctoral thesis
File Description:
application/pdf
Language:
English
Relation:
Doctoral theses at NTNU;2023:261; https://hdl.handle.net/11250/3089714
Accession Number:
edsbas.DB9E0DD2
Database:
BASE

*Further Information*

*This thesis focuses on learning-based control, with an emphasis on control designs for which we can analyze stability and robustness properties. The topic is motivated by the lack of available controllers for complex, nonlinear dynamical systems that are hard to model, and that are also applicable to safety-critical applications. Recent successes in the field of machine learning (ML), as well as the availability of increased sensing and computational capabilities, have led to a growing interest in data-driven control techniques. For systems that require systematic handling of constraints, MPC has established itself as the primary control method. The combination of ML and MPC has therefore become a popular field of research, as data can be exploited to improve controller performance, while tools for stability and robustness analysis are well-established. The most intuitive combination of MPC and ML is using available data to improve the MPC prediction model. Supervised ML methods based on e.g. rich function approximators such as neural networks (NNs) and Gaussian processes (GPs) can be leveraged to learn parts of or entire dynamical models from data. In part I of this thesis, we propose two different MPC formulations that leverage ML to learn the dynamics. Using techniques from robust control, we provide stability guarantees under core assumptions on the approximation error. There has also been an increasing interest in inferring the parameterization of the MPC controller, of not only the prediction model but also the cost and constraints, that lead to the best closed-loop performance. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a framework for developing self-optimizing controllers that adjust their behaviors based on observed outcomes of their actions. As the policies are usually modeled using NNs, the resulting closed-loop behavior is difficult to analyze. In Part II of this thesis, we consider RL as a tool to infer the optimal parameterization of an MPC scheme. Leveraging existing theory on stability analysis of MPC, we ...*