Tochukwu E. Ogri

Trivikram Satharasi, Tochukwu E. Ogri, Muzaffar Qureshi et al.

This paper develops a sparsity-promoting integral concurrent learning (SP-ICL) adaptation law for a linearly parametrized uncertain nonlinear control-affine system. The unknown parameters are learned using ICL with sparsity-promoting $\ell_1$ regularization. The use of $\ell_1$ regularization for sparsity promotion is common in system identification and machine learning; however, unlike existing approaches, this paper develops an online parameter update law that integrates the regularization penalty with ICL via sliding modes. Using the SP-ICL update law, we show via non-smooth Lyapunov analysis that the trajectories of the closed-loop system are ultimately bounded. Simulations verify the effectiveness of the sparsity penalty in the SP-ICL update law on recovering sparse dynamics during trajectory tracking.

Muzaffar Qureshi, Trivikram Satharasi, Tochukwu E. Ogri et al.

This paper presents a framework for mapping unknown scalar fields using a sensor-equipped autonomous robot operating in unsafe environments. The unsafe regions are defined as regions of high-intensity, where the field value exceeds a predefined safety threshold. For safe and efficient mapping of the scalar field, the sensor-equipped robot must avoid high-intensity regions during the measurement process. In this paper, the scalar field is modeled as a sample from a Gaussian process (GP), which enables Bayesian inference and provides closed-form expressions for both the predictive mean and the uncertainty. Concurrently, the spatial structure of the high-intensity regions is estimated in real-time using the Hough transform (HT), leveraging the evolving GP posterior. A safe sampling strategy is then employed to guide the robot towards safe measurement locations, using probabilistic safety guarantees on the evolving GP posterior. The estimated high-intensity regions also facilitate the design of safe motion plans for the robot. The effectiveness of the approach is verified through two numerical simulation studies and an indoor experiment for mapping a light-intensity field using a wheeled mobile robot.