Giorgos Mamakoukas

Giorgos Mamakoukas, Maria L. Castano, Xiaobo Tan et al.

This paper presents a generalizable methodology for data-driven identification of nonlinear dynamics that bounds the model error in terms of the prediction horizon and the magnitude of the derivatives of the system states. Using higher-order derivatives of general nonlinear dynamics that need not be known, we construct a Koopman operator-based linear representation and utilize Taylor series accuracy analysis to derive an error bound. The resulting error formula is used to choose the order of derivatives in the basis functions and obtain a data-driven Koopman model using a closed-form expression that can be computed in real time. Using the inverted pendulum system, we illustrate the robustness of the error bounds given noisy measurements of unknown dynamics, where the derivatives are estimated numerically. When combined with control, the Koopman representation of the nonlinear system has marginally better performance than competing nonlinear modeling methods, such as SINDy and NARX. In addition, as a linear model, the Koopman approach lends itself readily to efficient control design tools, such as LQR, whereas the other modeling approaches require nonlinear control methods. The efficacy of the approach is further demonstrated with simulation and experimental results on the control of a tail-actuated robotic fish. Experimental results show that the proposed data-driven control approach outperforms a tuned PID (Proportional Integral Derivative) controller and that updating the data-driven model online significantly improves performance in the presence of unmodeled fluid disturbance. This paper is complemented with a video: https://youtu.be/9_wx0tdDta0.

Giorgos Mamakoukas, Orest Xherija, T. D. Murphey

Learning a stable Linear Dynamical System (LDS) from data involves creating models that both minimize reconstruction error and enforce stability of the learned representation. We propose a novel algorithm for learning stable LDSs. Using a recent characterization of stable matrices, we present an optimization method that ensures stability at every step and iteratively improves the reconstruction error using gradient directions derived in this paper. When applied to LDSs with inputs, our approach---in contrast to current methods for learning stable LDSs---updates both the state and control matrices, expanding the solution space and allowing for models with lower reconstruction error. We apply our algorithm in simulations and experiments to a variety of problems, including learning dynamic textures from image sequences and controlling a robotic manipulator. Compared to existing approaches, our proposed method achieves an orders-of-magnitude improvement in reconstruction error and superior results in terms of control performance. In addition, it is provably more memory-efficient, with an O(n^2) space complexity compared to O(n^4) of competing alternatives, thus scaling to higher-dimensional systems when the other methods fail.

Giorgos Mamakoukas, Ian Abraham, Todd D. Murphey

This paper demonstrates the benefits of imposing stability on data-driven Koopman operators. The data-driven identification of stable Koopman operators (DISKO) is implemented using an algorithm \cite{mamakoukas_stableLDS2020} that computes the nearest \textit{stable} matrix solution to a least-squares reconstruction error. As a first result, we derive a formula that describes the prediction error of Koopman representations for an arbitrary number of time steps, and which shows that stability constraints can improve the predictive accuracy over long horizons. As a second result, we determine formal conditions on basis functions of Koopman operators needed to satisfy the stability properties of an underlying nonlinear system. As a third result, we derive formal conditions for constructing Lyapunov functions for nonlinear systems out of stable data-driven Koopman operators, which we use to verify stabilizing control from data. Lastly, we demonstrate the benefits of DISKO in prediction and control with simulations using a pendulum and a quadrotor and experiments with a pusher-slider system. The paper is complemented with a video: \url{https://sites.google.com/view/learning-stable-koopman}.

Giorgos Mamakoukas, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey

This paper derives nonlinear feedback control synthesis for general control affine systems using second-order actions---the second-order needle variations of optimal control---as the basis for choosing each control response to the current state. A second result of the paper is that the method provably exploits the nonlinear controllability of a system by virtue of an explicit dependence of the second-order needle variation on the Lie bracket between vector fields. As a result, each control decision necessarily decreases the objective when the system is nonlinearly controllable using first-order Lie brackets. Simulation results using a differential drive cart, an underactuated kinematic vehicle in three dimensions, and an underactuated dynamic model of an underwater vehicle demonstrate that the method finds control solutions when the first-order analysis is singular. Lastly, the underactuated dynamic underwater vehicle model demonstrates convergence even in the presence of a velocity field.

Giorgos Mamakoukas, Malcolm A. MacIver, Todd D. Murphey

This paper derives nonlinear feedback control synthesis for general control affine systems using second-order actions---the needle variations of optimal control---as the basis for choosing each control response to the current state. A second result of the paper is that the method provably exploits the nonlinear controllability of a system by virtue of an explicit dependence of the second-order needle variation on the Lie bracket between vector fields. As a result, each control decision necessarily decreases the objective when the system is nonlinearly controllable using first-order Lie brackets. Simulation results using a differential drive cart, an underactuated kinematic vehicle in three dimensions, and an underactuated dynamic model of an underwater vehicle demonstrate that the method finds control solutions when the first-order analysis is singular. Moreover, the simulated examples demonstrate superior convergence when compared to synthesis based on first-order needle variations. Lastly, the underactuated dynamic underwater vehicle model demonstrates the convergence even in the presence of a velocity field.