Paperid: 1, https://arxiv.org/pdf/2510.11072.pdf   GitHub
Authors:Huayi Wang, Wentao Zhang, Runyi Yu, Tao Huang, Junli Ren, Feiyu Jia, Zirui Wang, Xiaojie Niu, Xiao Chen, Jiahe Chen, Qifeng Chen, Jingbo Wang, Jiangmiao Pang
Title: PhysHSI: Towards a Real-World Generalizable and Natural Humanoid-Scene Interaction System
Abstract:
Deploying humanoid robots to interact with real-world environments--such as carrying objects or sitting on chairs--requires generalizable, lifelike motions and robust scene perception. Although prior approaches have advanced each capability individually, combining them in a unified system is still an ongoing challenge. In this work, we present a physical-world humanoid-scene interaction system, PhysHSI, that enables humanoids to autonomously perform diverse interaction tasks while maintaining natural and lifelike behaviors. PhysHSI comprises a simulation training pipeline and a real-world deployment system. In simulation, we adopt adversarial motion prior-based policy learning to imitate natural humanoid-scene interaction data across diverse scenarios, achieving both generalization and lifelike behaviors. For real-world deployment, we introduce a coarse-to-fine object localization module that combines LiDAR and camera inputs to provide continuous and robust scene perception. We validate PhysHSI on four representative interactive tasks--box carrying, sitting, lying, and standing up--in both simulation and real-world settings, demonstrating consistently high success rates, strong generalization across diverse task goals, and natural motion patterns.

Authors:Douglas Hutchings, Luai Abuelsamen, Karthik Rajgopal
Title: Two-Layer Voronoi Coverage Control for Hybrid Aerial-Ground Robot Teams in Emergency Response: Implementation and Analysis
Abstract:
We present a comprehensive two-layer Voronoi coverage control approach for coordinating hybrid aerial-ground robot teams in hazardous material emergency response scenarios. Traditional Voronoi coverage control methods face three critical limitations in emergency contexts: heterogeneous agent capabilities with vastly different velocities, clustered initial deployment configurations, and urgent time constraints requiring rapid response rather than eventual convergence. Our method addresses these challenges through a decoupled two-layer architecture that separately optimizes aerial and ground robot positioning, with aerial agents delivering ground sensors via airdrop to high-priority locations. We provide detailed implementation of bounded Voronoi cell computation, efficient numerical integration techniques for importance-weighted centroids, and robust control strategies that prevent agent trapping. Simulation results demonstrate an 88% reduction in response time, achieving target sensor coverage (18.5% of initial sensor loss) in 25 seconds compared to 220 seconds for ground-only deployment. Complete implementation code is available at https://github.com/dHutchings/ME292B.

Authors:Samet Uzun, Behcet Acikmese, John M. Carson
Title: Sequential Convex Programming for 6-DoF Powered Descent Guidance with Continuous-Time Compound State-Triggered Constraints
Abstract:
This paper presents a sequential convex programming (SCP) framework for ensuring the continuous-time satisfaction of compound state-triggered constraints, a subset of logical specifications, in the powered descent guidance (PDG) problem. The proposed framework combines the generalized mean-based smooth robustness measure (D-GMSR), a parameterization technique tailored for expressing discrete-time temporal and logical specifications through smooth functions, with the continuous-time successive convexification (CT-SCvx) method, a real-time solution for constrained trajectory optimization that guarantees continuous-time constraint satisfaction and convergence. The smoothness of the temporal and logical specifications parameterized via D-GMSR enables solving the resulting optimization problem with robust and efficient SCP algorithms while preserving theoretical guarantees. In addition to their smoothness, the parameterized specifications are sound and complete, meaning the specification holds if and only if the constraint defined by the parameterized function is satisfied. The CT-SCvx framework is then applied to solve the parameterized problem, incorporating: (1) reformulation for continuous-time path constraint satisfaction, (2) time-dilation to transform the free-final-time PDG problem into a fixed-final-time problem, (3) multiple shooting for exact discretization, (4) exact penalty functions for penalizing nonconvex constraints, and (5) the prox-linear method, a convergence-guaranteed SCP algorithm, to solve the resulting finite-dimensional nonconvex PDG problem. The effectiveness of the framework is demonstrated through a numerical simulation. The implementation is available at https://github.com/UW-ACL/CT-cSTC

Authors:Daniel M. Cherenson, Dimitra Panagou
Title: Adaptive Control Allocation for Underactuated Time-Scale Separated Non-Affine Systems
Abstract:
Many robotic systems are underactuated, meaning not all degrees of freedom can be directly controlled due to lack of actuators, input constraints, or state-dependent actuation. This property, compounded by modeling uncertainties and disturbances, complicates the control design process for trajectory tracking. In this work, we propose an adaptive control architecture for uncertain, nonlinear, underactuated systems with input constraints. Leveraging time-scale separation, we construct a reduced-order model where fast dynamics provide virtual inputs to the slower subsystem and use dynamic control allocation to select the optimal control inputs given the non-affine dynamics. To handle uncertainty, we introduce a state predictor-based adaptive law, and through singular perturbation theory and Lyapunov analysis, we prove stability and bounded tracking of reference trajectories. The proposed method is validated on a VTOL quadplane with nonlinear, state-dependent actuation, demonstrating its utility as a unified controller across various flight regimes, including cruise, landing transition, and hover.
中文: 本文提出了一种针对具有输入约束的不确定非线性欠驱动系统的自适应控制架构，利用时间尺度分离和动态控制分配确保稳定性和有界轨迹跟踪，并在垂直起降四倾转翼飞行器的多种飞行模式下得到验证。
English: This paper introduces an adaptive control architecture for uncertain, nonlinear, underactuated systems with input constraints, employing time-scale separation and dynamic control allocation to ensure stability and bounded trajectory tracking, as validated on a VTOL quadplane across multiple flight regimes.

Authors:Shumon Koga, Miroslav Krstic
Title: Safe Stabilization of the Stefan Problem with a High-Order Moving Boundary Dynamics by PDE Backstepping
Abstract:
This paper presents a safe stabilization of the Stefan PDE model with a moving boundary governed by a high-order dynamics. We consider a parabolic PDE with a time-varying domain governed by a second-order response with respect to the Neumann boundary value of the PDE state at the moving boundary. The objective is to design a boundary heat flux control to stabilize the moving boundary at a desired setpoint, with satisfying the required conditions of the model on PDE state and the moving boundary. We apply a PDE backstepping method for the control design with considering a constraint on the control law. The PDE and moving boundary constraints are shown to be satisfied by applying the maximum principle for parabolic PDEs. Then the closed-loop system is shown to be globally exponentially stable by performing Lyapunov analysis. The proposed control is implemented in numerical simulation, which illustrates the desired performance in safety and stability. An outline of the extension to third-order moving boundary dynamics is also presented. Code is released at https://github.com/shumon0423/HighOrderStefan_CDC2025.git.
本文通过PDE反步法设计了安全边界控制，以稳定具有高阶动态移动边界的Stefan系统，利用李雅普诺夫分析确保了全局指数稳定性和约束满足。
This paper develops a safe boundary control using PDE backstepping to stabilize a Stefan system with high-order moving boundary dynamics, ensuring global exponential stability and constraint satisfaction via Lyapunov analysis.

Authors:David E. J. van Wijk, Ersin Das, Tamas G. Molnar, Aaron D. Ames, Joel W. Burdick
Title: Safety-Critical Control with Bounded Inputs: A Closed-Form Solution for Backup Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Verifying the safety of controllers is critical for many applications, but is especially challenging for systems with bounded inputs. Backup control barrier functions (bCBFs) offer a structured approach to synthesizing safe controllers that are guaranteed to satisfy input bounds by leveraging the knowledge of a backup controller. While powerful, bCBFs require solving a high-dimensional quadratic program at run-time, which may be too costly for computationally-constrained systems such as aerospace vehicles. We propose an approach that optimally interpolates between a nominal controller and the backup controller, and we derive the solution to this optimization problem in closed form. We prove that this closed-form controller is guaranteed to be safe while obeying input bounds. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach on a double integrator and a nonlinear fixed-wing aircraft example.
中文: 所提出的方法以封闭形式优化结合了标称控制器和备用控制器，确保安全并遵守输入约束，无需进行计算密集的优化。
English: The proposed approach optimally combines a nominal and a backup controller in closed form, ensuring safety and adherence to input constraints without requiring computationally intensive optimization.

Authors:Zizhe Zhang, Yicong Wang, Zhiquan Zhang, Tianyu Li, Nadia Figueroa
Title: Viability-Preserving Passive Torque Control
Abstract:
Conventional passivity-based torque controllers for manipulators are typically unconstrained, which can lead to safety violations under external perturbations. In this paper, we employ viability theory to pre-compute safe sets in the state-space of joint positions and velocities. These viable sets, constructed via data-driven and analytical methods for self-collision avoidance, external object collision avoidance and joint-position and joint-velocity limits, provide constraints on joint accelerations and thus joint torques via the robot dynamics. A quadratic programming-based control framework enforces these constraints on a passive controller tracking a dynamical system, ensuring the robot states remain within the safe set in an infinite time horizon. We validate the proposed approach through simulations and hardware experiments on a 7-DoF Franka Emika manipulator. In comparison to a baseline constrained passive controller, our method operates at higher control-loop rates and yields smoother trajectories.

Authors:Xuan Lin, Jiming Ren, Yandong Luo, Weijun Xie, Ye Zhao
Title: Towards Tighter Convex Relaxation of Mixed-integer Programs: Leveraging Logic Network Flow for Task and Motion Planning
Abstract:
This paper proposes an optimization-based task and motion planning framework, named "Logic Network Flow", that integrates temporal logic specifications into mixed-integer programs for efficient robot planning. Inspired by the Graph-of-Convex-Sets formulation, temporal predicates are encoded as polyhedron constraints on each edge of a network flow model, instead of as constraints between nodes in traditional Logic Tree formulations. We further propose a network-flow-based Fourier-Motzkin elimination procedure that removes continuous flow variables while preserving convex relaxation tightness, leading to provably tighter convex relaxations and fewer constraints than Logic Tree formulations. For temporal logic motion planning with piecewise-affine dynamic systems, comprehensive experiments across vehicle routing, multi-robot coordination, and temporal logic control on dynamical systems using point mass and linear inverted pendulum models demonstrate computational speedups of up to several orders of magnitude. Hardware demonstrations with quadrupedal robots validate real-time replanning capabilities under dynamically changing environmental conditions. The project website is at https://logicnetworkflow.github.io/.

Authors:Zhe Shen
Title: The First Open-Source Framework for Learning Stability Certificate from Data
Abstract:
Before 2025, no open-source system existed that could learn Lyapunov stability certificates directly from noisy, real-world flight data. No tool could answer the critical question: is this controller still stabilizable-especially when its closed-loop system is a total black box. We broke that boundary. This year, we released the first-ever open-source framework that can learn Lyapunov functions from trajectory data under realistic, noise-corrupted conditions. Unlike statistical anomaly detectors, our method does not merely flag deviations-it directly determines whether the system can still be proven stable. Applied to public data from the 2024 SAS severe turbulence incident, our method revealed that, within just 60 seconds of the aircrafts descent becoming abnormal, no Lyapunov function could be constructed to certify system stability. Moreover, this is the first known data-driven stability-theoretic method ever applied to a civil airliner accident. And our approach works with zero access to the controller logic-a breakthrough for commercial aircraft where control laws are proprietary and opaque. The implementation of the proposed framework is open-sourced and available at: https://github.com/HansOersted/stability
中文: 2025年前，尚无开源系统能从噪声飞行数据中学习李雅普诺夫稳定性证书或评估黑盒系统的控制器可稳性，但今年首个此类框架问世，在2024年SAS湍流事件中，飞机异常下降60秒内即检测到失稳，且无需访问控制器逻辑。
English: Before 2025, no open-source system could learn Lyapunov stability certificates from noisy real-world flight data or assess controller stabilizability for black-box systems, but this year, the first such framework was released, successfully detecting instability within 60 seconds of abnormal descent in the 2024 SAS turbulence incident without requiring controller logic access.

Authors:Antoine P. Leeman, Johannes Köhler, Melanie N. Zeilinger
Title: Guaranteed Robust Nonlinear MPC via Disturbance Feedback
Abstract:
Robots must satisfy safety-critical state and input constraints despite disturbances and model mismatch. We introduce a robust model predictive control (RMPC) formulation that is fast, scalable, and compatible with real-time implementation. Our formulation guarantees robust constraint satisfaction, input-to-state stability (ISS) and recursive feasibility. The key idea is to decompose the uncertain nonlinear system into (i) a nominal nonlinear dynamic model, (ii) disturbance-feedback controllers, and (iii) bounds on the model error. These components are optimized jointly using sequential convex programming. The resulting convex subproblems are solved efficiently using a recent disturbance-feedback MPC solver. The approach is validated across multiple dynamics, including a rocket-landing problem with steerable thrust. An open-source implementation is available at https://github.com/antoineleeman/robust-nonlinear-mpc.
中文: 本文提出了一种快速且可扩展的鲁棒模型预测控制方法，通过分解系统不确定性和采用序列凸优化，确保非线性系统在扰动下的安全性与稳定性。
English: This paper presents a fast and scalable robust model predictive control method that ensures safety and stability for nonlinear systems under disturbances by decomposing uncertainty and using sequential convex programming.

Authors:Neel P. Bhatt, Yunhao Yang, Rohan Siva, Pranay Samineni, Daniel Milan, Zhangyang Wang, Ufuk Topcu
Title: VLN-Zero: Rapid Exploration and Cache-Enabled Neurosymbolic Vision-Language Planning for Zero-Shot Transfer in Robot Navigation
Abstract:
Rapid adaptation in unseen environments is essential for scalable real-world autonomy, yet existing approaches rely on exhaustive exploration or rigid navigation policies that fail to generalize. We present VLN-Zero, a two-phase vision-language navigation framework that leverages vision-language models to efficiently construct symbolic scene graphs and enable zero-shot neurosymbolic navigation. In the exploration phase, structured prompts guide VLM-based search toward informative and diverse trajectories, yielding compact scene graph representations. In the deployment phase, a neurosymbolic planner reasons over the scene graph and environmental observations to generate executable plans, while a cache-enabled execution module accelerates adaptation by reusing previously computed task-location trajectories. By combining rapid exploration, symbolic reasoning, and cache-enabled execution, the proposed framework overcomes the computational inefficiency and poor generalization of prior vision-language navigation methods, enabling robust and scalable decision-making in unseen environments. VLN-Zero achieves 2x higher success rate compared to state-of-the-art zero-shot models, outperforms most fine-tuned baselines, and reaches goal locations in half the time with 55% fewer VLM calls on average compared to state-of-the-art models across diverse environments. Codebase, datasets, and videos for VLN-Zero are available at: https://vln-zero.github.io/.

Authors:Johannes Köhler, Daniel Zhang, Raffaele Soloperto, Andrea Carron, Melanie Zeilinger
Title: An MPC framework for efficient navigation of mobile robots in cluttered environments
Abstract:
We present a model predictive control (MPC) framework for efficient navigation of mobile robots in cluttered environments. The proposed approach integrates a finite-segment shortest path planner into the finite-horizon trajectory optimization of the MPC. This formulation ensures convergence to dynamically selected targets and guarantees collision avoidance, even under general nonlinear dynamics and cluttered environments. The approach is validated through hardware experiments on a small ground robot, where a human operator dynamically assigns target locations. The robot successfully navigated through complex environments and reached new targets within 2-3 seconds.
中文: 本研究提出了一种模型预测控制框架，将路径规划与轨迹优化相结合，使移动机器人能够在复杂环境中安全高效导航，硬件实验证明其可在数秒内实现目标抵达。
English: This study introduces a model predictive control framework that combines path planning with trajectory optimization to enable mobile robots to navigate cluttered environments safely and efficiently, achieving target convergence within seconds as demonstrated in hardware experiments.

Authors:Hanlong Wan, Xing Lu, Yan Chen, Karthik Devaprasad, Laura Hinkle
Title: Automating Modelica Module Generation Using Large Language Models: A Case Study on Building Control Description Language
Abstract:
Dynamic energy systems and controls require advanced modeling frameworks to design and test supervisory and fault tolerant strategies. Modelica is a widely used equation based language, but developing control modules is labor intensive and requires specialized expertise. This paper examines the use of large language models (LLMs) to automate the generation of Control Description Language modules in the Building Modelica Library as a case study. We developed a structured workflow that combines standardized prompt scaffolds, library aware grounding, automated compilation with OpenModelica, and human in the loop evaluation. Experiments were carried out on four basic logic tasks (And, Or, Not, and Switch) and five control modules (chiller enable/disable, bypass valve control, cooling tower fan speed, plant requests, and relief damper control). The results showed that GPT 4o failed to produce executable Modelica code in zero shot mode, while Claude Sonnet 4 achieved up to full success for basic logic blocks with carefully engineered prompts. For control modules, success rates reached 83 percent, and failed outputs required medium level human repair (estimated one to eight hours). Retrieval augmented generation often produced mismatches in module selection (for example, And retrieved as Or), while a deterministic hard rule search strategy avoided these errors. Human evaluation also outperformed AI evaluation, since current LLMs cannot assess simulation results or validate behavioral correctness. Despite these limitations, the LLM assisted workflow reduced the average development time from 10 to 20 hours down to 4 to 6 hours per module, corresponding to 40 to 60 percent time savings. These results highlight both the potential and current limitations of LLM assisted Modelica generation, and point to future research in pre simulation validation, stronger grounding, and closed loop evaluation.
中文: 本研究证明大型语言模型可自动化生成Modelica控制模块，成功率最高达83%并缩短40-60%开发时间，但当前仍需人工干预进行代码验证与错误修正。
English: This study demonstrates that large language models can automate the generation of Modelica control modules, achieving up to 83% success rates and reducing development time by 40-60%, though current limitations require human intervention for code validation and error correction.

Authors:Moritz Heinlein, Florian Messerer, Moritz Diehl, Sergio Lucia
Title: Ellipsoidal partitions for improved multi-stage robust model predictive control
Abstract:
Ellipsoidal tube-based model predictive control methods effectively account for the propagation of the reachable set, typically employing linear feedback policies. In contrast, scenario-based approaches offer more flexibility in the feedback structure by considering different control actions for different branches of a scenario tree. However, they face challenges in ensuring rigorous guarantees. This work aims to integrate the strengths of both methodologies by enhancing ellipsoidal tube-based MPC with a scenario tree formulation. The uncertainty ellipsoids are partitioned by halfspaces such that each partitioned set can be controlled independently. The proposed ellipsoidal multi-stage approach is demonstrated in a human-robot system, highlighting its advantages in handling uncertainty while maintaining computational tractability.
中文摘要：本研究通过将不确定性椭球体分区控制，将椭球管模型预测控制与场景树框架相结合，在保持计算可行性的同时，有效提升了人机系统应对不确定性的能力。
English Summary: This work integrates ellipsoidal tube-based MPC with scenario tree formulation by partitioning uncertainty ellipsoids, enabling independent control of each partitioned set while maintaining computational tractability in human-robot systems.

Authors:Yechen Zhang, Bin Gao, Gang Wang, Jian Sun, Zhuo Li
Title: CORB-Planner: Corridor as Observations for RL Planning in High-Speed Flight
Abstract:
Reinforcement learning (RL) has shown promise in a large number of robotic control tasks. Nevertheless, its deployment on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) remains challenging, mainly because of reliance on accurate dynamic models and platform-specific sensing, which hinders cross-platform transfer. This paper presents the CORB-Planner (Corridor-as-Observations for RL B-spline planner), a real-time, RL-based trajectory planning framework for high-speed autonomous UAV flight across heterogeneous platforms. The key idea is to combine B-spline trajectory generation with the RL policy producing successive control points with a compact safe flight corridor (SFC) representation obtained via heuristic search. The SFC abstracts obstacle information in a low-dimensional form, mitigating overfitting to platform-specific details and reducing sensitivity to model inaccuracies. To narrow the sim-to-real gap, we adopt an easy-to-hard progressive training pipeline in simulation. A value-based soft decomposed-critic Q (SDCQ) algorithm is used to learn effective policies within approximately ten minutes of training. Benchmarks in simulation and real-world tests demonstrate real-time planning on lightweight onboard hardware and support maximum flight speeds up to 8.2m/s in dense, cluttered environments without external positioning. Compatibility with various UAV configurations (quadrotors, hexarotors) and modest onboard compute underlines the generality and robustness of CORB-Planner for practical deployment.
中文：CORB-Planner是一种基于强化学习的框架，通过安全飞行走廊和B样条轨迹生成，实现了跨平台无人机的实时高速轨迹规划，在复杂环境中仅需少量训练即可获得鲁棒性能。
English: The CORB-Planner is a reinforcement learning-based framework that enables real-time, high-speed UAV trajectory planning across different platforms by using safe flight corridors and B-spline generation, achieving robust performance in cluttered environments with minimal training time.

Authors:Paul Irofti, Luis Romero-Ben, Florin Stoican, Vicenç Puig
Title: Factor Graph Optimization for Leak Localization in Water Distribution Networks
Abstract:
Detecting and localizing leaks in water distribution network systems is an important topic with direct environmental, economic, and social impact. Our paper is the first to explore the use of factor graph optimization techniques for leak localization in water distribution networks, enabling us to perform sensor fusion between pressure and demand sensor readings and to estimate the network's temporal and structural state evolution across all network nodes. The methodology introduces specific water network factors and proposes a new architecture composed of two factor graphs: a leak-free state estimation factor graph and a leak localization factor graph. When a new sensor reading is obtained, unlike Kalman and other interpolation-based methods, which estimate only the current network state, factor graphs update both current and past states. Results on Modena, L-TOWN and synthetic networks show that factor graphs are much faster than nonlinear Kalman-based alternatives such as the UKF, while also providing improvements in localization compared to state-of-the-art estimation-localization approaches. Implementation and benchmarks are available at https://github.com/pirofti/FGLL.
中文摘要：本文首次将因子图优化技术应用于水管网络泄漏定位，通过融合压力与流量传感器数据实现全网状态估计，相比传统方法在定位精度和计算速度上均有显著提升。
English Summary: This paper pioneers the use of factor graph optimization for leak detection in water networks, enabling sensor fusion and state estimation across all nodes while outperforming traditional methods in speed and localization accuracy.

Authors:Chin-Yun Yu, György Fazekas
Title: Sound Matching an Analogue Levelling Amplifier Using the Newton-Raphson Method
Abstract:
Automatic differentiation through digital signal processing algorithms for virtual analogue modelling has recently gained popularity. These algorithms are typically more computationally efficient than black-box neural networks that rely on dense matrix multiplications. Due to their differentiable nature, they can be integrated with neural networks and jointly trained using gradient descent algorithms, resulting in more efficient systems. Furthermore, signal processing algorithms have significantly fewer parameters than neural networks, allowing the application of the Newton-Raphson method. This method offers faster and more robust convergence than gradient descent at the cost of quadratic storage. This paper presents a method to emulate analogue levelling amplifiers using a feed-forward digital compressor with parameters optimised via the Newton-Raphson method. We demonstrate that a digital compressor can successfully approximate the behaviour of our target unit, the Teletronix LA-2A. Different strategies for computing the Hessian matrix are benchmarked. We leverage parallel algorithms for recursive filters to achieve efficient training on modern GPUs. The resulting model is made into a VST plugin and is open-sourced at https://github.com/aim-qmul/4a2a.
中文: 本文提出了一种利用牛顿-拉弗森方法优化的可微分数字压缩器来模拟模拟电平放大器的方法，通过GPU实现高效训练并成功复现Teletronix LA-2A的特性，最终成果作为开源VST插件发布。
English: This paper introduces a method for emulating analog leveling amplifiers using a differentiable digital compressor optimized via the Newton-Raphson method, achieving efficient GPU training and accurate approximation of the Teletronix LA-2A, with the resulting open-source VST plugin available online.

Authors:Ning Yang, Junrui Wen, Meng Zhang, Ming Tang
Title: Generalizable Pareto-Optimal Offloading with Reinforcement Learning in Mobile Edge Computing
Abstract:
Mobile edge computing (MEC) is essential for next-generation mobile network applications that prioritize various performance metrics, including delays and energy efficiency. However, conventional single-objective scheduling solutions cannot be directly applied to practical systems in which the preferences (i.e., the weights of different objectives) are often unknown or challenging to specify in advance. In this study, we formulate a multi-objective offloading problem for MEC with multiple edges to minimize the sum of expected long-term energy consumption and delay while considering unknown preferences. To address the challenge of unknown preferences and the potentially diverse MEC systems, we propose a generalizable multi-objective (deep) reinforcement learning (GMORL)-based tasks offloading framework, which employs the Discrete Soft Actor-Critic (Discrete-SAC) method. Our method uses a single policy model to efficiently schedule tasks based on varying preferences and adapt to heterogeneous MEC systems with different CPU frequencies and server quantities. Under the proposed framework, we introduce a histogram-based state encoding method for constructing features for multiple edges in MEC systems, a sophisticated reward function for accurately computing the utilities of delay and energy consumption, and a novel neural network architecture for improving generalization. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed GMORL scheme enhances the hypervolume of the Pareto front by up to $121.0\%$ compared to benchmarks. Our code are avavilable at https://github.com/gracefulning/Generalizable-Pareto-Optimal-Offloading-with-Reinforcement-Learning-in-Mobile-Edge-Computing
Chinese: 本研究提出了一种基于离散SAC的GMORL框架，用于在偏好未知的移动边缘计算系统中优化多目标任务卸载，相比基准方法将帕累托前沿超体积提升了最高达121.0%。
English: This study introduces a GMORL framework using Discrete-SAC to optimize multi-objective task offloading in MEC systems with unknown preferences, achieving up to 121.0% improvement in Pareto front hypervolume over benchmarks.

Authors:Stefan Podgorski, Sourav Garg, Mehdi Hosseinzadeh, Lachlan Mares, Feras Dayoub, Ian Reid
Title: TANGO: Traversability-Aware Navigation with Local Metric Control for Topological Goals
Abstract:
Visual navigation in robotics traditionally relies on globally-consistent 3D maps or learned controllers, which can be computationally expensive and difficult to generalize across diverse environments. In this work, we present a novel RGB-only, object-level topometric navigation pipeline that enables zero-shot, long-horizon robot navigation without requiring 3D maps or pre-trained controllers. Our approach integrates global topological path planning with local metric trajectory control, allowing the robot to navigate towards object-level sub-goals while avoiding obstacles. We address key limitations of previous methods by continuously predicting local trajectory using monocular depth and traversability estimation, and incorporating an auto-switching mechanism that falls back to a baseline controller when necessary. The system operates using foundational models, ensuring open-set applicability without the need for domain-specific fine-tuning. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in both simulated environments and real-world tests, highlighting its robustness and deployability. Our approach outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods, offering a more adaptable and effective solution for visual navigation in open-set environments. The source code is made publicly available: https://github.com/podgorki/TANGO.
中文摘要：本研究提出了一种仅使用RGB图像的物体级拓扑导航系统，无需3D地图或预训练控制器即可实现零样本长距离机器人导航，通过全局路径规划与局部轨迹控制的结合，在开放环境中展现出优于现有方法的适应性和有效性。
English Summary: This study introduces a novel RGB-only, object-level topometric navigation system that enables zero-shot, long-range robot navigation without relying on 3D maps or pre-trained controllers, outperforming existing methods through integrated global planning and local control with open-set applicability.

Authors:Rui Yang, Lei Zheng, Shuzhi Sam Ge, Jun Ma
Title: Safe and Non-Conservative Contingency Planning for Autonomous Vehicles via Online Learning-Based Reachable Set Barriers
Abstract:
Autonomous vehicles must navigate dynamically uncertain environments while balancing the safety and driving efficiency. This challenge is exacerbated by the unpredictable nature of surrounding human-driven vehicles (HVs) and perception inaccuracies, which require planners to adapt to evolving uncertainties while maintaining safe trajectories. Overly conservative planners degrade driving efficiency, while deterministic approaches may encounter serious issues and risks of failure when faced with sudden and unexpected maneuvers. To address these issues, we propose a real-time contingency trajectory optimization framework in this paper. By employing event-triggered online learning of HV control-intent sets, our method dynamically quantifies multi-modal HV uncertainties and refines the forward reachable set (FRS) incrementally. Crucially, we enforce invariant safety through FRS-based barrier constraints that ensure safety without reliance on accurate trajectory prediction of HVs. These constraints are embedded in contingency trajectory optimization and solved efficiently through consensus alternative direction method of multipliers (ADMM). The system continuously adapts to the uncertainties in HV behaviors, preserving feasibility and safety without resorting to excessive conservatism. High-fidelity simulations on highway and urban scenarios, as well as a series of real-world experiments demonstrate significant improvements in driving efficiency and passenger comfort while maintaining safety under uncertainty. The project page is available at https://pathetiue.github.io/frscp.github.io/.

Authors:Xiaoran Yang, Yuyang Du, Kexin Chen, Soung Chang Liew, Jiamin Lu, Ziyu Guo, Xiaoyan Liu, Qun Yang, Shiqi Xu, Xingyu Fan, Yuchen Pan, Taoyong Cui, Hongyu Deng, Boris Dudder, Jianzhang Pan, Qun Fang, Pheng Ann Heng
Title: IndusGCC: A Data Benchmark and Evaluation Framework for GUI-Based General Computer Control in Industrial Automation
Abstract:
As Industry 4.0 progresses, flexible manufacturing has become a cornerstone of modern industrial systems, with equipment automation playing a pivotal role. However, existing control software for industrial equipment, typically reliant on graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that require human interactions such as mouse clicks or screen touches, poses significant barriers to the adoption of code-based equipment automation. Recently, Large Language Model-based General Computer Control (LLM-GCC) has emerged as a promising approach to automate GUI-based operations. However, industrial settings pose unique challenges, including visually diverse, domain-specific interfaces and mission-critical tasks demanding high precision. This paper introduces IndusGCC, the first dataset and benchmark tailored to LLM-GCC in industrial environments, encompassing 448 real-world tasks across seven domains, from robotic arm control to production line configuration. IndusGCC features multimodal human interaction data with the equipment software, providing robust supervision for GUI-level code generation. Additionally, we propose a novel evaluation framework with functional and structural metrics to assess LLM-generated control scripts. Experimental results on mainstream LLMs demonstrate both the potential of LLM-GCC and the challenges it faces, establishing a strong foundation for future research toward fully automated factories. Our data and code are publicly available at: \href{https://github.com/Golden-Arc/IndustrialLLM}{https://github.com/Golden-Arc/IndustrialLLM.
Chinese Summary: 本文提出了首个针对工业环境中大语言模型通用计算机控制的数据集和基准IndusGCC，通过涵盖7个领域的448个真实任务及新型评估框架，解决了领域特定界面和高精度要求等独特挑战。
English Summary: This paper introduces IndusGCC, the first dataset and benchmark for Large Language Model-based General Computer Control in industrial settings, addressing unique challenges like domain-specific interfaces and high-precision requirements through 448 real-world tasks and a novel evaluation framework.

Authors:Nicolas Soncini, Javier Cremona, Erica Vidal, Maximiliano García, Gastón Castro, Taihú Pire
Title: The Rosario Dataset v2: Multimodal Dataset for Agricultural Robotics
Abstract:
We present a multi-modal dataset collected in a soybean crop field, comprising over two hours of recorded data from sensors such as stereo infrared camera, color camera, accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, GNSS (Single Point Positioning, Real-Time Kinematic and Post-Processed Kinematic), and wheel odometry. This dataset captures key challenges inherent to robotics in agricultural environments, including variations in natural lighting, motion blur, rough terrain, and long, perceptually aliased sequences. By addressing these complexities, the dataset aims to support the development and benchmarking of advanced algorithms for localization, mapping, perception, and navigation in agricultural robotics. The platform and data collection system is designed to meet the key requirements for evaluating multi-modal SLAM systems, including hardware synchronization of sensors, 6-DOF ground truth and loops on long trajectories. We run multimodal state-of-the art SLAM methods on the dataset, showcasing the existing limitations in their application on agricultural settings. The dataset and utilities to work with it are released on https://cifasis.github.io/rosariov2/.

Authors:Jaehwan Jeong, Tuan-Anh Vu, Mohammad Jony, Shahab Ahmad, Md. Mukhlesur Rahman, Sangpil Kim, M. Khalid Jawed
Title: AgriChrono: A Multi-modal Dataset Capturing Crop Growth and Lighting Variability with a Field Robot
Abstract:
Existing datasets for precision agriculture have primarily been collected in static or controlled environments such as indoor labs or greenhouses, often with limited sensor diversity and restricted temporal span. These conditions fail to reflect the dynamic nature of real farmland, including illumination changes, crop growth variation, and natural disturbances. As a result, models trained on such data often lack robustness and generalization when applied to real-world field scenarios. In this paper, we present AgriChrono, a novel robotic data collection platform and multi-modal dataset designed to capture the dynamic conditions of real-world agricultural environments. Our platform integrates multiple sensors and enables remote, time-synchronized acquisition of RGB, Depth, LiDAR, and IMU data, supporting efficient and repeatable long-term data collection across varying illumination and crop growth stages. We benchmark a range of state-of-the-art 3D reconstruction models on the AgriChrono dataset, highlighting the difficulty of reconstruction in real-world field environments and demonstrating its value as a research asset for advancing model generalization under dynamic conditions. The code and dataset are publicly available at: https://github.com/StructuresComp/agri-chrono
中文摘要：AgriChrono数据集通过多传感器机器人平台克服了现有农业数据集的局限性，能够捕捉真实农田的动态环境条件，为三维重建模型的鲁棒性评估和泛化能力研究提供了重要资源。
English Summary: The AgriChrono dataset addresses limitations of existing agricultural datasets by capturing dynamic real-world field conditions through a multi-sensor robotic platform, enabling robust 3D reconstruction model evaluation and advancing generalization research in precision agriculture.

Authors:Milad Hasanzadeh, Amin Kargarian
Title: Distributed Implementation of Variational Quantum Eigensolver to Solve QUBO Problems
Abstract:
We present a distributed algorithm and implementation of the variational quantum eigensolver (VQE), termed distributed VQE (DVQE). DVQE, provided as an open-source Python package, enables the execution of parameterized quantum circuits across multiple logical quantum processing units (QPUs) in a distributed fashion. This approach addresses key hardware limitations of near-term quantum devices, including restricted qubit counts and limited circuit depth. Distributed ansatz circuits are constructed to preserve the quantum state fidelity of their monolithic counterparts, allowing consistent energy estimation while distributing the computational load. To improve the convergence and robustness of the optimization loop for identifying the variational parameters of the DVQE ansatz circuit, we use the ADAM optimizer in combination with metaheuristic initialization strategies, which outperform random initialization across various test cases. The complete DVQE pipeline is implemented in a modular Python package that accepts QUBO problems as input and supports monolithic and distributed execution modes. The framework leverages Qiskit to construct and simulate distributed circuits, and includes an internal greedy algorithm for automatic qubit allocation across multiple QPUs. Simulation results on QUBO benchmarks confirm the correctness of the approach, paving the way for real QPU deployment and further exploration of distributed quantum optimization. \textbf{The simulator is publicly available on \href{https://github.com/LSU-RAISE-LAB/DVQE.git}{GitHub} under a package named raiselab, with a collection of tutorial examples.}
中文: 我们提出了分布式变分量子本征求解器（DVQE），作为一个开源Python软件包，它通过在多量子处理器上分布式执行量子电路来突破硬件限制，并采用优化初始化和ADAM优化器确保鲁棒收敛。
English: We introduce a distributed variational quantum eigensolver (DVQE) as an open-source Python package that enables distributed execution of quantum circuits across multiple quantum processors to overcome hardware limitations, using optimized initialization and the ADAM optimizer for robust convergence.

Authors:Ziyan Wu, Ivan Korolija, Rui Tang
Title: MuFlex: A Scalable, Physics-based Platform for Multi-Building Flexibility Analysis and Coordination
Abstract:
With the increasing penetration of renewable generation on the power grid, maintaining system balance requires coordinated demand flexibility from aggregations of buildings. Reinforcement learning (RL) has been widely explored for building controls because of its model-free nature. Open-source simulation testbeds are essential not only for training RL agents but also for fairly benchmarking control strategies. However, most building-sector testbeds target single buildings; multi-building platforms are relatively limited and typically rely on simplified models (e.g., Resistance-Capacitance) or data-driven approaches, which lack the ability to fully capture the physical intricacies and intermediate variables necessary for interpreting control performance. Moreover, these platforms often impose fixed inputs, outputs, and model formats, restricting their applicability as benchmarking tools across diverse control scenarios. To address these gaps, MuFlex, a scalable, open-source platform for benchmarking and testing control strategies for multi-building flexibility coordination, was developed in this study. MuFlex enables synchronous information exchange across EnergyPlus building models and adheres to the latest OpenAI Gym interface, providing a modular, standardized RL implementation. The platform capabilities were demonstrated in a case study coordinating demand flexibility across four office buildings using the Soft Actor-Critic algorithm with carefully fine-tuned hyperparameters. The results show that aggregating the four buildings flexibility reduced total peak demand below a specified threshold while maintaining indoor environmental quality.
中文摘要：MuFlex平台通过提供可扩展的开源环境，解决了现有多建筑模拟工具的局限性，实现了基于标准化强化学习的建筑群协同需求响应，在降低峰值负荷的同时保障了室内环境质量。
English Summary: The MuFlex platform addresses limitations in existing multi-building simulation tools by providing a scalable, open-source environment for benchmarking control strategies, enabling coordinated demand flexibility across buildings through standardized reinforcement learning implementation.

Authors:Harshit Maheshwari, Li Yang, Richard W Pazzi
Title: Traffic Intersection Simulation Using Turning Movement Count Data in SUMO: A Case Study of Toronto Intersections
Abstract:
Urban traffic simulation is vital in planning, modeling, and analyzing road networks. However, the realism of a simulation depends extensively on the quality of input data. This paper presents an intersection traffic simulation tool that leverages real-world vehicle turning movement count (TMC) data from the City of Toronto to model traffic in an urban environment at an individual or multiple intersections using Simulation of Urban MObility (SUMO). The simulation performed in this research focuses specifically on intersection-level traffic generation without creating full vehicle routes through the network. This also helps keep the network's complexity to a minimum. The simulated traffic is evaluated against actual data to show that the simulation closely reproduces real intersection flows. This validates that the real data can drive practical simulations, and these scenarios can replace synthetic or random generated data, which is prominently used in developing new traffic-related methodologies. This is the first tool to integrate TMC data from Toronto into SUMO via an easy-to-use Graphical User Interface. This work contributes to the research and traffic planning community on data-driven traffic simulation. It provides transportation engineers with a framework to evaluate intersection design and traffic signal optimization strategies using readily available aggregate traffic data.
中文: 本文提出一种交通仿真工具，通过将多伦多真实转向流量数据导入SUMO系统，实现了精准的交叉口级交通流模拟，验证了仿真结果与实际数据的高度吻合，为交通工程师优化交叉口设计提供了实用框架。
English: This paper introduces a traffic simulation tool that uses Toronto's real-world turning movement data in SUMO to accurately model intersection-level traffic flows, validating its effectiveness against actual data and providing a practical framework for traffic engineers to optimize intersection designs.

Authors:Alejandro Posadas-Nava, Alejandro Carrasco, Richard Linares
Title: BEAVR: Bimanual, multi-Embodiment, Accessible, Virtual Reality Teleoperation System for Robots
Abstract:
\textbf{BEAVR} is an open-source, bimanual, multi-embodiment Virtual Reality (VR) teleoperation system for robots, designed to unify real-time control, data recording, and policy learning across heterogeneous robotic platforms. BEAVR enables real-time, dexterous teleoperation using commodity VR hardware, supports modular integration with robots ranging from 7-DoF manipulators to full-body humanoids, and records synchronized multi-modal demonstrations directly in the LeRobot dataset schema. Our system features a zero-copy streaming architecture achieving $\leq$35\,ms latency, an asynchronous ``think--act'' control loop for scalable inference, and a flexible network API optimized for real-time, multi-robot operation. We benchmark BEAVR across diverse manipulation tasks and demonstrate its compatibility with leading visuomotor policies such as ACT, DiffusionPolicy, and SmolVLA. All code is publicly available, and datasets are released on Hugging Face\footnote{Code, datasets, and VR app available at https://github.com/ARCLab-MIT/BEAVR-Bot.
BEAVR 是一个开源的 VR 遥操作系统，能够跨多种机器人平台实现实时灵巧操控，具备低延迟流式架构并兼容主流视觉运动策略，所有资源均已公开。
BEAVR is an open-source VR teleoperation system that enables real-time, dexterous robot control across diverse platforms, featuring low-latency streaming and compatibility with major visuomotor policies, with all resources publicly accessible.

Authors:Xi Xuan, Zimo Zhu, Wenxin Zhang, Yi-Cheng Lin, Tomi Kinnunen
Title: Fake-Mamba: Real-Time Speech Deepfake Detection Using Bidirectional Mamba as Self-Attention's Alternative
Abstract:
Advances in speech synthesis intensify security threats, motivating real-time deepfake detection research. We investigate whether bidirectional Mamba can serve as a competitive alternative to Self-Attention in detecting synthetic speech. Our solution, Fake-Mamba, integrates an XLSR front-end with bidirectional Mamba to capture both local and global artifacts. Our core innovation introduces three efficient encoders: TransBiMamba, ConBiMamba, and PN-BiMamba. Leveraging XLSR's rich linguistic representations, PN-BiMamba can effectively capture the subtle cues of synthetic speech. Evaluated on ASVspoof 21 LA, 21 DF, and In-The-Wild benchmarks, Fake-Mamba achieves 0.97%, 1.74%, and 5.85% EER, respectively, representing substantial relative gains over SOTA models XLSR-Conformer and XLSR-Mamba. The framework maintains real-time inference across utterance lengths, demonstrating strong generalization and practical viability. The code is available at https://github.com/xuanxixi/Fake-Mamba.
中文摘要：本研究提出Fake-Mamba实时深度伪造检测系统，通过双向Mamba架构与XLSR特征结合，在多项测试基准中显著超越现有最优模型，同时保持高效计算性能。
English Summary: The study introduces Fake-Mamba, a real-time deepfake detection system using bidirectional Mamba and XLSR features to outperform state-of-the-art models across multiple benchmarks while maintaining computational efficiency.

Authors:Jianpeng Yao, Xiaopan Zhang, Yu Xia, Zejin Wang, Amit K. Roy-Chowdhury, Jiachen Li
Title: Towards Generalizable Safety in Crowd Navigation via Conformal Uncertainty Handling
Abstract:
Mobile robots navigating in crowds trained using reinforcement learning are known to suffer performance degradation when faced with out-of-distribution scenarios. We propose that by properly accounting for the uncertainties of pedestrians, a robot can learn safe navigation policies that are robust to distribution shifts. Our method augments agent observations with prediction uncertainty estimates generated by adaptive conformal inference, and it uses these estimates to guide the agent's behavior through constrained reinforcement learning. The system helps regulate the agent's actions and enables it to adapt to distribution shifts. In the in-distribution setting, our approach achieves a 96.93% success rate, which is over 8.80% higher than the previous state-of-the-art baselines with over 3.72 times fewer collisions and 2.43 times fewer intrusions into ground-truth human future trajectories. In three out-of-distribution scenarios, our method shows much stronger robustness when facing distribution shifts in velocity variations, policy changes, and transitions from individual to group dynamics. We deploy our method on a real robot, and experiments show that the robot makes safe and robust decisions when interacting with both sparse and dense crowds. Our code and videos are available on https://gen-safe-nav.github.io/.

Authors:Lumin Chen, Zhiying Wu, Tianye Lei, Xuexue Bai, Ming Feng, Yuxi Wang, Gaofeng Meng, Zhen Lei, Hongbin Liu
Title: F2PASeg: Feature Fusion for Pituitary Anatomy Segmentation in Endoscopic Surgery
Abstract:
Pituitary tumors often cause deformation or encapsulation of adjacent vital structures. Anatomical structure segmentation can provide surgeons with early warnings of regions that pose surgical risks, thereby enhancing the safety of pituitary surgery. However, pixel-level annotated video stream datasets for pituitary surgeries are extremely rare. To address this challenge, we introduce a new dataset for Pituitary Anatomy Segmentation (PAS). PAS comprises 7,845 time-coherent images extracted from 120 videos. To mitigate class imbalance, we apply data augmentation techniques that simulate the presence of surgical instruments in the training data. One major challenge in pituitary anatomy segmentation is the inconsistency in feature representation due to occlusions, camera motion, and surgical bleeding. By incorporating a Feature Fusion module, F2PASeg is proposed to refine anatomical structure segmentation by leveraging both high-resolution image features and deep semantic embeddings, enhancing robustness against intraoperative variations. Experimental results demonstrate that F2PASeg consistently segments critical anatomical structures in real time, providing a reliable solution for intraoperative pituitary surgery planning. Code: https://github.com/paulili08/F2PASeg.
中文: 本研究提出了垂体解剖分割（PAS）数据集和F2PASeg模型，该模型通过特征融合模块增强了对关键解剖结构的实时分割能力，有效应对遮挡和类别不平衡等挑战，提升了垂体手术的安全性。
English: The study introduces the Pituitary Anatomy Segmentation (PAS) dataset and the F2PASeg model, which uses a Feature Fusion module to enhance real-time segmentation of critical anatomical structures in pituitary surgery, improving surgical safety despite challenges like occlusions and class imbalance.

Authors:Karan Mirhosseini, Arya Aftab, Alireza Sheikh
Title: RATE: An LLM-Powered Retrieval Augmented Generation Technology-Extraction Pipeline
Abstract:
In an era of radical technology transformations, technology maps play a crucial role in enhancing decision making. These maps heavily rely on automated methods of technology extraction. This paper introduces Retrieval Augmented Technology Extraction (RATE), a Large Language Model (LLM) based pipeline for automated technology extraction from scientific literature. RATE combines Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG) with multi-definition LLM-based validation. This hybrid method results in high recall in candidate generation alongside with high precision in candidate filtering. While the pipeline is designed to be general and widely applicable, we demonstrate its use on 678 research articles focused on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) and Extended Reality (XR) as a case study. Consequently, The validated technology terms by RATE were mapped into a co-occurrence network, revealing thematic clusters and structural features of the research landscape. For the purpose of evaluation, a gold standard dataset of technologies in 70 selected random articles had been curated by the experts. In addition, a technology extraction model based on Bidirectional Encoder Representations of Transformers (BERT) was used as a comparative method. RATE achieved F1-score of 91.27%, Significantly outperforming BERT with F1-score of 53.73%. Our findings highlight the promise of definition-driven LLM methods for technology extraction and mapping. They also offer new insights into emerging trends within the BCI-XR field. The source code is available https://github.com/AryaAftab/RATE
中文: 本文提出RATE框架，通过结合检索增强生成与多定义验证的LLM技术提取方法，在脑机接口与扩展现实案例中实现91.27%的F1值，显著优于BERT模型，为技术图谱构建提供新方案。
English: This paper introduces RATE, an LLM-based pipeline that combines retrieval-augmented generation with multi-definition validation to achieve high-precision automated technology extraction from scientific literature, significantly outperforming BERT with a 91.27% F1-score in BCI-XR case studies.

Authors:Supawich Sitdhipol, Waritwong Sukprasongdee, Ekapol Chuangsuwanich, Rina Tse
Title: Spatial Language Likelihood Grounding Network for Bayesian Fusion of Human-Robot Observations
Abstract:
Fusing information from human observations can help robots overcome sensing limitations in collaborative tasks. However, an uncertainty-aware fusion framework requires a grounded likelihood representing the uncertainty of human inputs. This paper presents a Feature Pyramid Likelihood Grounding Network (FP-LGN) that grounds spatial language by learning relevant map image features and their relationships with spatial relation semantics. The model is trained as a probability estimator to capture aleatoric uncertainty in human language using three-stage curriculum learning. Results showed that FP-LGN matched expert-designed rules in mean Negative Log-Likelihood (NLL) and demonstrated greater robustness with lower standard deviation. Collaborative sensing results demonstrated that the grounded likelihood successfully enabled uncertainty-aware fusion of heterogeneous human language observations and robot sensor measurements, achieving significant improvements in human-robot collaborative task performance.

Authors:Zhaoliang Zheng, Xu Han, Yuxin Bao, Yun Zhang, Johnson Liu, Zonglin Meng, Xin Xia, Jiaqi Ma
Title: CDA-SimBoost: A Unified Framework Bridging Real Data and Simulation for Infrastructure-Based CDA Systems
Abstract:
Cooperative Driving Automation (CDA) has garnered increasing research attention, yet the role of intelligent infrastructure remains insufficiently explored. Existing solutions offer limited support for addressing long-tail challenges, real-synthetic data fusion, and heterogeneous sensor management. This paper introduces CDA-SimBoost, a unified framework that constructs infrastructure-centric simulation environments from real-world data. CDA-SimBoost consists of three main components: a Digital Twin Builder for generating high-fidelity simulator assets based on sensor and HD map data, OFDataPip for processing both online and offline data streams, and OpenCDA-InfraX, a high-fidelity platform for infrastructure-focused simulation. The system supports realistic scenario construction, rare event synthesis, and scalable evaluation for CDA research. With its modular architecture and standardized benchmarking capabilities, CDA-SimBoost bridges real-world dynamics and virtual environments, facilitating reproducible and extensible infrastructure-driven CDA studies. All resources are publicly available at https://github.com/zhz03/CDA-SimBoost
中文摘要：本文提出CDA-SimBoost这一以智能基础设施为核心的统一仿真框架，通过数字孪生构建和高保真仿真平台，有效连接真实驾驶场景与虚拟环境，为协同驾驶自动化研究提供可扩展的标准化测试方案。
English Summary: This paper introduces CDA-SimBoost, a unified infrastructure-centric simulation framework that bridges real-world data with virtual environments to address challenges in Cooperative Driving Automation research, featuring modular components for digital twin construction and scalable evaluation.

Authors:Etienne Buehrle, Ömer Şahin Taş, Christoph Stiller
Title: Optimal Control of Hybrid Systems via Measure Relaxations
Abstract:
We propose an approach to trajectory optimization for piecewise polynomial systems based on the recently proposed graphs of convex sets framework. We instantiate the framework with a convex relaxation of optimal control based on occupation measures, resulting in a convex optimization problem resembling the discrete shortest-paths linear program that can be solved efficiently to global optimality. While this approach inherits the limitations of semidefinite programming, scalability to large numbers of discrete modes improves compared to the NP-hard mixed-integer formulation. We use this to plan trajectories under temporal logic specifications, comparing the computed cost lower bound to a nonconvex optimization approach with fixed mode sequence. In our numerical experiments, we find that this bound is typically in the vicinity of the nonconvex solution, while the runtime speedup is significant compared to the often intractable mixed-integer formulation. Our implementation is available at https://github.com/ebuehrle/hpoc.
中文: 本文提出了一种基于凸集图框架的轨迹优化方法，通过占用度量的凸松弛高效求解最优控制问题至全局最优，相比混合整数规划显著提升计算速度，且所得成本下界与非凸解接近。
English: This paper introduces a trajectory optimization method using the graphs of convex sets framework, which efficiently solves convex relaxations of optimal control problems to global optimality and provides tight cost bounds with significant runtime improvements over mixed-integer approaches.

Authors:Yonghao Fu, Cheng Hu, Haokun Xiong, Zhanpeng Bao, Wenyuan Du, Edoardo Ghignone, Michele Magno, Lei Xie, Hongye Su
Title: Residual Koopman Model Predictive Control for Enhanced Vehicle Dynamics with Small On-Track Data Input
Abstract:
In vehicle trajectory tracking tasks, the simplest approach is the Pure Pursuit (PP) Control. However, this single-point preview tracking strategy fails to consider vehicle model constraints, compromising driving safety. Model Predictive Control (MPC) as a widely adopted control method, optimizes control actions by incorporating mechanistic models and physical constraints. While its control performance critically depends on the accuracy of vehicle modeling. Traditional vehicle modeling approaches face inherent trade-offs between capturing nonlinear dynamics and maintaining computational efficiency, often resulting in reduced control performance. To address these challenges, this paper proposes Residual Koopman Model Predictive Control (RKMPC) framework. This method uses two linear MPC architecture to calculate control inputs: a Linear Model Predictive Control (LMPC) computes the baseline control input based on the vehicle kinematic model, and a neural network-based RKMPC calculates the compensation input. The final control command is obtained by adding these two components. This design preserves the reliability and interpretability of traditional mechanistic model while achieving performance optimization through residual modeling. This method has been validated on the Carsim-Matlab joint simulation platform and a physical 1:10 scale F1TENTH racing car. Experimental results show that RKMPC requires only 20% of the training data needed by traditional Koopman Model Predictive Control (KMPC) while delivering superior tracking performance. Compared to traditional LMPC, RKMPC reduces lateral error by 11.7%-22.1%, decreases heading error by 8.9%-15.8%, and improves front-wheel steering stability by up to 27.6%. The implementation code is available at: https://github.com/ZJU-DDRX/Residual Koopman.
中文: 本文提出残差库普曼模型预测控制（RKMPC）框架，通过结合线性MPC和基于神经网络的补偿器，有效提升了车辆轨迹跟踪的精度和稳定性，并在仿真与实车测试中验证了其优越性能。
English: This paper introduces the Residual Koopman Model Predictive Control (RKMPC) framework, which combines a linear MPC with a neural network-based compensator to enhance vehicle trajectory tracking by reducing errors and improving stability, validated through simulations and physical tests.

Authors:Shiny Choudhury, Michael Davidson, George Tynan
Title: Physics-Informed Unit Commitment Framework for Nuclear Reactors
Abstract:
Nuclear reactors are often modeled as inflexible baseload generators with fixed downtimes and restrictive ramping constraints. In practice, however, a reactor's operational flexibility is closely tied to its fuel cycle and associated reactivity margin. A key physical constraint for power maneuverability is xenon poisoning, caused from the transient buildup of neutron-absorbing xenon following a power reduction. This transient can delay or prevent subsequent power ramp-up due to suppressed core reactivity. Additionally, if a reactor is shutdown during periods of low reactivity, restart times can vary significantly, leading to prolonged downtimes. This work introduces a physics-informed modeling framework that embeds fuel cycle dynamics within a unit commitment (UC) formulation. The framework tracks reactivity margin, dynamically enforces xenon induced constraints, and endogenously schedules refueling outages based on core conditions. By capturing intracycle reactivity evolution, the model enables operation dependent nuclear dispatch that reflects both techno-economic requirements and irreducible nuclear physics limits. Application to a representative reactor fleet shows that flexible operation can slow reactivity degradation and extend fuel cycles. Results further demonstrate that different operational modes substantially affect VRE utilization, curtailment, and nuclear fleet capacity factors. These findings highlight the importance of fuel cycle aware flexibility modeling for accurate reactor scheduling and integration of nuclear power into energy system models.
中文摘要：本研究提出了一种基于物理的核反应堆调度模型，通过将燃料循环动态与运行约束相结合，证明了灵活运行能够缓解氙中毒影响、延长燃料周期并提升可再生能源消纳能力。
English Summary: This study presents a physics-based model integrating fuel cycle dynamics into nuclear reactor scheduling, demonstrating how flexible operations can extend fuel cycles and improve renewable energy integration by addressing xenon poisoning constraints.

Authors:Yuqing Shen, Yuanyuan Shi, Daniel Kirschen, Yize Chen
Title: Carbon Emission Flow Tracing: Fast Algorithm and California Grid Study
Abstract:
Power systems decarbonization are at the focal point of the clean energy transition. While system operators and utility companies increasingly publicize system-level carbon emission information, it remains unclear how emissions from individual generators are transported through the grid and how they impact electricity users at specific locations. This paper presents a novel and computationally efficient approach for exact quantification of nodal average and marginal carbon emission rates, applicable to both AC and DC optimal power flow problems. The approach leverages graph-based topological sorting and directed cycle removal techniques, applied to directed graphs formed by generation dispatch and optimal power flow solutions. Our proposed algorithm efficiently identifies each generator's contribution to each node, capturing how emissions are spatially distributed under varying system conditions. To validate its effectiveness and reveal locational and temporal emission patterns in the real world, we simulate the 8,870-bus realistic California grid using actual CAISO data and the CATS model. Based on year long hourly data on nodal loads and renewable generation, obtained or estimated from CAISO public data, our method accurately estimates power flow conditions, generation mixes, and systemwide emissions, and delivers fine grained spatiotemporal emission analysis for every California county. Both our algorithm and the California study are open-sourced, providing a foundation for future research on grid emissions, planning, operations, and energy policy.
中文摘要：本文提出了一种计算高效的新方法，通过基于图的拓扑排序和定向循环消除技术，精确量化电网节点的平均与边际碳排放率，并通过对加州电网的实证模拟揭示了碳排放的时空分布规律。
English Summary: This paper introduces a computationally efficient method to precisely calculate average and marginal carbon emissions at grid nodes, using graph-based techniques to track how generator emissions spread through power networks, validated through a comprehensive California grid simulation.

Authors:Yueyao Xu, Yize Chen
Title: Fast Distribution Grid Topology Estimation via Subset Sum
Abstract:
Faced with increasing penetration of distributed energy resources and fast development of distribution grid energy management, topology identification of distribution grid becomes an important and fundamental task. As the underlying grid topology is usually unknown or incomplete to the utilities, it is becoming a fundamental task to efficiently identify the distribution grid network topology using limited measurements. A fast and accurate topology identification can help achieving the tasks of load monitoring, operation and control of power distribution system as well as outage detection. In this paper, we propose a novel and ultra-fast topology identification method. By adapting the subset sum method with a hierarchical structure, the overall grid topology can be inferred from fewer samples of smart meter power measurements. Such techniques can be applied in real time under the scenarios with fast topology change, and the proposed hierarchical algorithm is also robust against measurement noises.
Chinese: 本文提出了一种新颖、超快速的配电网拓扑识别方法，通过采用分层结构的子集和方法，能够从有限的智能电表数据中实时推断整体电网结构，并对测量噪声具有鲁棒性。
English: This paper introduces a novel, ultra-fast method for identifying distribution grid topology by adapting the subset sum method with a hierarchical structure, enabling real-time inference from limited smart meter data and robustness against noise.

Authors:Haichao Liu, Haoren Guo, Pei Liu, Benshan Ma, Yuxiang Zhang, Jun Ma, Tong Heng Lee
Title: VLM-UDMC: VLM-Enhanced Unified Decision-Making and Motion Control for Urban Autonomous Driving
Abstract:
Scene understanding and risk-aware attentions are crucial for human drivers to make safe and effective driving decisions. To imitate this cognitive ability in urban autonomous driving while ensuring the transparency and interpretability, we propose a vision-language model (VLM)-enhanced unified decision-making and motion control framework, named VLM-UDMC. This framework incorporates scene reasoning and risk-aware insights into an upper-level slow system, which dynamically reconfigures the optimal motion planning for the downstream fast system. The reconfiguration is based on real-time environmental changes, which are encoded through context-aware potential functions. More specifically, the upper-level slow system employs a two-step reasoning policy with Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), leveraging foundation models to process multimodal inputs and retrieve contextual knowledge, thereby generating risk-aware insights. Meanwhile, a lightweight multi-kernel decomposed LSTM provides real-time trajectory predictions for heterogeneous traffic participants by extracting smoother trend representations for short-horizon trajectory prediction. The effectiveness of the proposed VLM-UDMC framework is verified via both simulations and real-world experiments with a full-size autonomous vehicle. It is demonstrated that the presented VLM-UDMC effectively leverages scene understanding and attention decomposition for rational driving decisions, thus improving the overall urban driving performance. Our open-source project is available at https://github.com/henryhcliu/vlmudmc.git.
中文: 本文提出了VLM-UDMC框架，通过视觉语言模型整合场景推理和风险感知，动态优化自动驾驶车辆的运动规划，其有效性已通过仿真和实车实验验证。
English: This paper introduces VLM-UDMC, a vision-language model-enhanced framework that integrates scene reasoning and risk-aware insights to dynamically reconfigure motion planning for autonomous vehicles, validated through simulations and real-world tests.

Authors:Xiucheng Wang, Qiming Zhang, Nan Cheng, Junting Chen, Zezhong Zhang, Zan Li, Shuguang Cui, Xuemin Shen
Title: RadioDiff-3D: A 3D$\times$3D Radio Map Dataset and Generative Diffusion Based Benchmark for 6G Environment-Aware Communication
Abstract:
Radio maps (RMs) serve as a critical foundation for enabling environment-aware wireless communication, as they provide the spatial distribution of wireless channel characteristics. Despite recent progress in RM construction using data-driven approaches, most existing methods focus solely on pathloss prediction in a fixed 2D plane, neglecting key parameters such as direction of arrival (DoA), time of arrival (ToA), and vertical spatial variations. Such a limitation is primarily due to the reliance on static learning paradigms, which hinder generalization beyond the training data distribution. To address these challenges, we propose UrbanRadio3D, a large-scale, high-resolution 3D RM dataset constructed via ray tracing in realistic urban environments. UrbanRadio3D is over 37$\times$3 larger than previous datasets across a 3D space with 3 metrics as pathloss, DoA, and ToA, forming a novel 3D$\times$33D dataset with 7$\times$3 more height layers than prior state-of-the-art (SOTA) dataset. To benchmark 3D RM construction, a UNet with 3D convolutional operators is proposed. Moreover, we further introduce RadioDiff-3D, a diffusion-model-based generative framework utilizing the 3D convolutional architecture. RadioDiff-3D supports both radiation-aware scenarios with known transmitter locations and radiation-unaware settings based on sparse spatial observations. Extensive evaluations on UrbanRadio3D validate that RadioDiff-3D achieves superior performance in constructing rich, high-dimensional radio maps under diverse environmental dynamics. This work provides a foundational dataset and benchmark for future research in 3D environment-aware communication. The dataset is available at https://github.com/UNIC-Lab/UrbanRadio3D.
中文: 本文提出UrbanRadio3D这一大规模高分辨率三维无线电地图数据集，并开发了基于扩散模型的RadioDiff-3D框架，在复杂环境动态下实现了高维无线电地图构建的卓越性能，为环境感知通信研究提供了基础数据集和基准。
English: This paper introduces UrbanRadio3D, a large-scale 3D radio map dataset with enhanced resolution and metrics, and proposes RadioDiff-3D, a diffusion-based model that achieves superior performance in constructing high-dimensional radio maps for environment-aware communication.

Authors:Shuo Yang, Zixin Zhang, John Z. Zhang, Ibrahima Sory Sow, Zachary Manchester
Title: Multi-IMU Sensor Fusion for Legged Robots
Abstract:
This paper presents a state-estimation solution for legged robots that uses a set of low-cost, compact, and lightweight sensors to achieve low-drift pose and velocity estimation under challenging locomotion conditions. The key idea is to leverage multiple inertial measurement units on different links of the robot to correct a major error source in standard proprioceptive odometry. We fuse the inertial sensor information and joint encoder measurements in an extended Kalman filter, then combine the velocity estimate from this filter with camera data in a factor-graph-based sliding-window estimator to form a visual-inertial-leg odometry method. We validate our state estimator through comprehensive theoretical analysis and hardware experiments performed using real-world robot data collected during a variety of challenging locomotion tasks. Our algorithm consistently achieves minimal position deviation, even in scenarios involving substantial ground impact, foot slippage, and sudden body rotations. A C++ implementation, along with a large-scale dataset, is available at https://github.com/ShuoYangRobotics/Cerberus2.0.
中文: 本文提出了一种低成本的多传感器状态估计方法，通过融合多个惯性测量单元和关节编码器数据，使腿式机器人即使在冲击和打滑等挑战性条件下也能实现精确的位姿与速度估计。
English: This paper introduces a low-cost, multi-sensor state-estimation method for legged robots that combines inertial data and joint measurements to achieve accurate pose and velocity tracking even under challenging conditions like impacts and slippage.

Authors:Darshan Gadginmath, Farhad Nawaz, Minjun Sung, Faizan M Tariq, Sangjae Bae, David Isele, Fabio Pasqualetti, Jovin D'sa
Title: Active Probing with Multimodal Predictions for Motion Planning
Abstract:
Navigation in dynamic environments requires autonomous systems to reason about uncertainties in the behavior of other agents. In this paper, we introduce a unified framework that combines trajectory planning with multimodal predictions and active probing to enhance decision-making under uncertainty. We develop a novel risk metric that seamlessly integrates multimodal prediction uncertainties through mixture models. When these uncertainties follow a Gaussian mixture distribution, we prove that our risk metric admits a closed-form solution, and is always finite, thus ensuring analytical tractability. To reduce prediction ambiguity, we incorporate an active probing mechanism that strategically selects actions to improve its estimates of behavioral parameters of other agents, while simultaneously handling multimodal uncertainties. We extensively evaluate our framework in autonomous navigation scenarios using the MetaDrive simulation environment. Results demonstrate that our active probing approach successfully navigates complex traffic scenarios with uncertain predictions. Additionally, our framework shows robust performance across diverse traffic agent behavior models, indicating its broad applicability to real-world autonomous navigation challenges. Code and videos are available at https://darshangm.github.io/papers/active-probing-multimodal-predictions/.
中文摘要：本文提出了一种统一框架，将轨迹规划与多模态预测及主动探测相结合，通过新型风险度量和策略性动作选择来提升自动驾驶在不确定环境中的决策能力，并在仿真实验中验证了其处理复杂交通场景的有效性。
English Summary: This paper presents a unified framework for autonomous navigation that integrates trajectory planning with multimodal predictions and active probing to improve decision-making under uncertainty, demonstrating robust performance in complex traffic scenarios through simulations.

Authors:Shan Shen, Shenglu Hua, Jiajun Zou, Jiawei Liu, Jianwang Zhai, Chuan Shi, Wenjian Yu
Title: Transferable Parasitic Estimation via Graph Contrastive Learning and Label Rebalancing in AMS Circuits
Abstract:
Graph representation learning on Analog-Mixed Signal (AMS) circuits is crucial for various downstream tasks, e.g., parasitic estimation. However, the scarcity of design data, the unbalanced distribution of labels, and the inherent diversity of circuit implementations pose significant challenges to learning robust and transferable circuit representations. To address these limitations, we propose CircuitGCL, a novel graph contrastive learning framework that integrates representation scattering and label rebalancing to enhance transferability across heterogeneous circuit graphs. CircuitGCL employs a self-supervised strategy to learn topology-invariant node embeddings through hyperspherical representation scattering, eliminating dependency on large-scale data. Simultaneously, balanced mean squared error (BMSE) and balanced softmax cross-entropy (BSCE) losses are introduced to mitigate label distribution disparities between circuits, enabling robust and transferable parasitic estimation. Evaluated on parasitic capacitance estimation (edge-level task) and ground capacitance classification (node-level task) across TSMC 28nm AMS designs, CircuitGCL outperforms all state-of-the-art (SOTA) methods, with the $R^2$ improvement of $33.64\% \sim 44.20\%$ for edge regression and F1-score gain of $0.9\times \sim 2.1\times$ for node classification. Our code is available at https://github.com/ShenShan123/CircuitGCL.
Chinese: CircuitGCL是一种新颖的图对比学习框架，通过结合超球面表示散射和标签重平衡技术，增强了模拟混合信号电路表示学习的可迁移性，在寄生参数估计任务中显著优于现有最优方法。
English: CircuitGCL is a novel graph contrastive learning framework that enhances transferability in AMS circuit representation learning by integrating hyperspherical representation scattering and label rebalancing techniques, achieving superior performance in parasitic estimation tasks compared to existing methods.

Authors:Yize Chen, Baosen Zhang
Title: Voltage Regulation in Distribution Systems with Data Center Loads
Abstract:
Recent boom in foundation models and AI computing have raised growing concerns on the power and energy trajectories of large-scale data centers. This paper focuses on the voltage issues caused by volatile and intensity of data center power demand, which also aligns with recent observations of more frequent voltage disturbances in power grids. To address these data center integration challenges, we propose a dynamic voltage control scheme by harnessing data center's load regulation capabilities. By taking local voltage measurements and adjusting power injections at each data center buses through the dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) scheme, we are able to maintain safe voltage magnitude in a distributed fashion with higher data center computing load. Simulations using real large language model (LLM) inference load validate the effectiveness of our proposed mechanism. Both the LLM power data and proposed control scheme are open sourced.
中文: 本文针对数据中心能耗波动引发的电网电压问题，提出一种分布式动态电压控制方案，通过本地测量和动态电压频率调整技术维持安全电压，并利用真实大语言模型推理负载验证了其有效性。
English: This paper addresses voltage instability in power grids caused by the fluctuating energy demands of data centers by proposing a distributed dynamic voltage control scheme that uses local measurements and DVFS to maintain safe voltage levels, validated through simulations with real LLM inference loads.

Authors:Jian Kai, Tianwei Zhang, Zihan Ling, Yang Cao, Can Shen
Title: Robust Bandwidth Estimation for Real-Time Communication with Offline Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Accurate bandwidth estimation (BWE) is critical for real-time communication (RTC) systems. Traditional heuristic approaches offer limited adaptability under dynamic networks, while online reinforcement learning (RL) suffers from high exploration costs and potential service disruptions. Offline RL, which leverages high-quality data collected from real-world environments, offers a promising alternative. However, challenges such as out-of-distribution (OOD) actions, policy extraction from behaviorally diverse datasets, and reliable deployment in production systems remain unsolved. We propose RBWE, a robust bandwidth estimation framework based on offline RL that integrates Q-ensemble (an ensemble of Q-functions) with a Gaussian mixture policy to mitigate OOD risks and enhance policy learning. A fallback mechanism ensures deployment stability by switching to heuristic methods under high uncertainty. Experimental results show that RBWE reduces overestimation errors by 18% and improves the 10th percentile Quality of Experience (QoE) by 18.6%, demonstrating its practical effectiveness in real-world RTC applications. The implementation is publicly available at https://github.com/jiu2021/RBWE_offline.
中文: RBWE是一种基于离线强化学习的鲁棒带宽估计框架，通过集成Q函数和高斯混合策略来应对分布外风险，将高估误差降低18%，并将体验质量提升18.6%，确保实时通信系统的稳定部署。
English: RBWE is an offline reinforcement learning framework that enhances bandwidth estimation for real-time communication by using Q-ensemble and a Gaussian mixture policy to address out-of-distribution risks, reducing overestimation errors by 18% and improving QoE by 18.6%.

Authors:Zien Wang, Xiucheng Wang, Nan Cheng, Wenchao Xu, Wei Quan, Ruijin Sun, Conghao Zhou
Title: On-Demand Multimedia Delivery in 6G: An Optimal-Cost Steiner Tree Approach
Abstract:
The exponential growth of multimedia data traffic in 6G networks poses unprecedented challenges for immersive communication, where ultra-high-definition, multi-quality streaming must be delivered on demand while minimizing network operational costs. Traditional routing approaches, such as shortest-path algorithms, fail to optimize flow multiplexing across multiple destinations, while conventional Steiner tree methods cannot accommodate heterogeneous quality-of-service (QoS) requirements-a critical need for 6G's personalized services. In this paper, we address a fundamental but unsolved challenge: the minimum flow problem (MFP) with multi-destination, heterogeneous outflow demands, which is pivotal for efficient multimedia distribution such as adaptive-resolution video streaming. To overcome the limitations of existing methods, we propose a two-stage dynamic programming-enhanced On-demand Steiner Tree (OST) algorithm, the first approach that jointly optimizes flow aggregation and QoS-aware path selection for arbitrary outflow requirements. We rigorously prove the optimality of OST using mathematical induction, demonstrating that it guarantees the minimum-cost multicast flow under differentiated service constraints. Extensive experiments in 6G-like multimedia transmission scenarios show that OST reduces total network flow by over 10% compared to state-of-the-art methods while ensuring on-demand QoS fulfillment. The complete code is available at https://github.com/UNIC-Lab/OST.
中文: 本文提出了一种动态规划增强的按需斯坦纳树（OST）算法，解决了6G网络中多目的地异构流出需求的最小流问题，在保证服务质量的同时将网络总流量降低了10%以上。
English: The paper introduces a dynamic programming-enhanced On-demand Steiner Tree (OST) algorithm to solve the minimum flow problem with multi-destination heterogeneous outflow demands in 6G networks, achieving over 10% network flow reduction while ensuring quality-of-service requirements.

Authors:Zexin Deng, Zhenhui Yuan, Longhao Zou
Title: TeleSim: A Network-Aware Testbed and Benchmark Dataset for Telerobotic Applications
Abstract:
Telerobotic technologies are becoming increasingly essential in fields such as remote surgery, nuclear decommissioning, and space exploration. Reliable datasets and testbeds are essential for evaluating telerobotic system performance prior to real-world deployment. However, there is a notable lack of datasets that capture the impact of network delays, as well as testbeds that realistically model the communication link between the operator and the robot. This paper introduces TeleSim, a network-aware teleoperation dataset and testbed designed to assess the performance of telerobotic applications under diverse network conditions. TeleSim systematically collects performance data from fine manipulation tasks executed under three predefined network quality tiers: High, Medium, and Low. Each tier is characterized through controlled settings of bandwidth, latency, jitter, and packet loss. Using OMNeT++ for precise network simulation, we record a wide range of metrics, including completion time, success rates, video quality indicators (Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM)), and quality of service (QoS) parameters. TeleSim comprises 300 experimental trials, providing a robust benchmark for evaluating teleoperation systems across heterogeneous network scenarios. In the worst network condition, completion time increases by 221.8% and success rate drops by 64%. Our findings reveal that network degradation leads to compounding negative impacts, notably reduced video quality and prolonged task execution, highlighting the need for adaptive, resilient teleoperation protocols. The full dataset and testbed software are publicly available on our GitHub repository: https://github.com/ConnectedRoboticsLab and YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/Fz_1iOYe104.
中文: 本文介绍了TeleSim这一网络感知数据集与测试平台，系统评估了不同网络条件下远程机器人操作的性能表现，揭示了网络延迟导致的严重性能下降，为开发适应性远程操作系统提供了基准。
English: This paper introduces TeleSim, a network-aware dataset and testbed that systematically evaluates telerobotic performance under varying network conditions, revealing significant performance degradation with network delays and providing a benchmark for developing resilient teleoperation protocols.

Authors:Wule Mao, Zhouheng Li, Yunhao Luo, Yilun Du, Lei Xie
Title: Rapid and Safe Trajectory Planning over Diverse Scenes through Diffusion Composition
Abstract:
Safe trajectory planning in complex environments must balance stringent collision avoidance with real-time efficiency, which is a long-standing challenge in robotics. In this work, we present a diffusion-based trajectory planning framework that is both rapid and safe. First, we introduce a scene-agnostic, MPC-based data generation pipeline that efficiently produces large volumes of kinematically feasible trajectories. Building on this dataset, our integrated diffusion planner maps raw onboard sensor inputs directly to kinematically feasible trajectories, enabling efficient inference while maintaining strong collision avoidance. To generalize to diverse, previously unseen scenarios, we compose diffusion models at test time, enabling safe behavior without additional training. We further propose a lightweight, rule-based safety filter that, from the candidate set, selects the trajectory meeting safety and kinematic-feasibility requirements. Across seen and unseen settings, the proposed method delivers real-time-capable inference with high safety and stability. Experiments on an F1TENTH vehicle demonstrate practicality on real hardware. Project page: https://rstp-comp-diffuser.github.io/.

Authors:Purbesh Mitra, Sennur Ulukus
Title: MOTIF: Modular Thinking via Reinforcement Fine-tuning in LLMs
Abstract:
Recent advancements in the reasoning capabilities of large language models (LLMs) show that employing group relative policy optimization (GRPO) algorithm for reinforcement learning (RL) training allows the models to use more thinking/reasoning tokens for generating better responses. However, LLMs can generate only a finite amount of tokens while maintaining attention to the previously generated tokens. This limit, also known as the context size of an LLM, is a bottleneck in LLM reasoning with arbitrarily large number of tokens. To think beyond the limit of context size, an LLM must employ a modular thinking strategy to reason over multiple rounds. In this work, we propose $\textbf{MOTIF: Modular Thinking via Reinforcement Finetuning}$ -- an RL training method for generating thinking tokens in multiple rounds, effectively allowing the model to think with additional context size. We trained the open-source model Qwen2.5-3B-Instruct on GSM8K dataset via parameter efficient fine-tuning and tested its accuracy on MATH500 and AIME2024 benchmarks. Our experiments show 3.8\% and 3.3\% improvements over vanilla GRPO based training in the respective benchmarks. Furthermore, this improvement was achieved with only 15\% of samples, thus demonstrating sample efficiency of MOTIF. Our code and models are available at https://github.com/purbeshmitra/MOTIF and https://huggingface.co/purbeshmitra/MOTIF, respectively.
中文摘要：提出的MOTIF方法通过强化学习实现模块化多轮思考，有效提升大语言模型的推理能力，在基准测试中相比传统方法以更高样本效率显著提高了准确率。
English Summary: The proposed MOTIF method enhances large language models' reasoning by enabling modular, multi-round thinking through reinforcement learning, significantly improving accuracy on benchmarks with greater sample efficiency than previous approaches.

Authors:Jiewei Chen, Xiumei Deng, Zehui Xiong, Shaoyong Guo, Xuesong Qiu, Ping Wang, Dusit Niyato
Title: CollaPipe: Adaptive Segment-Optimized Pipeline Parallelism for Collaborative LLM Training in Heterogeneous Edge Networks
Abstract:
The increasing demand for intelligent mobile applications has made multi-agent collaboration with Transformer-based large language models (LLMs) essential in mobile edge computing (MEC) networks. However, training LLMs in such environments remains challenging due to heavy computation, high end-to-end latency, and limited model generalization. We introduce CollaPipe, a hybrid distributed learning framework that integrates collaborative pipeline parallelism with federated aggregation to support self-evolving intelligent networks. In CollaPipe, the encoder part is adaptively partitioned into variable-sized segments and deployed across mobile devices for pipeline-parallel training, while the decoder is deployed on edge servers to handle generative tasks. Then we perform global model update via federated aggregation. To enhance training efficiency, we formulate a joint optimization problem that adaptively allocates model segments, micro-batches, bandwidth, and transmission power. We derive and use a closed-form convergence bound to design an Dynamic Segment Scheduling and Resource Allocation (DSSDA) algorithm based on Lyapunov optimization, ensuring system stability under long-term constraints. Extensive experiments on downstream tasks with Transformer and BERT models show that CollaPipe improves computation efficiency by up to 15.09%, reduces end-to-end latency by at least 48.98%, and cuts single device memory usage by more than half, enabling online learning in heterogeneous and dynamic communication environments.
中文: CollaPipe是一种混合分布式学习框架，通过结合协作式流水线并行与联邦聚合，优化移动边缘计算网络中大型语言模型的训练，显著提升计算效率、降低延迟并减少内存使用，实现动态环境中的在线学习。
English: CollaPipe is a hybrid distributed learning framework that combines collaborative pipeline parallelism with federated aggregation to optimize LLM training in MEC networks, significantly improving computation efficiency, reducing latency, and cutting memory usage for online learning in dynamic environments.

Authors:Jiacheng Wang, Jialing He, Geng Sun, Zehui Xiong, Dusit Niyato, Shiwen Mao, Dong In Kim, Tao Xiang
Title: Safeguarding ISAC Performance in Low-Altitude Wireless Networks Under Channel Access Attack
Abstract:
The increasing saturation of terrestrial resources has driven the exploration of low-altitude applications such as air taxis. Low altitude wireless networks (LAWNs) serve as the foundation for these applications, and integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) constitutes one of the core technologies within LAWNs. However, the openness nature of low-altitude airspace makes LAWNs vulnerable to malicious channel access attacks, which degrade the ISAC performance. Therefore, this paper develops a game-based framework to mitigate the influence of the attacks on LAWNs. Concretely, we first derive expressions of communication data's signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and the age of information of sensing data under attack conditions, which serve as quality of service metrics. Then, we formulate the ISAC performance optimization problem as a Stackelberg game, where the attacker acts as the leader, and the legitimate drone and the ground ISAC base station act as second and first followers, respectively. On this basis, we design a backward induction algorithm that achieves the Stackelberg equilibrium while maximizing the utilities of all participants, thereby mitigating the attack-induced degradation of ISAC performance in LAWNs. We further prove the existence and uniqueness of the equilibrium. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms existing baselines and a static Nash equilibrium benchmark, ensuring that LAWNs can provide reliable service for low-altitude applications.
中文摘要：本文针对低空无线网络中恶意攻击导致的感知通信性能下降问题，提出基于斯塔克伯格博弈的防御框架，通过逆向归纳算法实现均衡解，显著提升低空应用的通信可靠性。
English Summary: This paper proposes a game-theoretic framework to counter malicious attacks in low-altitude wireless networks, developing a Stackelberg game model and backward induction algorithm that effectively mitigates performance degradation in integrated sensing and communication systems.

Authors:Ping Zhang, Xiaodong Xu, Mengying Sun, Haixiao Gao, Nan Ma, Xiaoyun Wang, Ruichen Zhang, Jiacheng Wang, Dusit Niyato
Title: Towards Native AI in 6G Standardization: The Roadmap of Semantic Communication
Abstract:
Semantic communication (SemCom) has emerged as a transformative paradigm for future 6G networks, offering task-oriented and meaning-aware transmission that fundamentally redefines traditional bit-centric design. Recognized by leading standardization bodies including the institute of electrical and electronics engineers (IEEE) and the international telecommunication union (ITU), and actively discussed within the 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) working groups, SemCom is rapidly gaining traction as a foundational enabler for native-AI 6G. This paper presents a comprehensive overview of recent progress in SemCom from both academic and industrial perspectives, with a focus on its ongoing and upcoming standardization activities. We systematically examine advances in representative application scenarios, architectural design, semantic-traditional system compatibility, unified evaluation metrics, and validation methodologies. Furthermore, we highlight several key enabling technologies, such as joint source-channel coding (JSCC), SemCom-based multiple access (MA) technologies such as model division MA (MDMA), and semantic knowledge base (KB), that support the practical implementation of SemCom in standard-compliant systems. Additionally, we present a case study for channel state information (CSI) feedback, illustrating the concrete performance gains of SemCom under 3GPP-compliant fading channels. Finally, we discuss emerging challenges and research opportunities for incorporating semantic-native mechanisms into the evolving 6G standardization landscape, and provide forward-looking insights into its development and global adoption.
中文: 语义通信正成为6G的变革性范式，从以比特为中心转向面向任务的传输，本文全面综述了其标准化进展、关键技术和实际应用，并探讨了未来挑战。
English: Semantic communication is emerging as a transformative 6G paradigm that shifts from bit-centric to task-oriented transmission, with this paper providing a comprehensive overview of its standardization progress, key technologies, and practical applications while addressing future challenges.

Authors:Yifan Jiang, Qingqing Wu, Hongxun Hui, Wen Chen, Derrick Wing Kwan Ng
Title: Low-Altitude UAV Tracking via Sensing-Assisted Predictive Beamforming
Abstract:
Sensing-assisted predictive beamforming, as one of the enabling technologies for emerging integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) paradigm, shows significant promise for enhancing various future unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications. However, current works predominately emphasized on spectral efficiency enhancement, while the impact of such beamforming techniques on the communication reliability was largely unexplored and challenging to characterize. To fill this research gap and tackle this issue, this paper investigates outage capacity maximization for UAV tracking under the sensing-assisted predictive beamforming scheme. Specifically, a cellular-connected UAV tracking scheme is proposed leveraging extended Kalman filtering (EKF), where the predicted UAV trajectory, sensing duration ratio, and target constant received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) are jointly optimized to maximize the outage capacity at each time slot. To address the implicit nature of the objective function, closed-form approximations of the outage probabilities (OPs) at both prediction and measurement stages of each time slot are proposed based on second-order Taylor expansions, providing an efficient and full characterization of outage capacity. Subsequently, an efficient algorithm is proposed based on a combination of bisection search and successive convex approximation (SCA) to address the non-convex optimization problem with guaranteed convergence. To further reduce computational complexity, a second efficient algorithm is developed based on alternating optimization (AO). Simulation results validate the accuracy of the derived OP approximations, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms, and the significant outage capacity enhancement over various benchmarks, while also indicating a trade-off between decreasing path loss and enjoying wide beam coverage for outage capacity maximization.
中文: 本文提出了一种面向蜂窝连接无人机追踪的感知辅助预测波束成形方案，通过优化轨迹和参数，采用高效算法最大化中断容量，并经仿真验证其显著性能提升。
English: This paper proposes a sensing-assisted predictive beamforming scheme for cellular-connected UAV tracking, optimizing trajectory and parameters to maximize outage capacity through efficient algorithms and validated by simulations.

Authors:Kohei Sendai, Maxime Alvarez, Tatsuya Matsushima, Yutaka Matsuo, Yusuke Iwasawa
Title: Leave No Observation Behind: Real-time Correction for VLA Action Chunks
Abstract:
To improve efficiency and temporal coherence, Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models often predict action chunks; however, this action chunking harms reactivity under inference delay and long horizons. We introduce Asynchronous Action Chunk Correction (A2C2), which is a lightweight real-time chunk correction head that runs every control step and adds a time-aware correction to any off-the-shelf VLA's action chunk. The module combines the latest observation, the predicted action from VLA (base action), a positional feature that encodes the index of the base action within the chunk, and some features from the base policy, then outputs a per-step correction. This preserves the base model's competence while restoring closed-loop responsiveness. The approach requires no retraining of the base policy and is orthogonal to asynchronous execution schemes such as Real Time Chunking (RTC). On the dynamic Kinetix task suite (12 tasks) and LIBERO Spatial, our method yields consistent success rate improvements across increasing delays and execution horizons (+23% point and +7% point respectively, compared to RTC), and also improves robustness for long horizons even with zero injected delay. Since the correction head is small and fast, there is minimal overhead compared to the inference of large VLA models. These results indicate that A2C2 is an effective, plug-in mechanism for deploying high-capacity chunking policies in real-time control.
中文: 异步动作块校正（A2C2）模块通过实时修正动作块来增强视觉-语言-动作模型，无需重新训练基础策略或增加显著开销，即可提高响应能力和成功率。
English: The Asynchronous Action Chunk Correction (A2C2) module enhances Vision-Language-Action models by adding real-time corrections to action chunks, improving reactivity and success rates without retraining the base policy or adding significant overhead.

Authors:Chengzhen Li, Likun Zhang, Chuang Zhang, Jiahui Li, Changyuan Zhao, Ruichen Zhang, Geng Sun
Title: Wireless Laser Power Transfer for Low-altitude Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle-assisted Internet of Things: Paradigms, Challenges, and Solutions
Abstract:
Low-altitude uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) have become integral enablers for the Internet of Things (IoT) by offering enhanced coverage, improved connectivity and access to remote areas. A critical challenge limiting their operational capacity lies in the energy constraints of both aerial platforms and ground-based sensors. This paper explores WLPT as a transformative solution for sustainable energy provisioning in UAV-assisted IoT networks. We first systematically investigate the fundamental principles of WLPT and analysis the comparative advantages. Then, we introduce three operational paradigms for system integration, identify key challenges, and discuss corresponding potential solutions. In case study, we propose a multi-agent reinforcement learning framework to address the coordination and optimization challenges in WLPT-enabled UAV-assisted IoT data collection. Simulation results demonstrate that our framework significantly improves energy sustainability and data freshness. Finally, we discuss some future directions.
中文摘要：本文提出无线能量传输（WLPT）作为解决无人机辅助物联网网络能量限制的关键方案，通过引入多智能体强化学习框架，显著提升了系统能量持续性和数据新鲜度。
English Summary: This paper presents Wireless Power Transfer (WLPT) as a key solution to overcome energy limitations in UAV-assisted IoT networks, introducing operational paradigms and a reinforcement learning framework that enhances energy sustainability and data freshness.

Authors:Kaustav Chakraborty, Zeyuan Feng, Sushant Veer, Apoorva Sharma, Wenhao Ding, Sever Topan, Boris Ivanovic, Marco Pavone, Somil Bansal
Title: Safety Evaluation of Motion Plans Using Trajectory Predictors as Forward Reachable Set Estimators
Abstract:
The advent of end-to-end autonomy stacks - often lacking interpretable intermediate modules - has placed an increased burden on ensuring that the final output, i.e., the motion plan, is safe in order to validate the safety of the entire stack. This requires a safety monitor that is both complete (able to detect all unsafe plans) and sound (does not flag safe plans). In this work, we propose a principled safety monitor that leverages modern multi-modal trajectory predictors to approximate forward reachable sets (FRS) of surrounding agents. By formulating a convex program, we efficiently extract these data-driven FRSs directly from the predicted state distributions, conditioned on scene context such as lane topology and agent history. To ensure completeness, we leverage conformal prediction to calibrate the FRS and guarantee coverage of ground-truth trajectories with high probability. To preserve soundness in out-of-distribution (OOD) scenarios or under predictor failure, we introduce a Bayesian filter that dynamically adjusts the FRS conservativeness based on the predictor's observed performance. We then assess the safety of the ego vehicle's motion plan by checking for intersections with these calibrated FRSs, ensuring the plan remains collision-free under plausible future behaviors of others. Extensive experiments on the nuScenes dataset show our approach significantly improves soundness while maintaining completeness, offering a practical and reliable safety monitor for learned autonomy stacks.
Chinese: 本文提出了一种基于多模态轨迹预测器和保形预测的安全监控方法，通过校准前向可达集来确保自动驾驶系统运动规划的安全性和可靠性，并在nuScenes数据集上验证了其有效性。
English: This paper introduces a principled safety monitor for autonomous vehicles that uses multi-modal trajectory predictors and conformal prediction to ensure both completeness in detecting unsafe plans and soundness in avoiding false alarms, validated through experiments on the nuScenes dataset.

Authors:Changheng Wang, Zhiqing Wei, Wangjun Jiang, Haoyue Jiang, Zhiyong Feng
Title: Cooperative Sensing Enhanced UAV Path-Following and Obstacle Avoidance with Variable Formation
Abstract:
The high mobility of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) enables them to be used in various civilian fields, such as rescue and cargo transport. Path-following is a crucial way to perform these tasks while sensing and collision avoidance are essential for safe flight. In this paper, we investigate how to efficiently and accurately achieve path-following, obstacle sensing and avoidance subtasks, as well as their conflict-free fusion scheduling. Firstly, a high precision deep reinforcement learning (DRL)-based UAV formation path-following model is developed, and the reward function with adaptive weights is designed from the perspective of distance and velocity errors. Then, we use integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) signals to detect the obstacle and derive the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) for obstacle sensing by information-level fusion, based on which we propose the variable formation enhanced obstacle position estimation (VFEO) algorithm. In addition, an online obstacle avoidance scheme without pretraining is designed to solve the sparse reward. Finally, with the aid of null space based (NSB) behavioral method, we present a hierarchical subtasks fusion strategy. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the subtask algorithms and the hierarchical fusion strategy.
Chinese: 本文开发了基于深度强化学习的高精度无人机编队路径跟踪模型，利用ISAC信号提出障碍物感知算法及在线避障方案，并通过仿真验证了分层融合策略在协调这些任务方面的有效性。
English: This paper develops a high-precision deep reinforcement learning model for UAV formation path-following, proposes an obstacle sensing algorithm using ISAC signals with an online avoidance scheme, and demonstrates through simulations the effectiveness of a hierarchical fusion strategy for coordinating these tasks.

Authors:Manish Prajapat, Johannes Köhler, Melanie N. Zeilinger, Andreas Krause
Title: Safe Guaranteed Dynamics Exploration with Probabilistic Models
Abstract:
Ensuring both optimality and safety is critical for the real-world deployment of agents, but becomes particularly challenging when the system dynamics are unknown. To address this problem, we introduce a notion of maximum safe dynamics learning via sufficient exploration in the space of safe policies. We propose a $\textit{pessimistically}$ safe framework that $\textit{optimistically}$ explores informative states and, despite not reaching them due to model uncertainty, ensures continuous online learning of dynamics. The framework achieves first-of-its-kind results: learning the dynamics model sufficiently $-$ up to an arbitrary small tolerance (subject to noise) $-$ in a finite time, while ensuring provably safe operation throughout with high probability and without requiring resets. Building on this, we propose an algorithm to maximize rewards while learning the dynamics $\textit{only to the extent needed}$ to achieve close-to-optimal performance. Unlike typical reinforcement learning (RL) methods, our approach operates online in a non-episodic setting and ensures safety throughout the learning process. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in challenging domains such as autonomous car racing and drone navigation under aerodynamic effects $-$ scenarios where safety is critical and accurate modeling is difficult.

Authors:Fabian Flürenbrock, Yanick Büchel, Johannes Köhler, Marianne Schmid Daners, Melanie N. Zeilinger
Title: Model Predictive Control with Reference Learning for Soft Robotic Intracranial Pressure Waveform Modulation
Abstract:
This paper introduces a learning-based control framework for a soft robotic actuator system designed to modulate intracranial pressure (ICP) waveforms, which is essential for studying cerebrospinal fluid dynamics and pathological processes underlying neurological disorders. A two-layer framework is proposed to safely achieve a desired ICP waveform modulation. First, a model predictive controller (MPC) with a disturbance observer is used for offset-free tracking of the system's motor position reference trajectory under safety constraints. Second, to address the unknown nonlinear dependence of ICP on the motor position, we employ a Bayesian optimization (BO) algorithm used for online learning of a motor position reference trajectory that yields the desired ICP modulation. The framework is experimentally validated using a test bench with a brain phantom that replicates realistic ICP dynamics in vitro. Compared to a previously employed proportional-integral-derivative controller, the MPC reduces mean and maximum motor position reference tracking errors by 83 % and 73 %, respectively. In less than 20 iterations, the BO algorithm learns a motor position reference trajectory that yields an ICP waveform with the desired mean and amplitude.

Authors:Mathieu Dubied, Amon Lahr, Melanie N. Zeilinger, Johannes Köhler
Title: A robust and adaptive MPC formulation for Gaussian process models
Abstract:
In this paper, we present a robust and adaptive model predictive control (MPC) framework for uncertain nonlinear systems affected by bounded disturbances and unmodeled nonlinearities. We use Gaussian Processes (GPs) to learn the uncertain dynamics based on noisy measurements, including those collected during system operation. As a key contribution, we derive robust predictions for GP models using contraction metrics, which are incorporated in the MPC formulation. The proposed design guarantees recursive feasibility, robust constraint satisfaction and convergence to a reference state, with high probability. We provide a numerical example of a planar quadrotor subject to difficult-to-model ground effects, which highlights significant improvements achieved through the proposed robust prediction method and through online learning.
中文: 本文提出了一种鲁棒自适应模型预测控制框架，利用高斯过程学习不确定动态并通过收缩度量实现鲁棒预测，以高概率保证递归可行性、约束满足及状态收敛。
English: This paper introduces a robust adaptive MPC framework using Gaussian Processes to learn uncertain dynamics and contraction metrics for robust predictions, ensuring recursive feasibility and constraint satisfaction with high probability.

Authors:Patrick Benito Eberhard, Johannes Köhler, Oliver Hüsser, Melanie N. Zeilinger, Andrea Carron
Title: Time-Varying Coverage Control: A Distributed Tracker-Planner MPC Framework
Abstract:
Time-varying coverage control addresses the challenge of coordinating multiple agents covering an environment where regions of interest change over time. This problem has broad applications, including the deployment of autonomous taxis and coordination in search and rescue operations. The achievement of effective coverage is complicated by the presence of time-varying density functions, nonlinear agent dynamics, and stringent system and safety constraints. In this paper, we present a distributed multi-agent control framework for time-varying coverage under nonlinear constrained dynamics. Our approach integrates a reference trajectory planner and a tracking model predictive control (MPC) scheme, which operate at different frequencies within a multi-rate framework. For periodic density functions, we demonstrate closed-loop convergence to an optimal configuration of trajectories and provide formal guarantees regarding constraint satisfaction, collision avoidance, and recursive feasibility. Additionally, we propose an efficient algorithm capable of handling nonperiodic density functions, making the approach suitable for practical applications. Finally, we validate our method through hardware experiments using a fleet of four miniature race cars.
中文: 本文提出了一种分布式多智能体控制框架，通过多速率轨迹规划与跟踪模型预测控制相结合，在非线性约束下实现时变覆盖控制，保证了安全性、收敛性及可行性，并利用微型赛车车队进行了硬件实验验证。
English: This paper introduces a distributed multi-agent control framework that employs a multi-rate system with trajectory planning and tracking MPC to achieve effective time-varying coverage under nonlinear constraints, ensuring safety and convergence while being validated through hardware experiments.

Authors:Nico Krull, Lukas Schulthess, Michele Magno, Luca Benini, Christoph Leitner
Title: Wireless Low-Latency Synchronization for Body-Worn Multi-Node Systems in Sports
Abstract:
Biomechanical data acquisition in sports demands sub-millisecond synchronization across distributed body-worn sensor nodes. This study evaluates and characterizes the Enhanced ShockBurst (ESB) protocol from Nordic Semiconductor under controlled laboratory conditions for wireless, low-latency command broadcasting, enabling fast event updates in multi-node systems. Through systematic profiling of protocol parameters, including cyclic-redundancy-check modes, bitrate, transmission modes, and payload handling, we achieve a mean Device-to-Device (D2D) latency of 504.99 +- 96.89 us and a network-to-network core latency of 311.78 +- 96.90 us using a one-byte payload with retransmission optimization. This performance significantly outperforms Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), which is constrained by a 7.5 ms connection interval, by providing deterministic, sub-millisecond synchronization suitable for high-frequency (500 Hz to 1000 Hz) biosignals. These results position ESB as a viable solution for time-critical, multi-node wearable systems in sports, enabling precise event alignment and reliable high-speed data fusion for advanced athlete monitoring and feedback applications.
中文: 本研究证实增强型ShockBurst协议能为分布式传感器网络实现亚毫秒级同步，其确定性延迟特性显著优于蓝牙低功耗技术，适用于体育应用中高频生物信号的精准监测。
English: This study demonstrates that the Enhanced ShockBurst protocol achieves sub-millisecond synchronization for distributed sensor networks, significantly outperforming Bluetooth Low Energy with deterministic latency suitable for high-frequency biosignal monitoring in sports applications.

Authors:Adarsh Salagame, Henry Noyes, Alireza Ramezani, Eric Sihite, Arash Kalantari
Title: Crater Observing Bio-inspired Rolling Articulator (COBRA)
Abstract:
NASA aims to establish a sustainable human basecamp on the Moon as a stepping stone for future missions to Mars and beyond. The discovery of water ice on the Moon's craters located in permanently shadowed regions, which can provide drinking water, oxygen, and rocket fuel, is therefore of critical importance. However, current methods to access lunar ice deposits are limited. While rovers have been used to explore the lunar surface for decades, they face significant challenges in navigating harsh terrains, such as permanently shadowed craters, due to the high risk of immobilization. This report introduces COBRA (Crater Observing Bio-inspired Rolling Articulator), a multi-modal snake-style robot designed to overcome mobility challenges in Shackleton Crater's rugged environment. COBRA combines slithering and tumbling locomotion to adapt to various crater terrains. In snake mode, it uses sidewinding to traverse flat or low inclined surfaces, while in tumbling mode, it forms a circular barrel by linking its head and tail, enabling rapid movement with minimal energy on steep slopes. Equipped with an onboard computer, stereo camera, inertial measurement unit, and joint encoders, COBRA facilitates real-time data collection and autonomous operation. This paper highlights COBRAs robustness and efficiency in navigating extreme terrains through both simulations and experimental validation.
中文: NASA计划建立可持续的月球基地以支持未来火星任务，而COBRA机器人作为一种多模式解决方案被提出，旨在克服在月球崎岖环形山中获取水冰资源时所面临的移动性挑战。
English: NASA plans to build a sustainable lunar basecamp to support future Mars missions, and the COBRA robot is introduced as a multi-modal solution to overcome mobility challenges in accessing water ice in the Moon's rugged craters.

Authors:Shaswata Mitra, Azim Bazarov, Martin Duclos, Sudip Mittal, Aritran Piplai, Md Rayhanur Rahman, Edward Zieglar, Shahram Rahimi
Title: FALCON: Autonomous Cyber Threat Intelligence Mining with LLMs for IDS Rule Generation
Abstract:
Signature-based Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) detect malicious activities by matching network or host activity against predefined rules. These rules are derived from extensive Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI), which includes attack signatures and behavioral patterns obtained through automated tools and manual threat analysis, such as sandboxing. The CTI is then transformed into actionable rules for the IDS engine, enabling real-time detection and prevention. However, the constant evolution of cyber threats necessitates frequent rule updates, which delay deployment time and weaken overall security readiness. Recent advancements in agentic systems powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) offer the potential for autonomous IDS rule generation with internal evaluation. We introduce FALCON, an autonomous agentic framework that generates deployable IDS rules from CTI data in real-time and evaluates them using built-in multi-phased validators. To demonstrate versatility, we target both network (Snort) and host-based (YARA) mediums and construct a comprehensive dataset of IDS rules with their corresponding CTIs. Our evaluations indicate FALCON excels in automatic rule generation, with an average of 95% accuracy validated by qualitative evaluation with 84% inter-rater agreement among multiple cybersecurity analysts across all metrics. These results underscore the feasibility and effectiveness of LLM-driven data mining for real-time cyber threat mitigation.
Chinese: 基于签名的入侵检测系统依赖网络威胁情报的预定义规则来检测威胁，但手动更新导致延迟，而新型FALCON框架利用大语言模型实时自主生成并评估高精度检测规则，实现了95%的准确率。
English: Signature-based IDS rely on predefined rules from CTI to detect threats, but manual updates cause delays, while the new FALCON framework uses LLMs to autonomously generate and evaluate accurate IDS rules in real-time, achieving 95% accuracy.

Authors:Himanshu Tripathi, Subash Neupane, Shahram Rahimi, Noorbakhsh Amiri Golilarz, Sudip Mittal, Mohammad Sepehrifar
Title: Estimating Reliability of Electric Vehicle Charging Ecosystem using the Principle of Maximum Entropy
Abstract:
This paper addresses the critical challenge of estimating the reliability of an Electric Vehicle (EV) charging systems when facing risks such as overheating, unpredictable, weather, and cyberattacks. Traditional methods for predicting failures often rely on past data or limiting assumptions, making them ineffective for new or less common threats that results in failure. To solve this issue, we utilize the Principle of Maximum Entropy (PME), a statistical tool that estimates risks even with limited information. PME works by balancing known constraints to create an unbiased predictions without guessing missing details. Using the EV charging ecosystem as a case study, we show how PME models stress factors responsible for failure. Our findings reveal a critical insight: even minor, localized stress events can trigger disproportionately large drops in overall system reliability, similar to a domino effect. The our PME model demonstrates how high-impact components, such as the power grid, are more likely to fail as stress accumulates, creating network-wide tipping points. Beyond EVs, this approach applies to any complex system with incomplete data, such as smart grids, healthcare devices, or logistics networks. By mathematically establishing an inverse relationship between uncertainty (entropy) and reliability, our work quantifies how greater system unpredictability directly degrades robustness. This offers a universal tool to improve decision-making under unpredictable conditions. This work bridges advanced mathematics with real-world engineering, providing actionable insights for policymakers and industries to build safer, more efficient systems in our increasingly connected world.
中文: 本文采用最大熵原理评估电动汽车充电系统在不可预测威胁下的可靠性，揭示了微小压力如何引发连锁性重大故障，并为数据不完整的复杂系统提供了通用分析工具。
English: This paper introduces the Principle of Maximum Entropy to assess Electric Vehicle charging system reliability under unpredictable threats, revealing how minor stresses can trigger disproportionate failures and offering a universal tool for complex systems with incomplete data.

Authors:Xiucheng Wang, Qiming Zhang, Nan Cheng
Title: RadioDiff-Loc: Diffusion Model Enhanced Scattering Congnition for NLoS Localization with Sparse Radio Map Estimation
Abstract:
Accurate localization of non-cooperative signal sources in non-line-of-sight (NLoS) environments remains a critical challenge with a wide range of applications, including autonomous navigation, industrial automation, and emergency response. In such settings, traditional positioning techniques relying on line-of-sight (LoS) or cooperative signaling fail due to severe multipath propagation and unknown transmit power. This paper proposes a novel generative inference framework for NLoS localization based on conditional diffusion models. By leveraging the physical insight that diffracted electromagnetic energy concentrates near building edges, we develop a sampling strategy that collects sparse received signal strength (RSS) measurements at the geometric vertices of obstacles--locations that maximize Fisher information and mutual information with respect to the unknown source. To overcome the lack of known transmission power, we normalize all sampled RSS values relative to the maximum observed intensity, enabling the construction of a power-invariant radio map (RM). A conditional diffusion model is trained to reconstruct the full RM based on environmental layout and sparse RSS observations. Localization is then achieved by identifying the brightest point on the generated RM. Moreover, the proposed framework is compatible with existing RSS-based localization algorithms, enabling a dual-driven paradigm that fuses physical knowledge and data-driven inference for improved accuracy. Extensive theoretical analysis and empirical validation demonstrate that our approach achieves high localization accuracy with significantly reduced sampling cost, offering a scalable and physically grounded solution for non-cooperative NLoS emitter localization.
中文摘要：本文提出了一种基于条件扩散模型的生成式推理框架，通过利用建筑物边缘电磁衍射的物理特性采集稀疏RSS测量值，实现了非视距环境下非合作信号源的精准定位。
English Summary: This paper introduces a generative inference framework using conditional diffusion models to accurately localize non-cooperative signal sources in NLoS environments by leveraging sparse RSS measurements and physical knowledge of electromagnetic diffraction near building edges.

Authors:Ziye Jia, Sijie He, Qiuming Zhu, Wei Wang, Qihui Wu, Zhu Han
Title: Trusted Routing for Blockchain-Empowered UAV Networks via Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Due to the high flexibility and versatility, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are leveraged in various fields including surveillance and disaster rescue.However, in UAV networks, routing is vulnerable to malicious damage due to distributed topologies and high dynamics. Hence, ensuring the routing security of UAV networks is challenging. In this paper, we characterize the routing process in a time-varying UAV network with malicious nodes. Specifically, we formulate the routing problem to minimize the total delay, which is an integer linear programming and intractable to solve. Then, to tackle the network security issue, a blockchain-based trust management mechanism (BTMM) is designed to dynamically evaluate trust values and identify low-trust UAVs. To improve traditional practical Byzantine fault tolerance algorithms in the blockchain, we propose a consensus UAV update mechanism. Besides, considering the local observability, the routing problem is reformulated into a decentralized partially observable Markov decision process. Further, a multi-agent double deep Q-network based routing algorithm is designed to minimize the total delay. Finally, simulations are conducted with attacked UAVs and numerical results show that the delay of the proposed mechanism decreases by 13.39$\%$, 12.74$\%$, and 16.6$\%$ than multi-agent proximal policy optimal algorithms, multi-agent deep Q-network algorithms, and methods without BTMM, respectively.
中文: 本文针对无人机网络路由安全问题，提出基于区块链的信任管理机制和多智能体强化学习算法，相比现有方法显著降低了通信延迟。
English: This paper addresses routing security challenges in UAV networks by proposing a blockchain-based trust management mechanism and a multi-agent reinforcement learning algorithm, which significantly reduces communication delays compared to existing methods.

Authors:Ziqi Ling, Minghui Liwang, Xianbin Wang, Seyyedali Hosseinalipour, Zhipeng Cheng, Sai Zou, Wei Ni, Xiaoyu Xia
Title: Auctioning Future Services in Edge Networks with Moving Vehicles: N-Step Look-Ahead Contracts for Sustainable Resource Provision
Abstract:
Timely resource allocation in edge-assisted vehicular networks is essential for compute-intensive services such as autonomous driving and navigation. However, vehicle mobility leads to spatio-temporal unpredictability of resource demands, while real-time double auctions incur significant latency. To address these challenges, we propose a look-ahead contract-based auction framework that shifts decision-making from runtime to planning time. Our approach establishes N-step service contracts between edge servers (ESs) using demand forecasts and modified double auctions. The system operates in two stages: first, an LSTM-based prediction module forecasts multi-slot resource needs and determines ES roles (buyer or seller), after which a pre-double auction generates contracts specifying resource quantities, prices, and penalties. Second, these contracts are enforced in real time without rerunning auctions. The framework incorporates energy costs, transmission overhead, and contract breach risks into utility models, ensuring truthful, rational, and energy-efficient trading. Experiments on real-world (UTD19) and synthetic traces demonstrate that our method improves time efficiency, energy use, and social welfare compared with existing baselines.
Chinese: 本文提出了一种基于前瞻性合约的拍卖框架，通过LSTM预测和改进的双重拍卖在边缘辅助车载网络中预先建立服务合约，有效解决了资源需求的时空不确定性，提升了时间效率、能源利用和社会福利。
English: This paper introduces a look-ahead contract-based auction framework for edge-assisted vehicular networks that uses LSTM predictions and modified double auctions to pre-establish service contracts, improving time efficiency, energy use, and social welfare while addressing spatio-temporal resource unpredictability.

Authors:Peini Yi, Wenchi Cheng, Jingqing Wang, Jinzhe Pan, Yuehui Ouyang, Wei Zhang
Title: Intelligent Multi-link EDCA Optimization for Delay-Bounded QoS in Wi-Fi 7
Abstract:
IEEE 802.11be (Wi-Fi 7) introduces Multi-Link Operation (MLO) as a While MLO offers significant parallelism and capacity, realizing its full potential in guaranteeing strict delay bounds and optimizing Quality of Service (QoS) for diverse, heterogeneous traffic streams in complex multi-link scenarios remain a significant challenge. This is largely due to the limitations of static Enhanced Distributed Channel Access (EDCA) parameters and the complexity inherent in cross-link traffic management. To address this, this paper investigates the correlation between overall MLO QoS indicators and the configuration of EDCA parameters and Acess Catagory (AC) traffic allocation among links. Based on this analysis, we formulate a constrained optimization problem aiming to minimize the sum of overall packet loss rates for all access categories while satisfying their respective overall delay violation probability constraints. A Genetic Algorithm (GA)-based MLO EDCA QoS optimization algorithm is designed to efficiently search the complex configuration space of AC assignments and EDCA parameters. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach's efficacy in generating adaptive MLO configuration strategies that align with diverse service requirements. The proposed solution significantly improves delay distribution characteristics, and enhance QoS robustness and resource utilization efficiency in high-load MLO environments.
中文: 本文针对Wi-Fi 7多链路操作在复杂场景下保障服务质量面临的挑战，通过遗传算法优化EDCA参数和业务分配，有效改善了时延特性并提升了高负载环境下的资源利用效率。
English: IEEE 802.11be Wi-Fi 7's Multi-Link Operation faces challenges in ensuring strict QoS for diverse traffic, which this paper addresses by optimizing EDCA parameters and traffic allocation using a Genetic Algorithm to improve delay performance and resource utilization.

Authors:Yuhang Li, Yang Lu, Wei Chen, Bo Ai, Zhiguo Ding, Dusit Niyato
Title: BERT4beam: Large AI Model Enabled Generalized Beamforming Optimization
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is anticipated to emerge as a pivotal enabler for the forthcoming sixth-generation (6G) wireless communication systems. However, current research efforts regarding large AI models for wireless communications primarily focus on fine-tuning pre-trained large language models (LLMs) for specific tasks. This paper investigates the large-scale AI model designed for beamforming optimization to adapt and generalize to diverse tasks defined by system utilities and scales. We propose a novel framework based on bidirectional encoder representations from transformers (BERT), termed BERT4beam. We aim to formulate the beamforming optimization problem as a token-level sequence learning task, perform tokenization of the channel state information, construct the BERT model, and conduct task-specific pre-training and fine-tuning strategies. Based on the framework, we propose two BERT-based approaches for single-task and multi-task beamforming optimization, respectively. Both approaches are generalizable for varying user scales. Moreover, the former can adapt to varying system utilities and antenna configurations by re-configuring the input and output module of the BERT model, while the latter, termed UBERT, can directly generalize to diverse tasks, due to a finer-grained tokenization strategy. Extensive simulation results demonstrate that the two proposed approaches can achieve near-optimal performance and outperform existing AI models across various beamforming optimization tasks, showcasing strong adaptability and generalizability.
中文: 本文提出了BERT4beam框架，利用双向编码器表示将波束成形优化转化为令牌级序列学习任务，在多种无线通信任务中实现了接近最优的性能和卓越的适应性。
English: This paper introduces BERT4beam, a novel framework using bidirectional encoder representations from transformers to optimize beamforming by treating it as a token-level sequence learning task, achieving near-optimal performance and superior adaptability across various wireless communication tasks.

Authors:Robin Strässer, Karl Worthmann, Igor Mezić, Julian Berberich, Manuel Schaller, Frank Allgöwer
Title: An overview of Koopman-based control: From error bounds to closed-loop guarantees
Abstract:
Controlling nonlinear dynamical systems remains a central challenge in a wide range of applications, particularly when accurate first-principle models are unavailable. Data-driven approaches offer a promising alternative by designing controllers directly from observed trajectories. A wide range of data-driven methods relies on the Koopman-operator framework that enables linear representations of nonlinear dynamics via lifting into higher-dimensional observable spaces. Finite-dimensional approximations, such as extended dynamic mode decomposition (EDMD) and its controlled variants, make prediction and feedback control tractable but introduce approximation errors that must be accounted for to provide rigorous closed-loop guarantees. This survey provides a systematic overview of Koopman-based control, emphasizing the connection between data-driven surrogate models generated from finite data, approximation errors, controller design, and closed-loop guarantees. We review theoretical foundations, error bounds, and both linear and bilinear EDMD-based control schemes, highlighting robust strategies that ensure stability and performance. Finally, we discuss open challenges and future directions at the interface of operator theory, approximation theory, and nonlinear control.
中文: 本综述系统梳理了基于Koopman算子的非线性系统数据驱动控制方法，重点探讨了近似误差边界、具备稳定性保障的控制器设计，以及未来跨学科研究方向。
English: This survey systematically reviews Koopman-based control methods that use data-driven linear approximations for nonlinear systems, addressing error bounds, controller design with stability guarantees, and future research challenges.

Authors:Cheng Ouyang, Moeen Ul Islam, Dong Chen, Kaixiang Zhang, Zhaojian Li, Xiaobo Tan
Title: Direct Data-Driven Predictive Control for a Three-dimensional Cable-Driven Soft Robotic Arm
Abstract:
Soft robots offer significant advantages in safety and adaptability, yet achieving precise and dynamic control remains a major challenge due to their inherently complex and nonlinear dynamics. Recently, Data-enabled Predictive Control (DeePC) has emerged as a promising model-free approach that bypasses explicit system identification by directly leveraging input-output data. While DeePC has shown success in other domains, its application to soft robots remains underexplored, particularly for three-dimensional (3D) soft robotic systems. This paper addresses this gap by developing and experimentally validating an effective DeePC framework on a 3D, cable-driven soft arm. Specifically, we design and fabricate a soft robotic arm with a thick tubing backbone for stability, a dense silicone body with large cavities for strength and flexibility, and rigid endcaps for secure termination. Using this platform, we implement DeePC with singular value decomposition (SVD)-based dimension reduction for two key control tasks: fixed-point regulation and trajectory tracking in 3D space. Comparative experiments with a baseline model-based controller demonstrate DeePC's superior accuracy, robustness, and adaptability, highlighting its potential as a practical solution for dynamic control of soft robots.

Authors:Kaixiang Zhang, Zhaojian Li, Wei Lin
Title: Distributed Platoon Control Under Quantization: Stability Analysis and Privacy Preservation
Abstract:
Distributed control of connected and automated vehicles has attracted considerable interest for its potential to improve traffic efficiency and safety. However, such control schemes require sharing privacy-sensitive vehicle data, which introduces risks of information leakage and potential malicious activities. This paper investigates the stability and privacy-preserving properties of distributed platoon control under two types of quantizers: deterministic and probabilistic. For deterministic quantization, we show that the resulting control strategy ensures the system errors remain uniformly ultimately bounded. Moreover, in the absence of auxiliary information, an eavesdropper cannot uniquely infer sensitive vehicle states. In contrast, the use of probabilistic quantization enables asymptotic convergence of the vehicle platoon in expectation with bounded variance. Importantly, probabilistic quantizers can satisfy differential privacy guarantees, thereby preserving privacy even when the eavesdropper possesses arbitrary auxiliary information. We further analyze the trade-off between control performance and privacy by formulating an optimization problem that characterizes the impact of the quantization step on both metrics. Numerical simulations are provided to illustrate the performance differences between the two quantization strategies.
中文: 本文研究了采用确定性和概率性量化器的分布式车队控制的稳定性与隐私保护特性，证明了系统误差的有界性和差分隐私保障，并分析了控制性能与隐私之间的权衡关系。
English: This paper examines the stability and privacy preservation of distributed platoon control using deterministic and probabilistic quantizers, demonstrating bounded system errors and differential privacy guarantees while analyzing the trade-off between control performance and privacy.

Authors:Huanqing Wang, Kaixiang Zhang, Kyungjoon Lee, Yu Mei, Vaibhav Srivastava, Jun Sheng, Ziyou Song, Zhaojian Li
Title: Velocity-Form Data-Enabled Predictive Control of Soft Robots under Unknown External Payloads
Abstract:
Data-driven control methods such as data-enabled predictive control (DeePC) have shown strong potential in efficient control of soft robots without explicit parametric models. However, in object manipulation tasks, unknown external payloads and disturbances can significantly alter the system dynamics and behavior, leading to offset error and degraded control performance. In this paper, we present a novel velocity-form DeePC framework that achieves robust and optimal control of soft robots under unknown payloads. The proposed framework leverages input-output data in an incremental representation to mitigate performance degradation induced by unknown payloads, eliminating the need for weighted datasets or disturbance estimators. We validate the method experimentally on a planar soft robot and demonstrate its superior performance compared to standard DeePC in scenarios involving unknown payloads.
中文: 新型速度形式DeePC框架通过采用增量式输入输出数据，实现了未知负载下软体机器人的鲁棒最优控制，无需加权数据集或扰动估计器，并在实验中展现出优于标准DeePC的性能。
English: The novel velocity-form DeePC framework enables robust optimal control of soft robots under unknown payloads by using incremental input-output data, eliminating the need for weighted datasets or disturbance estimators and outperforming standard DeePC in experimental validations.

Authors:Xinyu He, Chenhan Xiao, Haoran Li, Ruizhong Qiu, Zhe Xu, Yang Weng, Jingrui He, Hanghang Tong
Title: PowerGrow: Feasible Co-Growth of Structures and Dynamics for Power Grid Synthesis
Abstract:
Modern power systems are becoming increasingly dynamic, with changing topologies and time-varying loads driven by renewable energy variability, electric vehicle adoption, and active grid reconfiguration. Despite these changes, publicly available test cases remain scarce, due to security concerns and the significant effort required to anonymize real systems. Such limitations call for generative tools that can jointly synthesize grid structure and nodal dynamics. However, modeling the joint distribution of network topology, branch attributes, bus properties, and dynamic load profiles remains a major challenge, while preserving physical feasibility and avoiding prohibitive computational costs. We present PowerGrow, a co-generative framework that significantly reduces computational overhead while maintaining operational validity. The core idea is dependence decomposition: the complex joint distribution is factorized into a chain of conditional distributions over feasible grid topologies, time-series bus loads, and other system attributes, leveraging their mutual dependencies. By constraining the generation process at each stage, we implement a hierarchical graph beta-diffusion process for structural synthesis, paired with a temporal autoencoder that embeds time-series data into a compact latent space, improving both training stability and sample fidelity. Experiments across benchmark settings show that PowerGrow not only outperforms prior diffusion models in fidelity and diversity but also achieves a 98.9\% power flow convergence rate and improved N-1 contingency resilience. This demonstrates its ability to generate operationally valid and realistic power grid scenarios.
中文摘要：PowerGrow通过依赖分解和分层扩散过程，高效协同生成电网拓扑与动态负荷，实现了98.9%的潮流收敛率，能产生具备高运行有效性的逼真电网场景。
English Summary: PowerGrow is a co-generative framework that efficiently synthesizes realistic power grid structures and dynamic load profiles through dependence decomposition and hierarchical diffusion processes, achieving high operational validity with 98.9% power flow convergence.

Authors:Kangwei Xu, Denis Schwachhofer, Jason Blocklove, Ilia Polian, Peter Domanski, Dirk Pflüger, Siddharth Garg, Ramesh Karri, Ozgur Sinanoglu, Johann Knechtel, Zhuorui Zhao, Ulf Schlichtmann, Bing Li
Title: Large Language Models (LLMs) for Electronic Design Automation (EDA)
Abstract:
With the growing complexity of modern integrated circuits, hardware engineers are required to devote more effort to the full design-to-manufacturing workflow. This workflow involves numerous iterations, making it both labor-intensive and error-prone. Therefore, there is an urgent demand for more efficient Electronic Design Automation (EDA) solutions to accelerate hardware development. Recently, large language models (LLMs) have shown remarkable advancements in contextual comprehension, logical reasoning, and generative capabilities. Since hardware designs and intermediate scripts can be represented as text, integrating LLM for EDA offers a promising opportunity to simplify and even automate the entire workflow. Accordingly, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of incorporating LLMs into EDA, with emphasis on their capabilities, limitations, and future opportunities. Three case studies, along with their outlook, are introduced to demonstrate the capabilities of LLMs in hardware design, testing, and optimization. Finally, future directions and challenges are highlighted to further explore the potential of LLMs in shaping the next-generation EDA, providing valuable insights for researchers interested in leveraging advanced AI technologies for EDA.
中文: 本文探讨了将大型语言模型集成到电子设计自动化中，以简化硬件设计流程，重点分析了其在设计、测试和优化方面的潜力，并讨论了当前局限性与未来发展方向。
English: This paper explores the integration of large language models into Electronic Design Automation to streamline the hardware design workflow, highlighting their potential in design, testing, and optimization while addressing current limitations and future opportunities.

Authors:Keyvan Majd, Hardik Parwana, Bardh Hoxha, Steven Hong, Hideki Okamoto, Georgios Fainekos
Title: GPU-Accelerated Barrier-Rate Guided MPPI Control for Tractor-Trailer Systems
Abstract:
Articulated vehicles such as tractor-trailers, yard trucks, and similar platforms must often reverse and maneuver in cluttered spaces where pedestrians are present. We present how Barrier-Rate guided Model Predictive Path Integral (BR-MPPI) control can solve navigation in such challenging environments. BR-MPPI embeds Control Barrier Function (CBF) constraints directly into the path-integral update. By steering the importance-sampling distribution toward collision-free, dynamically feasible trajectories, BR-MPPI enhances the exploration strength of MPPI and improves robustness of resulting trajectories. The method is evaluated in the high-fidelity CarMaker simulator on a 12 [m] tractor-trailer tasked with reverse and forward parking in a parking lot. BR-MPPI computes control inputs in above 100 [Hz] on a single GPU (for scenarios with eight obstacles) and maintains better parking clearance than a standard MPPI baseline and an MPPI with collision cost baseline.
中文摘要：本研究提出的屏障率引导模型预测路径积分（BR-MPPI）控制方法，通过将控制屏障函数约束直接嵌入路径积分更新，显著提升了铰接式车辆在复杂环境中的导航安全性，并在高精度仿真中展现出优于基准方法的停车避障性能。
English Summary: The study introduces Barrier-Rate guided Model Predictive Path Integral (BR-MPPI) control, which enhances navigation safety for articulated vehicles in cluttered environments by integrating Control Barrier Function constraints and demonstrates superior performance in high-fidelity simulations compared to baseline methods.

Authors:Yi Yang, Victor G. Lopez, Matthias A. Müller
Title: Local Observability of a Class of Feedforward Neural Networks
Abstract:
Beyond the traditional neural network training methods based on gradient descent and its variants, state estimation techniques have been proposed to determine a set of ideal weights from a control-theoretic perspective. Hence, the concept of observability becomes relevant in neural network training. In this paper, we investigate local observability of a class of two-layer feedforward neural networks~(FNNs) with rectified linear unit~(ReLU) activation functions. We analyze local observability of FNNs by evaluating an observability rank condition with respect to the weight matrix and the input sequence. First, we show that, in general, the weights of FNNs are not locally observable. Then, we provide sufficient conditions on the network structures and the weights that lead to local observability. Moreover, we propose an input design approach to render the weights distinguishable and show that this input also excites other weights inside a neighborhood. Finally, we validate our results through a numerical example.
中文摘要：本文研究了具有ReLU激活函数的两层前馈神经网络的局部可观测性，提出了权重可辨识的充分条件及输入设计方法，并通过数值实验验证了相关结论。
English Summary: This paper explores the local observability of two-layer feedforward neural networks with ReLU activations, establishing conditions for weight identifiability and proposing an input design method to distinguish weights, supported by numerical validation.

Authors:Arijit Sarkar, Vaibhav Kumar Singh, Manuel Schaller, Karl Worthmann
Title: Energy-optimal control of discrete-time port-Hamiltonian systems
Abstract:
In this letter, we study the energy-optimal control of nonlinear port-Hamiltonian (pH) systems in discrete time. For continuous-time pH systems, energy-optimal control problems are strictly dissipative by design. This property, stating that the system to be optimized is dissipative with the cost functional as a supply rate, implies a stable long-term behavior of optimal solutions and enables stability results in predictive control. In this work, we show that the crucial property of strict dissipativity is not straightforwardly preserved by any energy-preserving integrator such as the implicit midpoint rule. Then, we prove that discretizations via difference and differential representations lead to strictly dissipative discrete-time optimal control problems. Consequently, we rigorously show a stable long-term behavior of optimal solutions in the form of a manifold (subspace) turnpike property. Finally, we validate our findings using two numerical examples
中文摘要：本文证明了端口哈密顿系统的能量最优控制中，严格耗散性这一关键性质无法通过标准离散化方法自动保持，但通过特定的差分和微分表示方法可实现，从而确保最优解具有流形转向点性质的稳定长期行为。
English summary: This letter demonstrates that strict dissipativity, crucial for stable long-term behavior in energy-optimal control of port-Hamiltonian systems, is not automatically preserved by standard discretization methods but can be achieved through specific difference and differential representations, leading to proven turnpike properties.

Authors:Carlo Cena, Mauro Martini, Marcello Chiaberge
Title: Learning Satellite Attitude Dynamics with Physics-Informed Normalising Flow
Abstract:
Attitude control is a fundamental aspect of spacecraft operations. Model Predictive Control (MPC) has emerged as a powerful strategy for these tasks, relying on accurate models of the system dynamics to optimize control actions over a prediction horizon. In scenarios where physics models are incomplete, difficult to derive, or computationally expensive, machine learning offers a flexible alternative by learning the system behavior directly from data. However, purely data-driven models often struggle with generalization and stability, especially when applied to inputs outside their training domain. To address these limitations, we investigate the benefits of incorporating Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) into the learning of spacecraft attitude dynamics, comparing their performance with that of purely data-driven approaches. Using a Real-valued Non-Volume Preserving (Real NVP) neural network architecture with a self-attention mechanism, we trained several models on simulated data generated with the Basilisk simulator. Two training strategies were considered: a purely data-driven baseline and a physics-informed variant to improve robustness and stability. Our results demonstrate that the inclusion of physics-based information significantly enhances the performance in terms of the mean relative error of the best architectures found by 27.08%. These advantages are particularly evident when the learned models are integrated into an MPC framework, where PINN-based models consistently outperform their purely data-driven counterparts in terms of control accuracy and robustness, yielding improvements of up to 42.86% in performance stability error and increased robustness-to-noise.
Chinese: 研究表明，在航天器姿态控制中引入物理信息神经网络（PINNs）能显著提升模型精度和鲁棒性，与纯数据驱动方法相比，在模型预测控制框架下性能提升达27.08%，稳定性误差改善最高达42.86%。
English: The study demonstrates that integrating Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) into spacecraft attitude control significantly improves model accuracy and robustness, achieving up to 27.08% better performance and 42.86% greater stability compared to purely data-driven methods when used with Model Predictive Control.

Authors:Guowei Liu, Le Liang, Chongtao Guo, Hao Ye, Shi Jin
Title: RSU-Assisted Resource Allocation for Collaborative Perception
Abstract:
As a pivotal technology for autonomous driving, collaborative perception enables vehicular agents to exchange perceptual data through vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, thereby enhancing perception accuracy of all collaborators. However, existing collaborative perception frameworks often assume ample communication resources, which is usually impractical in real-world vehicular networks. To address this challenge, this paper investigates the problem of communication resource allocation for collaborative perception and proposes RACooper, a novel RSU-assisted resource allocation framework that maximizes perception accuracy under constrained communication resources. RACooper leverages a hierarchical reinforcement learning model to dynamically allocate communication resources while accounting for real-time sensing data and channel dynamics induced by vehicular mobility. By jointly optimizing spatial confidence metrics and channel state information, our approach ensures efficient feature transmission, enhancing the effectiveness of collaborative perception. Simulation results demonstrate that compared to conventional baseline algorithms, RACooper achieves significant improvements in perception accuracy, especially under bandwidth-constrained scenarios.
中文: 本文提出RACooper框架，通过路侧单元辅助的分层强化学习动态分配车联网通信资源，在带宽受限条件下有效提升协同感知的精度。
English: This paper introduces RACooper, an RSU-assisted resource allocation framework using hierarchical reinforcement learning to optimize communication resources for collaborative perception in autonomous driving, significantly improving accuracy under bandwidth constraints.

Authors:Farhad Nawaz, Faizan M. Tariq, Sangjae Bae, David Isele, Avinash Singh, Nadia Figueroa, Nikolai Matni, Jovin D'sa
Title: Occupancy-aware Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Valet Parking in Uncertain Dynamic Environments
Abstract:
Autonomous Valet Parking (AVP) requires planning under partial observability, where parking spot availability evolves as dynamic agents enter and exit spots. Existing approaches either rely only on instantaneous spot availability or make static assumptions, thereby limiting foresight and adaptability. We propose an approach that estimates probability of future spot occupancy by distinguishing initially vacant and occupied spots while leveraging nearby dynamic agent motion. We propose a probabilistic estimator that integrates partial, noisy observations from a limited Field-of-View, with the evolving uncertainty of unobserved spots. Coupled with the estimator, we design a strategy planner that balances goal-directed parking maneuvers with exploratory navigation based on information gain, and incorporates wait-and-go behaviors at promising spots. Through randomized simulations emulating large parking lots, we demonstrate that our framework significantly improves parking efficiency and trajectory smoothness over existing approaches, while maintaining safety margins.
中文摘要：本文提出了一种自主代客泊车的概率框架，通过结合局部观测与动态车辆移动来预测未来车位占用情况，采用平衡泊车操作与探索导航的策略规划，显著提升了泊车效率和轨迹平滑度。
English Summary: This paper introduces a probabilistic framework for Autonomous Valet Parking that estimates future parking spot occupancy by combining partial observations with dynamic agent movements, enabling strategic planning that balances parking maneuvers with exploratory navigation to significantly improve efficiency and trajectory smoothness.

Authors:Kanghyun Ryu, Minjun Sung, Piyush Gupta, Jovin D'sa, Faizan M. Tariq, David Isele, Sangjae Bae
Title: IANN-MPPI: Interaction-Aware Neural Network-Enhanced Model Predictive Path Integral Approach for Autonomous Driving
Abstract:
Motion planning for autonomous vehicles (AVs) in dense traffic is challenging, often leading to overly conservative behavior and unmet planning objectives. This challenge stems from the AVs' limited ability to anticipate and respond to the interactive behavior of surrounding agents. Traditional decoupled prediction and planning pipelines rely on non-interactive predictions that overlook the fact that agents often adapt their behavior in response to the AV's actions. To address this, we propose Interaction-Aware Neural Network-Enhanced Model Predictive Path Integral (IANN-MPPI) control, which enables interactive trajectory planning by predicting how surrounding agents may react to each control sequence sampled by MPPI. To improve performance in structured lane environments, we introduce a spline-based prior for the MPPI sampling distribution, enabling efficient lane-changing behavior. We evaluate IANN-MPPI in a dense traffic merging scenario, demonstrating its ability to perform efficient merging maneuvers. Our project website is available at https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/iann-mppi
中文摘要：提出的IANN-MPPI控制方法通过预测周围智能体对采样控制序列的反应，实现自动驾驶车辆的交互式轨迹规划，并借助样条曲线先验提升密集交通场景（如汇入车流）中的性能表现。
English Summary: The proposed IANN-MPPI control method enables interactive trajectory planning for autonomous vehicles by predicting surrounding agents' reactions to sampled control sequences, improving performance in dense traffic scenarios like merging through a spline-based prior.

Authors:Hang Liu, Yuman Gao, Sangli Teng, Yufeng Chi, Yakun Sophia Shao, Zhongyu Li, Maani Ghaffari, Koushil Sreenath
Title: Ego-Vision World Model for Humanoid Contact Planning
Abstract:
Enabling humanoid robots to exploit physical contact, rather than simply avoid collisions, is crucial for autonomy in unstructured environments. Traditional optimization-based planners struggle with contact complexity, while on-policy reinforcement learning (RL) is sample-inefficient and has limited multi-task ability. We propose a framework combining a learned world model with sampling-based Model Predictive Control (MPC), trained on a demonstration-free offline dataset to predict future outcomes in a compressed latent space. To address sparse contact rewards and sensor noise, the MPC uses a learned surrogate value function for dense, robust planning. Our single, scalable model supports contact-aware tasks, including wall support after perturbation, blocking incoming objects, and traversing height-limited arches, with improved data efficiency and multi-task capability over on-policy RL. Deployed on a physical humanoid, our system achieves robust, real-time contact planning from proprioception and ego-centric depth images. Website: https://ego-vcp.github.io/

Authors:Hongtao Liang, Yihe Diao, YuHang Wu, Fuhui Zhou, Qihui Wu
Title: Synergetic Empowerment: Wireless Communications Meets Embodied Intelligence
Abstract:
Wireless communication is evolving into an agent era, where large-scale agents with inherent embodied intelligence are not just users but active participants. The perfect combination of wireless communication and embodied intelligence can achieve a synergetic empowerment and greatly facilitate the development of agent communication. An overview of this synergetic empowerment is presented, framing it as a co-evolutionary process that transforms wireless communication from a simple utility into the digital nervous system of a collective intelligence, while simultaneously elevating isolated agents into a unified superorganism with emergent capabilities far exceeding individual contributions. Moreover, we elaborate how embodied intelligence and wireless communication mutually benefit each other through the lens of the perception-cognition-execution (PCE) loop, revealing a fundamental duality where each PCE stage both challenges network capacity and creates unprecedented opportunities for system-wide optimization. Furthermore, critical open issues and future research directions are identified.
中文摘要：无线通信正进入智能体时代，通过感知-认知-执行循环实现具身智能与通信系统的协同进化，将分散的智能体融合为具有涌现能力的超级有机体，同时开辟了系统优化的新途径。
English Summary: Wireless communication is advancing into an agent era where embodied intelligence transforms it into a collective digital nervous system, while the perception-cognition-execution loop reveals mutual optimization opportunities between agents and networks.

Authors:Rayan Mazouz, Luca Laurenti, Morteza Lahijanian
Title: Piecewise Control Barrier Functions for Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a method for the simultaneous synthesis of a barrier certificate and a safe controller for discrete-time nonlinear stochastic systems. Our approach, based on piecewise stochastic control barrier functions, reduces the synthesis problem to a minimax optimization, which we solve exactly using a dual linear program with zero gap. This enables the joint optimization of the barrier certificate and safe controller within a single formulation. The method accommodates stochastic dynamics with additive noise and a bounded continuous control set. The synthesized controllers and barrier certificates provide a formally guaranteed lower bound on probabilistic safety. Case studies on linear and nonlinear stochastic systems validate the effectiveness of our approach.
中文摘要: 本文提出了一种基于分段随机控制屏障函数的方法，通过零间隙对偶线性规划求解极小极大优化，实现了离散时间非线性随机系统的屏障证书与安全控制器协同合成，并提供了概率安全性的形式化保证。
English Summary: This paper introduces a method for jointly synthesizing barrier certificates and safe controllers for discrete-time nonlinear stochastic systems through minimax optimization solved via a dual linear program, ensuring formally guaranteed probabilistic safety.

Authors:Zhihao Wang, Jianxiong Li, Jinliang Zheng, Wencong Zhang, Dongxiu Liu, Yinan Zheng, Haoyi Niu, Junzhi Yu, Xianyuan Zhan
Title: PhysiAgent: An Embodied Agent Framework in Physical World
Abstract:
Vision-Language-Action (VLA) models have achieved notable success but often struggle with limited generalizations. To address this, integrating generalized Vision-Language Models (VLMs) as assistants to VLAs has emerged as a popular solution. However, current approaches often combine these models in rigid, sequential structures: using VLMs primarily for high-level scene understanding and task planning, and VLAs merely as executors of lower-level actions, leading to ineffective collaboration and poor grounding challenges. In this paper, we propose an embodied agent framework, PhysiAgent, tailored to operate effectively in physical environments. By incorporating monitor, memory, self-reflection mechanisms, and lightweight off-the-shelf toolboxes, PhysiAgent offers an autonomous scaffolding framework to prompt VLMs to organize different components based on real-time proficiency feedback from VLAs to maximally exploit VLAs' capabilities. Experimental results demonstrate significant improvements in task-solving performance on complex real-world robotic tasks, showcasing effective self-regulation of VLMs, coherent tool collaboration, and adaptive evolution of the framework during execution. PhysiAgent makes practical and pioneering efforts to integrate VLMs and VLAs, effectively grounding embodied agent frameworks in real-world settings.
中文摘要：PhysiAgent框架通过整合视觉语言模型与实时反馈机制，有效提升了视觉-语言-行动模型在物理环境中的任务执行能力和自适应协作水平。
English Summary: The PhysiAgent framework enhances Vision-Language-Action models by integrating Vision-Language Models with real-time feedback mechanisms, significantly improving task performance and adaptive collaboration in physical environments.

Authors:Ya-Ting Yang, Quanyan Zhu
Title: Toward a Multi-Echelon Cyber Warfare Theory: A Meta-Game-Theoretic Paradigm for Defense and Dominance
Abstract:
Cyber warfare has become a central element of modern conflict, especially within multi-domain operations. As both a distinct and critical domain, cyber warfare requires integrating defensive and offensive technologies into coherent strategies. While prior research has emphasized isolated tactics or fragmented technologies, a holistic understanding is essential for effective resource deployment and risk mitigation. Game theory offers a unifying framework for this purpose. It not only models attacker-defender interactions but also provides quantitative tools for equilibrium analysis, risk assessment, and strategic reasoning. Integrated with modern AI techniques, game-theoretic models enable the design and optimization of strategies across multiple levels of cyber warfare, from policy and strategy to operations, tactics, and technical implementations. These models capture the paradoxical logic of conflict, where more resources do not always translate into greater advantage, and where nonlinear dynamics govern outcomes. To illustrate the approach, this chapter examines RedCyber, a synthetic cyber conflict, demonstrating how game-theoretic methods capture the interdependencies of cyber operations. The chapter concludes with directions for future research on resilience, cros-echelon planning, and the evolving role of AI in cyber warfare.
中文: 博弈论为网络战提供了统一框架，结合人工智能优化各层级战略，并通过模拟冲突场景验证其应用价值。
English: Game theory provides a unified framework for modeling cyber warfare, integrating AI to optimize strategies across all operational levels and demonstrating its application through a synthetic conflict scenario.

Authors:Anthony Kiggundu, Bin Han, Hans D. Schotten
Title: Information Bulletin Strategy in Impatient Queuing
Abstract:
In Sixth Generation (6G) networks, decentralized control in multi-tenant systems is a suggested enabler for autonomous network operations. However, autonomy requires independent rationale decisions be taken by tenants. This rationality can only be underpinned by timely and continuous access to status information. Despite its importance, the questions of what information should be shared, how much should be communicated, and how frequently updates should be dispatched remain open research challenges. This manuscript proposes an information bulletin strategy defined around two models of the system descriptor states to address these fundamental questions. The strategy is that queues periodically broadcast these information models to tenants at different time intervals, who may respond by reneging from the queue or jockeying to a more favorable one. The expectation is that over time, the queues adapt their processing rates based on what they learn from the tenant behavior. The objective is to minimize overall delay and the impatience. We formulate for this impatience as an optimization problem, whose analytical solution is intractable. We perform numerical experiments to evaluate the performance of the learned queue policy and to assess how closely it approaches optimal conditions.
中文摘要：本文提出了一种基于双系统模型的信息公告策略，旨在通过自适应队列管理和数值实验来优化6G网络中的信息共享，从而减少延迟并缓解用户的不耐烦情绪。
English Summary: This paper proposes an information bulletin strategy using dual system models to optimize information sharing in 6G networks, aiming to reduce delays and user impatience through adaptive queue management and numerical validation.

Authors:Harsh Ravivarapu, Gaurav Bagwe, Xiaoyong Yuan, Chunxiu Yu, Lan Zhang
Title: Sample-Efficient Reinforcement Learning Controller for Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease
Abstract:
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an established intervention for Parkinson's disease (PD), but conventional open-loop systems lack adaptability, are energy-inefficient due to continuous stimulation, and provide limited personalization to individual neural dynamics. Adaptive DBS (aDBS) offers a closed-loop alternative, using biomarkers such as beta-band oscillations to dynamically modulate stimulation. While reinforcement learning (RL) holds promise for personalized aDBS control, existing methods suffer from high sample complexity, unstable exploration in binary action spaces, and limited deployability on resource-constrained hardware. We propose SEA-DBS, a sample-efficient actor-critic framework that addresses the core challenges of RL-based adaptive neurostimulation. SEA-DBS integrates a predictive reward model to reduce reliance on real-time feedback and employs Gumbel Softmax-based exploration for stable, differentiable policy updates in binary action spaces. Together, these components improve sample efficiency, exploration robustness, and compatibility with resource-constrained neuromodulatory hardware. We evaluate SEA-DBS on a biologically realistic simulation of Parkinsonian basal ganglia activity, demonstrating faster convergence, stronger suppression of pathological beta-band power, and resilience to post-training FP16 quantization. Our results show that SEA-DBS offers a practical and effective RL-based aDBS framework for real-time, resource-constrained neuromodulation.

Authors:Jinwei Hu, Zezhi Tang, Xin Jin, Benyuan Zhang, Yi Dong, Xiaowei Huang
Title: Hierarchical Testing with Rabbit Optimization for Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents HERO (Hierarchical Testing with Rabbit Optimization), a novel black-box adversarial testing framework for evaluating the robustness of deep learning-based Prognostics and Health Management systems in Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems. Leveraging Artificial Rabbit Optimization, HERO generates physically constrained adversarial examples that align with real-world data distributions via global and local perspective. Its generalizability ensures applicability across diverse ICPS scenarios. This study specifically focuses on the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell system, chosen for its highly dynamic operational conditions, complex degradation mechanisms, and increasing integration into ICPS as a sustainable and efficient energy solution. Experimental results highlight HERO's ability to uncover vulnerabilities in even state-of-the-art PHM models, underscoring the critical need for enhanced robustness in real-world applications. By addressing these challenges, HERO demonstrates its potential to advance more resilient PHM systems across a wide range of ICPS domains.
中文: HERO是一种新颖的黑盒对抗测试框架，利用人工兔优化算法生成符合物理约束的对抗样本，用于评估工业信息物理系统中基于深度学习的预测与健康管理系统的鲁棒性。
English: HERO is a novel black-box adversarial testing framework that uses Artificial Rabbit Optimization to evaluate the robustness of deep learning-based Prognostics and Health Management systems in Industrial Cyber-Physical Systems by generating physically constrained adversarial examples.

Authors:Akash Harapanahalli, Samuel Coogan
Title: Efficient Norm-Based Reachable Sets via Iterative Dynamic Programming
Abstract:
In this work, we present a numerical optimal control framework for reachable set computation using \emph{normotopes}, a new set representation as a norm ball with a shaping matrix. In reachable set computations, we expect to continuously vary the shape matrix as a function of time. Incorporating the shape dynamics as an input, we build a \emph{controlled embedding system} using a linear differential inclusion overapproximating the dynamics of the system, where a single forward simulation of this embedding system always provides an overapproximating reachable set of the system, no matter the choice of \emph{hypercontrol}. By iteratively solving a linear quadratic approximation of the nonlinear optimal hypercontrol problem, we synthesize less conservative final reachable sets, providing a natural tradeoff between runtime and accuracy. Terminating our algorithm at any point always returns a valid reachable set overapproximation.

Authors:Brendan Gould, Akash Harapanahalli, Samuel Coogan
Title: linrax: A JAX Compatible, Simplex Method Linear Program Solver
Abstract:
We present linrax, the first simplex based linear program (LP) solver compatible with the JAX ecosystem. In many control algorithms, LPs are often automatically generated and frequently solved either offline or online in the control loop. This motivates the design of linrax, which is especially suited for compilation into a complex JAX-based pipeline as a subroutine. We discuss the challenges associated with implementing a general purpose LP solver under strict design requirements from JAX. Notably, we can solve general problems which may include dependent constraints-something not possible with existing JAX-compatible LP solvers that use first-order techniques and may fail to converge. We demonstrate the utility of linrax through several examples, including a robust control synthesis pipeline for a nonlinear vehicle model using automatic differentiation through a LP-based reachable set framework.

Authors:Brendan Gould, Akash Harapanahalli, Samuel Coogan
Title: Automatic and Scalable Safety Verification using Interval Reachability with Subspace Sampling
Abstract:
Interval refinement is a technique for reducing the conservatism of traditional interval based reachability methods by lifting the system to a higher dimension using new auxiliary variables and exploiting the introduced structure through a refinement procedure. We present a novel, efficiently scaling, automatic refinement strategy based on a subspace sampling argument and motivated by reducing the number of interval operations through sparsity. Unlike previous methods, we guarantee that refined bounds shrink as additional auxiliary variables are added. This additionally encourages automation of the lifting phase by allowing larger groups of auxiliary variables to be considered. We implement our strategy in JAX, a high-performance computational toolkit for Python and demonstrate its efficacy on several examples, including regulating a multi-agent platoon to the origin while avoiding an obstacle.

Authors:Bingxin Zhang, Han Zhang, Kun Yang, Yizhe Zhao, Kezhi Wang
Title: On the Performance Analysis of Pinching-Antenna-Enabled SWIPT Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we studies the performance of a novel simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) system enabled by a flexible pinching-antenna. To support flexible deployment and optimize energy-rate performance, we propose three practical pinching antenna placement-schemes: the edge deployment scheme (EDS), the center deployment scheme (CDS), and the diagonal deployment scheme (DDS). Moreover, a hybrid time-switching (TS) and power-splitting (PS) protocol is introduced, allowing dynamic adjustment between energy harvesting and information decoding. Under each deployment strategy and the transmission protocol, closed-form expressions for the average harvested energy and average achievable rate of a randomly located user equipment (UE) are derived based on the optimal positioning of the pinching-antenna. Numerical simulations confirm the accuracy of the theoretical analysis and illustrate the trade-off between rate and energy harvesting under different schemes.
中文: 本文研究了一种采用柔性夹持天线的新型SWIPT系统，提出了三种部署方案和混合时间切换-功率分配协议以优化能量速率性能，同时推导了能量收集和可达速率的闭式表达式。
English: This paper investigates a novel SWIPT system using a flexible pinching-antenna, proposing three deployment schemes and a hybrid TS-PS protocol to optimize energy-rate performance while deriving closed-form expressions for harvested energy and achievable rates.

Authors:Zhihao Lin, Shuo Liu, Zhen Tian, Dezong Zhao, Jianglin Lan, Chongfeng Wei
Title: Hierarchical Multi-Agent MCTS for Safety-Critical Coordination in Mixed-Autonomy Roundabouts
Abstract:
Navigating unsignalized roundabouts in mixed-autonomy traffic presents significant challenges due to dense vehicle interactions, lane-changing complexities, and behavioral uncertainties of human-driven vehicles (HDVs). This paper proposes a safety-critical decision-making framework for connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) navigating dual-lane roundabouts alongside HDVs. We formulate the problem as a multi-agent Markov Decision Process and develop a hierarchical safety assessment mechanism that evaluates three critical interaction types: CAV-to-CAV (C2C), CAV-to-HDV (C2H), and CAV-to-Boundary (C2B). A key contribution is our lane-specific uncertainty model for HDVs, which captures distinct behavioral patterns between inner and outer lanes, with outer-lane vehicles exhibiting $2.3\times$ higher uncertainty due to less constrained movements. We integrate this safety framework with a multi-agent Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) algorithm that employs safety-aware pruning to eliminate high-risk trajectories while maintaining computational efficiency. The reward function incorporates Shapley value-based credit assignment to balance individual performance with group coordination. Extensive simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach under both fully autonomous (100% AVs) and mixed traffic (50% AVs + 50% HDVs) conditions. Compared to benchmark methods, our framework consistently reduces trajectory deviations across all AVs and significantly lowers the rate of Post-Encroachment Time (PET) violations, achieving only 1.0% in the fully autonomous scenario and 3.2% in the mixed traffic setting.

Authors:Zhen Tian, Zhihao Lin, Dezong Zhao, Christos Anagnostopoulos, Qiyuan Wang, Wenjing Zhao, Xiaodan Wang, Chongfeng Wei
Title: A Risk-aware Spatial-temporal Trajectory Planning Framework for Autonomous Vehicles Using QP-MPC and Dynamic Hazard Fields
Abstract:
Trajectory planning is a critical component in ensuring the safety, stability, and efficiency of autonomous vehicles. While existing trajectory planning methods have achieved progress, they often suffer from high computational costs, unstable performance in dynamic environments, and limited validation across diverse scenarios. To overcome these challenges, we propose an enhanced QP-MPC-based framework that incorporates three key innovations: (i) a novel cost function designed with a dynamic hazard field, which explicitly balances safety, efficiency, and comfort; (ii) seamless integration of this cost function into the QP-MPC formulation, enabling direct optimization of desired driving behaviors; and (iii) extensive validation of the proposed framework across complex tasks. The spatial safe planning is guided by a dynamic hazard field (DHF) for risk assessment, while temporal safe planning is based on a space-time graph. Besides, the quintic polynomial sampling and sub-reward of comforts are used to ensure comforts during lane-changing. The sub-reward of efficiency is used to maintain driving efficiency. Finally, the proposed DHF-enhanced objective function integrates multiple objectives, providing a proper optimization tasks for QP-MPC. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed framework outperforms benchmark optimization methods in terms of efficiency, stability, and comfort across a variety of scenarios likes lane-changing, overtaking, and crossing intersections.

Authors:Asrin Efe Yorulmaz, Raj Kiriti Velicheti, Melih Bastopcu, Tamer Başar
Title: A Soft Inducement Framework for Incentive-Aided Steering of No-Regret Players
Abstract:
In this work, we investigate a steering problem in a mediator-augmented two-player normal-form game, where the mediator aims to guide players toward a specific action profile through information and incentive design. We first characterize the games for which successful steering is possible. Moreover, we establish that steering players to any desired action profile is not always achievable with information design alone, nor when accompanied with sublinear payment schemes. Consequently, we derive a lower bound on the constant payments required per round to achieve this goal. To address these limitations incurred with information design, we introduce an augmented approach that involves a one-shot information design phase before the start of the repeated game, transforming the prior interaction into a Stackelberg game. Finally, we theoretically demonstrate that this approach improves the convergence rate of players' action profiles to the target point by a constant factor with high probability, and support it with empirical results.
中文摘要：本研究探讨了在带有中介的博弈中引导玩家达成期望行动组合的问题，发现仅靠信息设计无法实现目标且需要恒定支付，并提出一次性信息设计方法能加速行动组合向目标收敛。
English Summary: This study explores steering players to a desired action profile in mediator-augmented games, showing that information design alone is insufficient and requiring constant payments, while introducing a one-shot information design method that accelerates convergence.

Authors:Lucian Cristian Iacob, Roland Tóth, Maarten Schoukens
Title: Exact Finite Koopman Embedding of Block-Oriented Polynomial Systems
Abstract:
The challenge of finding exact and finite-dimensional Koopman embeddings of nonlinear systems has been largely circumvented by employing data-driven techniques to learn models of different complexities (e.g., linear, bilinear, input affine). Although these models may provide good accuracy, selecting the model structure and dimension is still ad-hoc and it is difficult to quantify the error that is introduced. In contrast to the general trend of data-driven learning, in this paper, we develop a systematic technique for nonlinear systems that produces a finite-dimensional and exact embedding. If the nonlinear system is represented as a network of series and parallel linear and nonlinear (polynomial) blocks, one can derive an associated Koopman model that has constant state and output matrices and the input influence is polynomial. Furthermore, if the linear blocks do not have feedthrough, the Koopman representation simplifies to a bilinear model.
Chinese: 本文提出了一种系统方法，可从由线性和多项式模块组成的非线性系统中推导出精确的有限维Koopman嵌入，与依赖随意模型选择且难以量化误差的数据驱动方法形成鲜明对比。
English: This paper introduces a systematic method for deriving exact, finite-dimensional Koopman embeddings from nonlinear systems structured as networks of linear and polynomial blocks, contrasting with data-driven approaches that often involve arbitrary model selection and unquantified errors.

Authors:Lucian Cristian Iacob, Máté Szécsi, Gerben Izaak Beintema, Maarten Schoukens, Roland Tóth
Title: Learning Koopman Models From Data Under General Noise Conditions
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel identification approach of Koopman models of nonlinear systems with inputs under rather general noise conditions. The method uses deep state-space encoders based on the concept of state reconstructability and an efficient multiple-shooting formulation of the squared loss of the prediction error to estimate the dynamics and the lifted state from input-output data. Furthermore, the Koopman model structure includes an innovation noise term that is used to handle process and measurement noise. It is shown that the proposed approach is statistically consistent and computationally efficient due to the multiple-shooting formulation where, on subsections of the data, multi-step prediction errors can be calculated in parallel. The latter allows for efficient batch optimization of the network parameters and, at the same time, excellent long-term prediction capabilities of the obtained models. The performance of the approach is illustrated by nonlinear benchmark examples.
中文: 本文提出了一种新颖的含输入非线性系统的Koopman模型辨识方法，采用基于状态可重构性的深度状态空间编码器和多重打靶法，在通用噪声条件下实现了统计一致性与计算效率。
English: This paper introduces a novel Koopman model identification method for nonlinear systems with inputs, utilizing deep state-space encoders and a multiple-shooting formulation to achieve statistical consistency and computational efficiency under general noise conditions.

Authors:Shivam Chaubey, Francesco Verdoja, Shankar Deka, Ville Kyrki
Title: MISC: Minimal Intervention Shared Control with Guaranteed Safety under Non-Convex Constraints
Abstract:
Shared control combines human intention with autonomous decision-making, from low-level safety overrides to high-level task guidance, enabling systems that adapt to users while ensuring safety and performance. This enhances task effectiveness and user experience across domains such as assistive robotics, teleoperation, and autonomous driving. However, existing shared control methods, based on e.g. Model Predictive Control, Control Barrier Functions, or learning-based control, struggle with feasibility, scalability, or safety guarantees, particularly since the user input is unpredictable. To address these challenges, we propose an assistive controller framework based on Constrained Optimal Control Problem that incorporates an offline-computed Control Invariant Set, enabling online computation of control actions that ensure feasibility, strict constraint satisfaction, and minimal override of user intent. Moreover, the framework can accommodate structured class of non-convex constraints, which are common in real-world scenarios. We validate the approach through a large-scale user study with 66 participants--one of the most extensive in shared control research--using a computer game environment to assess task load, trust, and perceived control, in addition to performance. The results show consistent improvements across all these aspects without compromising safety and user intent.
中文摘要：本研究提出的辅助控制框架通过离线计算控制不变集，解决了现有共享控制方法在可行性、安全性和用户意图覆盖方面的不足，大规模用户实验证明该框架在保证安全的同时显著提升了任务性能、用户信任度和控制感知。
English Summary: The proposed assistive controller framework overcomes limitations of existing shared control methods by ensuring safety, feasibility, and minimal user intent override through an offline-computed Control Invariant Set, with large-scale user studies confirming improved performance, trust, and perceived control.

Authors:Giusy Spacone, Sebastian Frey, Mattia Orlandi, Pierangelo Maria Rapa, Victor Kartsch, Simone Benatti, Luca Benini, Andrea Cossettini
Title: Wearable and Ultra-Low-Power Fusion of EMG and A-Mode US for Hand-Wrist Kinematic Tracking
Abstract:
Hand gesture recognition based on biosignals has shown strong potential for developing intuitive human-machine interaction strategies that closely mimic natural human behavior. In particular, sensor fusion approaches have gained attention for combining complementary information and overcoming the limitations of individual sensing modalities, thereby enabling more robust and reliable systems. Among them, the fusion of surface electromyography (EMG) and A-mode ultrasound (US) is very promising. However, prior solutions rely on power-hungry platforms unsuitable for multi-day use and are limited to discrete gesture classification. In this work, we present an ultra-low-power (sub-50 mW) system for concurrent acquisition of 8-channel EMG and 4-channel A-mode US signals, integrating two state-of-the-art platforms into fully wearable, dry-contact armbands. We propose a framework for continuous tracking of 23 degrees of freedom (DoFs), 20 for the hand and 3 for the wrist, using a kinematic glove for ground-truth labeling. Our method employs lightweight encoder-decoder architectures with multi-task learning to simultaneously estimate hand and wrist joint angles. Experimental results under realistic sensor repositioning conditions demonstrate that EMG-US fusion achieves a root mean squared error of $10.6^\circ\pm2.0^\circ$, compared to $12.0^\circ\pm1^\circ$ for EMG and $13.1^\circ\pm2.6^\circ$ for US, and a R$^2$ score of $0.61\pm0.1$, with $0.54\pm0.03$ for EMG and $0.38\pm0.20$ for US.

Authors:Evelyn D'Elia, Paolo Maria Viceconte, Lorenzo Rapetti, Diego Ferigo, Giulio Romualdi, Giuseppe L'Erario, Raffaello Camoriano, Daniele Pucci
Title: Stabilizing Humanoid Robot Trajectory Generation via Physics-Informed Learning and Control-Informed Steering
Abstract:
Recent trends in humanoid robot control have successfully employed imitation learning to enable the learned generation of smooth, human-like trajectories from human data. While these approaches make more realistic motions possible, they are limited by the amount of available motion data, and do not incorporate prior knowledge about the physical laws governing the system and its interactions with the environment. Thus they may violate such laws, leading to divergent trajectories and sliding contacts which limit real-world stability. We address such limitations via a two-pronged learning strategy which leverages the known physics of the system and fundamental control principles. First, we encode physics priors during supervised imitation learning to promote trajectory feasibility. Second, we minimize drift at inference time by applying a proportional-integral controller directly to the generated output state. We validate our method on various locomotion behaviors for the ergoCub humanoid robot, where a physics-informed loss encourages zero contact foot velocity. Our experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach is compatible with multiple controllers on a real robot and significantly improves the accuracy and physical constraint conformity of generated trajectories.

Authors:Fiona Meier, Giusy Spacone, Sebastian Frey, Luca Benini, Andrea Cossettini
Title: A Parallel Ultra-Low Power Silent Speech Interface based on a Wearable, Fully-dry EMG Neckband
Abstract:
We present a wearable, fully-dry, and ultra-low power EMG system for silent speech recognition, integrated into a textile neckband to enable comfortable, non-intrusive use. The system features 14 fully-differential EMG channels and is based on the BioGAP-Ultra platform for ultra-low power (22 mW) biosignal acquisition and wireless transmission. We evaluate its performance on eight speech commands under both vocalized and silent articulation, achieving average classification accuracies of 87$\pm$3% and 68$\pm$3% respectively, with a 5-fold CV approach. To mimic everyday-life conditions, we introduce session-to-session variability by repositioning the neckband between sessions, achieving leave-one-session-out accuracies of 64$\pm$18% and 54$\pm$7% for the vocalized and silent experiments, respectively. These results highlight the robustness of the proposed approach and the promise of energy-efficient silent-speech decoding.

Authors:Mingze Yuan, Pengfei Jin, Na Li, Quanzheng Li
Title: PIRF: Physics-Informed Reward Fine-Tuning for Diffusion Models
Abstract:
Diffusion models have demonstrated strong generative capabilities across scientific domains, but often produce outputs that violate physical laws. We propose a new perspective by framing physics-informed generation as a sparse reward optimization problem, where adherence to physical constraints is treated as a reward signal. This formulation unifies prior approaches under a reward-based paradigm and reveals a shared bottleneck: reliance on diffusion posterior sampling (DPS)-style value function approximations, which introduce non-negligible errors and lead to training instability and inference inefficiency. To overcome this, we introduce Physics-Informed Reward Fine-tuning (PIRF), a method that bypasses value approximation by computing trajectory-level rewards and backpropagating their gradients directly. However, a naive implementation suffers from low sample efficiency and compromised data fidelity. PIRF mitigates these issues through two key strategies: (1) a layer-wise truncated backpropagation method that leverages the spatiotemporally localized nature of physics-based rewards, and (2) a weight-based regularization scheme that improves efficiency over traditional distillation-based methods. Across five PDE benchmarks, PIRF consistently achieves superior physical enforcement under efficient sampling regimes, highlighting the potential of reward fine-tuning for advancing scientific generative modeling.

Authors:Ruijia Liu, Ancheng Hou, Shaoyuan Li, Xiang Yin
Title: VH-Diffuser: Variable Horizon Diffusion Planner for Time-Aware Goal-Conditioned Trajectory Planning
Abstract:
Diffusion-based planners have gained significant recent attention for their robustness and performance in long-horizon tasks. However, most existing planners rely on a fixed, pre-specified horizon during both training and inference. This rigidity often produces length-mismatch (trajectories that are too short or too long) and brittle performance across instances with varying geometric or dynamical difficulty. In this paper, we introduce the Variable Horizon Diffuser (VHD) framework, which treats the horizon as a learned variable rather than a fixed hyperparameter. Given a start-goal pair, we first predict an instance-specific horizon using a learned Length Predictor model, which guides a Diffusion Planner to generate a trajectory of the desired length. Our design maintains compatibility with existing diffusion planners by controlling trajectory length through initial noise shaping and training on randomly cropped sub-trajectories, without requiring architectural changes. Empirically, VHD improves success rates and path efficiency in maze-navigation and robot-arm control benchmarks, showing greater robustness to horizon mismatch and unseen lengths, while keeping training simple and offline-only.

Authors:Yu Chen, Shaoyuan Li, Xiang Yin
Title: Control Synthesis for Multiple Reach-Avoid Tasks via Hamilton-Jacobi Reachability Analysis
Abstract:
We investigate the control synthesis problem for continuous-time time-varying nonlinear systems with disturbance under a class of multiple reach-avoid (MRA) tasks. Specifically, the MRA task requires the system to reach a series of target regions in a specified order while satisfying state constraints between each pair of target arrivals. This problem is more challenging than standard reach-avoid tasks, as it requires considering the feasibility of future reach-avoid tasks during the planning process. To solve this problem, we define a series of value functions by solving a cascade of time-varying reach-avoid problems characterized by Hamilton-Jacobi variational inequalities. We prove that the super-level set of the final value function computed is exactly the feasible set of the MRA task. Additionally, we demonstrate that the control law can be effectively synthesized by ensuring the non-negativeness of the value functions over time. We also show that the Linear temporal logic task control synthesis problems can be converted to a collection of MRA task control synthesis problems by properly defining each target and state constraint set of MRA tasks. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated through four case studies on robot planning problems under time-varying nonlinear systems with disturbance.

Authors:Davide Gorbani, Mohamed Elobaid, Giuseppe L'Erario, Hosameldin Awadalla Omer Mohamed, Daniele Pucci
Title: Data-fused Model Predictive Control with Guarantees: Application to Flying Humanoid Robots
Abstract:
This paper introduces a Data-Fused Model Predictive Control (DFMPC) framework that combines physics-based models with data-driven representations of unknown dynamics. Leveraging Willems' Fundamental Lemma and an artificial equilibrium formulation, the method enables tracking of changing, potentially unreachable setpoints while explicitly handling measurement noise through slack variables and regularization. We provide guarantees of recursive feasibility and practical stability under input-output constraints for a specific class of reference signals. The approach is validated on the iRonCub flying humanoid robot, integrating analytical momentum models with data-driven turbine dynamics. Simulations show improved tracking and robustness compared to a purely model-based MPC, while maintaining real-time feasibility.

Authors:David Ernesto Ruiz-Guirola, Samuel Montejo-Sanchez, Israel Leyva-Mayorga, Zhu Han, Petar Popovski, Onel L. A. Lopez
Title: Energy Management and Wake-up for IoT Networks Powered by Energy Harvesting
Abstract:
The rapid growth of the Internet of Things (IoT) presents sustainability challenges such as increased maintenance requirements and overall higher energy consumption. This motivates self-sustainable IoT ecosystems based on Energy Harvesting (EH). This paper treats IoT deployments in which IoT devices (IoTDs) rely solely on EH to sense and transmit information about events/alarms to a base station (BS). The objective is to effectively manage the duty cycling of the IoTDs to prolong battery life and maximize the relevant data sent to the BS. The BS can also wake up specific IoTDs if extra information about an event is needed upon initial detection. We propose a K-nearest neighbors (KNN)-based duty cycling management to optimize energy efficiency and detection accuracy by considering spatial correlations among IoTDs' activity and their EH process. We evaluate machine learning approaches, including reinforcement learning (RL) and decision transformers (DT), to maximize information captured from events while managing energy consumption. Significant improvements over the state-ofthe-art approaches are obtained in terms of energy saving by all three proposals, KNN, RL, and DT. Moreover, the RL-based solution approaches the performance of a genie-aided benchmark as the number of IoTDs increases.

Authors:Sebastian Frey, Giusy Spacone, Andrea Cossettini, Marco Guermandi, Philipp Schilk, Luca Benini, Victor Kartsch
Title: BioGAP-Ultra: A Modular Edge-AI Platform for Wearable Multimodal Biosignal Acquisition and Processing
Abstract:
The growing demand for continuous physiological monitoring and human-machine interaction in real-world settings calls for wearable platforms that are flexible, low-power, and capable of on-device intelligence. This work presents BioGAP-Ultra, an advanced multimodal biosensing platform that supports synchronized acquisition of diverse electrophysiological and hemodynamic signals such as EEG, EMG, ECG, and PPG while enabling embedded AI processing at state-of-the-art energy efficiency. BioGAP-Ultra is a major extension of our previous design, BioGAP [1], aimed at meeting the rapidly growing requirements of wearable biosensing applications. It features (i) increased on-device storage (x2 SRAM, x4 FLASH), (ii) improved wireless connectivity (1.4 Mbit/s bandwidth, x4 higher than BioGAP), (iii) enhanced number of signal modalities (from 3 to 5) and analog input channels (x2). Further, it is complemented by a complete real-time visualization and analysis software suite, providing access to raw data and real-time configurability on a mobile phone. Electrical characterization and multiple case studies confirm the platform's robustness, configurability, and suitability for real-world multimodal biosignal acquisition and edge intelligence. Finally, we demonstrate the system's versatility through integration into various wearable form factors: an EEG-PPG headband consuming 32.8 mW, an EMG sleeve at 26.7 mW, and an ECG-PPG chest band requiring only 9.3 mW, tailored for diverse biosignal applications. All hardware and software design files are also released open-source with a permissive license.

Authors:Yu Chen, Shaoyuan Li, Xiang Yin
Title: On the Construction of Barrier Certificate: A Dynamic Programming Perspective
Abstract:
In this paper, we revisit the formal verification problem for stochastic dynamical systems over finite horizon using barrier certificates. Most existing work on this topic focuses on safety properties by constructing barrier certificates based on the notion of $c$-martingales. In this work, we first provide a new insight into the conditions of existing martingale-based barrier certificates from the perspective of dynamic programming operators. Specifically, we show that the existing conditions essentially provide a bound on the dynamic programming solution, which exactly characterizes the safety probability. Based on this new perspective, we demonstrate that the barrier conditions in existing approaches are unnecessarily conservative over unsafe states. To address this, we propose a new set of safety barrier certificate conditions that are strictly less conservative than existing ones, thereby providing tighter probability bounds for safety verification. We further extend our approach to the case of reach-avoid specifications by providing a set of new barrier certificate conditions. We also illustrate how to search for these new barrier certificates using sum-of-squares (SOS) programming. Finally, we use two numerical examples to demonstrate the advantages of our method compared to existing approaches.
本文针对随机动力系统的安全验证问题，通过动态规划视角揭示了现有屏障证书条件的保守性，提出了一套能提供更紧概率边界的创新屏障条件，并采用平方和规划实现高效求解。
This paper introduces a novel perspective on barrier certificates for stochastic systems, revealing that existing conditions are overly conservative and proposing new, less restrictive conditions that yield tighter safety probability bounds through SOS programming.

Authors:Aditya Singh, Aastha Mishra, Manan Tayal, Shishir Kolathaya, Pushpak Jagtap
Title: Safe and Performant Controller Synthesis using Gradient-based Model Predictive Control and Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Ensuring both performance and safety is critical for autonomous systems operating in real-world environments. While safety filters such as Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) enforce constraints by modifying nominal controllers in real time, they can become overly conservative when the nominal policy lacks safety awareness. Conversely, solving State-Constrained Optimal Control Problems (SC-OCPs) via dynamic programming offers formal guarantees but is intractable in high-dimensional systems. In this work, we propose a novel two-stage framework that combines gradient-based Model Predictive Control (MPC) with CBF-based safety filtering for co-optimizing safety and performance. In the first stage, we relax safety constraints as penalties in the cost function, enabling fast optimization via gradient-based methods. This step improves scalability and avoids feasibility issues associated with hard constraints. In the second stage, we modify the resulting controller using a CBF-based Quadratic Program (CBF-QP), which enforces hard safety constraints with minimal deviation from the reference. Our approach yields controllers that are both performant and provably safe. We validate the proposed framework on two case studies, showcasing its ability to synthesize scalable, safe, and high-performance controllers for complex, high-dimensional autonomous systems.
中文: 本文提出了一种结合梯度模型预测控制与基于控制屏障函数安全过滤的两阶段框架，通过将安全约束转化为代价函数惩罚并实施硬约束修正，实现了高维自主系统中性能与安全性的协同优化。
English: This paper introduces a two-stage framework combining gradient-based MPC with CBF safety filtering to co-optimize performance and safety in autonomous systems, enabling scalable and provably safe controllers for high-dimensional applications.

Authors:Yixiao Ge, Giulio Delama, Martin Scheiber, Alessandro Fornasier, Pieter van Goor, Stephan Weiss, Robert Mahony
Title: The Difference between the Left and Right Invariant Extended Kalman Filter
Abstract:
The extended Kalman filter (EKF) has been the industry standard for state estimation problems over the past sixty years. The Invariant Extended Kalman Filter (IEKF) is a recent development of the EKF for the class of group-affine systems on Lie groups that has shown superior performance for inertial navigation problems. The IEKF comes in two versions, left- and right- handed respectively, and there is a perception in the robotics community that these filters are different and one should choose the handedness of the IEKF to match handedness of the measurement model for a given filtering problem. In this paper, we revisit these algorithms and demonstrate that the left- and right- IEKF algorithms (with reset step) are identical, that is, the choice of the handedness does not affect the IEKF's performance when the reset step is properly implemented. The reset step was not originally proposed as part of the IEKF, however, we provide simulations to show that the reset step improves asymptotic performance of all versions of the the filter, and should be included in all high performance algorithms. The GNSS-aided inertial navigation system (INS) is used as a motivating example to demonstrate the equivalence of the two filters.
Chinese: 不变扩展卡尔曼滤波器（IEKF）作为EKF在群仿射系统上的发展，证明了在正确实施重置步骤时，左右手版本是等效的，且重置步骤能提升所有版本滤波器的渐近性能。
English: The Invariant Extended Kalman Filter (IEKF), an advanced version of the EKF for group-affine systems, demonstrates that its left- and right-handed variants are identical when the reset step is implemented, which also enhances the asymptotic performance of all filter versions.

Authors:Siddhartha Upadhyay, Ratnangshu Das, Pushpak Jagtap
Title: Smooth Spatiotemporal Tube Synthesis for Prescribed-Time Reach-Avoid-Stay Control
Abstract:
In this work, we address the issue of controller synthesis for a control-affine nonlinear system to meet prescribed time reach-avoid-stay specifications. Our goal is to improve upon previous methods based on spatiotemporal tubes (STTs) by eliminating the need for circumvent functions, which often lead to abrupt tube modifications and high control effort. We propose an adaptive framework that constructs smooth STTs around static unsafe sets, enabling continuous avoidance while guiding the system toward the target within the prescribed time. A closed-form, approximation-free control law is derived to ensure the system trajectory remains within the tube and satisfies the RAS task. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a case study, showing a significant reduction in control effort compared to prior methods.

Authors:Dinithi Jayasuriya, Divake Kumar, Sureshkumar Senthilkumar, Devashri Naik, Nastaran Darabi, Amit Ranjan Trivedi
Title: Causal-Guided Dimension Reduction for Efficient Pareto Optimization
Abstract:
Multi-objective optimization of analog circuits is hindered by high-dimensional parameter spaces, strong feedback couplings, and expensive transistor-level simulations. Evolutionary algorithms such as Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) are widely used but treat all parameters equally, thereby wasting effort on variables with little impact on performance, which limits their scalability. We introduce CaDRO, a causal-guided dimensionality reduction framework that embeds causal discovery into the optimization pipeline. CaDRO builds a quantitative causal map through a hybrid observational-interventional process, ranking parameters by their causal effect on the objectives. Low-impact parameters are fixed to values from high-quality solutions, while critical drivers remain active in the search. The reduced design space enables focused evolutionary optimization without modifying the underlying algorithm. Across amplifiers, regulators, and RF circuits, CaDRO converges up to 10$\times$ faster than NSGA-II while preserving or improving Pareto quality. For instance, on the Folded-Cascode Amplifier, hypervolume improves from 0.56 to 0.94, and on the LDO regulator from 0.65 to 0.81, with large gains in non-dominated solutions.

Authors:Wenjian Hao, Zehui Lu, Nicolas Miguel, Shaoshuai Mou
Title: A Control-Barrier-Function-Based Algorithm for Policy Adaptation in Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
This paper considers the problem of adapting a predesigned policy, represented by a parameterized function class, from a solution that minimizes a given original cost function to a trade-off solution between minimizing the original objective and an additional cost function. The problem is formulated as a constrained optimization problem, where deviations from the optimal value of the original cost are explicitly constrained. To solve it, we develop a closed-loop system that governs the evolution of the policy parameters, with a closed-loop controller designed to adjust the additional cost gradient to ensure the satisfaction of the constraint. The resulting closed-loop system, termed control-barrier-function-based policy adaptation, exploits the set-invariance property of control barrier functions to guarantee constraint satisfaction. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through numerical experiments on the Cartpole and Lunar Lander benchmarks from OpenAI Gym, as well as a quadruped robot, thereby illustrating both its practicality and potential for real-world policy adaptation.

Authors:Shivam Bajpai, Abhinav Sinha, Shashi Ranjan Kumar
Title: Cooperative Guidance for Aerial Defense in Multiagent Systems
Abstract:
This paper addresses a critical aerial defense challenge in contested airspace, involving three autonomous aerial vehicles -- a hostile drone (the pursuer), a high-value drone (the evader), and a protective drone (the defender). We present a cooperative guidance framework for the evader-defender team that guarantees interception of the pursuer before it can capture the evader, even under highly dynamic and uncertain engagement conditions. Unlike traditional heuristic, optimal control, or differential game-based methods, we approach the problem within a time-constrained guidance framework, leveraging true proportional navigation based approach that ensures robust and guaranteed solutions to the aerial defense problem. The proposed strategy is computationally lightweight, scalable to a large number of agent configurations, and does not require knowledge of the pursuer's strategy or control laws. From arbitrary initial geometries, our method guarantees that key engagement errors are driven to zero within a fixed time, leading to a successful mission. Extensive simulations across diverse and adversarial scenarios confirm the effectiveness of the proposed strategy and its relevance for real-time autonomous defense in contested airspace environments.

Authors:Federico Nesti, Niko Salamini, Mauro Marinoni, Giorgio Maria Cicero, Gabriele Serra, Alessandro Biondi, Giorgio Buttazzo
Title: The Use of the Simplex Architecture to Enhance Safety in Deep-Learning-Powered Autonomous Systems
Abstract:
Recently, the outstanding performance reached by neural networks in many tasks has led to their deployment in autonomous systems, such as robots and vehicles. However, neural networks are not yet trustworthy, being prone to different types of misbehavior, such as anomalous samples, distribution shifts, adversarial attacks, and other threats. Furthermore, frameworks for accelerating the inference of neural networks typically run on rich operating systems that are less predictable in terms of timing behavior and present larger surfaces for cyber-attacks. To address these issues, this paper presents a software architecture for enhancing safety, security, and predictability levels of learning-based autonomous systems. It leverages two isolated execution domains, one dedicated to the execution of neural networks under a rich operating system, which is deemed not trustworthy, and one responsible for running safety-critical functions, possibly under a different operating system capable of handling real-time constraints. Both domains are hosted on the same computing platform and isolated through a type-1 real-time hypervisor enabling fast and predictable inter-domain communication to exchange real-time data. The two domains cooperate to provide a fail-safe mechanism based on a safety monitor, which oversees the state of the system and switches to a simpler but safer backup module, hosted in the safety-critical domain, whenever its behavior is considered untrustworthy. The effectiveness of the proposed architecture is illustrated by a set of experiments performed on two control systems: a Furuta pendulum and a rover. The results confirm the utility of the fall-back mechanism in preventing faults due to the learning component.

Authors:Abhinav Sinha, Dwaipayan Mukherjee, Shashi Ranjan Kumar
Title: On Robustness of Consensus over Pseudo-Undirected Path Graphs
Abstract:
Consensus over networked agents is typically studied using undirected or directed communication graphs. Undirected graphs enforce symmetry in information exchange, leading to convergence to the average of initial states, while directed graphs permit asymmetry but make consensus dependent on root nodes and their influence. Both paradigms impose inherent restrictions on achievable consensus values and network robustness. This paper introduces a theoretical framework for achieving consensus over a class of network topologies, termed pseudo-undirected graphs, which retains bidirectional connectivity between node pairs but allows the corresponding edge weights to differ, including the possibility of negative values under bounded conditions. The resulting Laplacian is generally non-symmetric, yet it guarantees consensus under connectivity assumptions, to expand the solution space, which enables the system to achieve a stable consensus value that can lie outside the convex hull of the initial state set. We derive admissibility bounds for negative weights for a pseudo-undirected path graph, and show an application in the simultaneous interception of a moving target.

Authors:Ratnangshu Das, Shubham Sawarkar, Pushpak Jagtap
Title: Scalable and Approximation-free Symbolic Control for Unknown Euler-Lagrange Systems
Abstract:
We propose a novel symbolic control framework for enforcing temporal logic specifications in Euler-Lagrange systems that addresses the key limitations of traditional abstraction-based approaches. Unlike existing methods that require exact system models and provide guarantees only at discrete sampling instants, our approach relies only on bounds on system parameters and input constraints, and ensures correctness for the full continuous-time trajectory. The framework combines scalable abstraction of a simplified virtual system with a closed-form, model-free controller that guarantees trajectories satisfy the original specification while respecting input bounds and remaining robust to unknown but bounded disturbances. We provide feasibility conditions for the construction of confinement regions and analyze the trade-off between efficiency and conservatism. Case studies on pendulum dynamics, a two-link manipulator, and multi-agent systems, including hardware experiments, demonstrate that the proposed approach ensures both correctness and safety while significantly reducing computational time and memory requirements. These results highlight its scalability and practicality for real-world robotic systems where precise models are unavailable and continuous-time guarantees are essential.

Authors:Lohitvel Gopikannan, Shashi Ranjan Kumar, Abhinav Sinha
Title: Trajectory Encryption Cooperative Salvo Guidance
Abstract:
This paper introduces the concept of trajectory encryption in cooperative simultaneous target interception, wherein heterogeneity in guidance principles across a team of unmanned autonomous systems is leveraged as a strategic design feature. By employing a mix of heterogeneous time-to-go formulations leading to a cooperative guidance strategy, the swarm of vehicles is able to generate diverse trajectory families. This diversity expands the feasible solution space for simultaneous target interception, enhances robustness under disturbances, and enables flexible time-to-go adjustments without predictable detouring. From an adversarial perspective, heterogeneity obscures the collective interception intent by preventing straightforward prediction of swarm dynamics, effectively acting as an encryption layer in the trajectory domain. Simulations demonstrate that the swarm of heterogeneous vehicles is able to intercept a moving target simultaneously from a diverse set of initial engagement configurations.

Authors:Lohitvel Gopikannan, Shashi Ranjan Kumar, Abhinav Sinha
Title: Nonlinear Cooperative Salvo Guidance with Seeker-Limited Interceptors
Abstract:
This paper presents a cooperative guidance strategy for the simultaneous interception of a constant-velocity, non-maneuvering target, addressing the realistic scenario where only a subset of interceptors are equipped with onboard seekers. To overcome the resulting heterogeneity in target observability, a fixed-time distributed observer is employed, enabling seeker-less interceptors to estimate the target state using information from seeker-equipped agents and local neighbors over a directed communication topology. Departing from conventional strategies that approximate time-to-go via linearization or small-angle assumptions, the proposed approach leverages deviated pursuit guidance where the time-to-go expression is exact for such a target. Moreover, a higher-order sliding mode consensus protocol is utilized to establish time-to-go consensus within a finite time. The effectiveness of the proposed guidance and estimation architecture is demonstrated through simulations.

Authors:Yudong Li, Yirui Cong, Shimin Wang, Martin Guay, Jiuxiang Dong
Title: Asymptotic Boundedness of Distributed Set-Membership Filtering
Abstract:
Asymptotic boundedness is a crucial property of Distributed Set-Membership Filtering (DSMFing) that prevents the unbounded growth of the set estimates caused by the wrapping effect. However, this important property remains underinvestigated, compared to its noise-free and stochastic-noise counterparts, i.e., the convergence of Distributed Observers (DOs) and the bounded error covariance of Distributed Kalman Filters (DKFs). This paper studies the asymptotic boundedness of DSMFing for linear discrete-time systems. A novel concept, termed the Collective Observation-Information Tower (COIT), is introduced to characterize the fundamental relationship between the structure of graphs and the set estimates, which enables the boundedness analysis. Leveraging the COIT, an easily verifiable sufficient condition for the asymptotic boundedness of linear DSMFing is established. Surprisingly, the sufficient condition generalizes the well-known collective detectability condition for DOs and DKFs; it links DSMFs to existing distributed estimation methods and reveals the unique characteristic of DSMFs.

Authors:Zida Wu, Mathieu Lauriere, Matthieu Geist, Olivier Pietquin, Ankur Mehta
Title: Population-aware Online Mirror Descent for Mean-Field Games with Common Noise by Deep Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Mean Field Games (MFGs) offer a powerful framework for studying large-scale multi-agent systems. Yet, learning Nash equilibria in MFGs remains a challenging problem, particularly when the initial distribution is unknown or when the population is subject to common noise. In this paper, we introduce an efficient deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm designed to achieve population-dependent Nash equilibria without relying on averaging or historical sampling, inspired by Munchausen RL and Online Mirror Descent. The resulting policy is adaptable to various initial distributions and sources of common noise. Through numerical experiments on seven canonical examples, we demonstrate that our algorithm exhibits superior convergence properties compared to state-of-the-art algorithms, particularly a DRL version of Fictitious Play for population-dependent policies. The performance in the presence of common noise underscores the robustness and adaptability of our approach.

Authors:Juncal Arbelaiz, Alessio Franci, Naomi Ehrich Leonard, Rodolphe Sepulchre, Bassam Bamieh
Title: Spiking control systems for soft robotics: a rhythmic case study in a soft robotic crawler
Abstract:
Inspired by spiking neural feedback, we propose a spiking controller for efficient locomotion in a soft robotic crawler. Its bistability, akin to neural fast positive feedback, combined with a sensorimotor slow negative feedback loop, generates rhythmic spiking. The closed-loop system is robust through the quantized actuation, and negative feedback ensures efficient locomotion with minimal external tuning. We prove that peristaltic waves arise from a supercritical Hopf bifurcation controlled by the sensorimotor gain. Dimensional analysis reveals a separation of mechanical and electrical timescales, and Geometric Singular Perturbation analysis explains endogenous crawling through relaxation oscillations. We further formulate and analytically solve an optimization problem in the singularly perturbed regime, proving that crawling at mechanical resonance maximizes speed by a matching of neuromechanical scales. Given the importance and ubiquity of rhythms and waves in soft-bodied locomotion, we envision that spiking control systems could be utilized in a variety of soft-robotic morphologies and modular distributed architectures, yielding significant robustness, adaptability, and energetic gains across scales.

Authors:Tao Yu, Kaixuan Huang, Tengsheng Wang, Jihong Li, Shunqing Zhang, Shuangfeng Han, Xiaoyun Wang, Qunsong Zeng, Kaibin Huang, Vincent K. N. Lau
Title: TREE:Token-Responsive Energy Efficiency Framework For Green AI-Integrated 6G Networks
Abstract:
As wireless networks evolve toward AI-integrated intelligence, conventional energy-efficiency metrics fail to capture the value of AI tasks. In this paper, we propose a novel EE metric called Token-Responsive Energy Efficiency (TREE), which incorporates the token throughput of large models as network utility carriers into the system utility. Based on this metric, we analyze the design principles of AI-integrated 6G networks from the perspective of three critical AI elements, namely computing power, model and data. Case studies validate TREE's unique capability to expose energy-service asymmetries in hybrid traffic scenarios where conventional metrics prove inadequate. Although it is impossible to determine every design detail of AI-integrated 6G network at current time, we believe that the proposed TREE based framework will help the network operators to quantify the operating energy cost of AI services and continue to evolve towards sustainable 6G networks.

Authors:Negar Monir, Youssef Ait Si, Ratnangshu Das, Pushpak Jagtap, Adnane Saoud, Sadegh Soudjani
Title: Computation of Feasible Assume-Guarantee Contracts: A Resilience-based Approach
Abstract:
We propose a resilience-based framework for computing feasible assume-guarantee contracts that ensure the satisfaction of temporal specifications in interconnected discrete-time systems. Interconnection effects are modeled as structured disturbances. We use a resilience metric, the maximum disturbance under which local specifications hold, to refine assumptions and guarantees across subsystems iteratively. For two subsystems, we demonstrate correctness, monotone refinement of guarantees, and that the resulting assumptions are maximal within ball-shaped sets. Additionally, we extend our approach to general networks of L subsystems using weighted combinations of interconnection effects. We instantiate the framework on linear systems by meeting finite-horizon safety, exact-time reachability, and finite-time reachability specifications, and on nonlinear systems by fulfilling general finite-horizon specifications. Our approach is demonstrated through numerical linear examples, and a nonlinear DC Microgrid case study, showcasing the impact of our framework in verifying temporal logic specifications with compositional reasoning.

Authors:Youssef Ait Si, Ratnangshu Das, Negar Monir, Sadegh Soudjani, Pushpak Jagtap, Adnane Saoud
Title: Maximally Resilient Controllers under Temporal Logic Specifications
Abstract:
In this paper, we consider the notion of resilience of a dynamical system, defined by the maximum disturbance a controlled dynamical system can withstand while satisfying given temporal logic specifications. Given a dynamical system and a specification, the objective is to synthesize the controller such that the closed-loop system satisfies this specification while maximizing its resilience. The problem is formulated as a robust optimization program where the objective is to compute the maximum resilience while simultaneously synthesizing the corresponding controller parameters. For linear systems and linear controllers, exact solutions are provided for the class of time-varying polytopic specifications. For the case of nonlinear systems, nonlinear controllers and more general specifications, we leverage tools from the scenario optimization approach, offering a probabilistic guarantee of the solution as well as computational feasibility. Different case studies are presented to illustrate the theoretical results.

Authors:Haoshu Cheng, Martin Guay, Shimin Wang, Yunhong Che
Title: Collision-Free Bearing-Driven Formation Tracking for Euler-Lagrange Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate the problem of tracking formations driven by bearings for heterogeneous Euler-Lagrange systems with parametric uncertainty in the presence of multiple moving leaders. To estimate the leaders' velocities and accelerations, we first design a distributed observer for the leader system, utilizing a bearing-based localization condition in place of the conventional connectivity assumption. This observer, coupled with an adaptive mechanism, enables the synthesis of a novel distributed control law that guides the formation towards the target formation, without requiring prior knowledge of the system parameters. Furthermore, we establish a sufficient condition, dependent on the initial formation configuration, that ensures collision avoidance throughout the formation evolution. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is demonstrated through a numerical example.
中文: 本文针对存在参数不确定性的异构欧拉-拉格朗日系统，提出了一种基于方位测量的分布式编队跟踪控制策略，通过设计分布式观测器和自适应机制实现领航者速度估计与碰撞避免。
English: This paper presents a distributed control strategy for heterogeneous Euler-Lagrange systems to track leader formations using bearing measurements, incorporating velocity estimation and collision avoidance without prior parameter knowledge.

Authors:Michel Rottleuthner, Thomas C. Schmidt, Matthias Wählisch
Title: Duty-Cycling is Not Enough in Constrained IoT Networking: Revealing the Energy Savings of Dynamic Clock Scaling
Abstract:
Minimizing energy consumption of low-power wireless nodes is a persistent challenge from the constrained Internet of Things (IoT). In this paper, we start from the observation that constrained IoT devices have largely different hardware (im-)balances than full-scale machines. We find that the performance gap between MCU and network throughput on constrained devices enables minimal energy delay product (EDP) for IoT networking at largely reduced clock frequencies. We analyze the potentials by integrating dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) into the RIOT IoT operating system and show that the DVFS reconfiguration overhead stays below the energy saved for a single, downscaled MAC operation. Backed by these findings, we systematically investigate how DVFS further improves energy-efficiency for common networking tasks -- in addition to duty-cycling. We measure IoT communication scenarios between real-world systems and analyze two MAC operating modes -- CSMA/CA and time slotting -- in combination with different CoAP transactions, payload sizes, as well as DTLS transport encryption. Our experiments reveal energy savings between 24% and 52% for MAC operations and up to 37% for encrypted CoAP communication. These results shall encourage research and system design work to integrate DVFS in future IoT devices for performing tasks at their optimal frequencies and thereby significantly extending battery lifetimes.

Authors:Jelena Trisovic, Andrea Carron, Melanie N. Zeilinger
Title: Uncertainty-Aware Perception-Based Control for Autonomous Racing
Abstract:
Autonomous systems operating in unknown environments often rely heavily on visual sensor data, yet making safe and informed control decisions based on these measurements remains a significant challenge. To facilitate the integration of perception and control in autonomous vehicles, we propose a novel perception-based control approach that incorporates road estimation, quantification of its uncertainty, and uncertainty-aware control based on this estimate. At the core of our method is a parametric road curvature model, optimized using visual measurements of the road through a constrained nonlinear optimization problem. This process ensures adherence to constraints on both model parameters and curvature. By leveraging the Frenet frame formulation, we embed the estimated track curvature into the system dynamics, allowing the controller to explicitly account for perception uncertainty and enhancing robustness to estimation errors based on visual input. We validate our approach in a simulated environment, using a high-fidelity 3D rendering engine, and demonstrate its effectiveness in achieving reliable and uncertainty-aware control for autonomous racing.
中文: 本文提出一种新型感知控制方法，通过融合道路曲率估计与不确定性量化，使自动驾驶系统能够在模拟赛车场景中实现具有不确定性感知的鲁棒控制。
English: This paper introduces a novel perception-based control method for autonomous vehicles that integrates road curvature estimation with uncertainty quantification, enabling robust and uncertainty-aware control validated in simulated racing scenarios.

Authors:Xinyang Wang, Hongwei Zhang, Jun Xu, Shimin Wang, Martin Guay
Title: Reinforcement learning in pursuit-evasion differential game: safety, stability and robustness
Abstract:
Safety and stability are two critical concerns in pursuit-evasion (PE) problems in an obstacle-rich environment. Most existing works combine control barrier functions (CBFs) and reinforcement learning (RL) to provide an efficient and safe solution. However, they do not consider the presence of disturbances, such as wind gust and actuator fault, which may exist in many practical applications. This paper integrates CBFs and a sliding mode control (SMC) term into RL to simultaneously address safety, stability, and robustness to disturbances. However, this integration is significantly challenging due to the strong coupling between the CBF and SMC terms. Inspired by Stackelberg game, we handle the coupling issue by proposing a hierarchical design scheme where SMC and safe control terms interact with each other in a leader-follower manner. Specifically, the CBF controller, acting as the leader, enforces safety independently of the SMC design; while the SMC term, as the follower, is designed based on the CBF controller. We then formulate the PE problem as a zero-sum game and propose a safe robust RL framework to learn the min-max strategy online. A sufficient condition is provided under which the proposed algorithm remains effective even when constraints are conflicting. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed safe robust RL framework.
Chinese: 本文提出了一种安全鲁棒的强化学习框架，通过将控制屏障函数与滑模控制结合在分层Stackelberg博弈结构中，解决了追逃问题中的安全性、稳定性和抗干扰鲁棒性。
English: This paper introduces a safe robust reinforcement learning framework that integrates control barrier functions with sliding mode control in a hierarchical Stackelberg game structure to address safety, stability, and disturbance robustness in pursuit-evasion problems.

Authors:Riccardo Bussola, Michele Focchi, Giulio Turrisi, Claudio Semini, Luigi Palopoli
Title: Guided Reinforcement Learning for Omnidirectional 3D Jumping in Quadruped Robots
Abstract:
Jumping poses a significant challenge for quadruped robots, despite being crucial for many operational scenarios. While optimisation methods exist for controlling such motions, they are often time-consuming and demand extensive knowledge of robot and terrain parameters, making them less robust in real-world scenarios. Reinforcement learning (RL) is emerging as a viable alternative, yet conventional end-to-end approaches lack efficiency in terms of sample complexity, requiring extensive training in simulations, and predictability of the final motion, which makes it difficult to certify the safety of the final motion. To overcome these limitations, this paper introduces a novel guided reinforcement learning approach that leverages physical intuition for efficient and explainable jumping, by combining Bézier curves with a Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion (UARM) model. Extensive simulation and experimental results clearly demonstrate the advantages of our approach over existing alternatives.
中文: 本文提出了一种引导式强化学习方法，通过结合贝塞尔曲线与匀加速直线运动模型，实现了四足机器人高效且可解释的跳跃运动，有效克服了传统优化方法和端到端强化学习的局限性。
English: This paper presents a guided reinforcement learning method that integrates Bézier curves with a Uniformly Accelerated Rectilinear Motion model to enable efficient and explainable jumping motions for quadruped robots, overcoming limitations of traditional optimization and end-to-end RL approaches.

Authors:Ratnangshu Das, Pushpak Jagtap
Title: Approximation-free Control of Unknown Euler-Lagrangian Systems under Input Constraints
Abstract:
In this paper, we present a novel funnel-based tracking control algorithm for robotic systems with unknown dynamics and prescribed input constraints. The Euler-Lagrange formulation, a common modeling approach for robotic systems, has been adopted in this study to address the trade-off between performance and actuator safety. We establish feasibility conditions that ensure tracking errors evolve within predefined funnel bounds while maintaining bounded control efforts, a crucial consideration for robots with limited actuation capabilities. We propose two approximation-free control strategies for scenarios where these conditions are violated: one actively corrects the error, and the other stops further deviation. Finally, we demonstrate the robust performance and safety of the approach through simulations and experimental validations. This work represents a significant advancement in funnel-based control, enhancing its applicability to real-world robotics systems with input constraints.

Authors:Abhinav Sinha, Shashi Ranjan Kumar
Title: Cooperative Target Capture in 3D Engagements over Switched Dynamic Graphs
Abstract:
This paper presents a leaderless cooperative guidance strategy for simultaneous time-constrained interception of a stationary target when the interceptors exchange information over switched dynamic graphs. We specifically focus on scenarios when the interceptors lack radial acceleration capabilities, relying solely on their lateral acceleration components. This consideration aligns with their inherent kinematic turn constraints. The proposed strategy explicitly addresses the complexities of coupled 3D engagements, thereby mitigating performance degradation that typically arises when the pitch and yaw channels are decoupled into two separate, mutually orthogonal planar engagements. Moreover, our formulation incorporates modeling uncertainties associated with the time-to-go estimation into the derivation of cooperative guidance commands to ensure robustness against inaccuracies in dynamic engagement scenarios. To optimize control efficiency, we analytically derive the lateral acceleration components in the orthogonal pitch and yaw channels by solving an instantaneous optimization problem, subject to an affine constraint. We show that the proposed cooperative guidance commands guarantee consensus in time-to-go values within a predefined time, which can be prescribed as a design parameter, regardless of the interceptors' initial configurations. We provide simulations to attest to the efficacy of the proposed method.

Authors:Chen Wang, Xunzhuo Liu, Yuhan Liu, Yue Zhu, Xiangxi Mo, Junchen Jiang, Huamin Chen
Title: When to Reason: Semantic Router for vLLM
Abstract:
Large Language Models (LLMs) demonstrate substantial accuracy gains when augmented with reasoning modes such as chain-of-thought and inference-time scaling. However, reasoning also incurs significant costs in inference latency and token usage, with environmental and financial impacts, which are unnecessary for many simple prompts. We present a semantic router that classifies queries based on their reasoning requirements and selectively applies reasoning only when beneficial. Our approach achieves a 10.2 percentage point improvement in accuracy on the MMLU-Pro benchmark while reducing response latency by 47.1% and token consumption by 48.5% compared to direct inference with vLLM. These results demonstrate that semantic routing offers an effective mechanism for striking a balance between accuracy and efficiency in open-source LLM serving systems

Authors:Chengjin Wang, Yanmin Zhou, Zhipeng Wang, Zheng Yan, Feng Luan, Shuo Jiang, Runjie Shen, Hongrui Sang, Bin He
Title: A Reliable Robot Motion Planner in Complex Real-world Environments via Action Imagination
Abstract:
Humans and animals can make real-time adjustments to movements by imagining their action outcomes to prevent unanticipated or even catastrophic motion failures in unknown unstructured environments. Action imagination, as a refined sensorimotor strategy, leverages perception-action loops to handle physical interaction-induced uncertainties in perception and system modeling within complex systems. Inspired by the action-awareness capability of animal intelligence, this study proposes an imagination-inspired motion planner (I-MP) framework that specifically enhances robots' action reliability by imagining plausible spatial states for approaching. After topologizing the workspace, I-MP build perception-action loop enabling robots autonomously build contact models. Leveraging fixed-point theory and Hausdorff distance, the planner computes convergent spatial states under interaction characteristics and mission constraints. By homogenously representing multi-dimensional environmental characteristics through work, the robot can approach the imagined spatial states via real-time computation of energy gradients. Consequently, experimental results demonstrate the practicality and robustness of I-MP in complex cluttered environments.

Authors:Taiki Nakano, Ahmed Aboudonia, Jaap Eising, Andrea Martinelli, Florian Dörfler, John Lygeros
Title: Dissipativity-Based Data-Driven Decentralized Control of Interconnected Systems
Abstract:
We propose data-driven decentralized control algorithms for stabilizing interconnected systems. We first derive a data-driven condition to synthesize a local controller that ensures the dissipativity of the local subsystems. Then, we propose data-driven decentralized stability conditions for the global system based on the dissipativity of each local system. Since both conditions take the form of linear matrix inequalities and are based on dissipativity theory, this yields a unified pipeline, resulting in a data-driven decentralized control algorithm. As a special case, we also consider stabilizing systems interconnected through diffusive coupling and propose a control algorithm. We validate the effectiveness and the scalability of the proposed control algorithms in numerical examples in the context of microgrids.

Authors:Chengjin Wang, Zheng Yan, Yanmin Zhou, Runjie Shen, Zhipeng Wang, Bin Cheng, Bin He
Title: PaiP: An Operational Aware Interactive Planner for Unknown Cabinet Environments
Abstract:
Box/cabinet scenarios with stacked objects pose significant challenges for robotic motion due to visual occlusions and constrained free space. Traditional collision-free trajectory planning methods often fail when no collision-free paths exist, and may even lead to catastrophic collisions caused by invisible objects. To overcome these challenges, we propose an operational aware interactive motion planner (PaiP) a real-time closed-loop planning framework utilizing multimodal tactile perception. This framework autonomously infers object interaction features by perceiving motion effects at interaction interfaces. These interaction features are incorporated into grid maps to generate operational cost maps. Building upon this representation, we extend sampling-based planning methods to interactive planning by optimizing both path cost and operational cost. Experimental results demonstrate that PaiP achieves robust motion in narrow spaces.

Authors:Pio Ong, Haejoon Lee, Tamas G. Molnar, Dimitra Panagou, Aaron D. Ames
Title: Combinatorial Control Barrier Functions: Nested Boolean and p-choose-r Compositions of Safety Constraints
Abstract:
This paper investigates the problem of composing multiple control barrier functions (CBFs) -- and matrix control barrier functions (MCBFs) -- through logical and combinatorial operations. Standard CBF formulations naturally enable conjunctive (AND) combinations, but disjunctive (OR) and more general logical structures introduce nonsmoothness and possibly a combinatorial blow-up in the number of logical combinations. We introduce the framework of combinatorial CBFs that addresses p-choose-r safety specifications and their nested composition. The proposed framework ensures safety for the exact safe set in a scalable way, using the original number of primitive constraints. We establish theoretical guarantees on safety under these compositions, and we demonstrate their use on a patrolling problem in a multi-agent system.

Authors:Kuan-Cheng Chen, Samuel Yen-Chi Chen, Tai-Yue Li, Chen-Yu Liu, Kin K. Leung
Title: Quantum Machine Learning for UAV Swarm Intrusion Detection
Abstract:
Intrusion detection in unmanned-aerial-vehicle (UAV) swarms is complicated by high mobility, non-stationary traffic, and severe class imbalance. Leveraging a 120 k-flow simulation corpus that covers five attack types, we benchmark three quantum-machine-learning (QML) approaches - quantum kernels, variational quantum neural networks (QNNs), and hybrid quantum-trained neural networks (QT-NNs) - against strong classical baselines. All models consume an 8-feature flow representation and are evaluated under identical preprocessing, balancing, and noise-model assumptions. We analyse the influence of encoding strategy, circuit depth, qubit count, and shot noise, reporting accuracy, macro-F1, ROC-AUC, Matthews correlation, and quantum-resource footprints. Results reveal clear trade-offs: quantum kernels and QT-NNs excel in low-data, nonlinear regimes, while deeper QNNs suffer from trainability issues, and CNNs dominate when abundant data offset their larger parameter count. The complete codebase and dataset partitions are publicly released to enable reproducible QML research in network security.

Authors:Shiva Sattarpour, Ali Barati, Hamid Barati
Title: An intrusion detection system in internet of things using grasshopper optimization algorithm and machine learning algorithms
Abstract:
The Internet of Things (IoT) has emerged as a foundational paradigm supporting a range of applications, including healthcare, education, agriculture, smart homes, and, more recently, enterprise systems. However, significant advancements in IoT networks have been impeded by security vulnerabilities and threats that, if left unaddressed, could hinder the deployment and operation of IoT based systems. Detecting unwanted activities within the IoT is crucial, as it directly impacts confidentiality, integrity, and availability. Consequently, intrusion detection has become a fundamental research area and the focus of numerous studies. An intrusion detection system (IDS) is essential to the IoTs alarm mechanisms, enabling effective security management. This paper examines IoT security and introduces an intelligent two-layer intrusion detection system for IoT. Machine learning techniques power the system's intelligence, with a two layer structure enhancing intrusion detection. By selecting essential features, the system maintains detection accuracy while minimizing processing overhead. The proposed method for intrusion detection in IoT is implemented in two phases. In the first phase, the Grasshopper Optimization Algorithm (GOA) is applied for feature selection. In the second phase, the Support Vector Machine (SVM) algorithm is used to detect intrusions. The method was implemented in MATLAB, and the NSLKDD dataset was used for evaluation. Simulation results show that the proposed method improves accuracy compared to other approaches.

Authors:Hojjat Farshadinia, Ali Barati, Hamid Barati
Title: Designing a Layered Framework to Secure Data via Improved Multi Stage Lightweight Cryptography in IoT Cloud Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel multi-layered hybrid security approach aimed at enhancing lightweight encryption for IoT-Cloud systems. The primary goal is to overcome limitations inherent in conventional solutions such as TPA, Blockchain, ECDSA and ZSS which often fall short in terms of data protection, computational efficiency and scalability. Our proposed method strategically refines and integrates these technologies to address their shortcomings while maximizing their individual strengths. By doing so we create a more reliable and high-performance framework for secure data exchange across heterogeneous environments. The model leverages the combined potential of emerging technologies, particularly Blockchain, IoT and Cloud computing which when effectively coordinated offer significant advancements in security architecture. The proposed framework consists of three core layers: (1) the H.E.EZ Layer which integrates improved versions of Hyperledger Fabric, Enc-Block and a hybrid ECDSA-ZSS scheme to improve encryption speed, scalability and reduce computational cost; (2) the Credential Management Layer independently verifying data integrity and authenticity; and (3) the Time and Auditing Layer designed to reduce traffic overhead and optimize performance across dynamic workloads. Evaluation results highlight that the proposed solution not only strengthens security but also significantly improves execution time, communication efficiency and system responsiveness, offering a robust path forward for next-generation IoT-Cloud infrastructures.

Authors:Fanjiang Ye, Zepeng Zhao, Yi Mu, Jucheng Shen, Renjie Li, Kaijian Wang, Desen Sun, Saurabh Agarwal, Myungjin Lee, Triston Cao, Aditya Akella, Arvind Krishnamurthy, T. S. Eugene Ng, Zhengzhong Tu, Yuke Wang
Title: SuperGen: An Efficient Ultra-high-resolution Video Generation System with Sketching and Tiling
Abstract:
Diffusion models have recently achieved remarkable success in generative tasks (e.g., image and video generation), and the demand for high-quality content (e.g., 2K/4K videos) is rapidly increasing across various domains. However, generating ultra-high-resolution videos on existing standard-resolution (e.g., 720p) platforms remains challenging due to the excessive re-training requirements and prohibitively high computational and memory costs. To this end, we introduce SuperGen, an efficient tile-based framework for ultra-high-resolution video generation. SuperGen features a novel training-free algorithmic innovation with tiling to successfully support a wide range of resolutions without additional training efforts while significantly reducing both memory footprint and computational complexity. Moreover, SuperGen incorporates a tile-tailored, adaptive, region-aware caching strategy that accelerates video generation by exploiting redundancy across denoising steps and spatial regions. SuperGen also integrates cache-guided, communication-minimized tile parallelism for enhanced throughput and minimized latency. Evaluations demonstrate that SuperGen harvests the maximum performance gains while achieving high output quality across various benchmarks.

Authors:Zhouheng Li, Lei Xie, Cheng Hu, Hongye Su
Title: A Rapid Iterative Trajectory Planning Method for Automated Parking through Differential Flatness
Abstract:
As autonomous driving continues to advance, automated parking is becoming increasingly essential. However, significant challenges arise when implementing path velocity decomposition (PVD) trajectory planning for automated parking. The primary challenge is ensuring rapid and precise collision-free trajectory planning, which is often in conflict. The secondary challenge involves maintaining sufficient control feasibility of the planned trajectory, particularly at gear shifting points (GSP). This paper proposes a PVD-based rapid iterative trajectory planning (RITP) method to solve the above challenges. The proposed method effectively balances the necessity for time efficiency and precise collision avoidance through a novel collision avoidance framework. Moreover, it enhances the overall control feasibility of the planned trajectory by incorporating the vehicle kinematics model and including terminal smoothing constraints (TSC) at GSP during path planning. Specifically, the proposed method leverages differential flatness to ensure the planned path adheres to the vehicle kinematic model. Additionally, it utilizes TSC to maintain curvature continuity at GSP, thereby enhancing the control feasibility of the overall trajectory. The simulation results demonstrate superior time efficiency and tracking errors compared to model-integrated and other iteration-based trajectory planning methods. In the real-world experiment, the proposed method was implemented and validated on a ROS-based vehicle, demonstrating the applicability of the RITP method for real vehicles.
中文: 本文提出了一种基于路径速度分解的快速迭代轨迹规划方法，通过新型避障框架平衡时间效率与精确避碰，并利用车辆运动学模型和终端平滑约束增强轨迹控制可行性，有效解决了自动泊车中的关键挑战。
English: This paper introduces a rapid iterative trajectory planning method based on path velocity decomposition to efficiently address collision-free automated parking by balancing time efficiency with precise avoidance and enhancing control feasibility through kinematic modeling and terminal constraints.

Authors:Junhao Ye, Cheng Hu, Yiqin Wang, Weizhan Huang, Nicolas Baumann, Jie He, Meixun Qu, Lei Xie, Hongye Su
Title: MCTR: Midpoint Corrected Triangulation for Autonomous Racing via Digital Twin Simulation in CARLA
Abstract:
In autonomous racing, reactive controllers eliminate the computational burden of the full See-Think-Act autonomy stack by directly mapping sensor inputs to control actions. This bypasses the need for explicit localization and trajectory planning. A widely adopted baseline in this category is the Follow-The-Gap method, which performs trajectory planning using LiDAR data. Building on FTG, the Delaunay Triangulation-based Racing algorithm introduces further enhancements. However, DTR's use of circumcircles for trajectory generation often results in insufficiently smooth paths, ultimately degrading performance. Additionally, the commonly used F1TENTH-simulator for autonomous racing competitions lacks support for 3D LiDAR perception, limiting its effectiveness in realistic testing. To address these challenges, this work proposes the MCTR algorithm. MCTR improves trajectory smoothness through the use of Curvature Corrected Moving Average and implements a digital twin system within the CARLA simulator to validate the algorithm's robustness under 3D LiDAR perception. The proposed algorithm has been thoroughly validated through both simulation and real-world vehicle experiments.
中文摘要：MCTR算法通过曲率校正移动平均技术提升轨迹平滑度，并基于CARLA模拟器的数字孪生系统验证了其在3D激光雷达感知下的鲁棒性，从而改进了自动驾驶赛车性能。
English Summary: The MCTR algorithm enhances autonomous racing by improving trajectory smoothness with Curvature Corrected Moving Average and validating robustness through a CARLA-based digital twin system that supports 3D LiDAR perception.

Authors:Mingjia He, Andrea Censi, Emilio Frazzoli, Gioele Zardini
Title: Co-Investment with Payoff-Sharing Mechanism for Cooperative Decision-Making in Network Design Games
Abstract:
Network-based systems are inherently interconnected, with the design and performance of subnetworks being interdependent. However, the decisions of self-interested operators may lead to suboptimal outcomes for users and the overall system. This paper explores cooperative mechanisms that can simultaneously benefit both operators and users. We address this challenge using a game-theoretical framework that integrates both non-cooperative and cooperative game theory. In the non-cooperative stage, we propose a network design game in which subnetwork decision-makers strategically design local infrastructures. In the cooperative stage, co-investment with payoff-sharing mechanism is developed to enlarge collective benefits and fairly distribute them. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our framework, we conduct case studies on the Sioux Falls network and real-world public transport networks in Zurich and Winterthur, Switzerland. Our evaluation considers impacts on environmental sustainability, social welfare, and economic efficiency. The proposed framework provides a foundation for improving interdependent networked systems by enabling strategic cooperation among self-interested operators.

Authors:Julius Irion, Philipp Wiesner, Jonathan Bader, Odej Kao
Title: Optimizing Microgrid Composition for Sustainable Data Centers
Abstract:
As computing energy demand continues to grow and electrical grid infrastructure struggles to keep pace, an increasing number of data centers are being planned with colocated microgrids that integrate on-site renewable generation and energy storage. However, while existing research has examined the tradeoffs between operational and embodied carbon emissions in the context of renewable energy certificates, there is a lack of tools to assess how the sizing and composition of microgrid components affects long-term sustainability and power reliability. In this paper, we present a novel optimization framework that extends the computing and energy system co-simulator Vessim with detailed renewable energy generation models from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) System Advisor Model (SAM). Our framework simulates the interaction between computing workloads, on-site renewable production, and energy storage, capturing both operational and embodied emissions. We use a multi-horizon black-box optimization to explore efficient microgrid compositions and enable operators to make more informed decisions when planning energy systems for data centers.

Authors:Haocheng Zhao, Niklas Schlüter, Lukas Brunke, Angela P. Schoellig
Title: Improving Drone Racing Performance Through Iterative Learning MPC
Abstract:
Autonomous drone racing presents a challenging control problem, requiring real-time decision-making and robust handling of nonlinear system dynamics. While iterative learning model predictive control (LMPC) offers a promising framework for iterative performance improvement, its direct application to drone racing faces challenges like real-time compatibility or the trade-off between time-optimal and safe traversal. In this paper, we enhance LMPC with three key innovations: (1) an adaptive cost function that dynamically weights time-optimal tracking against centerline adherence, (2) a shifted local safe set to prevent excessive shortcutting and enable more robust iterative updates, and (3) a Cartesian-based formulation that accommodates safety constraints without the singularities or integration errors associated with Frenet-frame transformations. Results from extensive simulation and real-world experiments demonstrate that our improved algorithm can optimize initial trajectories generated by a wide range of controllers with varying levels of tuning for a maximum improvement in lap time by 60.85%. Even applied to the most aggressively tuned state-of-the-art model-based controller, MPCC++, on a real drone, a 6.05% improvement is still achieved. Overall, the proposed method pushes the drone toward faster traversal and avoids collisions in simulation and real-world experiments, making it a practical solution to improve the peak performance of drone racing.

Authors:Philip Wiese, Victor Kartsch, Marco Guermandi, Luca Benini
Title: A Multi-Modal IoT Node for Energy-Efficient Environmental Monitoring with Edge AI Processing
Abstract:
The widespread adoption of Internet of Things (IoT) technologies has significantly advanced environmental monitoring (EM) by enabling cost-effective and scalable sensing solutions. Concurrently, machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) are introducing powerful tools for the efficient and accurate analysis of complex environmental data. However, current IoT platforms for environmental sensing are typically limited to a narrow set of sensors, preventing a comprehensive assessment of environmental conditions and lacking sufficient computational capabilities to support the deployment of advanced ML and AI algorithms on the edge. To overcome these limitations, we introduce a compact (17x38 mm2), multi-modal, MCU-based environmental IoT node integrating 11 sensors, including CO2 concentration, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), light intensity, UV radiation, pressure, temperature, humidity, visual sensing via an RGB camera, and precise geolocation through a GNSS module. It features GAP9, a parallel ultra-low-power system-on-chip, enabling real-time, energy-efficient edge processing of advanced ML models directly on-device. We implemented a YOLOv5-based occupancy detection pipeline (0.3 M parameters, 42 MOP per inference), demonstrating 42% energy savings over raw data streaming. Additionally, we present a smart indoor air quality (IAQ) monitoring setup that combines occupancy detection with adaptive sample rates, achieving operational times of up to 143 h on a single compact 600 mAh, 3.7 V battery. Our platform lays the groundwork for innovative applications such as predictive indoor IAQ, enabling efficient AI-driven on-edge forecasting for energy-efficient and autonomous, proactive pollution-mitigation control strategies
中文: 本研究开发了一种紧凑型多传感器物联网平台，集成11种环境传感器与超低功耗处理器，能够实时运行先进机器学习模型的边缘计算，通过人员检测和空气质量监测等应用展示了显著节能效果和延长电池续航能力，有效解决了现有系统传感器单一及边缘算力不足的局限性。
English: This study introduces a compact, multi-sensor IoT platform that integrates 11 environmental sensors and an ultra-low-power processor to enable real-time edge computing of advanced machine learning models, overcoming the limitations of current systems by demonstrating significant energy savings and extended battery life for applications like occupancy detection and air quality monitoring.

Authors:Pio Ong, Max H. Cohen, Tamas G. Molnar, Aaron D. Ames
Title: On the Properties of Optimal-Decay Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Control barrier functions provide a powerful means for synthesizing safety filters that ensure safety framed as forward set invariance. Key to CBFs' effectiveness is the simple inequality on the system dynamics: $\dot{h} \geq - α(h)$. Yet determining the class $\mathcal{K}^e$ function $α$ is a user defined choice that can have a dramatic effect on the resulting system behavior. This paper formalizes the process of choosing $α$ using optimal-decay control barrier functions (OD-CBFs). These modify the traditional CBF inequality to: $\dot{h} \geq - ωα(h)$, where $ω\geq 0$ is automatically determined by the safety filter. A comprehensive characterization of this framework is elaborated, including tractable conditions on OD-CBF validity, control invariance of the underlying sets in the state space, forward invariance conditions for safe sets, and discussion on optimization-based safe controllers in terms of their feasibility, Lipschitz continuity, and closed-form expressions. The framework also extends existing higher-order CBF techniques, addressing safety constraints with vanishing relative degrees. The proposed method is demonstrated on a satellite control problem in simulation.

Authors:Philipp Wiesner, Odej Kao
Title: Moving Beyond Marginal Carbon Intensity: A Poor Metric for Both Carbon Accounting and Grid Flexibility
Abstract:
Marginal Carbon Intensity (MCI) has been promoted as an effective metric for carbon-aware computing. Although it is already considered as impractical for carbon accounting purposes, many still view it as valuable when optimizing for grid flexibility by incentivizing electricity usage during curtailment periods. In this statement paper, we argue that MCI is neither reliable nor actionable for either purpose. We outline its fundamental limitations, including non-observability, reliance on opaque predictive models, and the lack of verifiability. Moreover, MCI fails to reflect curtailment caused by high-carbon sources and offers no insight into the quantity of available excess power. We advocate moving beyond MCI and instead call for research on more actionable metrics, such as direct reporting of excess power, explicit modeling of energy storage and grid stability, and integration with emerging granular renewable energy certificate markets.
Chinese: 边际碳强度（MCI）指标因其不可观测性、依赖不透明模型以及无法准确反映限电情况或剩余电力可用性，在碳核算和电网灵活性优化中均不可靠且不实用，亟需开发更具可操作性的替代方案。
English: The Marginal Carbon Intensity (MCI) metric is unreliable and impractical for both carbon accounting and grid flexibility optimization due to its non-observability, reliance on opaque models, and inability to accurately reflect curtailment or excess power availability, necessitating the development of more actionable alternatives.

Authors:Weiyi Liu, Jingzehua Xu, Guanwen Xie, Yi Li
Title: Ocean Diviner: A Diffusion-Augmented Reinforcement Learning for AUV Robust Control in the Underwater Tasks
Abstract:
This paper presents a diffusion-augmented reinforcement learning (RL) approach for robust autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) control, addressing key challenges in underwater trajectory planning and dynamic environment adaptation. The proposed method integrates three core innovations: (1) A diffusion-based trajectory generation framework that produces physically feasible multi-step trajectories, enhanced by a high-dimensional state encoding mechanism combining current observations with historical states and actions through a novel diffusion U-Net architecture, significantly improving long-horizon planning. (2) A sample-efficient hybrid learning architecture that synergizes diffusion-guided exploration with RL policy optimization, where the diffusion model generates diverse candidate actions and the RL critic selects optimal actions, achieving higher exploration efficiency and policy stability in dynamic underwater environments. Extensive simulation experiments validating the method's superior robustness and flexibility, outperforms conventional control methods in challenging marine conditions, offering enhanced adaptability and reliability for AUV operations in the underwater tasks.
中文: 本文提出一种扩散增强强化学习框架，通过扩散动作生成和混合学习提升自主水下航行器的控制鲁棒性，仿真验证其在动态水下环境中优于传统方法。
English: This paper introduces a diffusion-augmented reinforcement learning framework that enhances AUV control robustness through diffusion-based action generation and hybrid learning, validated by simulations to outperform traditional methods in dynamic underwater environments.

Authors:Luke Bhan, Miroslav Krstic, Yuanyuan Shi
Title: Stabilization of nonlinear systems with unknown delays via delay-adaptive neural operator approximate predictors
Abstract:
This work establishes the first rigorous stability guarantees for approximate predictors in delay-adaptive control of nonlinear systems, addressing a key challenge in practical implementations where exact predictors are unavailable. We analyze two scenarios: (i) when the actuated input is directly measurable, and (ii) when it is estimated online. For the measurable input case, we prove semi-global practical asymptotic stability with an explicit bound proportional to the approximation error $ε$. For the unmeasured input case, we demonstrate local practical asymptotic stability, with the region of attraction explicitly dependent on both the initial delay estimate and the predictor approximation error. To bridge theory and practice, we show that neural operators-a flexible class of neural network-based approximators-can achieve arbitrarily small approximation errors, thus satisfying the conditions of our stability theorems. Numerical experiments on two nonlinear benchmark systems-a biological protein activator/repressor model and a micro-organism growth Chemostat model-validate our theoretical results. In particular, our numerical simulations confirm stability under approximate predictors, highlight the strong generalization capabilities of neural operators, and demonstrate a substantial computational speedup of up to 15x compared to a baseline fixed-point method.

Authors:Po-Heng Chou, Yen-Ting Liu, Wei-Chang Chen, Walid Saad
Title: Markov Modeling for Licensed and Unlicensed Band Allocation in Underlay and Overlay D2D
Abstract:
In this paper, a novel analytical model for resource allocation is proposed for a device-to-device (D2D) assisted cellular network. The proposed model can be applied to underlay and overlay D2D systems for sharing licensed bands and offloading cellular traffic. The developed model also takes into account the problem of unlicensed band sharing with Wi-Fi systems. In the proposed model, a global system state reflects the interaction among D2D, conventional cellular, and Wi-Fi packets. Under the standard traffic model assumptions, a threshold-based flow control is proposed for guaranteeing the quality-of-service (QoS) of Wi-Fi. The packet blockage probability is then derived. Simulation results show the proposed scheme sacrifices conventional cellular performance slightly to improve overlay D2D performance significantly while maintaining the performance for Wi-Fi users. Meanwhile, the proposed scheme has more flexible adjustments between D2D and Wi-Fi than the underlay scheme.

Authors:Mahdi Nobar, Jürg Keller, Alessandro Forino, John Lygeros, Alisa Rupenyan
Title: Guided Multi-Fidelity Bayesian Optimization for Data-driven Controller Tuning with Digital Twins
Abstract:
We propose a \textit{guided multi-fidelity Bayesian optimization} framework for data-efficient controller tuning that integrates corrected digital twin (DT) simulations with real-world measurements. The method targets closed-loop systems with limited-fidelity simulations or inexpensive approximations. To address model mismatch, we build a multi-fidelity surrogate with a learned correction model that refines DT estimates from real data. An adaptive cost-aware acquisition function balances expected improvement, fidelity, and sampling cost. Our method ensures adaptability as new measurements arrive. The accuracy of DTs is re-estimated, dynamically adapting both cross-source correlations and the acquisition function. This ensures that accurate DTs are used more frequently, while inaccurate DTs are appropriately downweighted. Experiments on robotic drive hardware and supporting numerical studies demonstrate that our method enhances tuning efficiency compared to standard Bayesian optimization (BO) and multi-fidelity methods.

Authors:Filip Bajraktari, Luke Bhan, Miroslav Krstic, Yuanyuan Shi
Title: Delay compensation of multi-input distinct delay nonlinear systems via neural operators
Abstract:
In this work, we present the first stability results for approximate predictors in multi-input non-linear systems with distinct actuation delays. We show that if the predictor approximation satisfies a uniform (in time) error bound, semi-global practical stability is correspondingly achieved. For such approximators, the required uniform error bound depends on the desired region of attraction and the number of control inputs in the system. The result is achieved through transforming the delay into a transport PDE and conducting analysis on the coupled ODE-PDE cascade. To highlight the viability of such error bounds, we demonstrate our results on a class of approximators - neural operators - showcasing sufficiency for satisfying such a universal bound both theoretically and in simulation on a mobile robot experiment.

Authors:Po-Heng Chou, Pin-Qi Fu, Walid Saad, Li-Chun Wang
Title: Agentic DDQN-Based Scheduling for Licensed and Unlicensed Band Allocation in Sidelink Networks
Abstract:
In this paper, we present an agentic double deep Q-network (DDQN) scheduler for licensed/unlicensed band allocation in New Radio (NR) sidelink (SL) networks. Beyond conventional reward-seeking reinforcement learning (RL), the agent perceives and reasons over a multi-dimensional context that jointly captures queueing delay, link quality, coexistence intensity, and switching stability. A capacity-aware, quality of service (QoS)-constrained reward aligns the agent with goal-oriented scheduling rather than static thresholding. Under constrained bandwidth, the proposed design reduces blocking by up to 87.5% versus threshold policies while preserving throughput, highlighting the value of context-driven decisions in coexistence-limited NR SL networks. The proposed scheduler is an embodied agent (E-agent) tailored for task-specific, resource-efficient operation at the network edge.

Authors:Luke Bhan, Miroslav Krstic, Yuanyuan Shi
Title: Delay-adaptive Control of Nonlinear Systems with Approximate Neural Operator Predictors
Abstract:
In this work, we propose a rigorous method for implementing predictor feedback controllers in nonlinear systems with unknown and arbitrarily long actuator delays. To address the analytically intractable nature of the predictor, we approximate it using a learned neural operator mapping. This mapping is trained once, offline, and then deployed online, leveraging the fast inference capabilities of neural networks. We provide a theoretical stability analysis based on the universal approximation theorem of neural operators and the transport partial differential equation (PDE) representation of the delay. We then prove, via a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, semi-global practical convergence of the dynamical system dependent on the approximation error of the predictor and delay bounds. Finally, we validate our theoretical results using a biological activator/repressor system, demonstrating speedups of 15 times compared to traditional numerical methods.

Authors:Pio Ong, Yicheng Xu, Ryan M. Bena, Faryar Jabbari, Aaron D. Ames
Title: Matrix Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
This paper generalizes the control barrier function framework by replacing scalar-valued functions with matrix-valued ones. Specifically, we develop barrier conditions for safe sets defined by matrix inequalities -- both semidefinite and indefinite. Matrix inequalities can be used to describe a richer class of safe sets, including nonsmooth ones. The safety filters constructed from our proposed matrix control barrier functions via semidefinite programming (CBF-SDP) are shown to be continuous. Our matrix formulation naturally provides a continuous safety filter for Boolean-based control barrier functions, notably for disjunctions (OR), without relaxing the safe set. We illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework with applications in drone network connectivity maintenance and nonsmooth obstacle avoidance, both in simulations and hardware experiments.

Authors:Yaoyu Zhang, Xin Sun, Jun Wang, Tianwei Hou, Anna Li, Yuanwei Liu, Arumugam Nallanathan
Title: Pinching-Antenna Systems (PASS)-based Indoor Positioning
Abstract:
Pinching antenna (PA), a flexible waveguide integrated with dielectric particles, intelligently reconstructs line-of-sight channels. Utilizing its geometric deterministic model and meter-level reconstruction, PA systems (PASS) are applied to uplink indoor positioning. In this paper, the uplink positioning system model for PASS is firstly proposed. A PASS-based received signal strength indication (RSSI) method is proposed to measure the distance from the users to each PA, which is efficient and suitable for PASS. PASS-based weighted least squares (WLS) algorithm is designed to calculate the two-dimensional coordinates of the users. Several critical observations can be drawn from our results: i) More PAs on the waveguide improves the positioning accuracy and robustness. ii) When the number of PAs exceeds a certain threshold, the performance gain becomes marginal. iii) User locations between and near PAs yield superior positioning accuracy.

Authors:Aniket Johri, Divyanshi Dwivedi, Mayukha Pal
Title: Agentic-AI based Mathematical Framework for Commercialization of Energy Resilience in Electrical Distribution System Planning and Operation
Abstract:
The increasing vulnerability of electrical distribution systems to extreme weather events and cyber threats necessitates the development of economically viable frameworks for resilience enhancement. While existing approaches focus primarily on technical resilience metrics and enhancement strategies, there remains a significant gap in establishing market-driven mechanisms that can effectively commercialize resilience features while optimizing their deployment through intelligent decision-making. Moreover, traditional optimization approaches for distribution network reconfiguration often fail to dynamically adapt to both normal and emergency conditions. This paper introduces a novel framework integrating dual-agent Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) with market-based mechanisms, achieving an average resilience score of 0.85 0.08 over 10 test episodes. The proposed architecture leverages a dual-agent PPO scheme, where a strategic agent selects optimal DER-driven switching configurations, while a tactical agent fine-tunes individual switch states and grid preferences under budget and weather constraints. These agents interact within a custom-built dynamic simulation environment that models stochastic calamity events, budget limits, and resilience-cost trade-offs. A comprehensive reward function is designed that balances resilience enhancement objectives with market profitability (with up to 200x reward incentives, resulting in 85% of actions during calamity steps selecting configurations with 4 DERs), incorporating factors such as load recovery speed, system robustness, and customer satisfaction. Over 10 test episodes, the framework achieved a benefit-cost ratio of 0.12 0.01, demonstrating sustainable market incentives for resilience investment. This framework creates sustainable market incentives

Authors:Federico Mason, Federico Chiariotti, Pietro Talli, Andrea Zanella
Title: Secure Goal-Oriented Communication: Defending against Eavesdropping Timing Attacks
Abstract:
Goal-oriented Communication (GoC) is a new paradigm that plans data transmission to occur only when it is instrumental for the receiver to achieve a certain goal. This leads to the advantage of reducing the frequency of transmissions significantly while maintaining adherence to the receiver's objectives. However, GoC scheduling also opens a timing-based side channel that an eavesdropper can exploit to obtain information about the state of the system. This type of attack sidesteps even information-theoretic security, as it exploits the timing of updates rather than their content. In this work, we study such an eavesdropping attack against pull-based goal-oriented scheduling for remote monitoring and control of Markov processes. We provide a theoretical framework for defining the effectiveness of the attack and propose possible countermeasures, including two practical heuristics that provide a balance between the performance gains offered by GoC and the amount of leaked information. Our results show that, while a naive goal-oriented scheduler allows the eavesdropper to correctly guess the system state about 60% of the time, our heuristic defenses can halve the leakage with a marginal reduction of the benefits of goal-oriented approaches.
Chinese: 目标导向通信通过按需传输减少通信频率，但会暴露基于时序的侧信道，易受窃听攻击；本文提出启发式防御措施，能在几乎不影响性能的前提下将信息泄露减半。
English: Goal-oriented Communication reduces transmissions by aligning them with receiver goals but introduces a timing side channel vulnerable to eavesdropping, prompting the development of heuristic defenses that halve information leakage with minimal performance loss.

Authors:Yiming Xu, Dongfang Xu, Xianghao Yu, Shenghui Song, Zhiguo Ding, Robert Schober
Title: Joint Radiation Power, Antenna Position, and Beamforming Optimization for Pinching-Antenna Systems with Motion Power Consumption
Abstract:
Pinching-antenna systems (PASS) have been recently proposed to improve the performance of wireless networks by reconfiguring both the large-scale and small-scale channel conditions. However, existing studies ignore the physical constraints of antenna placement and assume fixed antenna radiation power. To fill this research gap, this paper investigates the design of PASS taking into account the motion power consumption of pinching-antennas (PAs) and the impact of adjustable antenna radiation power. To that end, we minimize the average power consumption for a given quality-of-service (QoS) requirement, by jointly optimizing the antenna positions, antenna radiation power ratios, and transmit beamforming. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first work to consider radiation power optimization in PASS, which provides an additional degree of freedom (DoF) for system design. The cases with both continuous and discrete antenna placement are considered, where the main challenge lies in the fact that the antenna positions affect both the magnitude and phase of the channel coefficients of PASS, making system optimization very challenging. To tackle the resulting unique obstacles, an alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM)-based framework is proposed to solve the problem for continuous antenna movement, while its discrete counterpart is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem and solved by the block coordinate descent (BCD) method. Simulation results validate the performance enhancement achieved by incorporating PA movement power assumption and adjustable radiation power into PASS design, while also demonstrating the efficiency of the proposed optimization framework. The benefits of PASS over conventional multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems in mitigating the large-scale path loss and inter-user interference is also revealed.

Authors:Zhimin Hou, Jiacheng Hou, Xiao Chen, Hamid Sadeghian, Tianyu Ren, Sami Haddadin
Title: Learning a Shape-adaptive Assist-as-needed Rehabilitation Policy from Therapist-informed Input
Abstract:
Therapist-in-the-loop robotic rehabilitation has shown great promise in enhancing rehabilitation outcomes by integrating the strengths of therapists and robotic systems. However, its broader adoption remains limited due to insufficient safe interaction and limited adaptation capability. This article proposes a novel telerobotics-mediated framework that enables therapists to intuitively and safely deliver assist-as-needed~(AAN) therapy based on two primary contributions. First, our framework encodes the therapist-informed corrective force into via-points in a latent space, allowing the therapist to provide only minimal assistance while encouraging patient maintaining own motion preferences. Second, a shape-adaptive ANN rehabilitation policy is learned to partially and progressively deform the reference trajectory for movement therapy based on encoded patient motion preferences and therapist-informed via-points. The effectiveness of the proposed shape-adaptive AAN strategy was validated on a telerobotic rehabilitation system using two representative tasks. The results demonstrate its practicality for remote AAN therapy and its superiority over two state-of-the-art methods in reducing corrective force and improving movement smoothness.

Authors:Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic
Title: DADS Under Unknown Input Coefficients
Abstract:
This short note shows that the Deadzone-Adapted Disturbance Suppression (DADS) adaptive control scheme is applicable to systems with unknown input coefficients. We study time-invariant, control-affine systems that satisfy the matching condition for which no bounds for the disturbance and the unknown parameters are known. The input coefficients can be time-varying as well as the unknown parameters. The only thing assumed for the input coefficients is their sign. The adaptive control design is Lyapunov-based and can be accomplished for every system for which a smooth globally stabilizing feedback exists when the disturbances are absent and all unknown parameters are known. The design is given by simple, explicit formulas. The proposed controllers guarantee an attenuation of the plant state to an assignable small level, despite unknown bounds on the parameters and disturbance, without a drift of the gain, state, and input.

Authors:Hao Tu, Yebin Wang, Shaoshuai Mou, Huazhen Fang
Title: Machine Learning-Driven Prediction of Lithium-Ion Battery Power Capability for eVTOL Aircraft
Abstract:
Electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft have emerged as a promising solution to transform urban transportation. They present a few technical challenges for battery management, a prominent one of which is the prediction of the power capability of their lithium-ion battery systems. The challenge originates from the high C-rate discharging conditions required during eVTOL flights as well as the complexity of lithium-ion batteries' electro-thermal dynamics. This paper, for the first time, formulates a power limit prediction problem for eVTOL which explicitly considers long prediction horizons and the possible occurrence of emergency landings. We then harness machine learning to solve this problem in two intertwined ways. First, we adopt a dynamic model that integrates physics with machine learning to predict a lithium-ion battery's voltage and temperature behaviors with high accuracy. Second, while performing search for the maximum power, we leverage machine learning to predict the remaining discharge time and use the prediction to accelerate the search with fast computation. Our validation results show the effectiveness of the proposed study for eVTOL operations.

Authors:Haejoon Lee, Dimitra Panagou
Title: Partial Resilient Leader-Follower Consensus in Time-Varying Graphs
Abstract:
This work studies resilient leader-follower consensus with a bounded number of adversaries. Existing approaches typically require robustness conditions of the entire network to guarantee resilient consensus. However, the behavior of such systems when these conditions are not fully met remains unexplored. To address this gap, we introduce the notion of partial leader-follower consensus, in which a subset of non-adversarial followers successfully tracks the leader's reference state despite insufficient robustness. We propose a novel distributed algorithm - the Bootstrap Percolation and Mean Subsequence Reduced (BP-MSR) algorithm - and establish sufficient conditions for individual followers to achieve consensus via the BP-MSR algorithm in arbitrary time-varying graphs. We validate our findings through simulations, demonstrating that our method guarantees partial leader-follower consensus, even when standard resilient consensus algorithms fail.

Authors:Tony Kinchen, Ting Bai, Nishanth Venkatesh S., Andreas A. Malikopoulos
Title: Spatiotemporal Forecasting of Incidents and Congestion with Implications for Sustainable Traffic Control
Abstract:
Urban traffic anomalies such as collisions and disruptions threaten the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of transportation systems. We present a simulation-based framework for modeling, detecting, and predicting such anomalies in urban networks. Using the SUMO platform, we generate reproducible rear-end and intersection crash scenarios with matched baselines, enabling controlled experimentation and comparative evaluation. We record vehicle-level travel time, speed, and emissions for edge and network-level analysis. On this dataset, we develop a hybrid forecasting architecture that combines bidirectional long short-term memory networks with a diffusion convolutional recurrent neural network to capture temporal dynamics and spatial dependencies. Our simulation studies on the Broadway corridor in New York City demonstrate the framework's ability to reproduce consistent incident conditions, quantify their effects, and provide accurate multi-horizon traffic forecasts. Our results highlight the value of combining controlled anomaly generation with deep predictive models to support reproducible evaluation and sustainable traffic management.

Authors:Gianluca Fabiani, Constantinos Siettos, Ioannis G. Kevrekidis
Title: Equation-Free Coarse Control of Distributed Parameter Systems via Local Neural Operators
Abstract:
The control of high-dimensional distributed parameter systems (DPS) remains a challenge when explicit coarse-grained equations are unavailable. Classical equation-free (EF) approaches rely on fine-scale simulators treated as black-box timesteppers. However, repeated simulations for steady-state computation, linearization, and control design are often computationally prohibitive, or the microscopic timestepper may not even be available, leaving us with data as the only resource. We propose a data-driven alternative that uses local neural operators, trained on spatiotemporal microscopic/mesoscopic data, to obtain efficient short-time solution operators. These surrogates are employed within Krylov subspace methods to compute coarse steady and unsteady-states, while also providing Jacobian information in a matrix-free manner. Krylov-Arnoldi iterations then approximate the dominant eigenspectrum, yielding reduced models that capture the open-loop slow dynamics without explicit Jacobian assembly. Both discrete-time Linear Quadratic Regulator (dLQR) and pole-placement (PP) controllers are based on this reduced system and lifted back to the full nonlinear dynamics, thereby closing the feedback loop.

Authors:Taoyuan Yu, Kui Wang, Zongdian Li, Tao Yu, Kei Sakaguchi, Walid Saad
Title: Digital Twin-based Cooperative Autonomous Driving in Smart Intersections: A Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Approach
Abstract:
Unsignalized intersections pose safety and efficiency challenges due to complex traffic flows and blind spots. In this paper, a digital twin (DT)-based cooperative driving system with roadside unit (RSU)-centric architecture is proposed for enhancing safety and efficiency at unsignalized intersections. The system leverages comprehensive bird-eye-view (BEV) perception to eliminate blind spots and employs a hybrid reinforcement learning (RL) framework combining offline pre-training with online fine-tuning. Specifically, driving policies are initially trained using conservative Q-learning (CQL) with behavior cloning (BC) on real datasets, then fine-tuned using multi-agent proximal policy optimization (MAPPO) with self-attention mechanisms to handle dynamic multi-agent coordination. The RSU implements real-time commands via vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communications. Experimental results show that the proposed method yields failure rates below 0.03\% coordinating up to three connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs), significantly outperforming traditional methods. In addition, the system exhibits sub-linear computational scaling with inference times under 40 ms. Furthermore, it demonstrates robust generalization across diverse unsignalized intersection scenarios, indicating its practicality and readiness for real-world deployment.

Authors:Adrian Wiltz, Dimos V. Dimarogonas
Title: On Uniformly Time-Varying Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
This paper investigates the design of a subclass of time-varying Control Barrier Functions (CBFs), specifically that of uniformly time-varying CBFs. Leveraging the fact that CBFs encode a system's dynamic capabilities relative to a state constraint, we decouple the design of uniformly time-varying CBFs into a time-invariant and a time-varying component. We characterize the subclass of time-invariant CBFs that yield a uniformly time-varying CBF when combined with a specific type of time-varying function. A detailed analysis of those conditions under which the time-varying function preserves the CBF property of the time-invariant component is provided. These conditions allow for selecting the time-varying function such that diverse variations in the state constraints can be captured while avoiding the redesign of the time-invariant component. From a technical point of view, the analysis requires the derivation of novel relations for comparison functions, not previously reported in the literature. We further relax the requirements on the time-varying function, showing that forward invariance can still be ensured even when the uniformly time-varying value function does not strictly constitute a CBF. Finally, we discuss how existing CBF construction methods can be applied to design suitable time-invariant CBFs, and demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach through detailed numerical examples.

Authors:Yu Li, Hamid Sadeghian, Zewen Yang, Valentin Le Mesle, Sami Haddadin
Title: Constraint-Consistent Control of Task-Based and Kinematic RCM Constraints for Surgical Robots
Abstract:
Robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery (RAMIS) requires precise enforcement of the remote center of motion (RCM) constraint to ensure safe tool manipulation through a trocar. Achieving this constraint under dynamic and interactive conditions remains challenging, as existing control methods either lack robustness at the torque level or do not guarantee consistent RCM constraint satisfaction. This paper proposes a constraint-consistent torque controller that treats the RCM as a rheonomic holonomic constraint and embeds it into a projection-based inverse-dynamics framework. The method unifies task-level and kinematic formulations, enabling accurate tool-tip tracking while maintaining smooth and efficient torque behavior. The controller is validated both in simulation and on a RAMIS training platform, and is benchmarked against state-of-the-art approaches. Results show improved RCM constraint satisfaction, reduced required torque, and robust performance by improving joint torque smoothness through the consistency formulation under clinically relevant scenarios, including spiral trajectories, variable insertion depths, moving trocars, and human interaction. These findings demonstrate the potential of constraint-consistent torque control to enhance safety and reliability in surgical robotics. The project page is available at: https://rcmpc-cube.github.io

Authors:Zewen Yang, Xiaobing Dai, Dongfa Zhang, Yu Li, Ziyang Meng, Bingkun Huang, Hamid Sadeghian, Sami Haddadin
Title: Prompt2Auto: From Motion Prompt to Automated Control via Geometry-Invariant One-Shot Gaussian Process Learning
Abstract:
Learning from demonstration allows robots to acquire complex skills from human demonstrations, but conventional approaches often require large datasets and fail to generalize across coordinate transformations. In this paper, we propose Prompt2Auto, a geometry-invariant one-shot Gaussian process (GeoGP) learning framework that enables robots to perform human-guided automated control from a single motion prompt. A dataset-construction strategy based on coordinate transformations is introduced that enforces invariance to translation, rotation, and scaling, while supporting multi-step predictions. Moreover, GeoGP is robust to variations in the user's motion prompt and supports multi-skill autonomy. We validate the proposed approach through numerical simulations with the designed user graphical interface and two real-world robotic experiments, which demonstrate that the proposed method is effective, generalizes across tasks, and significantly reduces the demonstration burden. Project page is available at: https://prompt2auto.github.io

Authors:Jonas Buchli, Brendan Tracey, Tomislav Andric, Christopher Wipf, Yu Him Justin Chiu, Matthias Lochbrunner, Craig Donner, Rana X. Adhikari, Jan Harms, Iain Barr, Roland Hafner, Andrea Huber, Abbas Abdolmaleki, Charlie Beattie, Joseph Betzwieser, Serkan Cabi, Jonas Degrave, Yuzhu Dong, Leslie Fritz, Anchal Gupta, Oliver Groth, Sandy Huang, Tamara Norman, Hannah Openshaw, Jameson Rollins, Greg Thornton, George Van Den Driessche, Markus Wulfmeier, Pushmeet Kohli, Martin Riedmiller, LIGO Instrument Team
Title: Improving cosmological reach of a gravitational wave observatory using Deep Loop Shaping
Abstract:
Improved low-frequency sensitivity of gravitational wave observatories would unlock study of intermediate-mass black hole mergers, binary black hole eccentricity, and provide early warnings for multi-messenger observations of binary neutron star mergers. Today's mirror stabilization control injects harmful noise, constituting a major obstacle to sensitivity improvements. We eliminated this noise through Deep Loop Shaping, a reinforcement learning method using frequency domain rewards. We proved our methodology on the LIGO Livingston Observatory (LLO). Our controller reduced control noise in the 10--30Hz band by over 30x, and up to 100x in sub-bands surpassing the design goal motivated by the quantum limit. These results highlight the potential of Deep Loop Shaping to improve current and future GW observatories, and more broadly instrumentation and control systems.

Authors:Jehad Jilan, Niranjana Naveen Nambiar, Ahmad Mohammad Saber, Alok Paranjape, Amr Youssef, Deepa Kundur
Title: A Kolmogorov-Arnold Network for Interpretable Cyberattack Detection in AGC Systems
Abstract:
Automatic Generation Control (AGC) is essential for power grid stability but remains vulnerable to stealthy cyberattacks, such as False Data Injection Attacks (FDIAs), which can disturb the system's stability while evading traditional detection methods. Unlike previous works that relied on blackbox approaches, this work proposes Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KAN) as an interpretable and accurate method for FDIA detection in AGC systems, considering the system nonlinearities. KAN models include a method for extracting symbolic equations, and are thus able to provide more interpretability than the majority of machine learning models. The proposed KAN is trained offline to learn the complex nonlinear relationships between the AGC measurements under different operating scenarios. After training, symbolic formulas that describe the trained model's behavior can be extracted and leveraged, greatly enhancing interpretability. Our findings confirm that the proposed KAN model achieves FDIA detection rates of up to 95.97% and 95.9% for the initial model and the symbolic formula, respectively, with a low false alarm rate, offering a reliable approach to enhancing AGC cybersecurity.

Authors:Adrian Wiltz, Dimos V. Dimarogonas
Title: Leveraging Equivariances and Symmetries in the Control Barrier Function Synthesis
Abstract:
The synthesis of Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) often involves demanding computations or a meticulous construction. However, structural properties of the system dynamics and constraints have the potential to mitigate these challenges. In this paper, we explore how equivariances in the dynamics, loosely speaking a form of symmetry, can be leveraged in the CBF synthesis. Although CBFs are generally not inherently symmetric, we show how equivariances in the dynamics and symmetries in the constraints induce symmetries in CBFs derived through reachability analysis. This insight allows us to infer their CBF values across the entire domain from their values on a subset, leading to significant computational savings. Interestingly, equivariances can be even leveraged to the CBF synthesis for non-symmetric constraints. Specifically, we show how a partially known CBF can be leveraged together with equivariances to construct a CBF for various new constraints. Throughout the paper, we provide examples illustrating the theoretical findings. Furthermore, a numerical study investigates the computational gains from invoking equivariances into the CBF synthesis.

Authors:Max H. Cohen, Eugene Lavretsky, Aaron D. Ames
Title: Compatibility of Multiple Control Barrier Functions for Constrained Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
Control barrier functions (CBFs) are a powerful tool for the constrained control of nonlinear systems; however, the majority of results in the literature focus on systems subject to a single CBF constraint, making it challenging to synthesize provably safe controllers that handle multiple state constraints. This paper presents a framework for constrained control of nonlinear systems subject to box constraints on the systems' vector-valued outputs using multiple CBFs. Our results illustrate that when the output has a vector relative degree, the CBF constraints encoding these box constraints are compatible, and the resulting optimization-based controller is locally Lipschitz continuous and admits a closed-form expression. Additional results are presented to characterize the degradation of nominal tracking objectives in the presence of safety constraints. Simulations of a planar quadrotor are presented to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed framework.

Authors:Tobin Holtmann, David Stenger, Andres Posada-Moreno, Friedrich Solowjow, Sebastian Trimpe
Title: Sailing Towards Zero-Shot State Estimation using Foundation Models Combined with a UKF
Abstract:
State estimation in control and systems engineering traditionally requires extensive manual system identification or data-collection effort. However, transformer-based foundation models in other domains have reduced data requirements by leveraging pre-trained generalist models. Ultimately, developing zero-shot foundation models of system dynamics could drastically reduce manual deployment effort. While recent work shows that transformer-based end-to-end approaches can achieve zero-shot performance on unseen systems, they are limited to sensor models seen during training. We introduce the foundation model unscented Kalman filter (FM-UKF), which combines a transformer-based model of system dynamics with analytically known sensor models via an UKF, enabling generalization across varying dynamics without retraining for new sensor configurations. We evaluate FM-UKF on a new benchmark of container ship models with complex dynamics, demonstrating a competitive accuracy, effort, and robustness trade-off compared to classical methods with approximate system knowledge and to an end-to-end approach. The benchmark and dataset are open sourced to further support future research in zero-shot state estimation via foundation models.

Authors:Alejandro Penacho Riveiros, Nicola Bastianello, Karl H. Johansson, Matthieu Barreau
Title: Physics-Informed Detection of Friction Anomalies in Satellite Reaction Wheels
Abstract:
As the number of satellites in orbit has increased exponentially in recent years, ensuring their correct functionality has started to require automated methods to decrease human workload. In this work, we present an algorithm that analyzes the on-board data related to friction from the Reaction Wheel Assemblies (RWA) of a satellite and determines their operating status, distinguishing between nominal status and several possible anomalies that require preventive measures to be taken. The algorithm first uses a model based on hybrid systems theory to extract the information relevant to the problem. The extraction process combines techniques in changepoint detection, dynamic programming, and maximum likelihood in a structured way. A classifier then uses the extracted information to determine the status of the RWA. This last classifier has been previously trained with a labelled dataset produced by a high-fidelity simulator, comprised for the most part of nominal data. The final algorithm combines model-based and data-based approaches to obtain satisfactory results with an accuracy around 95%.

Authors:Sergio A. Esteban, Max H. Cohen, Adrian B. Ghansah, Aaron D. Ames
Title: A Layered Control Perspective on Legged Locomotion: Embedding Reduced Order Models via Hybrid Zero Dynamics
Abstract:
Reduced-order models (ROMs) provide a powerful means of synthesizing dynamic walking gaits on legged robots. Yet this approach lacks the formal guarantees enjoyed by methods that utilize the full-order model (FOM) for gait synthesis, e.g., hybrid zero dynamics. This paper aims to unify these approaches through a layered control perspective. In particular, we establish conditions on when a ROM of locomotion yields stable walking on the full-order hybrid dynamics. To achieve this result, given an ROM we synthesize a zero dynamics manifold encoding the behavior of the ROM -- controllers can be synthesized that drive the FOM to this surface, yielding hybrid zero dynamics. We prove that a stable periodic orbit in the ROM implies an input-to-state stable periodic orbit of the FOM's hybrid zero dynamics, and hence the FOM dynamics. This result is demonstrated in simulation on a linear inverted pendulum ROM and a 5-link planar walking FOM.

Authors:Arianne Ornella Lemo, Ahmad Mohammad Saber, Deepa Kundur, Adam W. Skorek
Title: Potential of Quantum Computing Applications for Smart Grid Digital Twins and Future Directions
Abstract:
The convergence of digital twin technology and quantum computing is opening new horizons for the modeling, control, and optimization of smart grid systems. This paper reviews the current research landscape at the intersection of these fields, with a focus on how quantum algorithms can enhance the performance of digital twins in smart energy systems. We conduct a thematic literature review and identify key research trends, technical challenges, and gaps in real-world adoption. Further, a conceptual framework is proposed to integrate quantum modules into classical digital twin architectures. The potential benefits of this hybrid approach for smart grid operation and future research directions are also discussed.

Authors:Devansh R. Agrawal, Haejoon Lee, Dimitra Panagou
Title: Reformulations of Quadratic Programs for Lipschitz Continuity
Abstract:
Optimization-based controllers often lack regularity guarantees, such as Lipschitz continuity, when multiple constraints are present. When used to control a dynamical system, these conditions are essential to ensure the existence and uniqueness of the system's trajectory. Here we propose a general method to convert a Quadratic Program (QP) into a Second-Order Cone Problem (SOCP), which is shown to be Lipschitz continuous. Key features of our approach are that (i) the regularity of the resulting formulation does not depend on the structural properties of the constraints, such as the linear independence of their gradients; and (ii) it admits a closed-form solution, which is not available for general QPs with multiple constraints, enabling faster computation. We support our method with rigorous analysis and examples.

Authors:Linbin Huang, Liangxiao Luo, Huanhai Xin, Dan Wang, Ping Ju, Florian Dörfler
Title: Geometric Decentralized Stability Condition for Power Systems Based on Projecting DW Shells
Abstract:
The development of decentralized stability conditions has gained considerable attention due to the need to analyze heterogeneous multi-converter power systems. A recent advance is the application of the small-phase theorem, which extends the passivity theory. However, it requires the transfer function matrix to be sectorial, which may not hold in some frequency range and will result in conservatism. This letter tackles this problem by leveraging the Davis-Wielandt (DW) shells for decentralized stability analysis. We develop a geometric decentralized stability condition that visually displays how heterogeneous converters interact with the power grid and enable modular system analysis.

Authors:Xiaoxing Ren, Nicola Bastianello, Karl H. Johansson, Thomas Parisini
Title: Jointly Computation- and Communication-Efficient Distributed Learning
Abstract:
We address distributed learning problems over undirected networks. Specifically, we focus on designing a novel ADMM-based algorithm that is jointly computation- and communication-efficient. Our design guarantees computational efficiency by allowing agents to use stochastic gradients during local training. Moreover, communication efficiency is achieved as follows: i) the agents perform multiple training epochs between communication rounds, and ii) compressed transmissions are used. We prove exact linear convergence of the algorithm in the strongly convex setting. We corroborate our theoretical results by numerical comparisons with state of the art techniques on a classification task.

Authors:Chendi Qu, Jianping He, Jialun Li, Xiaoming Duan
Title: Optimal Unpredictable Control for Linear Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate how to achieve the unpredictability against malicious inferences for linear systems. The key idea is to add stochastic control inputs, named as unpredictable control, to make the outputs irregular. The future outputs thus become unpredictable and the performance of inferences is degraded. The major challenges lie in: i) how to formulate optimization problems to obtain an optimal distribution of stochastic input, under unknown prediction accuracy of the adversary; and ii) how to achieve the trade-off between the unpredictability and control performance. We first utilize both variance and confidence probability of prediction error to quantify unpredictability, then formulate two two-stage stochastic optimization problems, respectively. Under variance metric, the analytic optimal distribution of control input is provided. With probability metric, it is a non-convex optimization problem, thus we present a novel numerical method and convert the problem into a solvable linear optimization problem. Last, we quantify the control performance under unpredictable control, and accordingly design the unpredictable LQR and cooperative control. Simulations demonstrate the unpredictability of our control algorithm. The obtained optimal distribution outperforms Gaussian and Laplace distributions commonly used in differential privacy under proposed metrics.

Authors:Martin Jiroušek, Tomáš Báča, Martin Saska
Title: Towards Fully Onboard State Estimation and Trajectory Tracking for UAVs with Suspended Payloads
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of tracking the position of a cable-suspended payload carried by an unmanned aerial vehicle, with a focus on real-world deployment and minimal hardware requirements. In contrast to many existing approaches that rely on motion-capture systems, additional onboard cameras, or instrumented payloads, we propose a framework that uses only standard onboard sensors--specifically, real-time kinematic global navigation satellite system measurements and data from the onboard inertial measurement unit--to estimate and control the payload's position. The system models the full coupled dynamics of the aerial vehicle and payload, and integrates a linear Kalman filter for state estimation, a model predictive contouring control planner, and an incremental model predictive controller. The control architecture is designed to remain effective despite sensing limitations and estimation uncertainty. Extensive simulations demonstrate that the proposed system achieves performance comparable to control based on ground-truth measurements, with only minor degradation (< 6%). The system also shows strong robustness to variations in payload parameters. Field experiments further validate the framework, confirming its practical applicability and reliable performance in outdoor environments using only off-the-shelf aerial vehicle hardware.

Authors:Devansh R. Agrawal, Dimitra Panagou
Title: Online Safety under Multiple Constraints and Input Bounds using gatekeeper: Theory and Applications
Abstract:
This letter presents an approach to guarantee online safety of a cyber-physical system under multiple state and input constraints. Our proposed framework, called gatekeeper, recursively guarantees the existence of an infinite-horizon trajectory that satisfies all constraints and system dynamics. Such trajectory is constructed using a backup controller, which we define formally in this paper. gatekeeper relies on a small number of verifiable assumptions, and is computationally efficient since it requires optimization over a single scalar variable. We make two primary contributions in this letter. (A) First, we develop the theory of gatekeeper: we derive a sub-optimality bound relative to a full nonlinear trajectory optimization problem, and show how this can be used in runtime to validate performance. This also informs the design of the backup controllers and sets. (B) Second, we demonstrate in detail an application of gatekeeper for multi-agent formation flight, where each Dubins agent must avoid multiple obstacles and weapons engagement zones, both of which are nonlinear, nonconvex constraints.

Authors:Ruohan Leng, Linbin Huang, Huanhai Xin, Ping Ju, Xiongfei Wang, Eduardo Prieto-Araujo, Florian Dörfler
Title: DeePConverter: A Data-Driven Optimal Control Architecture for Grid-Connected Power Converters
Abstract:
Grid-connected power converters are ubiquitous in modern power systems, acting as grid interfaces of renewable energy sources, energy storage systems, electric vehicles, high-voltage DC systems, etc. Conventionally, power converters use multiple PID regulators to achieve different control objectives such as grid synchronization and voltage/power regulations, where the PID parameters are usually tuned based on a presumed (and often overly-simplified) power grid model. However, this may lead to inferior performance or even instabilities in practice, as the real power grid is highly complex, variable, and generally unknown. To tackle this problem, we employ a data-enabled predictive control (DeePC) to perform data-driven, optimal, and robust control for power converters. We call the converters that are operated in this way \textit{DeePConverters}. A DeePConverter can implicitly perceive the characteristics of the power grid from data and adjust its control strategy to achieve optimal and robust performance. We present the modular configurations, generalized structure, control behavior specification, detailed implementation, and computation of DeePConverters. High-fidelity simulations and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) tests are provided to validate the effectiveness of DeePConverters.

Authors:Alexandros E. Tzikas, Lukas Fiechtner, Arec Jamgochian, Mykel J. Kochenderfer
Title: Distributionally Robust Control with Constraints on Linear Unidimensional Projections
Abstract:
Distributionally robust control is a well-studied framework for optimal decision making under uncertainty, with the objective of minimizing an expected cost function over control actions, assuming the most adverse probability distribution from an ambiguity set. We consider an interpretable and expressive class of ambiguity sets defined by constraints on the expected value of functions of one-dimensional linear projections of the uncertain parameters. Prior work has shown that, under conditions, problems in this class can be reformulated as finite convex problems. In this work, we propose two iterative methods that can be used to approximately solve problems of this class in the general case. The first is an approximate algorithm based on best-response dynamics. The second is an approximate method that first reformulates the problem as a semi-infinite program and then solves a relaxation. We apply our methods to portfolio construction and trajectory planning scenarios.

Authors:Yunke Ao, Manish Prajapat, Yarden As, Yassine Taoudi-Benchekroun, Fabio Carrillo, Hooman Esfandiari, Benjamin F. Grewe, Andreas Krause, Philipp Fürnstahl
Title: Robust-Sub-Gaussian Model Predictive Control for Safe Ultrasound-Image-Guided Robotic Spinal Surgery
Abstract:
Safety-critical control using high-dimensional sensory feedback from optical data (e.g., images, point clouds) poses significant challenges in domains like autonomous driving and robotic surgery. Control can rely on low-dimensional states estimated from high-dimensional data. However, the estimation errors often follow complex, unknown distributions that standard probabilistic models fail to capture, making formal safety guarantees challenging. In this work, we introduce a novel characterization of these general estimation errors using sub-Gaussian noise with bounded mean. We develop a new technique for uncertainty propagation of proposed noise characterization in linear systems, which combines robust set-based methods with the propagation of sub-Gaussian variance proxies. We further develop a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework that provides closed-loop safety guarantees for linear systems under the proposed noise assumption. We apply this MPC approach in an ultrasound-image-guided robotic spinal surgery pipeline, which contains deep-learning-based semantic segmentation, image-based registration, high-level optimization-based planning, and low-level robotic control. To validate the pipeline, we developed a realistic simulation environment integrating real human anatomy, robot dynamics, efficient ultrasound simulation, as well as in-vivo data of breathing motion and drilling force. Evaluation results in simulation demonstrate the potential of our approach for solving complex image-guided robotic surgery task while ensuring safety.

Authors:Xu Du, Karl H. Johansson, Apostolos I. Rikos
Title: Decentralized Optimization via RC-ALADIN with Efficient Quantized Communication
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate the problem of decentralized consensus optimization over directed graphs with limited communication bandwidth. We introduce a novel decentralized optimization algorithm that combines the Reduced Consensus Augmented Lagrangian Alternating Direction Inexact Newton (RC-ALADIN) method with a finite time quantized coordination protocol, enabling quantized information exchange among nodes. Assuming the nodes' local objective functions are $μ$-strongly convex and simply smooth, we establish global convergence at a linear rate to a neighborhood of the optimal solution, with the neighborhood size determined by the quantization level. Additionally, we show that the same convergence result also holds for the case where the local objective functions are convex and $L$-smooth. Numerical experiments demonstrate that our proposed algorithm compares favorably against algorithms in the current literature while exhibiting communication efficient operation.

Authors:Jiaqi Hu, Karl H. Johansson, Apostolos I. Rikos
Title: Distributed Quantized Average Consensus in Open Multi-Agent Systems with Dynamic Communication Links
Abstract:
In this paper, we focus on the distributed quantized average consensus problem in open multi-agent systems consisting of communication links that change dynamically over time. Open multi-agent systems exhibiting the aforementioned characteristic are referred to as \textit{open dynamic multi-agent systems} in this work. We present a distributed algorithm that enables active nodes in the open dynamic multi-agent system to calculate the quantized average of their initial states. Our algorithm consists of the following advantages: (i) ensures efficient communication by enabling nodes to exchange quantized valued messages, and (ii) exhibits finite time convergence to the desired solution. We establish the correctness of our algorithm and we present necessary and sufficient topological conditions for it to successfully solve the quantized average consensus problem in an open dynamic multi-agent system. Finally, we illustrate the performance of our algorithm with numerical simulations.

Authors:Apostolos I. Rikos, Nicola Bastianello, Themistoklis Charalambous, Karl H. Johansson
Title: Distributed Optimization and Learning for Automated Stepsize Selection with Finite Time Coordination
Abstract:
Distributed optimization and learning algorithms are designed to operate over large scale networks enabling processing of vast amounts of data effectively and efficiently. One of the main challenges for ensuring a smooth learning process in gradient-based methods is the appropriate selection of a learning stepsize. Most current distributed approaches let individual nodes adapt their stepsizes locally. However, this may introduce stepsize heterogeneity in the network, thus disrupting the learning process and potentially leading to divergence. In this paper, we propose a distributed learning algorithm that incorporates a novel mechanism for automating stepsize selection among nodes. Our main idea relies on implementing a finite time coordination algorithm for eliminating stepsize heterogeneity among nodes. We analyze the operation of our algorithm and we establish its convergence to the optimal solution. We conclude our paper with numerical simulations for a linear regression problem, showcasing that eliminating stepsize heterogeneity enhances convergence speed and accuracy against current approaches.

Authors:Yan Zhang, Ahmad Mohammad Saber, Amr Youssef, Deepa Kundur
Title: Grid-Agent: An LLM-Powered Multi-Agent System for Power Grid Control
Abstract:
Modern power grids face unprecedented complexity from Distributed Energy Resources (DERs), Electric Vehicles (EVs), and extreme weather, while also being increasingly exposed to cyberattacks that can trigger grid violations. This paper introduces Grid-Agent, an autonomous AI-driven framework that leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) within a multi-agent system to detect and remediate violations. Grid-Agent integrates semantic reasoning with numerical precision through modular agents: a planning agent generates coordinated action sequences using power flow solvers, while a validation agent ensures stability and safety through sandboxed execution with rollback mechanisms. To enhance scalability, the framework employs an adaptive multi-scale network representation that dynamically adjusts encoding schemes based on system size and complexity. Violation resolution is achieved through optimizing switch configurations, battery deployment, and load curtailment. Our experiments on IEEE and CIGRE benchmark networks, including the IEEE 69-bus, CIGRE MV, IEEE 30-bus test systems, demonstrate superior mitigation performance, highlighting Grid-Agent's suitability for modern smart grids requiring rapid, adaptive response.

Authors:Zewen Yang, Dongfa Zhang, Xiaobing Dai, Fengyi Yu, Chi Zhang, Bingkun Huang, Hamid Sadeghian, Sami Haddadin
Title: Streaming Generated Gaussian Process Experts for Online Learning and Control
Abstract:
Gaussian Processes (GPs), as a nonparametric learning method, offer flexible modeling capabilities and calibrated uncertainty quantification for function approximations. Additionally, GPs support online learning by efficiently incorporating new data with polynomial-time computation, making them well-suited for safety-critical dynamical systems that require rapid adaptation. However, the inference and online updates of exact GPs, when processing streaming data, incur cubic computation time and quadratic storage memory complexity, limiting their scalability to large datasets in real-time settings. In this paper, we propose a streaming kernel-induced progressively generated expert framework of Gaussian processes (SkyGP) that addresses both computational and memory constraints by maintaining a bounded set of experts, while inheriting the learning performance guarantees from exact Gaussian processes. Furthermore, two SkyGP variants are introduced, each tailored to a specific objective, either maximizing prediction accuracy (SkyGP-Dense) or improving computational efficiency (SkyGP-Fast). The effectiveness of SkyGP is validated through extensive benchmarks and real-time control experiments demonstrating its superior performance compared to state-of-the-art approaches.

Authors:Zehua Zhao, Rui Yan, Jianping He, Xinping Guan, Xiaoming Duan
Title: Pursuit-Evasion Between a Velocity-Constrained Double-Integrator Pursuer and a Single-Integrator Evader
Abstract:
We study a pursuit-evasion game between a double integrator-driven pursuer with bounded velocity and bounded acceleration and a single integrator-driven evader with bounded velocity in a two-dimensional plane. The pursuer's goal is to capture the evader in the shortest time, while the evader attempts to delay the capture. We analyze two scenarios based on whether the capture can happen before the pursuer's speed reaches its maximum. For the case when the pursuer can capture the evader before its speed reaches its maximum, we use geometric methods to obtain the strategies for the pursuer and the evader. For the case when the pursuer cannot capture the evader before its speed reaches its maximum, we use numerical methods to obtain the strategies for the pursuer and the evader. In both cases, we demonstrate that the proposed strategies are optimal in the sense of Nash equilibrium through the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs equation, and the pursuer can capture the evader as long as as its maximum speed is larger than that of the evader. Simulation experiments illustrate the effectiveness of the strategies.

Authors:Muhammad Sharshar, Ahmad Mohammad Saber, Davor Svetinovic, Amr M. Youssef, Deepa Kundur, Ehab F. El-Saadany
Title: Large Language Model-Based Framework for Explainable Cyberattack Detection in Automatic Generation Control Systems
Abstract:
The increasing digitization of smart grids has improved operational efficiency but also introduced new cybersecurity vulnerabilities, such as False Data Injection Attacks (FDIAs) targeting Automatic Generation Control (AGC) systems. While machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) models have shown promise in detecting such attacks, their opaque decision-making limits operator trust and real-world applicability. This paper proposes a hybrid framework that integrates lightweight ML-based attack detection with natural language explanations generated by Large Language Models (LLMs). Classifiers such as LightGBM achieve up to 95.13% attack detection accuracy with only 0.004 s inference latency. Upon detecting a cyberattack, the system invokes LLMs, including GPT-3.5 Turbo, GPT-4 Turbo, and GPT-4o mini, to generate human-readable explanation of the event. Evaluated on 100 test samples, GPT-4o mini with 20-shot prompting achieved 93% accuracy in identifying the attack target, a mean absolute error of 0.075 pu in estimating attack magnitude, and 2.19 seconds mean absolute error (MAE) in estimating attack onset. These results demonstrate that the proposed framework effectively balances real-time detection with interpretable, high-fidelity explanations, addressing a critical need for actionable AI in smart grid cybersecurity.

Authors:Armita Khashayardoost, Ahmad Mohammad Saber, Deepa Kundur
Title: Optimal Planning for Enhancing the Resilience of Modern Distribution Systems Against Cyberattacks
Abstract:
The increasing integration of IoT-connected devices in smart grids has introduced new vulnerabilities at the distribution level. Of particular concern is the potential for cyberattacks that exploit high-wattage IoT devices, such as EV chargers, to manipulate local demand and destabilize the grid. While previous studies have primarily focused on such attacks at the transmission level, this paper investigates their feasibility and impact at the distribution level. We examine how cyberattackers can target voltage-sensitive nodes, especially those exposed by the presence of high-consumption devices, to cause voltage deviation and service disruption. Our analysis demonstrates that conventional grid protections are insufficient against these intelligent, localized attacks. To address this, we propose resilience strategies using distributed generation (DGs), exploring their role in preemptive planning. This research highlights the urgent need for distribution-level cyber resilience planning in smart grids.

Authors:Zhichao Chen, Hao Wang, Licheng Pan, Yiran Ma, Yunfei Teng, Jiaze Ma, Le Yao, Zhiqiang Ge, Zhihuan Song
Title: Relaxing Probabilistic Latent Variable Models' Specification via Infinite-Horizon Optimal Control
Abstract:
In this paper, we address the issue of model specification in probabilistic latent variable models (PLVMs) using an infinite-horizon optimal control approach. Traditional PLVMs rely on joint distributions to model complex data, but introducing latent variables results in an ill-posed parameter learning problem. To address this issue, regularization terms are typically introduced, leading to the development of the expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm, where the latent variable distribution is restricted to a predefined normalized distribution family to facilitate the expectation step. To overcome this limitation, we propose representing the latent variable distribution as a finite set of instances perturbed via an ordinary differential equation with a control policy. This approach ensures that the instances asymptotically converge to the true latent variable distribution as time approaches infinity. By doing so, we reformulate the distribution inference problem as an optimal control policy determination problem, relaxing the model specification to an infinite-horizon path space. Building on this formulation, we derive the corresponding optimal control policy using the Pontryagin's maximum principle and provide a closed-form expression for its implementation using the reproducing kernel Hilbert space. After that, we develop a novel, convergence-guaranteed EM algorithm for PLVMs based on this infinite-horizon-optimal-control-based inference strategy. Finally, extensive experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed approach.

Authors:Iasson Karafyllis, Miroslav Krstic
Title: Partial-State DADS Control for Matched Unmodeled Dynamics
Abstract:
We extend the Deadzone-Adapted Disturbance Suppression (DADS) control to time-invariant systems with dynamic uncertainties that satisfy the matching condition and for which no bounds for the disturbance and the unknown parameters are known. This problem is equivalent to partial-state adaptive feedback, where the states modeling the dynamic uncertainty are unmeasured. We show that the DADS controller can bypass small-gain conditions and achieve robust regulation for systems in spite of the fact that the strength of the interconnections has no known bound. Moreover, no gain and state drift arise, regardless of the size of the disturbances and unknown parameters. Finally, the paper provides the detailed analysis of a control system where the unmeasured state (or the dynamic uncertainty) is infinite-dimensional and described by a reaction-diffusion Partial Differential Equation, where the diffusion coefficient and the reaction term are unknown. It is shown that even in the infinite-dimensional case, a DADS controller can be designed and guarantees robust regulation of the plant state.

Authors:Gert Vankan, Valentina Breschi, Simone Formentin
Title: Toward Federated DeePC: borrowing data from similar systems
Abstract:
Data-driven predictive control approaches, in general, and Data-enabled Predictive Control (DeePC), in particular, exploit matrices of raw input/output trajectories for control design. These data are typically gathered only from the system to be controlled. Nonetheless, the increasing connectivity and inherent similarity of (mass-produced) systems have the potential to generate a considerable amount of information that can be exploited to undertake a control task. In light of this, we propose a preliminary federated extension of DeePC that leverages a combination of input/output trajectories from multiple similar systems for predictive control. Supported by a suite of numerical examples, our analysis unveils the potential benefits of exploiting information from similar systems and its possible downsides.
中文: 本研究提出了一种数据驱动预测控制（DeePC）的联邦扩展方法，通过整合多个相似系统的输入/输出轨迹来提升预测控制性能，同时揭示了利用此类信息的优势与潜在风险。
English: The study introduces a federated extension of Data-enabled Predictive Control (DeePC) that utilizes input/output trajectories from multiple similar systems to enhance predictive control, highlighting both the benefits and potential drawbacks of this approach.

Authors:Ting Bai, Karl Henrik Johansson, Jonas MÃ¥rtensson, Andreas A. Malikopoulos
Title: Stable and Fair Benefit Allocation in Mixed-Energy Truck Platooning: A Coalitional Game Approach
Abstract:
This paper addresses the benefit allocation in a mixed-energy truck platoon composed of fuel-powered and electric trucks. The interactions among trucks during platoon formation are modeled as a coalitional game with transferable utility. We first design a stable payoff allocation scheme that accounts for truck heterogeneity in energy savings and platoon roles (leader or follower), establishing core-stability conditions to ensure that no subset of trucks has an incentive to deviate for greater benefit. To enhance payoff fairness, we then propose a closed-form, Shapley value-based allocation approach that is computationally efficient and independent of the platoon size. Sufficient conditions under which the allocation is both fair and core-stable are provided. In scenarios where the Shapley value falls outside the core, we develop an alternative allocation based on the stable payoff that minimizes the mean relative deviation from the Shapley value while preserving core stability. This deviation is further proved to be upper-bounded by $1$, showing a favorable trade-off between stability and fairness. Finally, extensive numerical studies validate the theoretical results and demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework in facilitating stable, equitable, and sustainable cooperation in mixed-energy truck platooning.

Authors:Zhanhong Jiang, Dylan Shah, Hsin-Jung Yang, Soumik Sarkar
Title: Data-driven Kinematic Modeling in Soft Robots: System Identification and Uncertainty Quantification
Abstract:
Precise kinematic modeling is critical in calibration and controller design for soft robots, yet remains a challenging issue due to their highly nonlinear and complex behaviors. To tackle the issue, numerous data-driven machine learning approaches have been proposed for modeling nonlinear dynamics. However, these models suffer from prediction uncertainty that can negatively affect modeling accuracy, and uncertainty quantification for kinematic modeling in soft robots is underexplored. In this work, using limited simulation and real-world data, we first investigate multiple linear and nonlinear machine learning models commonly used for kinematic modeling of soft robots. The results reveal that nonlinear ensemble methods exhibit the most robust generalization performance. We then develop a conformal kinematic modeling framework for soft robots by utilizing split conformal prediction to quantify predictive position uncertainty, ensuring distribution-free prediction intervals with a theoretical guarantee.

Authors:Shreenabh Agrawal, Hugo T. M. Kussaba, Lingyun Chen, Allen Emmanuel Binny, Abdalla Swikir, Pushpak Jagtap, Sami Haddadin
Title: Scalable Learning of High-Dimensional Demonstrations with Composition of Linear Parameter Varying Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
Learning from Demonstration (LfD) techniques enable robots to learn and generalize tasks from user demonstrations, eliminating the need for coding expertise among end-users. One established technique to implement LfD in robots is to encode demonstrations in a stable Dynamical System (DS). However, finding a stable dynamical system entails solving an optimization problem with bilinear matrix inequality (BMI) constraints, a non-convex problem which, depending on the number of scalar constraints and variables, demands significant computational resources and is susceptible to numerical issues such as floating-point errors. To address these challenges, we propose a novel compositional approach that enhances the applicability and scalability of learning stable DSs with BMIs.

Authors:Haejoon Lee, Dimitra Panagou
Title: Minimal Construction of Graphs with Maximum Robustness
Abstract:
The notions of network $r$-robustness and $(r,s)$-robustness have been earlier introduced in the literature to achieve resilient control in the presence of misbehaving agents. However, while higher robustness levels provide networks with higher tolerances against the misbehaving agents, they also require dense communication structures, which are not always desirable for systems with limited capabilities and energy capacities. Therefore, this paper studies the fundamental structures behind $r$-robustness and $(r,s)$- robustness properties in two different ways. (a) We first explore and establish the tight necessary conditions on the number of edges for undirected graphs with any nodes must satisfy to achieve maximum $r$- and $(r,s)$-robustness. (b) We then use these conditions to construct two classes of undirected graphs, referred as to $γ$- and $(γ,γ)$-Minimal Edge Robust Graphs (MERGs), that provably achieve maximum robustness with minimal numbers of edges. We finally validate our work through some sets of simulations.

Authors:Kaj Munhoz Arfvidsson, Loizos Hadjiloizou, Frank J. Jiang, Karl H. Johansson, Jonas Mårtensson
Title: pyspect: An Extensible Toolbox for Automatic Construction of Temporal Logic Trees via Reachability Analysis
Abstract:
In this paper, we present pyspect, a Python toolbox that simplifies the use of reachability analysis for temporal logic problems. Currently, satisfying complex requirements in cyber-physical systems requires significant manual effort and domain expertise to develop the underlying reachability programs. This high development effort limits the broader adoption of reachability analysis for complex verification problems. To address this, pyspect provides a method-agnostic approach to performing reachability analysis for verifying a temporal logic specification via temporal logic trees (TLTs). It enables the specification of complex safety and liveness requirements using high-level logic formulations that are independent of any particular reachability technique or set representation. As a result, pyspect allows for the comparison of different reachability implementations, such as Hamilton-Jacobi and Hybrid Zonotope-based reachability analysis, for the same temporal logic specification. This design separates the concerns of implementation developers (who develop numerical procedures for reachability) and end-users (who write specifications). Through a simple vehicle example, we demonstrate how pyspect simplifies the synthesis of reachability programs, promotes specification reusability, and facilitates side-by-side comparisons of reachability techniques for complex tasks.

Authors:Enrico Ampellio, Blazhe Gjorgiev, Giovanni Sansavini
Title: Multi-level informed optimization via decomposed Kriging for large design problems under uncertainty
Abstract:
Engineering design involves demanding models encompassing many decision variables and uncontrollable parameters. In addition, unavoidable aleatoric and epistemic uncertainties can be very impactful and add further complexity. The state-of-the-art adopts two steps, uncertainty quantification and design optimization, to optimize systems under uncertainty by means of robust or stochastic metrics. However, conventional scenario-based, surrogate-assisted, and mathematical programming methods are not sufficiently scalable to be affordable and precise in large and complex cases. Here, a multi-level approach is proposed to accurately optimize resource-intensive, high-dimensional, and complex engineering problems under uncertainty with minimal resources. A non-intrusive, fast-scaling, Kriging-based surrogate is developed to map the combined design/parameter domain efficiently. Multiple surrogates are adaptively updated by hierarchical and orthogonal decomposition to leverage the fewer and most uncertainty-informed data. The proposed method is statistically compared to the state-of-the-art via an analytical testbed and is shown to be concurrently faster and more accurate by orders of magnitude.

Authors:Malakhi Hopkins, Varun Murali, Vijay Kumar, Camillo J Taylor
Title: Real-Time Glass Detection and Reprojection using Sensor Fusion Onboard Aerial Robots
Abstract:
Autonomous aerial robots are increasingly being deployed in real-world scenarios, where transparent obstacles present significant challenges to reliable navigation and mapping. These materials pose a unique problem for traditional perception systems because they lack discernible features and can cause conventional depth sensors to fail, leading to inaccurate maps and potential collisions. To ensure safe navigation, robots must be able to accurately detect and map these transparent obstacles. Existing methods often rely on large, expensive sensors or algorithms that impose high computational burdens, making them unsuitable for low Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) robots. In this work, we propose a novel and computationally efficient framework for detecting and mapping transparent obstacles onboard a sub-300g quadrotor. Our method fuses data from a Time-of-Flight (ToF) camera and an ultrasonic sensor with a custom, lightweight 2D convolution model. This specialized approach accurately detects specular reflections and propagates their depth into corresponding empty regions of the depth map, effectively rendering transparent obstacles visible. The entire pipeline operates in real-time, utilizing only a small fraction of a CPU core on an embedded processor. We validate our system through a series of experiments in both controlled and real-world environments, demonstrating the utility of our method through experiments where the robot maps indoor environments containing glass. Our work is, to our knowledge, the first of its kind to demonstrate a real-time, onboard transparent obstacle mapping system on a low-SWaP quadrotor using only the CPU.

Authors:Lorenzo Zapparoli, Blazhe Gjorgiev, Giovanni Sansavini
Title: Power Reserve Capacity from Virtual Power Plants with Reliability and Cost Guarantees
Abstract:
The growing penetration of renewable energy sources is expected to drive higher demand for power reserve ancillary services (AS). One solution is to increase the supply by integrating distributed energy resources (DERs) into the AS market through virtual power plants (VPPs). Several methods have been developed to assess the potential of VPPs to provide services. However, the existing approaches fail to account for AS products' requirements (reliability and technical specifications) and to provide accurate cost estimations. Here, we propose a new method to assess VPPs' potential to deliver power reserve capacity products under forecasting uncertainty. First, the maximum feasible reserve quantity is determined using a novel formulation of subset simulation for efficient uncertainty quantification. Second, the supply curve is characterized by considering explicit and opportunity costs. The method is applied to a VPP based on a representative Swiss low-voltage network with a diversified DER portfolio. We find that VPPs can reliably offer reserve products and that opportunity costs drive product pricing. Additionally, we show that the product's requirements strongly impact the reserve capacity provision capability. This approach aims to support VPP managers in developing market strategies and policymakers in designing DER-focused AS products.

Authors:Bohan Cui, Yu Chen, Alessandro Giua, Xiang Yin
Title: On Prediction-Based Properties of Discrete-Event Systems: Notions, Applications and Supervisor Synthesis
Abstract:
In this work, we investigate the problem of synthesizing property-enforcing supervisors for partially-observed discrete-event systems (DES). Unlike most existing approaches, where the enforced property depends solely on the executed behavior of the system, here we consider a more challenging scenario in which the property relies on predicted future behaviors that have not yet occurred. This problem arises naturally in applications involving future information, such as active prediction or intention protection. To formalize the problem, we introduce the notion of prediction-based properties, a new class of observational properties tied to the system's future information. We demonstrate that this notion is very generic and can model various practical properties, including predictability in fault prognosis and pre-opacity in intention security. We then present an effective approach for synthesizing supervisors that enforce prediction-based properties. Our method relies on a novel information structure that addresses the fundamental challenge arising from the dependency between current predictions and the control policy. The key idea is to first borrow information from future instants and then ensure information consistency. This reduces the supervisor synthesis problem to a safety game in the information space. We prove that the proposed algorithm is both sound and complete, and the resulting supervisor is maximally permissive.

Authors:Robert J. Hayek, Joaquin Chung, Rajkumar Kettimuthu
Title: A Review of Software for Designing and Operating Quantum Networks
Abstract:
Quantum network protocol development is crucial to realizing a production-grade network that can support distributed sensing, secure communication, and utility-scale quantum computation. However, the transition from laboratory demonstration to deployable networks requires software implementations of architectures and protocols tailored to the unique constraints of quantum systems. This paper reviews the current state of software implementations for quantum networks, organized around the three-plane abstraction of infrastructure, logical, and control/service planes. We cover software for both designing quantum network protocols (e.g., SeQUeNCe, QuISP, and NetSquid) and operating them, with a focus on essential control/service plane functions such as entanglement, topology, and resource management, in a proposed taxonomy. Our review highlights a persistent gap between theoretical protocol proposals and their realization in simulators or testbeds, particularly in dynamic topology and network management. We conclude by outlining open challenges and proposing a roadmap for developing scalable software architectures to enable hybrid, large-scale quantum networks.

Authors:Lujie Yang, Xiaoyu Huang, Zhen Wu, Angjoo Kanazawa, Pieter Abbeel, Carmelo Sferrazza, C. Karen Liu, Rocky Duan, Guanya Shi
Title: OmniRetarget: Interaction-Preserving Data Generation for Humanoid Whole-Body Loco-Manipulation and Scene Interaction
Abstract:
A dominant paradigm for teaching humanoid robots complex skills is to retarget human motions as kinematic references to train reinforcement learning (RL) policies. However, existing retargeting pipelines often struggle with the significant embodiment gap between humans and robots, producing physically implausible artifacts like foot-skating and penetration. More importantly, common retargeting methods neglect the rich human-object and human-environment interactions essential for expressive locomotion and loco-manipulation. To address this, we introduce OmniRetarget, an interaction-preserving data generation engine based on an interaction mesh that explicitly models and preserves the crucial spatial and contact relationships between an agent, the terrain, and manipulated objects. By minimizing the Laplacian deformation between the human and robot meshes while enforcing kinematic constraints, OmniRetarget generates kinematically feasible trajectories. Moreover, preserving task-relevant interactions enables efficient data augmentation, from a single demonstration to different robot embodiments, terrains, and object configurations. We comprehensively evaluate OmniRetarget by retargeting motions from OMOMO, LAFAN1, and our in-house MoCap datasets, generating over 8-hour trajectories that achieve better kinematic constraint satisfaction and contact preservation than widely used baselines. Such high-quality data enables proprioceptive RL policies to successfully execute long-horizon (up to 30 seconds) parkour and loco-manipulation skills on a Unitree G1 humanoid, trained with only 5 reward terms and simple domain randomization shared by all tasks, without any learning curriculum.

Authors:Kaito Iwasaki, Sangli Teng, Anthony Bloch, Maani Ghaffari
Title: Learning Hybrid Dynamics via Convex Optimizations
Abstract:
This paper investigates the problem of identifying state-dependent switching systems, a class of hybrid dynamical systems that combine multiple linear or nonlinear modes. We propose two broad classes of switching systems: switching linear systems (SLSs) and switching polynomial systems (SPSs). We first formulate the joint estimation of the mode dynamics and switching rules as a mixed integer program. To solve its inherent scalability issue, we develop a hierarchy of convex relaxations and establish a bound and conditions under which these relaxations are tight. Building on these results, we propose a bilevel convex optimization framework that alternates between mode assignment and dynamics estimation, and we recover switching boundaries using margin-based polynomial classifiers. Numerical experiments on both linear and nonlinear oscillators demonstrate that the method accurately identifies mode dynamics and reconstructs switching surfaces from trajectory data. Our results provide a tractable optimization-based framework for switching system identification.

Authors:Martina Alutto, Leonardo Cianfanelli, Giacomo Como, Fabio Fagnani, Francesca Parise
Title: Behavioral-feedback SIR epidemic model: analysis and control
Abstract:
This paper investigates a behavioral-feedback SIR model in which the infection rate adapts dynamically based on the fractions of susceptible and infected individuals. We introduce an invariant of motion and we characterize the peak of infection. We further examine the system under a threshold constraint on the infection level. Based on this analysis, we formulate an optimal control problem to keep the infection curve below a healthcare capacity threshold while minimizing the economic cost. For this problem, we study a feasible strategy that involves applying the minimal necessary restrictions to meet the capacity constraint and characterize the corresponding cost.

Authors:Luka Baković, Giacomo Como, Fabio Fagnani, Anton Proskurnikov, Emma Tegling
Title: Continuous-Time Distributed Learning for Collective Wisdom Maximization
Abstract:
Motivated by the well established idea that collective wisdom is greater than that of an individual, we propose a novel learning dynamics as a sort of companion to the Abelson model of opinion dynamics. Agents are assumed to make independent guesses about the true state of the world after which they engage in opinion exchange leading to consensus. We investigate the problem of finding the optimal parameters for this exchange, e.g. those that minimize the variance of the consensus value. Specifically, the parameter we examine is susceptibility to opinion change. We propose a dynamics for distributed learning of the optimal parameters and analytically show that it converges for all relevant initial conditions by linking to well established results from consensus theory. Lastly, a numerical example provides intuition on both system behavior and our proof methods.

Authors:Dennis Laurijssen, Wouter Jansen, Arne Aerts, Walter Daems, Jan Steckel
Title: Ruggedized Ultrasound Sensing in Harsh Conditions: eRTIS in the wild
Abstract:
We present eRTIS, a rugged, embedded ultrasound sensing system for use in harsh industrial environments. The system features a broadband capacitive transducer and a 32-element MEMS microphone array capable of 2D and 3D beamforming. A modular hardware architecture separates sensing and processing tasks: a high-performance microcontroller handles excitation signal generation and data acquisition, while an NVIDIA Jetson module performs GPU-accelerated signal processing. eRTIS supports external synchronization via a custom controller that powers and coordinates up to six devices, either simultaneously or in a defined sequence. Additional synchronization options include bidirectional triggering and in-band signal injection. A sealed, anodized aluminum enclosure with passive cooling and IP-rated connectors ensures reliability in challenging conditions. Performance is demonstrated in three field scenarios: harbor mooring, off-road robotics, and autonomous navigation in cluttered environments, demonstrates that eRTIS provides robust sensing in situations where optical systems degrade.

Authors:Mohammadreza Doostmohammadian, Hamid R. Rabiee
Title: Distributed Automatic Generation Control subject to Ramp-Rate-Limits: Anytime Feasibility and Uniform Network-Connectivity
Abstract:
This paper considers automatic generation control over an information-sharing network of communicating generators as a multi-agent system. The optimization solution is distributed among the agents based on information consensus algorithms, while addressing the generators' ramp-rate-limits (RRL). This is typically ignored in the existing linear/nonlinear optimization solutions but they exist in real-time power generation scenarios. Without addressing the RRL, the generators cannot follow the assigned rate of generating power by the optimization algorithm; therefore, the existing solutions may not necessarily converge to the exact optimal cost or may lose feasibility in practice. The proposed solution in this work addresses the ramp-rate-limit constraint along with the box constraint (limits on the generated powers) and the coupling-constraint (generation-demand balance) at all iteration times of the algorithm. The latter is referred to as the anytime feasibility and implies that at every termination point of the algorithm, the balance between the demand and generated power holds. To improve the convergence rate of the algorithm we further consider internal signum-based nonlinearity. We also show that our solution can tolerate communication link removal. This follows from the uniform-connectivity assumption on the communication network.

Authors:Dennis Laurijssen, Rens Baeyens, Walter Daems, Jan Steckel
Title: ConamArray: A 32-Element Broadband MEMS Ultrasound Transducer Array
Abstract:
This paper presents the ConamArray, a compact broadband ultrasound transducer array composed of 32 MEMS loudspeakers. Unlike conventional broadband transducers, which are typically large and require high driving voltages, the proposed array combines small form factor MEMS devices in a staggered two-row configuration to enable beam steering across a wide ultrasonic band. A dual-microcontroller back-end with synchronized multi-DAC outputs provides flexible waveform generation and runtime steering control. Both simulations and anechoic chamber measurements demonstrate that the ConamArray achieves stable beam steering, while also revealing the onset of grating lobes when steering to larger angles. These results confirm the feasibility of broadband beam steering using MEMS technology, opening new opportunities for applications in ultrasonic imaging, localization, and bio-inspired robotics.

Authors:Rens Baeyens, Dennis Laurijssen, Jan Steckel, Walter Daems
Title: nRTIS: Low-Cost Real-Time 3D Sonar Imaging Circular Array Supporting Beamforming for Industrial Applications
Abstract:
Conventional ultrasonic inspection systems rely on phased arrays and high-performance computing hardware, making them costly, bulky, and unsuitable for portable or embedded use. In this work, we present nRTIS (nano Real-Time 3D Imaging Sonar), a compact ultrasonic sensing platform built around a circular array of MEMS microphones and a central ultrasonic transducer. The device achieves real-time acquisition through an RP2350 microcontroller and high-speed USB transfer. We validate the system using both simulations and controlled experiments: point spread function (PSF) simulations demonstrate beamforming resolution and sidelobe suppression, while reflector measurements confirm robust data acquisition. These results highlight the potential of nRTIS for scalable industrial applications such as weld inspection, pipe mapping, and robotic navigation.

Authors:Abed AlRahman Al Makdah, Oliver Kosut, Lalitha Sankar, Shaofeng Zou
Title: Linear Dynamics meets Linear MDPs: Closed-Form Optimal Policies via Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Many applications -- including power systems, robotics, and economics -- involve a dynamical system interacting with a stochastic and hard-to-model environment. We adopt a reinforcement learning approach to control such systems. Specifically, we consider a deterministic, discrete-time, linear, time-invariant dynamical system coupled with a feature-based linear Markov process with an unknown transition kernel. The objective is to learn a control policy that optimizes a quadratic cost over the system state, the Markov process, and the control input. Leveraging both components of the system, we derive an explicit parametric form for the optimal state-action value function and the corresponding optimal policy. Our model is distinct in combining aspects of both classical Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and linear Markov decision process (MDP) frameworks. This combination retains the implementation simplicity of LQR, while allowing for sophisticated stochastic modeling afforded by linear MDPs, without estimating the transition probabilities, thereby enabling direct policy improvement. We use tools from control theory to provide theoretical guarantees on the stability of the system under the learned policy and provide a sample complexity analysis for its convergence to the optimal policy. We illustrate our results via a numerical example that demonstrates the effectiveness of our approach in learning the optimal control policy under partially known stochastic dynamics.

Authors:Jinhyuk Choi, Jihong Park, Seungeun Oh, Seong-Lyun Kim
Title: Deadline-Aware Bandwidth Allocation for Semantic Generative Communication with Diffusion Models
Abstract:
The importance of Radio Access Network (RAN) in support Artificial Intelligence (AI) application services has grown significantly, underscoring the need for an integrated approach that considers not only network efficiency but also AI performance. In this paper we focus on a semantic generative communication (SGC) framework for image inpainting application. Specifically, the transmitter sends semantic information, i.e., semantic masks and textual descriptions, while the receiver utilizes a conditional diffusion model on a base image, using them as conditioning data to produce the intended image. In this framework, we propose a bandwidth allocation scheme designed to maximize bandwidth efficiency while ensuring generation performance. This approach is based on our finding of a Semantic Deadline--the minimum time that conditioning data is required to be injected to meet a given performance threshold--within the multi-modal SGC framework. Given this observation, the proposed scheme allocates limited bandwidth so that each semantic information can be transmitted within the corresponding semantic deadline. Experimental results corroborate that the proposed bandwidth allocation scheme achieves higher generation performance in terms of PSNR for a given bandwidth compared to traditional schemes that do not account for semantic deadlines.

Authors:Chris Verhoek, Ivan Markovsky, Roland Tóth
Title: Direct data-driven interpolation and approximation of linear parameter-varying system trajectories
Abstract:
We consider the problem of estimating missing values in trajectories of linear parameter-varying (LPV) systems. We solve this interpolation problem for the class of shifted-affine LPV systems. Conditions for the existence and uniqueness of solutions are given and a direct data-driven algorithm for its computation is presented, i.e., the data-generating system is not given by a parametric model but is implicitly specified by data. We illustrate the applicability of the proposed solution on illustrative examples of a mass-spring-damper system with exogenous and endogenous parameter variation.

Authors:Mehdi Heydari Shahna, Jouni Mattila
Title: Synthesis of Deep Neural Networks with Safe Robust Adaptive Control for Reliable Operation of Wheeled Mobile Robots
Abstract:
Deep neural networks (DNNs) can enable precise control while maintaining low computational costs by circumventing the need for dynamic modeling. However, the deployment of such black-box approaches remains challenging for heavy-duty wheeled mobile robots (WMRs), which are subject to strict international standards and prone to faults and disturbances. We designed a hierarchical control policy for heavy-duty WMRs, monitored by two safety layers with differing levels of authority. To this end, a DNN policy was trained and deployed as the primary control strategy, providing high-precision performance under nominal operating conditions. When external disturbances arise and reach a level of intensity such that the system performance falls below a predefined threshold, a low-level safety layer intervenes by deactivating the primary control policy and activating a model-free robust adaptive control (RAC) policy. This transition enables the system to continue operating while ensuring stability by effectively managing the inherent trade-off between system robustness and responsiveness. Regardless of the control policy in use, a high-level safety layer continuously monitors system performance during operation. It initiates a shutdown only when disturbances become sufficiently severe such that compensation is no longer viable and continued operation would jeopardize the system or its environment. The proposed synthesis of DNN and RAC policy guarantees uniform exponential stability of the entire WMR system while adhering to safety standards to some extent. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was further validated through real-time experiments using a 6,000 kg WMR.

Authors:Filippo A. Spinelli, Yifan Zhai, Fang Nan, Pascal Egli, Julian Nubert, Thilo Bleumer, Lukas Miller, Ferdinand Hofmann, Marco Hutter
Title: Large Scale Robotic Material Handling: Learning, Planning, and Control
Abstract:
Bulk material handling involves the efficient and precise moving of large quantities of materials, a core operation in many industries, including cargo ship unloading, waste sorting, construction, and demolition. These repetitive, labor-intensive, and safety-critical operations are typically performed using large hydraulic material handlers equipped with underactuated grippers. In this work, we present a comprehensive framework for the autonomous execution of large-scale material handling tasks. The system integrates specialized modules for environment perception, pile attack point selection, path planning, and motion control. The main contributions of this work are two reinforcement learning-based modules: an attack point planner that selects optimal grasping locations on the material pile to maximize removal efficiency and minimize the number of scoops, and a robust trajectory following controller that addresses the precision and safety challenges associated with underactuated grippers in movement, while utilizing their free-swinging nature to release material through dynamic throwing. We validate our framework through real-world experiments on a 40 t material handler in a representative worksite, focusing on two key tasks: high-throughput bulk pile management and high-precision truck loading. Comparative evaluations against human operators demonstrate the system's effectiveness in terms of precision, repeatability, and operational safety. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first complete automation of material handling tasks on a full scale.

Authors:Annika Wong, Zhiqi Tang, Frank J. Jiang, Karl H. Johansson, Jonas MÃ¥rtensson
Title: Beyond Line-of-Sight: Cooperative Localization Using Vision and V2X Communication
Abstract:
Accurate and robust localization is critical for the safe operation of Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs), especially in complex urban environments where Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) signals are unreliable. This paper presents a novel vision-based cooperative localization algorithm that leverages onboard cameras and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication to enable CAVs to estimate their poses, even in occlusion-heavy scenarios such as busy intersections. In particular, we propose a novel decentralized observer for a group of connected agents that includes landmark agents (static or moving) in the environment with known positions and vehicle agents that need to estimate their poses (both positions and orientations). Assuming that (i) there are at least three landmark agents in the environment, (ii) each vehicle agent can measure its own angular and translational velocities as well as relative bearings to at least three neighboring landmarks or vehicles, and (iii) neighboring vehicles can communicate their pose estimates, each vehicle can estimate its own pose using the proposed decentralized observer. We prove that the origin of the estimation error is locally exponentially stable under the proposed observer, provided that the minimal observability conditions are satisfied. Moreover, we evaluate the proposed approach through experiments with real 1/10th-scale connected vehicles and large-scale simulations, demonstrating its scalability and validating the theoretical guarantees in practical scenarios.

Authors:Vindula Jayawardana, Sirui Li, Yashar Farid, Cathy Wu
Title: Multi-residual Mixture of Experts Learning for Cooperative Control in Multi-vehicle Systems
Abstract:
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) are becoming increasingly popular, with their applications now extending beyond just a mode of transportation to serving as mobile actuators of a traffic flow to control flow dynamics. This contrasts with traditional fixed-location actuators, such as traffic signals, and is referred to as Lagrangian traffic control. However, designing effective Lagrangian traffic control policies for AVs that generalize across traffic scenarios introduces a major challenge. Real-world traffic environments are highly diverse, and developing policies that perform robustly across such diverse traffic scenarios is challenging. It is further compounded by the joint complexity of the multi-agent nature of traffic systems, mixed motives among participants, and conflicting optimization objectives subject to strict physical and external constraints. To address these challenges, we introduce Multi-Residual Mixture of Expert Learning (MRMEL), a novel framework for Lagrangian traffic control that augments a given suboptimal nominal policy with a learned residual while explicitly accounting for the structure of the traffic scenario space. In particular, taking inspiration from residual reinforcement learning, MRMEL augments a suboptimal nominal AV control policy by learning a residual correction, but at the same time dynamically selects the most suitable nominal policy from a pool of nominal policies conditioned on the traffic scenarios and modeled as a mixture of experts. We validate MRMEL using a case study in cooperative eco-driving at signalized intersections in Atlanta, Dallas Fort Worth, and Salt Lake City, with real-world data-driven traffic scenarios. The results show that MRMEL consistently yields superior performance-achieving an additional 4%-9% reduction in aggregate vehicle emissions relative to the strongest baseline in each setting.

Authors:Rens Baeyens, Dennis Laurijssen, Jan Steckel, Walter Daems
Title: PhysioEdge: Multimodal Compressive Sensing Platform for Wearable Health Monitoring
Abstract:
The integration of compressive sensing with real-time embedded systems opens new possibilities for efficient, low-power biomedical signal acquisition. This paper presents a custom hardware platform based on the RP2350 micro-controller, tailored for synchronized multi-modal biomedical monitoring. The system is capable of capturing cardiopulmonary sounds, along with biopotential signals such as phonocardiography (PCG), electrocardiography (ECG) and electromyography (EMG), photoplethysmography (PPG), and inertial measurement unit (IMU) data for posture recognition. To ensure sample-accurate synchronization, a Sub-1GHz radio system is used across multiple nodes. Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity enable centralized data aggregation. Experimental results demonstrate the achieved decrease in power consumption when using compressive sensing, efficient multi-node synchronization, and scalability for wireless biomedical monitoring applications. The compact form factor and low-cost design make it suitable for various medical applications, including remote healthcare and long-term monitoring.

Authors:Seyed Soroush Karimi Madahi, Kenneth Bruninx, Bert Claessens, Chris Develder
Title: Model Predictive Control-Guided Reinforcement Learning for Implicit Balancing
Abstract:
In Europe, profit-seeking balance responsible parties can deviate in real time from their day-ahead nominations to assist transmission system operators in maintaining the supply-demand balance. Model predictive control (MPC) strategies to exploit these implicit balancing strategies capture arbitrage opportunities, but fail to accurately capture the price-formation process in the European imbalance markets and face high computational costs. Model-free reinforcement learning (RL) methods are fast to execute, but require data-intensive training and usually rely on real-time and historical data for decision-making. This paper proposes an MPC-guided RL method that combines the complementary strengths of both MPC and RL. The proposed method can effectively incorporate forecasts into the decision-making process (as in MPC), while maintaining the fast inference capability of RL. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated on the implicit balancing battery control problem using Belgian balancing data from 2023. First, we analyze the performance of the standalone state-of-the-art RL and MPC methods from various angles, to highlight their individual strengths and limitations. Next, we show an arbitrage profit benefit of the proposed MPC-guided RL method of 16.15% and 54.36%, compared to standalone RL and MPC.

Authors:Pol Mestres, Blake Werner, Ryan K. Cosner, Aaron D. Ames
Title: Probabilistic Control Barrier Functions: Safety in Probability for Discrete-Time Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
Control systems operating in the real world face countless sources of unpredictable uncertainties. These random disturbances can render deterministic guarantees inapplicable and cause catastrophic safety failures. To overcome this, this paper proposes a method for designing safe controllers for discrete-time stochastic systems that retain probabilistic guarantees of safety. To do this we modify the traditional notion of a control barrier function (CBF) to explicitly account for these stochastic uncertainties and call these new modified functions probabilistic CBFs. We show that probabilistic CBFs can be used to design controllers that guarantee safety over a finite number of time steps with a prescribed probability. Next, by leveraging various uncertainty quantification methods, such as concentration inequalities, the scenario approach, and conformal prediction, we provide a variety of sufficient conditions that result in computationally tractable controllers with tunable probabilistic guarantees across a plethora of practical scenarios. Finally, we showcase the applicability of our results in simulation and hardware for the control of a quadruped robot.

Authors:Yuan Li, Xiaoxue Xu, Xiang Dong, Junfeng Hao, Tao Li, Sana Ullaha, Chuangrui Huang, Junjie Niu, Ziyan Zhao, Ting Peng
Title: Preemptive Spatiotemporal Trajectory Adjustment for Heterogeneous Vehicles in Highway Merging Zones
Abstract:
Aiming at the problem of driver's perception lag and low utilization efficiency of space-time resources in expressway ramp confluence area, based on the preemptive spatiotemporal trajectory Adjustment system, from the perspective of coordinating spatiotemporal resources, the reasonable value of safe space-time distance in trajectory pre-preparation is quantitatively analyzed. The minimum safety gap required for ramp vehicles to merge into the mainline is analyzed by introducing double positioning error and spatiotemporal trajectory tracking error. A merging control strategy for autonomous driving heterogeneous vehicles is proposed, which integrates vehicle type, driving intention, and safety spatiotemporal distance. The specific confluence strategies of ramp target vehicles and mainline cooperative vehicles under different vehicle types are systematically expounded. A variety of traffic flow and speed scenarios are used for full combination simulation. By comparing the time-position-speed diagram, the vehicle operation characteristics and the dynamic difference of confluence are qualitatively analyzed, and the average speed and average delay are used as the evaluation indices to quantitatively evaluate the performance advantages of the preemptive cooperative confluence control strategy. The results show that the maximum average delay improvement rates of mainline and ramp vehicles are 90.24 % and 74.24 %, respectively. The proposed strategy can effectively avoid potential vehicle conflicts and emergency braking behaviors, improve driving safety in the confluence area, and show significant advantages in driving stability and overall traffic efficiency optimization.

Authors:Haozhe Lei, Hao Guo, Tommy Svensson, Sundeep Rangan
Title: Beyond Point Estimates: Likelihood-Based Full-Posterior Wireless Localization
Abstract:
Modern wireless systems require not only position estimates, but also quantified uncertainty to support planning, control, and radio resource management. We formulate localization as posterior inference of an unknown transmitter location from receiver measurements. We propose Monte Carlo Candidate-Likelihood Estimation (MC-CLE), which trains a neural scoring network using Monte Carlo sampling to compare true and candidate transmitter locations. We show that in line-of-sight simulations with a multi-antenna receiver, MC-CLE learns critical properties including angular ambiguity and front-to-back antenna patterns. MC-CLE also achieves lower cross-entropy loss relative to a uniform baseline and Gaussian posteriors. alternatives under a uniform-loss metric.

Authors:Miroslav Krstic, Velimir Todorovski, Kwang Hak Kim, Alessandro Astolfi
Title: Integrator Forwading Design for Unicycles with Constant and Actuated Velocity in Polar Coordinates
Abstract:
In a companion paper, we present a modular framework for unicycle stabilization in polar coordinates that provides smooth steering laws through backstepping. Surprisingly, the same problem also allows the application of integrator forwarding. In this work, we leverage this feature and construct new smooth steering laws together with control Lyapunov functions (CLFs), expanding the set of CLFs available for inverse optimal control design. In the case of constant forward velocity (Dubins car), backstepping produces finite-time (deadbeat) parking, and we show that integrator forwarding yields the very same class of solutions. This reveals a fundamental connection between backstepping and forwarding in addressing both the unicycle and, the Dubins car parking problems.

Authors:Velimir Todorovski, Kwang Hak Kim, Miroslav Krstic
Title: Modular Design of Strict Control Lyapunov Functions for Global Stabilization of the Unicycle in Polar Coordinates
Abstract:
Since the mid-1990s, it has been known that, unlike in Cartesian form where Brockett's condition rules out static feedback stabilization, the unicycle is globally asymptotically stabilizable by smooth feedback in polar coordinates. In this note, we introduce a modular framework for designing smooth feedback laws that achieve global asymptotic stabilization in polar coordinates. These laws are bidirectional, enabling efficient parking maneuvers, and are paired with families of strict control Lyapunov functions (CLFs) constructed in a modular fashion. The resulting CLFs guarantee global asymptotic stability with explicit convergence rates and include barrier variants that yield "almost global" stabilization, excluding only zero-measure subsets of the rotation manifolds. The strictness of the CLFs is further leveraged in our companion paper, where we develop inverse-optimal redesigns with meaningful cost functions and infinite gain margins.

Authors:Kwang Hak Kim, Velimir Todorovski, Miroslav Krstić
Title: Inverse Optimal Feedback and Gain Margins for Unicycle Stabilization
Abstract:
The recent development of globally strict control Lyapunov functions (CLFs) for the challenging unicycle parking problem provides a foundation for pursuing optimality. We address this in the inverse optimal framework, thereby avoiding the need to solve the Hamilton$\unicode{x2013}$Jacobi$\unicode{x2013}$Bellman (HJB) equations, and establish a general result that is optimal with respect to a meaningful cost. We present several design examples that impose varying levels of penalty on the control effort, including arbitrarily bounded control. Furthermore, we show that the inverse optimal controller possesses an infinite gain margin thanks to the system being driftless, and leveraging this property, we extend the design to an adaptive controller that handles model uncertainty. Finally, we compare the performance of the non-adaptive inverse optimal controller with its adaptive counterpart.

Authors:Anna Scampicchio, Leonardo F. Toso, Rahel Rickenbach, James Anderson, Melanie N. Zeilinger
Title: Physics-informed learning under mixing: How physical knowledge speeds up learning
Abstract:
A major challenge in physics-informed machine learning is to understand how the incorporation of prior domain knowledge affects learning rates when data are dependent. Focusing on empirical risk minimization with physics-informed regularization, we derive complexity-dependent bounds on the excess risk in probability and in expectation. We prove that, when the physical prior information is aligned, the learning rate improves from the (slow) Sobolev minimax rate to the (fast) optimal i.i.d. one without any sample-size deflation due to data dependence.

Authors:Jingqi Li, Gechen Qu, Jason J. Choi, Somayeh Sojoudi, Claire Tomlin
Title: Multi-Agent Guided Policy Search for Non-Cooperative Dynamic Games
Abstract:
Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) optimizes strategic interactions in non-cooperative dynamic games, where agents have misaligned objectives. However, data-driven methods such as multi-agent policy gradients (MA-PG) often suffer from instability and limit-cycle behaviors. Prior stabilization techniques typically rely on entropy-based exploration, which slows learning and increases variance. We propose a model-based approach that incorporates approximate priors into the reward function as regularization. In linear quadratic (LQ) games, we prove that such priors stabilize policy gradients and guarantee local exponential convergence to an approximate Nash equilibrium. We then extend this idea to infinite-horizon nonlinear games by introducing Multi-agent Guided Policy Search (MA-GPS), which constructs short-horizon local LQ approximations from trajectories of current policies to guide training. Experiments on nonlinear vehicle platooning and a six-player strategic basketball formation show that MA-GPS achieves faster convergence and more stable learning than existing MARL methods.

Authors:Runyu Zhang, Gioele Zardini, Asuman Ozdaglar, Jeff Shamma, Na Li
Title: Zeroth-Order Constrained Optimization from a Control Perspective via Feedback Linearization
Abstract:
Designing safe derivative-free optimization algorithms under unknown constraints is a fundamental challenge in modern learning and control. Most existing zeroth-order (ZO) approaches typically assume white-box constraints or focus on convex settings, leaving the general case of nonconvex optimization with black-box constraints largely open. We propose a control-theoretic framework for ZO constrained optimization that enforces feasibility without relying on solving costly convex subproblems. Leveraging feedback linearization, we introduce a family of ZO feedback linearization (ZOFL) algorithms applicable to both equality and inequality constraints. Our method requires only noisy, sample-based gradient estimates yet provably guarantees constraint satisfaction under mild regularity conditions. We establish finite-time bounds on constraint violation and further present a midpoint discretization variant that further improves feasibility without sacrificing optimality. Empirical results demonstrate that ZOFL consistently outperforms standard ZO baselines, achieving competitive objective values while maintaining feasibility.

Authors:Runyu Zhang, Na Li, Asuman Ozdaglar, Jeff Shamma, Gioele Zardini
Title: Optimism as Risk-Seeking in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Risk sensitivity has become a central theme in reinforcement learning (RL), where convex risk measures and robust formulations provide principled ways to model preferences beyond expected return. Recent extensions to multi-agent RL (MARL) have largely emphasized the risk-averse setting, prioritizing robustness to uncertainty. In cooperative MARL, however, such conservatism often leads to suboptimal equilibria, and a parallel line of work has shown that optimism can promote cooperation. Existing optimistic methods, though effective in practice, are typically heuristic and lack theoretical grounding. Building on the dual representation for convex risk measures, we propose a principled framework that interprets risk-seeking objectives as optimism. We introduce optimistic value functions, which formalize optimism as divergence-penalized risk-seeking evaluations. Building on this foundation, we derive a policy-gradient theorem for optimistic value functions, including explicit formulas for the entropic risk/KL-penalty setting, and develop decentralized optimistic actor-critic algorithms that implement these updates. Empirical results on cooperative benchmarks demonstrate that risk-seeking optimism consistently improves coordination over both risk-neutral baselines and heuristic optimistic methods. Our framework thus unifies risk-sensitive learning and optimism, offering a theoretically grounded and practically effective approach to cooperation in MARL.

Authors:Wilson de Souza Junior, Taufik Abrao, Amine Mezghani, Ekram Hossain
Title: Dual-Function Beam Pattern Design for Multi-Target ISAC Systems: A Decoupled Approach
Abstract:
We investigate the beampattern design problem for mono-static multi-user (MU) multi-point-target integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) systems, where a dual-function multiple-input multiple-output (DF-MIMO) base station (BS) performs downlink communication and radar sensing simultaneously. In ISAC systems, sensing and communication inherently compete for resources. As communication demand increases, the beam pattern is reshaped, which might degrade the direction of arrival (DoA) sensing accuracy, measured in terms of mean-squared error (MSE) and lower-bounded by the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB). Since conventional joint formulations of the sensing-based problem often overlook this trade-off, our work addresses it by decomposing the sensing-based problem into two subproblems (SPs). This decomposition enables a more effective exploitation of the beam pattern's physical properties, which we refer to as the Sensing-Guided Communication Dual-Function (SGCDF) beam pattern design. We further develop a low-complexity extension using the Riemannian Manifold Optimization (RMO) and convex closed-set projection. Simulation results confirm that the proposed method improves multi-target estimation accuracy, compared to traditional joint optimization strategies, by preserving the beam pattern, while the low-complexity version offers an excellent performance-complexity tradeoff, maintaining high accuracy with significantly reduced computational cost.

Authors:Jiahui An, Chonghao Cai, Olympia Gallou, Sara Irina Fabrikant, Giacomo Indiveri, Elisa Donati
Title: Neuromorphic Deployment of Spiking Neural Networks for Cognitive Load Classification in Air Traffic Control
Abstract:
This paper presents a neuromorphic system for cognitive load classification in a real-world setting, an Air Traffic Control (ATC) task, using a hardware implementation of Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs). Electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye-tracking features, extracted from an open-source dataset, were used to train and evaluate both conventional machine learning models and SNNs. Among the SNN architectures explored, a minimalistic, single-layer model trained with a biologically inspired delta-rule learning algorithm achieved competitive performance (80.6%). To enable deployment on neuromorphic hardware, the model was quantized and implemented on the mixed-signal DYNAP-SE chip. Despite hardware constraints and analog variability, the chip-deployed SNN maintained a classification accuracy of up to 73.5% using spike-based input. These results demonstrate the feasibility of event-driven neuromorphic systems for ultra-low-power, embedded cognitive state monitoring in dynamic real-world scenarios.

Authors:Hanjiang Hu, Changliu Liu, Na Li, Yebin Wang
Title: Training Task Reasoning LLM Agents for Multi-turn Task Planning via Single-turn Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated remarkable capabilities in knowledge acquisition, reasoning, and tool use, making them promising candidates for autonomous agent applications. However, training LLM agents for complex multi-turn task planning faces significant challenges, including sparse episode-wise rewards, credit assignment across long horizons, and the computational overhead of reinforcement learning in multi-turn interaction settings. To this end, this paper introduces a novel approach that transforms multi-turn task planning into single-turn task reasoning problems, enabling efficient policy optimization through Group Relative Policy Optimization (GRPO) with dense and verifiable reward from expert trajectories. Our theoretical analysis shows that GRPO improvement on single-turn task reasoning results in higher multi-turn success probability under the minimal turns, as well as the generalization to subtasks with shorter horizons. Experimental evaluation on the complex task planning benchmark demonstrates that our 1.5B parameter model trained with single-turn GRPO achieves superior performance compared to larger baseline models up to 14B parameters, with success rates of 70% for long-horizon planning tasks with over 30 steps. We also theoretically and empirically validate the strong cross-task generalizability that the models trained on complex tasks can lead to the successful completion of all simpler subtasks.

Authors:Charis Stamouli, Leonardo F. Toso, Anastasios Tsiamis, George J. Pappas, James Anderson
Title: Policy Gradient Bounds in Multitask LQR
Abstract:
We analyze the performance of policy gradient in multitask linear quadratic regulation (LQR), where the system and cost parameters differ across tasks. The main goal of multitask LQR is to find a controller with satisfactory performance on every task. Prior analyses on relevant contexts fail to capture closed-loop task similarities, resulting in conservative performance guarantees. To account for such similarities, we propose bisimulation-based measures of task heterogeneity. Our measures employ new bisimulation functions to bound the cost gradient distance between a pair of tasks in closed loop with a common stabilizing controller. Employing these measures, we derive suboptimality bounds for both the multitask optimal controller and the asymptotic policy gradient controller with respect to each of the tasks. We further provide conditions under which the policy gradient iterates remain stabilizing for every system. For multiple random sets of certain tasks, we observe that our bisimulation-based measures improve upon baseline measures of task heterogeneity dramatically.

Authors:Gokul Puthumanaillam, Ram Padmanabhan, Jose Fuentes, Nicole Cruz, Paulo Padrao, Ruben Hernandez, Hao Jiang, William Schafer, Leonardo Bobadilla, Melkior Ornik
Title: Online Learning of Deceptive Policies under Intermittent Observation
Abstract:
In supervisory control settings, autonomous systems are not monitored continuously. Instead, monitoring often occurs at sporadic intervals within known bounds. We study the problem of deception, where an agent pursues a private objective while remaining plausibly compliant with a supervisor's reference policy when observations occur. Motivated by the behavior of real, human supervisors, we situate the problem within Theory of Mind: the representation of what an observer believes and expects to see. We show that Theory of Mind can be repurposed to steer online reinforcement learning (RL) toward such deceptive behavior. We model the supervisor's expectations and distill from them a single, calibrated scalar -- the expected evidence of deviation if an observation were to happen now. This scalar combines how unlike the reference and current action distributions appear, with the agent's belief that an observation is imminent. Injected as a state-dependent weight into a KL-regularized policy improvement step within an online RL loop, this scalar informs a closed-form update that smoothly trades off self-interest and compliance, thus sidestepping hand-crafted or heuristic policies. In real-world, real-time hardware experiments on marine (ASV) and aerial (UAV) navigation, our ToM-guided RL runs online, achieves high return and success with observed-trace evidence calibrated to the supervisor's expectations.

Authors:Jintao Liang, Pablo G. Madoery, Chung-Horng Lung, Halim Yanikomeroglu, Gunes Karabulut Kurt
Title: Green Traffic Engineering for Satellite Networks Using Segment Routing Flexible Algorithm
Abstract:
Large-scale low-Earth-orbit (LEO) constellations demand routing that simultaneously minimizes energy, guarantees delivery under congestion, and meets latency requirements for time-critical flows. We present a segment routing over IPv6 (SRv6) flexible algorithm (Flex-Algo) framework that consists of three logical slices: an energy-efficient slice (Algo 130), a high-reliability slice (Algo 129), and a latency-sensitive slice (Algo 128). The framework provides a unified mixed-integer linear program (MILP) that combines satellite CPU power, packet delivery rate (PDR), and end-to-end latency into a single objective, allowing a lightweight software-defined network (SDN) controller to steer traffic from the source node. Emulation of Telesat's Lightspeed constellation shows that, compared with different routing schemes, the proposed design reduces the average CPU usage by 73%, maintains a PDR above 91% during traffic bursts, and decreases urgent flow delay by 18 ms between Ottawa and Vancouver. The results confirm Flex-Algo's value as a slice-based traffic engineering (TE) tool for resource-constrained satellite networks.

Authors:Max T. M. Ng, Roman Engelhardt, Florian Dandl, Hani S. Mahmassani, Klaus Bogenberger
Title: Semi-on-Demand Transit Feeders with Shared Autonomous Vehicles and Reinforcement-Learning-Based Zonal Dispatching Control
Abstract:
This paper develops a semi-on-demand transit feeder service using shared autonomous vehicles (SAVs) and zonal dispatching control based on reinforcement learning (RL). This service combines the cost-effectiveness of fixed-route transit with the adaptability of demand-responsive transport to improve accessibility in lower-density areas. Departing from the terminus, SAVs first make scheduled fixed stops, then offer on-demand pick-ups and drop-offs in a pre-determined flexible-route area. Our deep RL model dynamically assigns vehicles to subdivided flexible-route zones in response to real-time demand fluctuations and operations, using a policy gradient algorithm - Proximal Policy Optimization. The methodology is demonstrated through agent-based simulations on a real-world bus route in Munich, Germany. Results show that after efficient training of the RL model, the semi-on-demand service with dynamic zonal control serves 16% more passengers at 13% higher generalized costs on average compared to traditional fixed-route service. The efficiency gain brought by RL control brings 2.4% more passengers at 1.4% higher costs. This study not only showcases the potential of integrating SAV feeders and machine learning techniques into public transit, but also sets the groundwork for further innovations in addressing first-mile-last-mile problems in multimodal transit systems.

Authors:Xincheng Cao, Haochong Chen, Bilin Aksun-Guvenc, Levent Guvenc, Brian Link, Peter J Richmond, Dokyung Yim, Shihong Fan, John Harber
Title: Nonlinear Model Predictive Control-Based Reverse Path-Planning and Path-Tracking Control of a Vehicle with Trailer System
Abstract:
Reverse parking maneuvers of a vehicle with trailer system is a challenging task to complete for human drivers due to the unstable nature of the system and unintuitive controls required to orientate the trailer properly. This paper hence proposes an optimization-based automation routine to handle the path-planning and path-tracking control process of such type of maneuvers. The proposed approach utilizes nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) to robustly guide the vehicle-trailer system into the desired parking space, and an optional forward repositioning maneuver can be added as an additional stage of the parking process to obtain better system configurations, before backward motion can be attempted again to get a good final pose. The novelty of the proposed approach is the simplicity of its formulation, as the path-planning and path-tracking operations are only conducted on the trailer being viewed as a standalone vehicle, before the control inputs are propagated to the tractor vehicle via inverse kinematic relationships also derived in this paper. Simulation case studies and hardware-in-the-loop tests are performed, and the results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.

Authors:Haochong Chen, Xincheng Cao, Bilin Aksun-Guvenc, Levent Guvenc
Title: Vehicle-in-Virtual-Environment (VVE) Method for Developing and Evaluating VRU Safety of Connected and Autonomous Driving with Focus on Bicyclist Safety
Abstract:
Extensive research has already been conducted in the autonomous driving field to help vehicles navigate safely and efficiently. At the same time, plenty of current research on vulnerable road user (VRU) safety is performed which largely concentrates on perception, localization, or trajectory prediction of VRUs. However, existing research still exhibits several gaps, including the lack of a unified planning and collision avoidance system for autonomous vehicles, limited investigation into delay tolerant control strategies, and the absence of an efficient and standardized testing methodology. Ensuring VRU safety remains one of the most pressing challenges in autonomous driving, particularly in dynamic and unpredictable environments. In this two year project, we focused on applying the Vehicle in Virtual Environment (VVE) method to develop, evaluate, and demonstrate safety functions for Vulnerable Road Users (VRUs) using automated steering and braking of ADS. In this current second year project report, our primary focus was on enhancing the previous year results while also considering bicyclist safety.

Authors:Braghadeesh Lakshminarayanan, Cristian R. Rojas
Title: On Asymptotic Analysis of the Two-Stage Approach: Towards Data-Driven Parameter Estimation
Abstract:
In this paper, we analyze the asymptotic properties of the Two-Stage (TS) estimator -- a simulation-based parameter estimation method that constructs estimators offline from synthetic data. While TS offers significant computational advantages compared to standard approaches to estimation, its statistical properties have not been previously analyzed in the literature. Under simple assumptions, we establish that the TS estimator is strongly consistent and asymptotically normal, providing the first theoretical guarantees for this class of estimators.

Authors:Saiedeh Akbari, Omkar Sudhir Patil, Warren E. Dixon
Title: LyLA-Therm: Lyapunov-based Langevin Adaptive Thermodynamic Neural Network Controller
Abstract:
Thermodynamic principles can be employed to design parameter update laws that address challenges such as the exploration vs. exploitation dilemma. In this paper, inspired by the Langevin equation, an update law is developed for a Lyapunov-based DNN control method, taking the form of a stochastic differential equation. The drift term is designed to minimize the system's generalized internal energy, while the diffusion term is governed by a user-selected generalized temperature law, allowing for more controlled fluctuations. The minimization of generalized internal energy in this design fulfills the exploitation objective, while the temperature-based stochastic noise ensures sufficient exploration. Using a Lyapunov-based stability analysis, the proposed Lyapunov-based Langevin Adaptive Thermodynamic (LyLA-Therm) neural network controller achieves probabilistic convergence of the tracking and parameter estimation errors to an ultimate bound. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, with the LyLA-Therm architecture achieving up to 20.66% improvement in tracking errors, up to 20.89% improvement in function approximation errors, and up to 11.31% improvement in off-trajectory function approximation errors compared to the baseline deterministic approach.

Authors:Gokul Puthumanaillam, Aditya Penumarti, Manav Vora, Paulo Padrao, Jose Fuentes, Leonardo Bobadilla, Jane Shin, Melkior Ornik
Title: Belief-Conditioned One-Step Diffusion: Real-Time Trajectory Planning with Just-Enough Sensing
Abstract:
Robots equipped with rich sensor suites can localize reliably in partially-observable environments, but powering every sensor continuously is wasteful and often infeasible. Belief-space planners address this by propagating pose-belief covariance through analytic models and switching sensors heuristically--a brittle, runtime-expensive approach. Data-driven approaches--including diffusion models--learn multi-modal trajectories from demonstrations, but presuppose an accurate, always-on state estimate. We address the largely open problem: for a given task in a mapped environment, which \textit{minimal sensor subset} must be active at each location to maintain state uncertainty \textit{just low enough} to complete the task? Our key insight is that when a diffusion planner is explicitly conditioned on a pose-belief raster and a sensor mask, the spread of its denoising trajectories yields a calibrated, differentiable proxy for the expected localisation error. Building on this insight, we present Belief-Conditioned One-Step Diffusion (B-COD), the first planner that, in a 10 ms forward pass, returns a short-horizon trajectory, per-waypoint aleatoric variances, and a proxy for localisation error--eliminating external covariance rollouts. We show that this single proxy suffices for a soft-actor-critic to choose sensors online, optimising energy while bounding pose-covariance growth. We deploy B-COD in real-time marine trials on an unmanned surface vehicle and show that it reduces sensing energy consumption while matching the goal-reach performance of an always-on baseline.

Authors:Annalena Daniels, Johannes Teutsch, Fabian Kleindienst, Marion Leibold, Dirk Wollherr
Title: Active Fault Identification and Robust Control for Unknown Bounded Faults via Volume-Based Costs
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel framework for active fault diagnosis and parameter estimation in linear systems operating in closed-loop, subject to unknown but bounded faults. The approach integrates set-membership identification with a cost function designed to accelerate fault identification. Informative excitation is achieved by minimizing the size of the parameter uncertainty set, which is approximated using ellipsoidal outer bounds. Combining this formulation with a scheduling parameter enables a transition back to nominal control as confidence in the model estimates increases. Unlike many existing methods, the proposed approach does not rely on predefined fault models. Instead, it only requires known bounds on parameter deviations and additive disturbances. Robust constraint satisfaction is guaranteed through a tube-based model predictive control scheme. Simulation results demonstrate that the method achieves faster fault detection and identification compared to passive strategies and adaptive ones based on persistent excitation constraints.

Authors:Ryan M. Bena, Gilbert Bahati, Blake Werner, Ryan K. Cosner, Lizhi Yang, Aaron D. Ames
Title: Geometry-Aware Predictive Safety Filters on Humanoids: From Poisson Safety Functions to CBF Constrained MPC
Abstract:
Autonomous navigation through unstructured and dynamically-changing environments is a complex task that continues to present many challenges for modern roboticists. In particular, legged robots typically possess manipulable asymmetric geometries which must be considered during safety-critical trajectory planning. This work proposes a predictive safety filter: a nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) algorithm for online trajectory generation with geometry-aware safety constraints based on control barrier functions (CBFs). Critically, our method leverages Poisson safety functions to numerically synthesize CBF constraints directly from perception data. We extend the theoretical framework for Poisson safety functions to incorporate temporal changes in the domain by reformulating the static Dirichlet problem for Poisson's equation as a parameterized moving boundary value problem. Furthermore, we employ Minkowski set operations to lift the domain into a configuration space that accounts for robot geometry. Finally, we implement our real-time predictive safety filter on humanoid and quadruped robots in various safety-critical scenarios. The results highlight the versatility of Poisson safety functions, as well as the benefit of CBF constrained model predictive safety-critical controllers.

Authors:Omid Akbarzadeh, Behrad Samari, Amy Nejati, Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: From Formal Methods to Data-Driven Safety Certificates of Unknown Large-Scale Networks
Abstract:
In this work, we propose a data-driven scheme within a compositional framework with noisy data to design robust safety controllers in a fully decentralized fashion for large-scale interconnected networks with unknown mathematical dynamics. Despite the network's high dimensionality and the inherent complexity of its unknown model, which make it intractable, our approach effectively addresses these challenges by (i) treating the network as a composition of smaller subsystems, and (ii) collecting noisy data from each subsystem's trajectory to design a control sub-barrier certificate (CSBC) and its corresponding local controller. To achieve this, our proposed scheme only requires a noise-corrupted single input-state trajectory from each unknown subsystem up to a specified time horizon, satisfying a certain rank condition. Subsequently, under a small-gain compositional reasoning, we compose those CSBC, derived from noisy data, and formulate a control barrier certificate (CBC) for the unknown network, ensuring its safety over an infinite time horizon, while providing correctness guarantees. We offer a data-dependent sum-of-squares (SOS) optimization program for computing CSBC alongside local controllers of subsystems. We illustrate that while the computational complexity of designing a CBC and its safety controller grows polynomially with network dimension using SOS optimization, our compositional data-driven approach significantly reduces it to a linear scale concerning the number of subsystems. We demonstrate the capability of our data-driven approach on multiple physical networks involving unknown models and a range of interconnection topologies.

Authors:Junyang Cai, Weimin Huang, Jyotirmoy V. Deshmukh, Lars Lindemann, Bistra Dilkina
Title: Neuro-Symbolic Acceleration of MILP Motion Planning with Temporal Logic and Chance Constraints
Abstract:
Autonomous systems must solve motion planning problems subject to increasingly complex, time-sensitive, and uncertain missions. These problems often involve high-level task specifications, such as temporal logic or chance constraints, which require solving large-scale Mixed-Integer Linear Programs (MILPs). However, existing MILP-based planning methods suffer from high computational cost and limited scalability, hindering their real-time applicability. We propose to use a neuro-symbolic approach to accelerate MILP-based motion planning by leveraging machine learning techniques to guide the solver's symbolic search. Focusing on two representative classes of planning problems, namely, those with Signal Temporal Logic (STL) specifications and those with chance constraints formulated via Conformal Predictive Programming (CPP). We demonstrate how graph neural network-based learning methods can guide traditional symbolic MILP solvers in solving challenging planning problems, including branching variable selection and solver parameter configuration. Through extensive experiments, we show that neuro-symbolic search techniques yield scalability gains. Our approach yields substantial improvements, achieving an average performance gain of about 20% over state-of-the-art solver across key metrics, including runtime and solution quality.

Authors:Behrad Samari, Gian Paolo Incremona, Antonella Ferrara, Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: Data-Driven Adaptive Second-Order Sliding Mode Control with Noisy Data
Abstract:
This paper offers a data-driven approach for designing adaptive suboptimal second-order sliding mode (ASSOSM) controllers for single-input nonlinear systems, characterized by perturbed strict-feedback structures with unknown dynamics. The proposed approach is recursive, in which the system dynamics are first decomposed into two parts, referred to as the upper and lower dynamics. The control design task is then divided into two stages, that is, designing a virtual controller for the upper dynamics, followed by synthesizing the actual controller for the full-order system. To this end, we start by collecting noisy data from the system through a finite-time experiment, referred to as a single trajectory. We then formulate a data-dependent condition as a semidefinite program, whose feasibility enables the design of a virtual controller that ensures global asymptotic stability of the origin for the upper dynamics. Building upon this virtual controller, we subsequently propose a data-driven sliding variable that facilitates the design of an ASSOSM controller for the unknown full-order system. This controller guarantees semi-global asymptotic stability of the origin in the presence of disturbances. Specifically, for any prescribed bounded set--no matter how large--the controller's design parameters can be chosen to ensure asymptotic stability of the origin. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through three case studies, reflecting different aspects of the approach.

Authors:Yuki Shirai, Kei Ota, Devesh K. Jha, Diego Romeres
Title: Learning Pivoting Manipulation with Force and Vision Feedback Using Optimization-based Demonstrations
Abstract:
Non-prehensile manipulation is challenging due to complex contact interactions between objects, the environment, and robots. Model-based approaches can efficiently generate complex trajectories of robots and objects under contact constraints. However, they tend to be sensitive to model inaccuracies and require access to privileged information (e.g., object mass, size, pose), making them less suitable for novel objects. In contrast, learning-based approaches are typically more robust to modeling errors but require large amounts of data. In this paper, we bridge these two approaches to propose a framework for learning closed-loop pivoting manipulation. By leveraging computationally efficient Contact-Implicit Trajectory Optimization (CITO), we design demonstration-guided deep Reinforcement Learning (RL), leading to sample-efficient learning. We also present a sim-to-real transfer approach using a privileged training strategy, enabling the robot to perform pivoting manipulation using only proprioception, vision, and force sensing without access to privileged information. Our method is evaluated on several pivoting tasks, demonstrating that it can successfully perform sim-to-real transfer. The overview of our method and the hardware experiments are shown at https://youtu.be/akjGDgfwLbM?si=QVw6ExoPy2VsU2g6

Authors:Chrysovalanto Messiou, Riender Happee, Georgios Papaioannou
Title: Modeling Head-Neck Dynamics under Lateral Perturbations Using MPC to Mimic CNS postural stabilization strategy
Abstract:
Automated vehicles will allow occupants to engage in non-driving tasks, but limited visual cues will make them vulnerable to unexpected movements. These unpredictable perturbations create a "surprise factor," forcing the central nervous system to rely on compensatory postural adjustments, which are less effective, and are more likely to trigger sensory conflicts. Since the head is a key reference for sensory input (vestibular and vision), models accurately capturing head-neck postural stabilization are essential for assessing AV comfort. This study extends an existing model predictive control-based framework to simulate head-neck postural control under lateral perturbations. Experimental validation against human data demonstrates that the model can accurately reproduce dynamic responses during lateral trunk perturbations. The results show that muscle effort combined with partial somatosensory feedback provides the best overall dynamic fit without requiring corrective relative and global head orientation integrators for posture.

Authors:Sahan Liyanaarachchi, Sennur Ulukus
Title: Age of Estimates: When to Submit Jobs to a Markov Machine to Maximize Revenue
Abstract:
With the dawn of AI factories ushering a new era of computing supremacy, development of strategies to effectively track and utilize the available computing resources is garnering utmost importance. These computing resources are often modeled as Markov sources, which oscillate between free and busy states, depending on their internal load and external utilization, and are commonly referred to as Markov machines (MMs). Most of the prior work solely focuses on the problem of tracking these MMs, while often assuming a rudimentary decision process that governs their utilization. Our key observation is that the ultimate goal of tracking a MM is to properly utilize it. In this work, we consider the problem of maximizing the utility of a MM, where the utility is defined as the average revenue generated by the MM. Assuming a Poisson job arrival process and a query-based sampling procedure to sample the state of the MM, we find the optimal times to submit the available jobs to the MM so as to maximize the average revenue generated per unit job. We show that, depending on the parameters of the MM, the optimal policy is in the form of either a \emph{threshold policy} or a \emph{switching policy} based on the \emph{age of our estimate} of the state of the MM.

Authors:Marcus Nolte, Nayel Fabian Salem, Olaf Franke, Jan Heckmann, Christoph Höhmann, Georg Stettinger, Markus Maurer
Title: What's Really Different with AI? -- A Behavior-based Perspective on System Safety for Automated Driving Systems
Abstract:
Assuring safety for ``AI-based'' systems is one of the current challenges in safety engineering. For automated driving systems, in particular, further assurance challenges result from the open context that the systems need to operate in after deployment. The current standardization and regulation landscape for ``AI-based'' systems is becoming ever more complex, as standards and regulations are being released at high frequencies. This position paper seeks to provide guidance for making qualified arguments which standards should meaningfully be applied to (``AI-based'') automated driving systems. Furthermore, we argue for clearly differentiating sources of risk between AI-specific and general uncertainties related to the open context. In our view, a clear conceptual separation can help to exploit commonalities that can close the gap between system-level and AI-specific safety analyses, while ensuring the required rigor for engineering safe ``AI-based'' systems.

Authors:Mattia Risiglione, Abdelrahman Abdalla, Victor Barasuol, Kim Tien Ly, Ioannis Havoutis, Claudio Semini
Title: RAKOMO: Reachability-Aware K-Order Markov Path Optimization for Quadrupedal Loco-Manipulation
Abstract:
Legged manipulators, such as quadrupeds equipped with robotic arms, require motion planning techniques that account for their complex kinematic constraints in order to perform manipulation tasks both safely and effectively. However, trajectory optimization methods often face challenges due to the hybrid dynamics introduced by contact discontinuities, and tend to neglect leg limitations during planning for computational reasons. In this work, we propose RAKOMO, a path optimization technique that integrates the strengths of K-Order Markov Optimization (KOMO) with a kinematically-aware criterion based on the reachable region defined as reachability margin. We leverage a neural-network to predict the margin and optimize it by incorporating it in the standard KOMO formulation. This approach enables rapid convergence of gradient-based motion planning -- commonly tailored for continuous systems -- while adapting it effectively to legged manipulators, successfully executing loco-manipulation tasks. We benchmark RAKOMO against a baseline KOMO approach through a set of simulations for pick-and-place tasks with the HyQReal quadruped robot equipped with a Kinova Gen3 robotic arm.

Authors:Junbin Zhong, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Design and optimization of a novel leaf-shape antenna for RF energy transfer
Abstract:
In this research, the design and optimization of a novel leaf-shaped antenna inspired by natural leaf structures for radio frequency energy transfer is presented. The objectives of this study are to develop a bio-inspired antenna, optimize its performance through impedance matching for the 915 MHz frequency band, and evaluate its efficiency in capturing RF energy. The design process involves selecting an appropriate leaf shape, modeling the antenna using AutoCAD and HFSS software, and fabricating a printed circuit board (PCB) prototype. Simulations and physical tests are conducted to optimize the antennas performance, achieving an S11 parameter of nearly -20 dB at 915 MHz, indicating effective energy capture. Experimental results demonstrate the antennas ability to power a device at distances up to 200 cm, with charging times reflecting its efficiency. The study concludes that the bio-inspired design of the proposed antenna improves RF energy transfer. Future work should focus on testing the antennas penetration through concrete and developing a feedback system for autonomous alignment.

Authors:Yuan Zhang, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Design and fabrication of ultrasound linear array transducer used in ultrasound endoscope
Abstract:
This report details the successful construction of an ultrasound imaging platform and the design and fabrication of a novel ultrasound endoscope probe. The projects primary objective was to establish a functional system for acquiring and processing ultrasound signals, specifically targeting minimally invasive endoscopic applications. The ultrasound imaging platform was primarily designed and developed based on Texas Instruments (TI) Evaluation Modules (EVMs). It enables the transmission of 32-channel high-voltage signals and the reception of echo signals, with on-chip signal amplification and acquisition capabilities. Furthermore, the platform integrates a complete Time Gain Control (TGC) imaging path and a ContinuousWave Doppler (CWD) path. In conjunction with host computer software, it supports imaging with linear array, convex array, and phased array probes. Concurrently, a 64-element, 5MHz center frequency, phased array linear ultrasound endoscopic probe was designed, aiming for miniaturization and optimal imaging performance. The fabrication and assembly of its matching layer, backing layer, 2-2 piezoelectric composite material, and electrodes were completed.

Authors:Jiahang Zhang, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Gait Recognition Based on Tiny ML and IMU Sensors
Abstract:
This project presents the development of a gait recognition system using Tiny Machine Learning (Tiny ML) and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) sensors. The system leverages the XIAO-nRF52840 Sense microcontroller and the LSM6DS3 IMU sensor to capture motion data, including acceleration and angular velocity, from four distinct activities: walking, stationary, going upstairs, and going downstairs. The data collected is processed through Edge Impulse, an edge AI platform, which enables the training of machine learning models that can be deployed directly onto the microcontroller for real-time activity classification.The data preprocessing step involves extracting relevant features from the raw sensor data using techniques such as sliding windows and data normalization, followed by training a Deep Neural Network (DNN) classifier for activity recognition. The model achieves over 80% accuracy on a test dataset, demonstrating its ability to classify the four activities effectively. Additionally, the platform enables anomaly detection, further enhancing the robustness of the system. The integration of Tiny ML ensures low-power operation, making it suitable for battery-powered or energy-harvesting devices.

Authors:Behrad Samari, Henrik Sandberg, Karl H. Johansson, Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: Data-Driven Model Order Reduction for Continuous- and Discrete-Time Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
Model order reduction simplifies high-dimensional dynamical systems by deriving lower-dimensional models that preserve essential system characteristics. These techniques are crucial to controller design for complex systems while significantly reducing computational costs. Nevertheless, constructing effective reduced-order models (ROMs) poses considerable challenges, particularly for dynamical systems characterized by highly nonlinear terms. These challenges are further exacerbated when the actual system model is unavailable, a scenario frequently encountered in real-world applications. In this work, we propose a data-driven framework for the construction of ROMs for both continuous- and discrete-time nonlinear dynamical systems with unknown mathematical models. By leveraging two sets of data collected from the system, referred to as two input-state trajectories, we first construct a data-based closed-loop representation of the system. We then establish a similarity relation between the output trajectories of the original system and those of its data-driven ROM employing the notion of simulation functions (SFs), thereby enabling a formal characterization of their closeness. To achieve this, we propose data-dependent semidefinite programs as sufficient conditions to simultaneously construct both ROMs and SFs, while offering correctness guarantees. We demonstrate that the obtained data-driven ROMs can be employed for synthesizing controllers that ensure the unknown system satisfies high-level logic properties. This is accomplished by first designing controllers for the data-driven ROMs and then translating the results back to the original system through an interface function. We evaluate the efficacy of our data-driven findings through four benchmark case studies involving unknown dynamics with highly nonlinear terms.

Authors:Honglin Zhang, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Maintenance-free condition monitoring system based on lora
Abstract:
With the rising volume of railroad transportation, the traditional track inspection mainly relies on manual inspection and large-scale inspection equipment, which not only has low inspection frequency and lagging response, but also has the defects of high risk, high cost and easy to miss inspection. To this end, this study designs and realizes a maintenance-free railroad track wireless monitoring system based on LoRa module LM401. Each monitoring node consists of an STM32 microcontroller, an LM401 LoRa transceiver, a low-power ADXL362 triaxial acceleration sensor, a digital temperature sensor (LMT85), and a digital barometric pressure sensor (RSCM17100KP101). The system collects vibration data through the SPI1 interface at the node end, periodically reads the temperature and barometric pressure information, and packages and sends the data to a centralized gateway within a range of 500 m using the LoRa star topology; the gateway then uploads the data in real time to a cloud server through a 4G module, which supports the MQTT protocol. MQTT protocol is supported. Laboratory tests and field deployments show that the system can realize acceleration resolution of 0.01 g, reduce maintenance cost by about 70%, and improve monitoring efficiency by more than 5 times. The system provides a reliable means for intelligent rail health management, and in the future, it is planned to introduce RF energy collection technology to realize automatic wake-up without battery, and expand to urban bridges, tunnels and environmental monitoring and other multi-scenario applications.

Authors:Haijia Yu, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Multi-Angle Rotational Actuation in a 0.8-mm-Thick Preload-Free Piezoelectric Micromotor
Abstract:
Micro motors can be used in numerous fields like Micro medical testing and treatment. To achieve a smaller size, micro piezoelectric motors in laboratories often omit the outer casing, which can lead to functional defects such as rotation only in one fixed direction or the need for external weights (which are not counted within the motors volume) to increase preload. However, this significantly reduces the practical value of micro piezoelectric motors. This paper proposes a new driving principle for piezoelectric motors to design a micro piezoelectric motor that can rotate at a wide range of angles (e.g. up to 80)without increasing the motors casing and does not require external weights, with a stator thickness of only 0.8 mm. This motor has significant application potential in OCT endoscopes and thrombectomy grinding heads

Authors:Ruihua Wang, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Design of a Noval Wearable ECG Monitoring Device
Abstract:
The aim of this project is to develop a new wireless powered wearable ECG monitoring device. The main goal of the project is to provide a wireless, small-sized ECG monitoring device that can be worn for a long period of time by the monitored person. Electrocardiogram ECG reflects physiological and pathological information about heart activity and is commonly used to diagnose heart disease. Existing wearable smart ECG solutions suffer from high power consumption in both ECG diagnosis and transmission for high accuracy. Monitoring of ECG devices is mainly done by data extraction and acquisition, pre-processing, feature extraction, processing and analysis, visualisation and auxiliary procedures. During the pre-processing of the information, different kinds of noise generated during the signal collection need to be taken into account. The quality of the signal-to-noise ratio can usually be improved by optimising algorithms and reducing the noise power. The choice of electrodes usually has a direct impact on the signal-to-noise ratio and the user experience, and conventional Ag/AgCl gel electrodes are not suitable for long-term and dynamic monitoring as they are prone to skin irritation, inflammation and allergic reactions. Therefore, a completely new way of combining electrodes and wires will be used in the report. The electrodes and wires are cut in one piece from a silver-plated fabric. The wire portion is cut into a curved structure close to an S shape to ensure that it has good ductility for comfort and signal integrity during daily movement of the garment.

Authors:Wafa Hasanain, Pablo G. Madoery, Halim Yanikomeroglu, Gunes Karabulut Kurt, Sameera Siddiqui, Stephane Martel, Khaled Ahmed, Colin Bellinger
Title: Dynamic Activation and Assignment of SDN Controllers in LEO Satellite Constellations
Abstract:
Software-defined networking (SDN) has emerged as a promising approach for managing traditional satellite communication. This enhances opportunities for future services, including integrating satellite and terrestrial networks. In this paper, we have developed an SDN-enabled framework for Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite networks, incorporating the OpenFlow protocol, all within an OMNeT++ simulation environment. Dynamic controller assignment is one of the most significant challenges for large LEO constellations. Due to the movement of LEO satellites, satellite-controller assignments must be updated frequently to maintain low propagation delays. To address this issue, we present a dynamic satellite-to-controller assignment (DSCA) optimization problem that continuously adjusts these assignments. Our optimal DSCA (Opt-DSCA) approach minimizes propagation delay and optimizes the number of active controllers. Our preliminary results demonstrate that the DSCA approach significantly outperforms the static satellite-to-controller assignment (SSCA) approach. While SSCA may perform better with more controllers, this scheme fails to adapt to satellite movements. Our DSCA approach consistently improves network efficiency by dynamically reassigning satellites based on propagation delays. Further, we found diminishing returns when the number of controllers is increased beyond a certain point, suggesting optimal performance with a limited number of controllers. Opt-DSCA lowers propagation delays and improves network performance by optimizing satellite assignments and reducing active controllers.

Authors:Paolo Agliati, André Urbano, Pablo Lanillos, Nasir Ahmad, Marcel van Gerven, Sander Keemink
Title: Spiking neurons as predictive controllers of linear systems
Abstract:
Neurons communicate with downstream systems via sparse and incredibly brief electrical pulses, or spikes. Using these events, they control various targets such as neuromuscular units, neurosecretory systems, and other neurons in connected circuits. This gave rise to the idea of spiking neurons as controllers, in which spikes are the control signal. Using instantaneous events directly as the control inputs, also called `impulse control', is challenging as it does not scale well to larger networks and has low analytical tractability. Therefore, current spiking control usually relies on filtering the spike signal to approximate analog control. This ultimately means spiking neural networks (SNNs) have to output a continuous control signal, necessitating continuous energy input into downstream systems. Here, we circumvent the need for rate-based representations, providing a scalable method for task-specific spiking control with sparse neural activity. In doing so, we take inspiration from both optimal control and neuroscience theory, and define a spiking rule where spikes are only emitted if they bring a dynamical system closer to a target. From this principle, we derive the required connectivity for an SNN, and show that it can successfully control linear systems. We show that for physically constrained systems, predictive control is required, and the control signal ends up exploiting the passive dynamics of the downstream system to reach a target. Finally, we show that the control method scales to both high-dimensional networks and systems. Importantly, in all cases, we maintain a closed-form mathematical derivation of the network connectivity, the network dynamics and the control objective. This work advances the understanding of SNNs as biologically-inspired controllers, providing insight into how real neurons could exert control, and enabling applications in neuromorphic hardware design.

Authors:Weijia Peng, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Design and Optimization of Wearables for Human Motion Energy Harvesting
Abstract:
As wearable electronics become increasingly prevalent, there is a rise in interest and demand for sustainably designed systems that are also energy self-sufficient. The research described in this paper investigated a shoe-worn energy harvesting system designed use the mechanical energy from walking to output electrical energy. A spring is attached to electromagnetic generator embedded in the heel of the shoe to recover the vertical pressure caused by the foot strike. The simulated prototype consisted of a standard EM generator designed in MATLAB demonstrating a maximum voltage of 12V. The initial low fidelity prototype demonstrated testing the relationship between the EM generator and a simple electrical circuit, with energy output observed. Future research will explore enhancing the overall generator design, integrate a power management IC for battery protect and regulation, and combine the system into a final product, wearable footwear. This research lays a foundation for self-powered footwear and energy independent wearable electronic devices.

Authors:Jinming Liu, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Nd3+ Doping-induced Leakage Currents Suppression in High-temperature 0.7BiFeO3-0.3BaTiO3 Lead-free Piezoceramics
Abstract:
BiFeO3 has attracted much attention as a potential candidate for replacing conventional, lead based piezoelectric materials due to its remarkable spontaneous polarization and high Curie temperature. However, its inherent high leakage currents, which lead to low piezoelectric response and poor temperature stability, have severely limited its practical applications. In this study, lead free piezoelectric ceramics of the 0.7BiFeO3-0.3BaTiO3 (BF-BT) system were prepared, and their microstructures along with high-temperature electrical performance were modulated by introducing Nd3+. The results indicate that moderate Nd doping improves lattice symmetry and reduces oxygen vacancy-related defect dipoles, thereby effectively suppressing leakage currents at temperatures above 75°C. The Nddoped samples exhibit significantly lower leakage current densities, reduced by over 99% compared to the undoped ceramics, reaching values as low as 10-5Acm-2. They also show higher resistivity under elevated temperatures and electric fields, offering notable improvements in thermal stability over the undoped counterparts. In addition, the Nd-doped samples achieved piezoelectric coefficients as high as 172 pC N -1 at room temperature while still maintaining high dielectric and piezoelectric responses at elevated temperatures. This work not only provides an effective way to solve the leakage current problem of BF-BT ceramics in high temperature applications but also indicates a new design strategy for optimizing the high temperature stability of lead free piezoelectric materials, which shows a broad application prospect in the field of high-temperature sensors and actuators.

Authors:Jiyue Jiang, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Design and Implementation of a Lightweight Object Detection System for Resource-Constrained Edge Environments
Abstract:
This project aims to develop a system to run the object detection model under low power consumption conditions. The detection scene is set as an outdoor traveling scene, and the detection categories include people and vehicles. In this system, users data does not need to be uploaded to the cloud, which is suitable for use in environments with portable needs and strict requirements for data privacy. The MCU device used in this system is STM32H7, which has better performance among low power devices. The YOLOv5 system is selected to train the object detection model. To overcome the resource limitation of the embedded devices, this project uses several model compression techniques such as pruned, quantization, and distillation, which could improve the performance and efficiency of the detection model. Through these processes, the model s computation and the quantity of model parameters could be reduced, in order to run computer vision models on micro-controller devices for the development of embedded vision applications.

Authors:Huiling Yang, Zhanwei Wang, Kaibin Huang
Title: Optimal Batch-Size Control for Low-Latency Federated Learning with Device Heterogeneity
Abstract:
Federated learning (FL) has emerged as a popular approach for collaborative machine learning in sixth-generation (6G) networks, primarily due to its privacy-preserving capabilities. The deployment of FL algorithms is expected to empower a wide range of Internet-of-Things (IoT) applications, e.g., autonomous driving, augmented reality, and healthcare. The mission-critical and time-sensitive nature of these applications necessitates the design of low-latency FL frameworks that guarantee high learning performance. In practice, achieving low-latency FL faces two challenges: the overhead of computing and transmitting high-dimensional model updates, and the heterogeneity in communication-and-computation (C$^2$) capabilities across devices. To address these challenges, we propose a novel C$^2$-aware framework for optimal batch-size control that minimizes end-to-end (E2E) learning latency while ensuring convergence. The framework is designed to balance a fundamental C$^2$ tradeoff as revealed through convergence analysis. Specifically, increasing batch sizes improves the accuracy of gradient estimation in FL and thus reduces the number of communication rounds required for convergence, but results in higher per-round latency, and vice versa. The associated problem of latency minimization is intractable; however, we solve it by designing an accurate and tractable surrogate for convergence speed, with parameters fitted to real data. This approach yields two batch-size control strategies tailored to scenarios with slow and fast fading, while also accommodating device heterogeneity. Extensive experiments using real datasets demonstrate that the proposed strategies outperform conventional batch-size adaptation schemes that do not consider the C$^2$ tradeoff or device heterogeneity.

Authors:Yuhan Dai, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Energy consumption optimization and self-powered environmental monitoring design for low-carbon smart buildings
Abstract:
Despite the growing emphasis on intelligent buildings as a cornerstone of sustainable urban development, significant energy inefficiencies persist due to suboptimal design, material choices, and user behavior. The applicability of integrated Building Information Modeling (BIM) and solarpowered environmental monitoring systems for energy optimization in low-carbon smart buildings remains underexplored. Can BIM-driven design improvements, combined with photovoltaic systems, achieve substantial energy savings while enabling self-powered environmental monitoring? This study conducts a case analysis on a retrofitted primary school building in Guangdong, China, utilizing BIM-based energy simulations, material optimization, and solar technology integration. The outcomes reveal that the proposed approach reduced annual energy consumption by 40.68%, with lighting energy use decreasing by 36.59%. A rooftop photovoltaic system demonstrated a payback period of 7.46 years while powering environmental sensors autonomously. Hardware system integrates sensors and an ARDUINO-based controller to detect environmental factors like rainfall, temperature, and air quality. It is powered by a 6W solar panel and a 2200 mAh/7.4 V lithium battery to ensure stable operation. This study underscores the potential of BIM and solar energy integration to transform traditional buildings into energy-efficient, self-sustaining smart structures. Further research can expand the scalability of these methods across diverse climates and building typologies.

Authors:Xuyang Chen, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: Exploration and Comparison: Development and Implementation of Multiple Ultrasound Imaging Modalities
Abstract:
Ultrasound imaging, as a noninvasive, real-time, and low-cost modality, plays a vital role in clinical diagnosis, catheterization intervention, and portable devices. With the development of transducer hardware and the continuous progress of imaging algorithms, how to realize high-quality image reconstruction in different application scenarios has become a research focus.This project focuses on the systematic research and implementation of three typical ultrasound imaging modalities - line array imaging, endoscopic imaging and plane wave imaging, covering simulation data processing, imaging algorithm implementation and real data validation, etc., aiming to deepen the understanding of the principles and processes of various types of imaging.

Authors:Nan An, Mingtong Chen, Zhengbao Yang
Title: A New Ultrafast Printer for Large-Scale Assembly of Piezoelectric Biomaterials
Abstract:
We propose a modular, fast and large-area fabrication of bio-piezoelectric films. The technique is based on the formation of cone-jet mode by applying a high voltage electric field to conductive spiked metal disks. And the self-assembly process of biomolecular materials through nanoconfinement with in-situ poling effect. This job achieved print speeds of up to 9.2 109 um3/s with a combination of only 2 printheads. At the same time, the modular design allows the MLSP to achieve theoretically unlimited print efficiency. It also provides flexible configuration options for different printing needs, such as preparing films of different areas and shapes. In short, MLSP demonstrates the ability of piezoelectric biomaterials to undergo ultra-fast, large-scale assembly. Demonstrates good potential as a universally applicable bio-device for the fabrication of bio-piezoelectric films

Authors:Hang Wang, Junshan Zhang
Title: GenAI-based Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning towards Distributed Agent Intelligence: A Generative-RL Agent Perspective
Abstract:
Multi-agent reinforcement learning faces fundamental challenges that conventional approaches have failed to overcome: exponentially growing joint action spaces, non-stationary environments where simultaneous learning creates moving targets, and partial observability that constrains coordination. Current methods remain reactive, employing stimulus-response mechanisms that fail when facing novel scenarios. We argue for a transformative paradigm shift from reactive to proactive multi-agent intelligence through generative AI-based reinforcement learning. This position advocates reconceptualizing agents not as isolated policy optimizers, but as sophisticated generative models capable of synthesizing complex multi-agent dynamics and making anticipatory decisions based on predictive understanding of future interactions. Rather than responding to immediate observations, generative-RL agents can model environment evolution, predict other agents' behaviors, generate coordinated action sequences, and engage in strategic reasoning accounting for long-term dynamics. This approach leverages pattern recognition and generation capabilities of generative AI to enable proactive decision-making, seamless coordination through enhanced communication, and dynamic adaptation to evolving scenarios. We envision this paradigm shift will unlock unprecedented possibilities for distributed intelligence, moving beyond individual optimization toward emergent collective behaviors representing genuine collaborative intelligence. The implications extend across autonomous systems, robotics, and human-AI collaboration, promising solutions to coordination challenges intractable under traditional reactive frameworks.

Authors:Kasra Fallah, Leonardo F. Toso, James Anderson
Title: On the Gradient Domination of the LQG Problem
Abstract:
We consider solutions to the linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator problem via policy gradient (PG) methods. Although PG methods have demonstrated strong theoretical guarantees in solving the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) problem, despite its nonconvex landscape, their theoretical understanding in the LQG setting remains limited. Notably, the LQG problem lacks gradient dominance in the classical parameterization, i.e., with a dynamic controller, which hinders global convergence guarantees. In this work, we study PG for the LQG problem by adopting an alternative parameterization of the set of stabilizing controllers and employing a lifting argument. We refer to this parameterization as a history representation of the control input as it is parameterized by past input and output data from the previous p time-steps. This representation enables us to establish gradient dominance and approximate smoothness for the LQG cost. We prove global convergence and per-iteration stability guarantees for policy gradient LQG in model-based and model-free settings. Numerical experiments on an open-loop unstable system are provided to support the global convergence guarantees and to illustrate convergence under different history lengths of the history representation.

Authors:Afsoon Alidadi Shamsabadi, Animesh Yadav, Halim Yanikomeroglu
Title: Two-Level Distributed Interference Management for Large-Scale HAPS-Empowered vHetNets
Abstract:
Next-generation wireless networks (xG) must provide ubiquitous connectivity while enhancing user experience in both densely populated urban areas and rural regions. To achieve this, a disruptive network architecture is essential, and high altitude platform stations (HAPS) offer a promising solution. By integrating HAPS with terrestrial networks, we can create HAPS-empowered vertical heterogeneous networks (vHetNets), which significantly improve coverage and capacity, as well as support emerging use cases. In HAPS-empowered vHetNets, different tiers can share the same spectrum, forming harmonized spectrum vHetNets that enhance spectral efficiency (SE). However, we face two major challenges: i) co-channel interference in harmonized spectrum vHetNets, and ii) the large-scale nature of the network. To address the first challenge, we adopt a cell-free approach as the underlying network architecture for the HAPS-empowered vHetNet. In this approach, base stations use beamforming to direct high-gain, narrow beams toward users, which helps mitigate interference. However, this creates a nonconvex and high-dimensional optimization problem, which highlights the second challenge of dealing with a large-scale network. Consequently, centralized solutions become impractical due to the computational and communication overhead involved. The standard two-block alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) is one option, but nonconvex constraints can hinder its convergence. As an alternative, we have developed a two-level distributed proportional fairness beamforming weight design (PFBWD) algorithm. This algorithm uses a combination of the augmented Lagrangian method (ALM) and a three-block ADMM framework. The proposed method effectively tackles nonconvexity, reduces complexity, and enables scalable, distributed optimization with guaranteed convergence.

Authors:Qiaoni Han, Jianguo Ma, Zhiqiang Zuo, Xiaocheng Wang, Bo Yang, Xinping Guan
Title: Resilient Event-Triggered Control of Vehicle Platoon Under DoS Attacks and Parameter Uncertainty
Abstract:
This paper investigates the problem of dynamic event-triggered platoon control for intelligent vehicles (IVs) under denial of service (DoS) attacks and parameter uncertainty. DoS attacks disrupt vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications, leading to the destabilization of vehicle formations. To alleviate the burden of the V2V communication network and enhance the tracking performance in the presence of DoS attacks and parameter uncertainty, a resilient and dynamic event-triggered mechanism is proposed. In contrast to the static event-triggering mechanism (STEM), this approach leverages the internal dynamic variable to further save communication resources. Subsequently, a method is developed for designing the desired triggering mechanism. Following this, a co-design framework is constructed to guarantee robust and resilient control against DoS attacks, with the analysis of eliminating Zeno behavior. Lastly, extensive simulations are presented to show the superiority of the proposed method in terms of enhancing platoon resilience and robustness and improving communication efficiency.

Authors:Md. Mahbub Hasan, Md Rakibul Hasan, Md Zakir Hossain, Tom Gedeon
Title: Frequency-Specific Neural Response and Cross-Correlation Analysis of Envelope Following Responses to Native Speech and Music Using Multichannel EEG Signals: A Case Study
Abstract:
Although native speech and music envelope following responses (EFRs) play a crucial role in auditory processing and cognition, their frequency profile, such as the dominating frequency and spectral coherence, is largely unknown. We have assumed that the auditory pathway - which transmits envelope components of speech and music to the scalp through time-varying neurophysiological processes - is a linear time-varying system, with the envelope and the multi-channel EEG responses as excitation and response, respectively. This paper investigates the transfer function of this system through two analytical techniques - time-averaged spectral responses and cross-spectral density - in the frequency domain at four different positions of the human scalp. Our findings suggest that alpha (8-11 Hz), lower gamma (53-56 Hz), and higher gamma (78-81 Hz) bands are the peak responses of the system. These frequently appearing dominant frequency responses may be the key components of familiar speech perception, maintaining attention, binding acoustic features, and memory processing. The cross-spectral density, which reflects the spatial neural coherence of the human brain, shows that 10-13 Hz, 27-29 Hz, and 62-64 Hz are common for all channel pairs. As neural coherences are frequently observed in these frequencies among native participants, we suggest that these distributed neural processes are also dominant in native speech and music perception.

Authors:Rahel Rickenbach, Jelena Trisovic, Alexandre Didier, Jerome Sieber, Melanie N. Zeilinger
Title: Task-Level Insights from Eigenvalues across Sequence Models
Abstract:
Although softmax attention drives state-of-the-art performance for sequence models, its quadratic complexity limits scalability, motivating linear alternatives such as state space models (SSMs). While these alternatives improve efficiency, their fundamental differences in information processing remain poorly understood. In this work, we leverage the recently proposed dynamical systems framework to represent softmax, norm and linear attention as dynamical systems, enabling a structured comparison with SSMs by analyzing their respective eigenvalue spectra. Since eigenvalues capture essential aspects of dynamical system behavior, we conduct an extensive empirical analysis across diverse sequence models and benchmarks. We first show that eigenvalues influence essential aspects of memory and long-range dependency modeling, revealing spectral signatures that align with task requirements. Building on these insights, we then investigate how architectural modifications in sequence models impact both eigenvalue spectra and task performance. This correspondence further strengthens the position of eigenvalue analysis as a principled metric for interpreting, understanding, and ultimately improving the capabilities of sequence models.

Authors:Wenlong Shi, Dingwei Wang, Liming Liu, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Learning to Mitigate Post-Outage Load Surges: A Data-Driven Framework for Electrifying and Decarbonizing Grids
Abstract:
Electrification and decarbonization are transforming power system demand and recovery dynamics, yet their implications for post-outage load surges remain poorly understood. Here we analyze a metropolitan-scale heterogeneous dataset for Indianapolis comprising 30,046 feeder-level outages between 2020 and 2024, linked to smart meters and submetering, to quantify the causal impact of electric vehicles (EVs), heat pumps (HPs) and distributed energy resources (DERs) on restoration surges. Statistical analysis and causal forest inference demonstrate that rising penetrations of all three assets significantly increase surge ratios, with effects strongly modulated by restoration timing, outage duration and weather conditions. We develop a component-aware multi-task Transformer estimator that disaggregates EV, HP and DER contributions, and apply it to project historical outages under counterfactual 2035 adoption pathways. In a policy-aligned pathway, evening restorations emerge as the binding reliability constraint, with exceedance probabilities of 0.057 when 30\% of system load is restored within the first 15 minutes. Mitigation measures, probabilistic EV restarts, short thermostat offsets and accelerated DER reconnection, reduce exceedance to 0.019 and eliminate it entirely when 20\% or less of system load is restored. These results demonstrate that transition-era surges are asset-driven and causally linked to electrification and decarbonization, but can be effectively managed through integrated operational strategies.

Authors:Wenlong Shi, Hongyi Li, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Underground Power Distribution System Restoration Using Inverter Based Resources
Abstract:
Underground power distribution systems (PDSs) are increasingly deployed in urban areas. The integration of smart devices including smart switchgears, pad-mounted distribution transformers and inverter-based resources (IBRs) enhance system resilience, however simultaneously introducing unique challenges. The challenges include inrush currents caused by trapped charges in underground cables, ferroresonance in distribution transformers during energization, and three-phase load imbalance resulting from single-phase underground laterals. To address these issues, this paper proposes an underground PDS restoration framework using IBRs. Firstly, an underground cable energization model is developed to quantify inrush current by analyzing voltage differences across both switchgear terminals. Secondly, a distribution transformer energization model is proposed to evaluate ferroresonance using Q-factor constraints based on underground cable capacitance and damping resistance. Thirdly, a phase-swapping model is proposed to improve load balancing by dynamically reassigning lateral-phase connections through smart switchgears. The proposed models are further integrated into a mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) formulation to maximize the total weighted restored load while constraining inrush currents, ferroresonance, and phase imbalance. To address the nonlinearity induced by impedance matrix reordering during phase swapping, a permutation-based linearization technique is proposed. Finally, case studies on an underground PDS established based on IEEE 123-Node Test Feeder validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in improving uderground PDS restoration performance.

Authors:Maurizio Vassallo, Adrien Bolland, Alireza Bahmanyar, Louis Wehenkel, Laurine Duchesne, Dong Liu, Sania Khaskheli, Alexis Ha Thuc, Pedro P. Vergara, Amjad Anvari-Moghaddam, Simon Gerard, Damien Ernst
Title: SecuLEx: a Secure Limit Exchange Market for Dynamic Operating Envelopes
Abstract:
Distributed energy resources (DERs) are transforming power networks, challenging traditional operational methods, and requiring new coordination mechanisms. To address this challenge, this paper introduces SecuLEx (Secure Limit Exchange), a new market-based paradigm to allocate power injection and withdrawal limits that guarantee network security during time periods, called dynamic operating envelopes (DOEs). Under this paradigm, distribution system operators (DSOs) assign initial DOEs to customers. These limits can be exchanged afterward through a market, allowing customers to reallocate them according to their needs while ensuring network operational constraints. We formalize SecuLEx and illustrate DOE allocation and market exchanges on a small-scale low-voltage (LV) network, demonstrating that both procedures are computationally tractable. In this example, SecuLEx reduces renewable curtailment and improves grid utilization and social welfare compared to traditional approaches.

Authors:Zhuoyuan Wang, Takashi Tanaka, Yongxin Chen, Yorie Nakahira
Title: Multi-Level Multi-Fidelity Methods for Path Integral and Safe Control
Abstract:
Sampling-based approaches are widely used in systems without analytic models to estimate risk or find optimal control. However, gathering sufficient data in such scenarios can be prohibitively costly. On the other hand, in many situations, low-fidelity models or simulators are available from which samples can be obtained at low cost. In this paper, we propose an efficient approach for risk quantification and path integral control that leverages such data from multiple models with heterogeneous sampling costs. A key technical novelty of our approach is the integration of Multi-level Monte Carlo (MLMC) and Multi-fidelity Monte Carlo (MFMC) that enable data from different time and state representations (system models) to be jointly used to reduce variance and improve sampling efficiency. We also provide theoretical analysis of the proposed method and show that our estimator is unbiased and consistent under mild conditions. Finally, we demonstrate via numerical simulation that the proposed method has improved computation (sampling costs) vs. accuracy trade-offs for risk quantification and path integral control.

Authors:Wanli Ni, Hui Tian, Shuai Wang, Chengyang Li, Lei Sun, Zhaohui Yang
Title: Federated Split Learning for Resource-Constrained Robots in Industrial IoT: Framework Comparison, Optimization Strategies, and Future Directions
Abstract:
Federated split learning (FedSL) has emerged as a promising paradigm for enabling collaborative intelligence in industrial Internet of Things (IoT) systems, particularly in smart factories where data privacy, communication efficiency, and device heterogeneity are critical concerns. In this article, we present a comprehensive study of FedSL frameworks tailored for resource-constrained robots in industrial scenarios. We compare synchronous, asynchronous, hierarchical, and heterogeneous FedSL frameworks in terms of workflow, scalability, adaptability, and limitations under dynamic industrial conditions. Furthermore, we systematically categorize token fusion strategies into three paradigms: input-level (pre-fusion), intermediate-level (intra-fusion), and output-level (post-fusion), and summarize their respective strengths in industrial applications. We also provide adaptive optimization techniques to enhance the efficiency and feasibility of FedSL implementation, including model compression, split layer selection, computing frequency allocation, and wireless resource management. Simulation results validate the performance of these frameworks under industrial detection scenarios. Finally, we outline open issues and research directions of FedSL in future smart manufacturing systems.

Authors:Aayushya Agarwal, Larry Pileggi, Gauri Joshi
Title: Adaptive Federated Learning via Dynamical System Model
Abstract:
Hyperparameter selection is critical for stable and efficient convergence of heterogeneous federated learning, where clients differ in computational capabilities, and data distributions are non-IID. Tuning hyperparameters is a manual and computationally expensive process as the hyperparameter space grows combinatorially with the number of clients. To address this, we introduce an end-to-end adaptive federated learning method in which both clients and central agents adaptively select their local learning rates and momentum parameters. Our approach models federated learning as a dynamical system, allowing us to draw on principles from numerical simulation and physical design. Through this perspective, selecting momentum parameters equates to critically damping the system for fast, stable convergence, while learning rates for clients and central servers are adaptively selected to satisfy accuracy properties from numerical simulation. The result is an adaptive, momentum-based federated learning algorithm in which the learning rates for clients and servers are dynamically adjusted and controlled by a single, global hyperparameter. By designing a fully integrated solution for both adaptive client updates and central agent aggregation, our method is capable of handling key challenges of heterogeneous federated learning, including objective inconsistency and client drift. Importantly, our approach achieves fast convergence while being insensitive to the choice of the global hyperparameter, making it well-suited for rapid prototyping and scalable deployment. Compared to state-of-the-art adaptive methods, our framework is shown to deliver superior convergence for heterogeneous federated learning while eliminating the need for hyperparameter tuning both client and server updates.

Authors:Wenlong Shi, Junyuan Zheng, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Situationally Aware Rolling Horizon Multi-Tier Load Restoration Considering Behind-The-Meter DER
Abstract:
Restoration in power distribution systems (PDSs) is well studied, however, most existing research focuses on network partition and microgrid formation, where load transfer is limited to adjacent feeders. This focus is not practical, as when adjacent feeders lack sufficient capacity, utilities may request support from more distant feeders in practice. Such a hirarchical restoration is complex, especially when involving changing system conditions due to cold load pickup and delayed reconnection of behind-the-meter DERs. To fill this research gap, a situationally aware multi-tier load restoration framework is proposed. Specifically, models are proposed to describe the multi-tier load restoration, including the multi-tier load transfer and substation transformer and feeder protection models. By introducing binary actional switching variables and load block transfer variables, the models effectively captures the dynamics of switches and multi-tier transfer process. To integrate situational awareness of evolving system conditions, the problem is formulated as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) and then embedded within a rolling horizon optimization. Particularly, a set of safeguarded constraints are developed based on segment-level restoration reward bounds to mitigate the myopia of traditional rolling horizon optimization. The proposed safeguarded rolling strategy guarantees that each time step is lower bounded by a $(1-\varepsilon)$-fraction of its optimal restoration potential, thereby balancing short-term switching decisions with long-term restoration goals. Finally, cases studies on the modified IEEE 123-node test feeder validate the proposed multi-tier restoration framework.

Authors:Wenlong Shi, Hongyi Li, Cong Bai, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Power Distribution System Blackstart Restoration Using Renewable Energy
Abstract:
Integrating renewable energy sources into the grid not only reduces global carbon emissions, but also facilitates distribution system (DS) blackstart restoration. This process leverages renewable energy, inverters, situational awareness and distribution automation to initiate blackstart at the DS level, obtaining a fast response and bottom-up restoration. In this Review, we survey the latest technological advances for DS blackstart restoration using renewable energy. We first present mathematical models for distributed energy resources (DERs), network topology, and load dynamics. We then discuss how the situational awareness can help improve restoration performance through real-time monitoring and forecasting. Next, the DS blackstart restoration problem, including objectives, constraints, and existing methodologies for decision-making are provided. Lastly, we outline remaining challenges, and highlight the opportunities and future research directions.

Authors:Wenlong Shi, Hongyi Li, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Data-Driven Stochastic Distribution System Hardening Based on Bayesian Online Learning
Abstract:
Extreme weather frequently cause widespread outages in distribution systems (DSs), demonstrating the importance of hardening strategies for resilience enhancement. However, the well-utilization of real-world outage data with associated weather conditions to make informed hardening decisions in DSs is still an open issue. To bridge this research gap, this paper proposes a data-driven stochastic distribution line (DL) hardening strategy. First, a deep neural network (DNN) regression model is developed to predict the probabilistic evolution of outage scenarios under various hardening decisions. Based on the DNN predictions, the problem is formulated as a decision-dependent distributionally robust optimization (DRO) model, accounting for uncertainties in outage scenario distributions using a data-driven ambiguity set. To address decision-dependent uncertainty, a Bayesian online learning algorithm is proposed. This algorithm decomposes the original problem into inner and outer problems. Then, it iteratively refines hardening decisions by sequentially incorporating outage data and dynamically updating decision-specific ambiguity sets by using Bayes' theorem and Bayesian Inference. Also, the convergence of the algorithm is proven through dynamic regret analysis. Finally, case studies are implemented on a real-world DS in Redfield, Iowa, USA. A dataset spanning 24 years (2001-2024) is constructed based on the utility outage records. The simulation results validates the effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

Authors:Jun Liu, Maxwell Fitzsimmons
Title: Computing Control Lyapunov-Barrier Functions: Softmax Relaxation and Smooth Patching with Formal Guarantees
Abstract:
We present a computational framework for synthesizing a single smooth Lyapunov function that certifies both asymptotic stability and safety. We show that the existence of a strictly compatible pair of control barrier and control Lyapunov functions (CBF-CLF) guarantees the existence of such a function on the exact safe set certified by the barrier. To maximize the certifiable safe domain while retaining differentiability, we employ a log-sum-exp (softmax) relaxation of the nonsmooth maximum barrier, together with a counterexample-guided refinement that inserts half-space cuts until a strict barrier condition is verifiable. We then patch the softmax barrier with a CLF via an explicit smooth bump construction, which is always feasible under the strict compatibility condition. All conditions are formally verified using a satisfiability modulo theories (SMT) solver, enabled by a reformulation of Farkas' lemma for encoding strict compatibility. On benchmark systems, including a power converter, we show that the certified safe stabilization regions obtained with the proposed approach are often less conservative than those achieved by state-of-the-art sum-of-squares (SOS) compatible CBF-CLF designs.

Authors:Shirantha Welikala, Hai Lin, Panos J. Antsaklis
Title: Hierarchical Analysis and Control of Epidemic Spreading over Networks using Dissipativity and Mesh Stability
Abstract:
Analyzing and controlling spreading processes are challenging problems due to the involved non-linear node (subsystem) dynamics, unknown disturbances, complex interconnections, and the large-scale and multi-level nature of the problems. The dissipativity concept provides a practical framework for addressing such concerns, thanks to the energy-based representation it offers for subsystems and the compositional properties it provides for the analysis and control of interconnected (networked) systems comprised of such subsystems. Therefore, in this paper, we utilize the dissipativity concept to analyze and control a spreading process that occurs over a hierarchy of nodes, groups, and a network (i.e., a spreading network). We start by generalizing several existing results on dissipativity-based topology design for networked systems. Next, we model the considered spreading network as a networked system and establish the dissipativity properties of its nodes. The generalized topology design method is then applied at multiple levels of the considered spreading network to formulate its analysis and control problems as Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) problems. We identify and enforce localized necessary conditions to support the feasibility of the LMI problem solved at each subsequent hierarchical level of the spreading network. Consequently, the proposed method does not involve iterative multi-level optimization stages that are computationally inefficient. The proposed control solution ensures that the spreading network is not only stable but also dissipative and mesh-stable. Compared to conventional methods, such as threshold pruning and high-degree edge removal, our approach offers superior performance in terms of infection containment, control efficiency, and disturbance robustness. Extensive numerical results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique.

Authors:Sangjun Noh, Dongwoo Nam, Kangmin Kim, Geonhyup Lee, Yeonguk Yu, Raeyoung Kang, Kyoobin Lee
Title: 3D Flow Diffusion Policy: Visuomotor Policy Learning via Generating Flow in 3D Space
Abstract:
Learning robust visuomotor policies that generalize across diverse objects and interaction dynamics remains a central challenge in robotic manipulation. Most existing approaches rely on direct observation-to-action mappings or compress perceptual inputs into global or object-centric features, which often overlook localized motion cues critical for precise and contact-rich manipulation. We present 3D Flow Diffusion Policy (3D FDP), a novel framework that leverages scene-level 3D flow as a structured intermediate representation to capture fine-grained local motion cues. Our approach predicts the temporal trajectories of sampled query points and conditions action generation on these interaction-aware flows, implemented jointly within a unified diffusion architecture. This design grounds manipulation in localized dynamics while enabling the policy to reason about broader scene-level consequences of actions. Extensive experiments on the MetaWorld benchmark show that 3D FDP achieves state-of-the-art performance across 50 tasks, particularly excelling on medium and hard settings. Beyond simulation, we validate our method on eight real-robot tasks, where it consistently outperforms prior baselines in contact-rich and non-prehensile scenarios. These results highlight 3D flow as a powerful structural prior for learning generalizable visuomotor policies, supporting the development of more robust and versatile robotic manipulation. Robot demonstrations, additional results, and code can be found at https://sites.google.com/view/3dfdp/home.

Authors:Mohammad Bahari, Amir Hossein Barjini, Pauli Mustalahti, Jouni Mattila
Title: All-Electric Heavy-Duty Robotic Manipulator: Actuator Configuration Optimization and Sensorless Control
Abstract:
This paper presents a unified framework that integrates modeling, optimization, and sensorless control of an all-electric heavy-duty robotic manipulator (HDRM) driven by electromechanical linear actuators (EMLAs). An EMLA model is formulated to capture motor electromechanics and direction-dependent transmission efficiencies, while a mathematical model of the HDRM, incorporating both kinematics and dynamics, is established to generate joint-space motion profiles for prescribed TCP trajectories. A safety-ensured trajectory generator, tailored to this model, maps Cartesian goals to joint space while enforcing joint-limit and velocity margins. Based on the resulting force and velocity demands, a multi-objective Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) is employed to select the optimal EMLA configuration. To accelerate this optimization, a deep neural network, trained with EMLA parameters, is embedded in the optimization process to predict steady-state actuator efficiency from trajectory profiles. For the chosen EMLA design, a physics-informed Kriging surrogate, anchored to the analytic model and refined with experimental data, learns residuals of EMLA outputs to support force and velocity sensorless control. The actuator model is further embedded in a hierarchical virtual decomposition control (VDC) framework that outputs voltage commands. Experimental validation on a one-degree-of-freedom EMLA testbed confirms accurate trajectory tracking and effective sensorless control under varying loads.

Authors:Weiting Feng, Kyle L. Walker, Yunjie Yang, Francesco Giorgio-Serchi
Title: Computing forward statics from tendon-length in flexible-joint hyper-redundant manipulators
Abstract:
Hyper-redundant tendon-driven manipulators offer greater flexibility and compliance over traditional manipulators. A common way of controlling such manipulators relies on adjusting tendon lengths, which is an accessible control parameter. This approach works well when the kinematic configuration is representative of the real operational conditions. However, when dealing with manipulators of larger size subject to gravity, it becomes necessary to solve a static force problem, using tendon force as the input and employing a mapping from the configuration space to retrieve tendon length. Alternatively, measurements of the manipulator posture can be used to iteratively adjust tendon lengths to achieve a desired posture. Hence, either tension measurement or state estimation of the manipulator are required, both of which are not always accurately available. Here, we propose a solution by reconciling cables tension and length as the input for the solution of the system forward statics. We develop a screw-based formulation for a tendon-driven, multi-segment, hyper-redundant manipulator with elastic joints and introduce a forward statics iterative solution method that equivalently makes use of either tendon length or tension as the input. This strategy is experimentally validated using a traditional tension input first, subsequently showing the efficacy of the method when exclusively tendon lengths are used. The results confirm the possibility to perform open-loop control in static conditions using a kinematic input only, thus bypassing some of the practical problems with tension measurement and state estimation of hyper-redundant systems.

Authors:Aiping Zhong, Baike She, Philip E. Paré
Title: A Physics-Informed Neural Networks-Based Model Predictive Control Framework for $SIR$ Epidemics
Abstract:
This work introduces a physics-informed neural networks (PINNs)-based model predictive control (MPC) framework for susceptible-infected-recovered ($SIR$) spreading models. Existing studies in MPC design for epidemic control often assume either 1) measurable states of the dynamics, where the parameters are learned, or 2) known parameters of the model, where the states are learned. In this work, we address the joint real-time estimation of states and parameters within the MPC framework using only noisy infected states, under the assumption that 1) only the recovery rate is known, or 2) only the basic reproduction number is known. Under the first assumption, we propose MPC-PINNs and two novel PINNs algorithms, all of which are integrated into the MPC framework. First, we introduce MPC-PINNs, which are designed for $SIR$ models with control. We then propose log-scaled PINNs (MPC-LS-PINNs), which incorporate a log-scaled loss function to improve robustness against noise. Next, we present split-integral PINNs (MPC-SI-PINNs), which leverage integral operators and state coupling in the neural network training process to effectively reconstruct the complete epidemic state information. Building upon these methods, we further extend our framework for the second assumption. We establish the necessary conditions and extend our PINNs algorithms, where MPC-SI-PINNs are simplified as split-PINNs (MPC-S-PINNs). By incorporating these algorithms into the MPC framework, we simultaneously estimate the epidemic states and parameters while generating optimal control strategies. Experiment results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods under different settings.

Authors:Thanin Quartz, Maxwell Fitzsimmons, Jun Liu
Title: A Converse Control Lyapunov Theorem for Joint Safety and Stability
Abstract:
We show that the existence of a strictly compatible pair of control Lyapunov and control barrier functions is equivalent to the existence of a single smooth Lyapunov function that certifies both asymptotic stability and safety. This characterization complements existing literature on converse Lyapunov functions by establishing a partial differential equation (PDE) characterization with prescribed boundary conditions on the safe set, ensuring that the safe set is exactly certified by this Lyapunov function. The result also implies that if a safety and stability specification cannot be certified by a single Lyapunov function, then any pair of control Lyapunov and control barrier functions necessarily leads to a conflict and cannot be satisfied simultaneously in a robust sense.

Authors:Jiahui Yang, Jason Jingzhou Liu, Yulong Li, Youssef Khaky, Kenneth Shaw, Deepak Pathak
Title: Deep Reactive Policy: Learning Reactive Manipulator Motion Planning for Dynamic Environments
Abstract:
Generating collision-free motion in dynamic, partially observable environments is a fundamental challenge for robotic manipulators. Classical motion planners can compute globally optimal trajectories but require full environment knowledge and are typically too slow for dynamic scenes. Neural motion policies offer a promising alternative by operating in closed-loop directly on raw sensory inputs but often struggle to generalize in complex or dynamic settings. We propose Deep Reactive Policy (DRP), a visuo-motor neural motion policy designed for reactive motion generation in diverse dynamic environments, operating directly on point cloud sensory input. At its core is IMPACT, a transformer-based neural motion policy pretrained on 10 million generated expert trajectories across diverse simulation scenarios. We further improve IMPACT's static obstacle avoidance through iterative student-teacher finetuning. We additionally enhance the policy's dynamic obstacle avoidance at inference time using DCP-RMP, a locally reactive goal-proposal module. We evaluate DRP on challenging tasks featuring cluttered scenes, dynamic moving obstacles, and goal obstructions. DRP achieves strong generalization, outperforming prior classical and neural methods in success rate across both simulated and real-world settings. Video results and code available at https://deep-reactive-policy.com

Authors:Cédric Join, Michel Fliess
Title: Avoidance of an unexpected obstacle without reinforcement learning: Why not using advanced control-theoretic tools?
Abstract:
This communication on collision avoidance with unexpected obstacles is motivated by some critical appraisals on reinforcement learning (RL) which "requires ridiculously large numbers of trials to learn any new task" (Yann LeCun). We use the classic Dubins' car in order to replace RL with flatness-based control, combined with the HEOL feedback setting, and the latest model-free predictive control approach. The two approaches lead to convincing computer experiments where the results with the model-based one are only slightly better. They exhibit a satisfactory robustness with respect to randomly generated mismatches/disturbances, which become excellent in the model-free case. Those properties would have been perhaps difficult to obtain with today's popular machine learning techniques in AI. Finally, we should emphasize that our two methods require a low computational burden.

Authors:Rasika Vijithasena, Rafaela Scaciota, Mehdi Bennis, Sumudu Samarakoon
Title: Stability-Aware Joint Communication and Control for Nonlinear Control-Non-Affine Wireless Networked Control Systems
Abstract:
Ensuring the stability of wireless networked control systems (WNCS) with nonlinear and control-non-affine dynamics, where system behavior is nonlinear with respect to both states and control decisions, poses a significant challenge, particularly under limited resources. However, it is essential in the context of 6G, which is expected to support reliable communication to enable real-time autonomous systems. This paper proposes a joint communication and control solution consisting of: i) a deep Koopman model capable of learning and mapping complex nonlinear dynamics into linear representations in an embedding space, predicting missing states, and planning control actions over a future time horizon; and ii) a scheduling algorithm that schedules sensor-controller communication based on Lyapunov optimization, which dynamically allocates communication resources based on system stability and available resources. Control actions are computed within this embedding space using a linear quadratic regulator (LQR) to ensure system stability. The proposed model is evaluated under varying conditions and its performance is compared against two baseline models; one that assumes systems are control-affine, and another that assumes identical control actions in the embedding and original spaces. The evaluation results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms both baselines, by achieving stability while requiring fewer transmissions.

Authors:Zhuoyuan Wang, Raffaele Romagnoli, Kamyar Azizzadenesheli, Yorie Nakahira
Title: Neural Spline Operators for Risk Quantification in Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
Accurately quantifying long-term risk probabilities in diverse stochastic systems is essential for safety-critical control. However, existing sampling-based and partial differential equation (PDE)-based methods often struggle to handle complex varying dynamics. Physics-informed neural networks learn surrogate mappings for risk probabilities from varying system parameters of fixed and finite dimensions, yet can not account for functional variations in system dynamics. To address these challenges, we introduce physics-informed neural operator (PINO) methods to risk quantification problems, to learn mappings from varying \textit{functional} system dynamics to corresponding risk probabilities. Specifically, we propose Neural Spline Operators (NeSO), a PINO framework that leverages B-spline representations to improve training efficiency and achieve better initial and boundary condition enforcements, which are crucial for accurate risk quantification. We provide theoretical analysis demonstrating the universal approximation capability of NeSO. We also present two case studies, one with varying functional dynamics and another with high-dimensional multi-agent dynamics, to demonstrate the efficacy of NeSO and its significant online speed-up over existing methods. The proposed framework and the accompanying universal approximation theorem are expected to be beneficial for other control or PDE-related problems beyond risk quantification.

Authors:Meiyi Li, Javad Mohammadi
Title: Towards Reliable Neural Optimizers: Permutation-Equivariant Neural Approximation in Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems
Abstract:
Dynamic Data Driven Applications Systems (DDDAS) motivate the development of optimization approaches capable of adapting to streaming, heterogeneous, and asynchronous data from sensor networks. Many established optimization solvers, such as branch-and-bound, gradient descent, and Newton-Raphson methods, rely on iterative algorithms whose step-by-step convergence makes them too slow for real-time, multi-sensor environments. In our recent work, we introduced LOOP-PE (Learning to Optimize the Optimization Process, Permutation Equivariance version), a feed-forward neural approximation model with an integrated feasibility recovery function. LOOP-PE processes inputs from a variable number of sensors in arbitrary order, making it robust to sensor dropout, communication delays, and system scaling. Its permutation-equivariant architecture ensures that reordering the input data reorders the corresponding dispatch decisions consistently, without retraining or pre-alignment. Feasibility is enforced via a generalized gauge map, guaranteeing that outputs satisfy physical and operational constraints. We illustrate the approach in a DDDAS-inspired case study of a Virtual Power Plant (VPP) managing multiple distributed generation agents (DERs) to maximize renewable utilization while respecting system limits. Results show that LOOP-PE produces near-optimal, feasible, and highly adaptable decisions under dynamic, unordered, and distributed sensing conditions, significantly outperforming iterative algorithm based solvers in both speed and flexibility. Here, we extend our earlier work by providing additional analysis and explanation of LOOP-PE design and operation, with particular emphasis on its feasibility guarantee and permutation equivariance feature.

Authors:Shrenik Jadhav, Birva Sevak, Srijita Das, Akhtar Hussain, Wencong Su, Van-Hai Bui
Title: Scalable Fairness Shaping with LLM-Guided Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Peer-to-Peer Electricity Markets
Abstract:
Peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading is becoming central to modern distribution systems as rooftop PV and home energy management systems become pervasive, yet most existing market and reinforcement learning designs emphasize efficiency or private profit and offer little real-time guidance to ensure equitable outcomes under uncertainty. To address this gap, a fairness-aware multiagent reinforcement learning framework, FairMarket-RL, is proposed in which a large language model (LLM) critic shapes bidding policies within a continuous double auction under partial observability and discrete price-quantity actions. After each trading slot, the LLM returns normalized fairness scores Fairness-to-Grid (FTG), Fairness-Between-Sellers (FBS), and Fairness-of-Pricing (FPP) that are integrated into the reward via ramped coefficients and tunable scaling, so that fairness guidance complements, rather than overwhelms, economic incentives. The environment models realistic residential load and PV profiles and enforce hard constraints on prices, physical feasibility, and policy-update stability. Across a progression of experiments from a small pilot to a larger simulated community and a mixed-asset real-world dataset, the framework shifts exchanges toward local P2P trades, lowers consumer costs relative to grid-only procurement, sustains strong fairness across participants, and preserves utility viability. Sensitivity analyses over solar availability and aggregate demand further indicate robust performance, suggesting a scalable, LLM-guided pathway to decentralized electricity markets that are economically efficient, socially equitable, and technically sound.

Authors:Roberto Luo, Victor Hugo Pereira Rodrigues, Tiago Roux Oliveira, Miroslav Krstic
Title: Gradient- and Newton-Based Unit Vector Extremum Seeking Control
Abstract:
This paper presents novel methods for achieving stable and efficient convergence in multivariable extremum seeking control (ESC) using sliding mode techniques. Drawing inspiration from both classical sliding mode control and more recent developments in finite-time and fixed-time control, we propose a new framework that integrates these concepts into Gradient- and Newton-based ESC schemes based on sinusoidal perturbation signals. The key innovation lies in the use of discontinuous "relay-type" control components, replacing traditional proportional feedback to estimate the gradient of unknown quadratic nonlinear performance maps with Unit Vector Control (UVC). This represents the first attempt to address real-time, model-free optimization using sliding modes within the classical extremum seeking paradigm. In the Gradient-based approach, the convergence rate is influenced by the unknown Hessian of the objective function. In contrast, the Newton-based method overcomes this limitation by employing a dynamic estimator for the inverse of the Hessian, implemented via a Riccati equation filter. We establish finite-time convergence of the closed-loop average system to the extremum point for both methods by leveraging Lyapunov-based analysis and averaging theory tailored to systems with discontinuous right-hand sides. Numerical simulations validate the proposed method, illustrating significantly faster convergence and improved robustness compared to conventional ESC strategies, which typically guarantee only exponential stability. The results also demonstrate that the Gradient-based method exhibits slower convergence and higher transients since the gradient trajectory follows the curved and steepest-descent path, whereas the Newton-based method achieves faster convergence and improved overall performance going straightly to the extremum.

Authors:Vindula Jayawardana, Catherine Tang, Junyi Ji, Jonah Philion, Xue Bin Peng, Cathy Wu
Title: Noise-Aware Generative Microscopic Traffic Simulation
Abstract:
Accurately modeling individual vehicle behavior in microscopic traffic simulation remains a key challenge in intelligent transportation systems, as it requires vehicles to realistically generate and respond to complex traffic phenomena such as phantom traffic jams. While traditional human driver simulation models offer computational tractability, they do so by abstracting away the very complexity that defines human driving. On the other hand, recent advances in infrastructure-mounted camera-based roadway sensing have enabled the extraction of vehicle trajectory data, presenting an opportunity to shift toward generative, agent-based models. Yet, a major bottleneck remains: most existing datasets are either overly sanitized or lack standardization, failing to reflect the noisy, imperfect nature of real-world sensing. Unlike data from vehicle-mounted sensors-which can mitigate sensing artifacts like occlusion through overlapping fields of view and sensor fusion-infrastructure-based sensors surface a messier, more practical view of challenges that traffic engineers encounter. To this end, we present the I-24 MOTION Scenario Dataset (I24-MSD)-a standardized, curated dataset designed to preserve a realistic level of sensor imperfection, embracing these errors as part of the learning problem rather than an obstacle to overcome purely from preprocessing. Drawing from noise-aware learning strategies in computer vision, we further adapt existing generative models in the autonomous driving community for I24-MSD with noise-aware loss functions. Our results show that such models not only outperform traditional baselines in realism but also benefit from explicitly engaging with, rather than suppressing, data imperfection. We view I24-MSD as a stepping stone toward a new generation of microscopic traffic simulation that embraces the real-world challenges and is better aligned with practical needs.

Authors:Yun Li, Jicheng Shi, Colin N. Jones, Neil Yorke-Smith, Tamas Keviczky
Title: Distributionally Robust System Level Synthesis With Output Feedback Affine Control Policy
Abstract:
This paper studies the finite-horizon robust optimal control of linear systems subject to model mismatch and additive stochastic disturbances. Utilizing the system level synthesis (SLS) parameterization, we propose a novel SLS design using output-feedback affine control policy and extend it to a distributionally robust setting to improve system resilience by minimizing the cost function while ensuring constraint satisfaction against the worst-case uncertainty distribution. The scopes of model mismatch and stochastic disturbances are quantified using the 1-norm and a Wasserstein metric-based ambiguity set, respectively. For the closed-loop dynamics, we analyze the distributional shift between the predicted output-input response -- computed using nominal parameters and empirical disturbance samples -- and the actual closed-loop distribution, highlighting its dependence on model mismatch and SLS parameterization. Assuming convex and Lipschitz continuous cost functions and constraints, we derive a tractable reformulation of the distributionally robust SLS (DR-SLS) problem by leveraging tools from robust control and distributionally robust optimization (DRO). Numerical experiments validate the performance and robustness of the proposed approach.

Authors:Imtiaz Karim, Hyunwoo Lee, Hassan Asghar, Kazi Samin Mubasshir, Seulgi Han, Mashroor Hasan Bhuiyan, Elisa Bertino
Title: VWAttacker: A Systematic Security Testing Framework for Voice over WiFi User Equipments
Abstract:
We present VWAttacker, the first systematic testing framework for analyzing the security of Voice over WiFi (VoWiFi) User Equipment (UE) implementations. VWAttacker includes a complete VoWiFi network testbed that communicates with Commercial-Off-The-Shelf (COTS) UEs based on a simple interface to test the behavior of diverse VoWiFi UE implementations; uses property-guided adversarial testing to uncover security issues in different UEs systematically. To reduce manual effort in extracting and testing properties, we introduce an LLM-based, semi-automatic, and scalable approach for property extraction and testcase (TC) generation. These TCs are systematically mutated by two domain-specific transformations. Furthermore, we introduce two deterministic oracles to detect property violations automatically. Coupled with these techniques, VWAttacker extracts 63 properties from 11 specifications, evaluates 1,116 testcases, and detects 13 issues in 21 UEs. The issues range from enforcing a DH shared secret to 0 to supporting weak algorithms. These issues result in attacks that expose the victim UE's identity or establish weak channels, thus severely hampering the security of cellular networks. We responsibly disclose the findings to all the related vendors. At the time of writing, one of the vulnerabilities has been acknowledged by MediaTek with high severity.

Authors:Bogoljub Terzin, E. Javier Olucha, Amritam Das, Siep Weiland, Roland Tóth
Title: Tensor-based reduction of linear parameter-varying state-space models
Abstract:
The Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) framework is a powerful tool for controlling nonlinear and complex systems, but the conversion of nonlinear models into LPV forms often results in high-dimensional and overly conservative LPV models. To be able to apply control strategies, there is often a need for model reduction in order to reduce computational needs. This paper presents the first systematic approach for the joint reduction of state order and scheduling signal dimension of LPV state space models. The existing methods typically address these reductions separately. By formulating a tensorial form of LPV models with an affine dependency on the scheduling variables, we leverage tensor decomposition to find the dominant components of state and scheduling subspaces. We extend the common Petrov-Galerkin projection approach to LPV framework by adding a scheduling projection. This extension enables the joint reduction. To find suitable subspaces for the extended Petrov-Galerkin projection, we have developed two different methods: tensor-based LPV moment matching, and an approach through Proper Orthogonal Decomposition. Advantages of the proposed methods are demonstrated on two different series-interconnected mass-spring-damper systems with nonlinear springs: one primarily used for comparison with other methods and a more elaborate higher-order model designed to assess scalability.

Authors:Mahdieh Zaker, David Angeli, Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: Data-Driven Incremental GAS Certificate of Nonlinear Homogeneous Networks: A Formal Modular Approach
Abstract:
This work focuses on a compositional data-driven approach to verify incremental global asymptotic stability (delta-GAS) over interconnected homogeneous networks of degree one with unknown mathematical dynamics. Our proposed approach leverages the concept of incremental input-to-state stability (delta-ISS) of subsystems, characterized by delta-ISS Lyapunov functions. To implement our data-driven scheme, we initially reframe the delta-ISS Lyapunov conditions as a robust optimization program (ROP). However, due to the presence of unknown subsystem dynamics in the ROP constraints, we develop a scenario optimization program (SOP) by gathering data from trajectories of each unknown subsystem. We solve the SOP and construct a delta-ISS Lyapunov function for each subsystem with unknown dynamics. We then leverage a small-gain compositional condition to facilitate the construction of an incremental Lyapunov function for an unknown interconnected network with unknown dynamics based on its data-driven delta-ISS Lyapunov functions of individual subsystems, while providing correctness guarantees. We demonstrate that our data-driven compositional approach aligns sample complexity with subsystem granularity, resulting in a linear increase in required data as the number of subsystems rises. In contrast, the existing monolithic approach in the literature exhibits exponential growth in sample complexity with increasing number of subsystems, rendering it impractical for real-world applications. To validate the effectiveness of our compositional data-driven approach, we apply it to an unknown nonlinear homogeneous network of degree one, comprising 10000 subsystems. By gathering data from each unknown subsystem, we demonstrate that the interconnected network is delta-GAS with a correctness guarantee.

Authors:Yang Li, Zenghui Zheng, Xiangyang Wu, Jiayong Li, Wei Wang, Qiang Zeng, Zhikang Shuai
Title: Quantitative Damping Calculation and Compensation Method for Global Stability Improvement of Inverter-Based Systems
Abstract:
Small-signal stability issues-induced broadband oscillations pose significant threats to the secure operation of multi-inverter systems, attracting extensive research attention. Researches revealed that system instability is led by the lacking of positive damping, yet it has not been clearly specified how much the exact amount of damping compensation required to sufficiently ensure system global stability. This paper presents a feasible solution for quantitative damping calculation and compensation to enhance the global stability of inverter-based systems. First, based on the system nodal admittance model, a quantitative damping calculation algorithm is presented, which can suggest the required damping compensation as well as compensation location for sufficient stability improvement. Then, we propose a specific AD with output current feedforward control strategy, which make the AD be quasi-pure resistive and can effectively enhance system damping efficiency. Finally, a testing system with three inverters is used as case study, showing that the proposed method provides a promising solution to efficiently enhance the global stability improvement of inverter-based systems. Simulations and experiments validate the proposed method.

Authors:R. Spencer Hallyburton, Miroslav Pajic
Title: Trusted Data Fusion, Multi-Agent Autonomy, Autonomous Vehicles
Abstract:
Multi-agent collaboration enhances situational awareness in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions. Ad hoc networks of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) allow for real-time data sharing, but they face security challenges due to their decentralized nature, making them vulnerable to cyber-physical attacks. This paper introduces a trust-based framework for assured sensor fusion in distributed multi-agent networks, utilizing a hidden Markov model (HMM)-based approach to estimate the trustworthiness of agents and their provided information in a decentralized fashion. Trust-informed data fusion prioritizes fusing data from reliable sources, enhancing resilience and accuracy in contested environments. To evaluate the assured sensor fusion under attacks on system/mission sensing, we present a novel multi-agent aerial dataset built from the Unreal Engine simulator. We demonstrate through case studies improved ISR performance and an ability to detect malicious actors in adversarial settings.

Authors:Julius P. J. Krebbekx, Roland Tóth, Amritam Das
Title: Graphical Analysis of Nonlinear Multivariable Feedback Systems
Abstract:
Scaled Relative Graphs (SRGs) provide a novel graphical frequency-domain method for the analysis of nonlinear systems. There have been recent efforts to generalize SRG analysis to Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems. However, these attempts yielded only results for square systems, and in some cases, only methods applicable for Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) systems. In this paper, we develop a complete SRG framework for the analysis of MIMO systems, which may be nonlinear and non-square. The key element is the embedding of operators to a space of operators acting on a common Hilbert space, while restricting the input space to the original input dimension. We develop interconnection rules that use restricted input spaces and stability theorems to guarantee causality, well-posedness and (incremental) $L_2$-gain bounds for the overall interconnection. We show utilization of the proposed theoretical concepts on the analysis of nonlinear systems in a linear fractional representation form, which is a rather general class of systems with a representation form directly utilizable for control. Moreover, we provide formulas for the computation of MIMO SRGs of stable LTI operators and diagonal static nonlinear operators. Finally, we demonstrate the capabilities of our proposed approach on several examples.

Authors:Sabrina Livanec, Laura Londoño, Michael Gorki, Adrian Röfer, Abhinav Valada, Andrea Kiesel
Title: Designing for Difference: How Human Characteristics Shape Perceptions of Collaborative Robots
Abstract:
The development of assistive robots for social collaboration raises critical questions about responsible and inclusive design, especially when interacting with individuals from protected groups such as those with disabilities or advanced age. Currently, research is scarce on how participants assess varying robot behaviors in combination with diverse human needs, likely since participants have limited real-world experience with advanced domestic robots. In the current study, we aim to address this gap while using methods that enable participants to assess robot behavior, as well as methods that support meaningful reflection despite limited experience. In an online study, 112 participants (from both experimental and control groups) evaluated 7 videos from a total of 28 variations of human-robot collaboration types. The experimental group first completed a cognitive-affective mapping (CAM) exercise on human-robot collaboration before providing their ratings. Although CAM reflection did not significantly affect overall ratings, it led to more pronounced assessments for certain combinations of robot behavior and human condition. Most importantly, the type of human-robot collaboration influences the assessment. Antisocial robot behavior was consistently rated as the lowest, while collaboration with aged individuals elicited more sensitive evaluations. Scenarios involving object handovers were viewed more positively than those without them. These findings suggest that both human characteristics and interaction paradigms influence the perceived acceptability of collaborative robots, underscoring the importance of prosocial design. They also highlight the potential of reflective methods, such as CAM, to elicit nuanced feedback, supporting the development of user-centered and socially responsible robotic systems tailored to diverse populations.

Authors:Junyuan Zheng, Wenlong Shi, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Fast Feeder Reconfiguration via Mesh Adaptive Direct Search in Black-Box Distribution System Environments
Abstract:
Feeder reconfiguration is a critical operational strategy in power distribution systems. However, existing optimization approaches typically rely on explicit mathematical formulations and analytical models, which are often infeasible in practical utility environments characterized by heterogeneous, proprietary, and black-box simulation modules. To address this challenge, this paper proposes a fast feeder reconfiguration framework based on Mesh Adaptive Direct Search (MADS). The proposed approach requires only performance metric evaluations through simulation modules used for power flow, protection, and voltage regulation analysis. A bi-objective formulation is adopted to jointly minimize active power loss and operational constraint violations. A Pareto-based frontier filter is integrated into the MADS algorithm to efficiently guide the search toward high-quality configurations while systematically pruning dominated solutions. The approach adaptively refines the search space around promising candidates using local polling strategies and convergence aware updates. Case studies on the IEEE-123 node test feeder demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves near-optimal configurations with significantly fewer evaluations compared to heuristic methods.

Authors:Julius P. J. Krebbekx, Roland Tóth, Amritam Das
Title: Scaled Relative Graph Analysis of General Interconnections of SISO Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
Scaled Relative Graphs (SRGs) provide a novel graphical frequency-domain method for the analysis of nonlinear systems. However, we show that the current SRG analysis suffers from a pitfall that limits its applicability in analyzing practical nonlinear systems. We overcome this pitfall by introducing a novel reformulation of the SRG of a linear time-invariant operator and combining the SRG with the Nyquist criterion. The result is a theorem that can be used to assess stability and $L_2$-gain performance for general interconnections of nonlinear dynamic systems. We provide practical calculation results for canonical interconnections and apply our result to Lur'e systems to obtain a generalization of the celebrated circle criterion, which deals with broader class of nonlinearities, and we derive (incremental) $L_2$-gain performance bounds. We illustrate the power of the new approach on the analysis of several examples.

Authors:Aayushya Agarwal, Larry Pileggi
Title: Integrating Forecasting Models Within Steady-State Analysis and Optimization
Abstract:
Extreme weather variations and the increasing unpredictability of load behavior make it difficult to determine power grid dispatches that are robust to uncertainties. While machine learning (ML) methods have improved the ability to model uncertainty caused by loads and renewables, accurately integrating these forecasts and their sensitivities into steady-state analyses and decision-making strategies remains an open challenge. Toward this goal, we present a generalized methodology that seamlessly embeds ML-based forecasting engines within physics-based power flow and grid optimization tools. By coupling physics-based grid modeling with black-box ML methods, we accurately capture the behavior and sensitivity of loads and weather events by directly integrating the inputs and outputs of trained ML forecasting models into the numerical methods of power flow and grid optimization. Without fitting surrogate load models, our approach obtains the sensitivities directly from data to accurately predict the response of forecasted devices to changes in the grid. Our approach combines the sensitivities of forecasted devices attained via backpropagation and the sensitivities of physics-defined grid devices. We demonstrate the efficacy of our method by showcasing improvements in sensitivity calculations and leveraging them to design a robust power dispatch that improves grid reliability under stochastic weather events. Our approach enables the computation of system sensitivities to exogenous factors which supports broader analyses that improve grid reliability in the presence of load variability and extreme weather conditions.

Authors:Marko Maljkovic, Gustav Nilsson, Nikolas Geroliminis
Title: Resource-Splitting Games with Tullock-Based Lossy Contests
Abstract:
This paper introduces a novel class of multi-stage resource allocation games that model real-world scenarios in which profitability depends on the balance between supply and demand, and where higher resource investment leads to greater returns. Our proposed framework, which incorporates the notion of profit loss due to insufficient player participation, gives rise to a Tullock-like functional form of the stage payoff structure when weighted fair proportional resource allocation is applied. We explore both centralized and Nash equilibrium strategies, establish sufficient conditions for their existence and uniqueness, and provide an iterative, semi-decentralized method to compute the Nash equilibrium in games with arbitrarily many players. Additionally, we demonstrate that the framework generalizes instances of several existing models, including Receding Horizon and Blotto games, and present a semi-analytical method for computing the unique Nash equilibrium within the Blotto setup. Our findings are validated through a numerical case study in smart mobility, highlighting the practical relevance and applicability of the proposed model.

Authors:Alan Papalia, Charles Dawson, Laurentiu L. Anton, Norhan Magdy Bayomi, Bianca Champenois, Jung-Hoon Cho, Levi Cai, Joseph DelPreto, Kristen Edwards, Bilha-Catherine Githinji, Cameron Hickert, Vindula Jayawardana, Matthew Kramer, Shreyaa Raghavan, David Russell, Shide Salimi, Jingnan Shi, Soumya Sudhakar, Yanwei Wang, Shouyi Wang, Luca Carlone, Vijay Kumar, Daniela Rus, John E. Fernandez, Cathy Wu, George Kantor, Derek Young, Hanumant Singh
Title: A Roadmap for Climate-Relevant Robotics Research
Abstract:
Climate change is one of the defining challenges of the 21st century, and many in the robotics community are looking for ways to contribute. This paper presents a roadmap for climate-relevant robotics research, identifying high-impact opportunities for collaboration between roboticists and experts across climate domains such as energy, the built environment, transportation, industry, land use, and Earth sciences. These applications include problems such as energy systems optimization, construction, precision agriculture, building envelope retrofits, autonomous trucking, and large-scale environmental monitoring. Critically, we include opportunities to apply not only physical robots but also the broader robotics toolkit - including planning, perception, control, and estimation algorithms - to climate-relevant problems. A central goal of this roadmap is to inspire new research directions and collaboration by highlighting specific, actionable problems at the intersection of robotics and climate. This work represents a collaboration between robotics researchers and domain experts in various climate disciplines, and it serves as an invitation to the robotics community to bring their expertise to bear on urgent climate priorities.

Authors:Giulio Giacomuzzo, Mohamed Abdelwahab, Marco Calì, Alberto Dalla Libera, Ruggero Carli
Title: A Robust Controller based on Gaussian Processes for Robotic Manipulators with Unknown Uncertainty
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a novel learning-based robust feedback linearization strategy to ensure precise trajectory tracking for an important family of Lagrangian systems. We assume a nominal knowledge of the dynamics is given but no a-priori bounds on the model mismatch are available. In our approach, the key ingredient is the adoption of a regression framework based on Gaussian Processes (GPR) to estimate the model mismatch. This estimate is added to the outer loop of a classical feedback linearization scheme based on the nominal knowledge available. Then, to compensate for the residual uncertainty, we robustify the controller including an additional term whose size is designed based on the variance provided by the GPR framework. We proved that, with high probability, the proposed scheme is able to guarantee asymptotic tracking of a desired trajectory. We tested numerically our strategy on a 2 degrees of freedom planar robot.

Authors:Mahdieh Zaker, Amy Nejati, Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: Data-Driven Safety Certificates of Infinite Networks with Unknown Models and Interconnection Topologies
Abstract:
Infinite networks are complex interconnected systems comprising a countably infinite number of subsystems, where counting them precisely poses a significant challenge due to the seemingly endless interconnected nature of the network (e.g., counting vehicles on the road). In such scenarios, the presence of infinitely many subsystems within the network renders the existing analysis frameworks tailored for finite networks inapplicable to infinite ones. This paper is concerned with offering a data-driven approach, within a compositional framework, for the safety certification of infinite networks with both unknown mathematical models and interconnection topologies. Given the immense computational complexity stemming from the extensive dimension of infinite networks, our approach capitalizes on the joint dissipativity-type properties of subsystems, characterized by storage certificates. We introduce innovative compositional data-driven conditions to construct a barrier certificate for the infinite network leveraging storage certificates of its unknown subsystems derived from data, while offering correctness guarantees across the network safety. We demonstrate that our compositional data-driven reasoning eliminates the requirement for checking the traditional dissipativity condition, which typically mandates precise knowledge of the interconnection topology. In addition, while existing data-driven literature demonstrates an exponential trend in sample complexity with respect to network size, we showcase that our compositional strategy notably reduces it to a linear scale in terms of the number of subsystems. We illustrate our data-driven results on two physical infinite networks with unknown models and interconnection topologies.

Authors:Toktam Mohammadnejad, Jovin D'sa, Behdad Chalaki, Hossein Nourkhiz Mahjoub, Ehsan Moradi-Pari
Title: SMART-Merge Planner: A Safe Merging and Real-Time Motion Planner for Autonomous Highway On-Ramp Merging
Abstract:
Merging onto a highway is a complex driving task that requires identifying a safe gap, adjusting speed, often interactions to create a merging gap, and completing the merge maneuver within a limited time window while maintaining safety and driving comfort. In this paper, we introduce a Safe Merging and Real-Time Merge (SMART-Merge) planner, a lattice-based motion planner designed to facilitate safe and comfortable forced merging. By deliberately adapting cost terms to the unique challenges of forced merging and introducing a desired speed heuristic, SMART-Merge planner enables the ego vehicle to merge successfully while minimizing the merge time. We verify the efficiency and effectiveness of the proposed merge planner through high-fidelity CarMaker simulations on hundreds of highway merge scenarios. Our proposed planner achieves the success rate of 100% as well as completes the merge maneuver in the shortest amount of time compared with the baselines, demonstrating our planner's capability to handle complex forced merge tasks and provide a reliable and robust solution for autonomous highway merge. The simulation result videos are available at https://sites.google.com/view/smart-merge-planner/home.

Authors:Yifan Zeng, Yihan Li, Suiyi He, Koushil Sreenath, Jun Zeng
Title: IteraOptiRacing: A Unified Planning-Control Framework for Real-time Autonomous Racing for Iterative Optimal Performance
Abstract:
This paper presents a unified planning-control strategy for competing with other racing cars called IteraOptiRacing in autonomous racing environments. This unified strategy is proposed based on Iterative Linear Quadratic Regulator for Iterative Tasks (i2LQR), which can improve lap time performance in the presence of surrounding racing obstacles. By iteratively using the ego car's historical data, both obstacle avoidance for multiple moving cars and time cost optimization are considered in this unified strategy, resulting in collision-free and time-optimal generated trajectories. The algorithm's constant low computation burden and suitability for parallel computing enable real-time operation in competitive racing scenarios. To validate its performance, simulations in a high-fidelity simulator are conducted with multiple randomly generated dynamic agents on the track. Results show that the proposed strategy outperforms existing methods across all randomly generated autonomous racing scenarios, enabling enhanced maneuvering for the ego racing car.

Authors:Xinyu Huang, Yixiao Zhang, Yingying Pei, Jianzhe Xue, Xuemin Shen
Title: Experience-Centric Resource Management in ISAC Networks: A Digital Agent-Assisted Approach
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a digital agent (DA)-assisted resource management scheme for enhanced user quality of experience (QoE) in integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) networks. Particularly, user QoE is a comprehensive metric that integrates quality of service (QoS), user behavioral dynamics, and environmental complexity. The novel DA module includes a user status prediction model, a QoS factor selection model, and a QoE fitting model, which analyzes historical user status data to construct and update user-specific QoE models. Users are clustered into different groups based on their QoE models. A Cramér-Rao bound (CRB) model is utilized to quantify the impact of allocated communication resources on sensing accuracy. A joint optimization problem of communication and computing resource management is formulated to maximize long-term user QoE while satisfying CRB and resource constraints. A two-layer data-model-driven algorithm is developed to solve the formulated problem, where the top layer utilizes an advanced deep reinforcement learning algorithm to make group-level decisions, and the bottom layer uses convex optimization techniques to make user-level decisions. Simulation results based on a real-world dataset demonstrate that the proposed DA-assisted resource management scheme outperforms benchmark schemes in terms of user QoE.

Authors:Yuki Origane, Nicolas Hoischen, Tzu-Yuan Huang, Daisuke Kurabayashi, Stefan Sosnowski, Sandra Hirche
Title: Risk-Aware Trajectory Optimization and Control for an Underwater Suspended Robotic System
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the trajectory optimization of an underwater suspended robotic system comprising an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) and an uncrewed underwater vehicle (UUV) for autonomous litter collection. The key challenge lies in the significant uncertainty in drag and weight parameters introduced by the collected litter. We propose a dynamical model for the coupled UUV-USV system in the primary plane of motion and a risk-aware optimization approach incorporating parameter uncertainty and noise to ensure safe interactions with the environment. A stochastic optimization problem is solved using a conditional value-at-risk framework. Simulations demonstrate that our approach reduces collision risks and energy consumption, highlighting its reliability compared to existing control methods.

Authors:Zengjie Zhang, Giannis Badakis, Michalis Galanis, Adem Bavarşi, Edwin van Hassel, Mohsen Alirezaei, Sofie Haesaert
Title: A Vehicle-in-the-Loop Simulator with AI-Powered Digital Twins for Testing Automated Driving Controllers
Abstract:
Simulators are useful tools for testing automated driving controllers. Vehicle-in-the-loop (ViL) tests and digital twins (DTs) are widely used simulation technologies to facilitate the smooth deployment of controllers to physical vehicles. However, conventional ViL tests rely on full-size vehicles, requiring large space and high expenses. Also, physical-model-based DT suffers from the reality gap caused by modeling imprecision. This paper develops a comprehensive and practical simulator for testing automated driving controllers enhanced by scaled physical cars and AI-powered DT models. The scaled cars allow for saving space and expenses of simulation tests. The AI-powered DT models ensure superior simulation fidelity. Moreover, the simulator integrates well with off-the-shelf software and control algorithms, making it easy to extend. We use a filtered control benchmark with formal safety guarantees to showcase the capability of the simulator in validating automated driving controllers. Experimental studies are performed to showcase the efficacy of the simulator, implying its great potential in validating control solutions for autonomous vehicles and intelligent traffic.

Authors:Shrenik Jadhav, Birva Sevak, Srijita Das, Wencong Su, Van-Hai Bui
Title: Enhancing Power Flow Estimation with Topology-Aware Gated Graph Neural Networks
Abstract:
Accurate and scalable surrogate models for AC power flow are essential for real-time grid monitoring, contingency analysis, and decision support in increasingly dynamic and inverter-dominated power systems. However, most existing surrogates fall short of practical deployment due to their limited capacity to capture long-range nonlinear dependencies in meshed transmission networks and their weak enforcement of physical laws. These models often require extensive hyperparameter tuning, exhibit poor generalization under topology changes or large load swings, and typically do not quantify uncertainty or scale well beyond a few hundred buses. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a \textit{gated graph neural network (GGNN)} surrogate for AC power-flow estimation under topological uncertainty. The model is trained across multiple IEEE benchmark networks of varying size and complexity, each incorporating randomized line contingencies and up to 40\% load variation. To improve robustness and generalization, we explore both conventional supervised learning and physics-informed self-supervised training strategies. Comparative evaluations show that the proposed GGNN consistently outperforms prior GNN-based surrogates, achieving predictions closely aligned with Newton--Raphson solutions. By embedding operational constraints directly into the architecture and loss function, the model ensures physical consistency and delivers a lightweight, accurate, and scalable tool for real-time grid operations.

Authors:Al Hussein Dabashi, Sajjad Maleki, Biswarup Mukherjee, Gregory Epiphaniou, Carsten Maple, Charalambos Konstantinou, Subhash Lakshminarayana
Title: Cybersecurity Issues in Local Energy Markets
Abstract:
Local Energy Markets (LEMs), though pivotal to the energy transition, face growing cybersecurity threats due to their reliance on smart grid communication standards and vulnerable Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enabled devices. This is a critical issue because such vulnerabilities can be exploited to manipulate market operations, compromise participants' privacy, and destabilize power distribution networks. This work maps LEM communication flows to existing standards, highlights potential impacts of key identified vulnerabilities, and simulates cyberattack scenarios on a privacy-preserving LEM model to assess their impacts. Findings reveal how attackers could distort pricing and demand patterns. We finally present recommendations for researchers, industry developers, policymakers, and LEM stakeholders to secure future LEM deployments.

Authors:Sofia Girardello, Giulia Michieletto, Angelo Cenedese, Antonio Franchi, Chiara Gabellieri
Title: Trajectory control of a suspended load with non-stopping flying carriers
Abstract:
This paper presents the first closed-loop control framework for cooperative payload transportation with non-stopping flying carriers. Building upon grasp-matrix formulations and internal force redundancy, we propose a feedback wrench controller that actively regulates the payload's pose while an optimization layer dynamically shapes internal-force oscillations to guarantee persistent carrier motion. Preliminary experimental results on multirotor UAVs validate the model assumptions, and numerical simulations demonstrate that the method successfully prevents carrier stagnation, achieves accurate load tracking, and generates physically feasible trajectories with smooth velocity profiles. The proposed framework not only advances the state of the art but also offers a reliable, versatile solution for future real-world applications requiring load transportation by coordinated non-stopping flying carriers.

Authors:Koki Yamane, Sho Sakaino, Toshiaki Tsuji
Title: Decoupled Scaling 4ch Bilateral Control on the Cartesian coordinate by 6-DoF Manipulator using Rotation Matrix
Abstract:
Four-channel bilateral control is a method for achieving remote control with force feedback and adjustment operability by synchronizing the positions and forces of two manipulators. This is expected to significantly improve the operability of the remote control in contact-rich tasks. Among these, 4-channel bilateral control on the Cartesian coordinate system is advantageous owing to its suitability for manipulators with different structures and because it allows the dynamics in the Cartesian coordinate system to be adjusted by adjusting the control parameters, thus achieving intuitive operability for humans. This paper proposes a 4-channel bilateral control method that achieves the desired dynamics by decoupling each dimension in the Cartesian coordinate system regardless of the scaling factor.

Authors:Minghao Han, Kiwan Wong, Adrian Wing-Keung Law, Xunyuan Yin
Title: MAKO: Meta-Adaptive Koopman Operators for Learning-based Model Predictive Control of Parametrically Uncertain Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
In this work, we propose a meta-learning-based Koopman modeling and predictive control approach for nonlinear systems with parametric uncertainties. An adaptive deep meta-learning-based modeling approach, called Meta Adaptive Koopman Operator (MAKO), is proposed. Without knowledge of the parametric uncertainty, the proposed MAKO approach can learn a meta-model from a multi-modal dataset and efficiently adapt to new systems with previously unseen parameter settings by using online data. Based on the learned meta Koopman model, a predictive control scheme is developed, and the stability of the closed-loop system is ensured even in the presence of previously unseen parameter settings. Through extensive simulations, our proposed approach demonstrates superior performance in both modeling accuracy and control efficacy as compared to competitive baselines.

Authors:Shizhen Jia, Mingjun Ying, Marco Mezzavilla, Doru Calin, Theodore S. Rappaport, Sundeep Rangan
Title: Joint Detection, Channel Estimation and Interference Nulling for Terrestrial-Satellite Downlink Co-Existence in the Upper Mid-Band
Abstract:
The upper mid-band FR3 spectrum (7-24 GHz) has garnered significant interest for future cellular services. However, utilizing a large portion of this band requires careful interference coordination with incumbent satellite systems. This paper investigates interference from high-power terrestrial base stations (TN-BSs) to satellite downlink receivers. A central challenge is that the victim receivers, i.e., ground-based non-terrestrial user equipment (NTN-UEs) such as satellite customer premises equipment, must first be detected and their channels estimated before the TN-BS can effectively place nulls in their directions. We explore a potential solution where NTN-UEs periodically transmit preambles or beacon signals that TN-BSs can use for detection and channel estimation. The performance of this nulling approach is analyzed in a simplified scenario with a single victim, revealing the interplay between path loss and estimation quality in determining nulling performance. To further validate the method, we conduct a detailed multi-user site-specific ray-tracing (RT) simulation in a rural environment. The results show that the proposed nulling approach is effective under realistic parameters, even with high densities of victim units, although TN-BS may require a substantial number of antennas.

Authors:Marlon Müller, Florian Finkeldei, Hanna Krasowski, Murat Arcak, Matthias Althoff
Title: Falsification-Driven Reinforcement Learning for Maritime Motion Planning
Abstract:
Compliance with maritime traffic rules is essential for the safe operation of autonomous vessels, yet training reinforcement learning (RL) agents to adhere to them is challenging. The behavior of RL agents is shaped by the training scenarios they encounter, but creating scenarios that capture the complexity of maritime navigation is non-trivial, and real-world data alone is insufficient. To address this, we propose a falsification-driven RL approach that generates adversarial training scenarios in which the vessel under test violates maritime traffic rules, which are expressed as signal temporal logic specifications. Our experiments on open-sea navigation with two vessels demonstrate that the proposed approach provides more relevant training scenarios and achieves more consistent rule compliance.

Authors:Praveen Kumar Ranjan, Abhinav Sinha, Yongcan Cao
Title: Three-dimensional Integrated Guidance and Control for Leader-Follower Flexible Formation of Fixed Wing UAVs
Abstract:
This paper presents a nonlinear integrated guidance and control (IGC) approach for flexible leader-follower formation flight of fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) while accounting for high-fidelity aerodynamics and thrust dynamics. Unlike conventional leader-follower schemes that fix the follower's position relative to the leader, the follower is steered to maintain range and bearing angles (which is the angle between its velocity vector and its line-of-sight (LOS) with respect to the leader) arbitrarily close to the prescribed values, enabling the follower to maintain formation on a hemispherical region behind the leader. The proposed IGC framework directly maps leader-follower relative range dynamics to throttle commands, and the follower's velocity orientation relative to the LOS to aerodynamic control surface deflections. This enables synergism between guidance and control subsystems. The control design uses a dynamic surface control-based backstepping approach to achieve convergence to the desired formation set, where Lyapunov barrier functions are incorporated to ensure the follower's bearing angle is constrained within specified bounds. Rigorous stability analysis guarantees uniform ultimate boundedness of all error states and strict constraint satisfaction in the presence of aerodynamic nonlinearities. The proposed flexible formation scheme allows the follower to have an orientation mismatch relative to the leader to execute anticipatory reconfiguration by transitioning between the relative positions in the admissible formation set when the leader aggressively maneuvers. The proposed IGC law relies only on relative information and onboard sensors without the information about the leader's maneuver, making it suitable for GPS-denied or non-cooperative scenarios. Finally, we present simulation results to vindicate the effectiveness and robustness of our approach.

Authors:Ming Gao, Zhanglin Shangguan, Shuo Liu, Liang Wu, Bo Yang, Wei Xiao
Title: A Predictive and Sampled-Data Barrier Method for Safe and Efficient Quadrotor Control
Abstract:
This paper proposes a cascaded control framework for quadrotor trajectory tracking with formal safety guarantees. First, we design a controller consisting of an outer-loop position model predictive control (MPC) and an inner-loop nonlinear attitude control, enabling decoupling of position safety and yaw orientation. Second, since quadrotor safety constraints often involve high relative degree, we adopt high order control barrier functions (HOCBFs) to guarantee safety. To employ HOCBFs in the MPC formulation that has formal guarantees, we extend HOCBFs to sampled-data HOCBF (SdHOCBFs) by introducing compensation terms, ensuring safety over the entire sampling interval. We show that embedding SdHOCBFs as control-affine constraints into the MPC formulation guarantees both safety and optimality while preserving convexity for real-time implementations. Finally, comprehensive simulations are conducted to demonstrate the safety guarantee and high efficiency of the proposed method compared to existing methods.

Authors:Xiaoqiao Chen, Xuewen Zhang, Minghao Han, Adrian Wing-Keung Law, Xunyuan Yin
Title: Economic zone data-enabled predictive control for connected open water systems
Abstract:
Real-time regulation of water distribution in connected open water systems is critical for ensuring system safety and meeting operational requirements. In this work, we consider a connected open water system that includes linkage hydraulic structures such as weirs, pumps and sluice gates. We propose a mixed-integer economic zone data-enabled predictive control (DeePC) approach, which is used to maintain the water levels of the branches within desired zones to avoid floods and reduce the energy consumption of the pumps in the considered water system. The proposed DeePC-based approach predicts the future dynamics of the system water levels, and generates optimal control actions based on system input and output data, thereby eliminating the need for both first-principles modeling and explicit data-driven modeling. To achieve multiple control objectives in order of priority, we utilize lexicographic optimization and adapt traditional DeePC cost function for zone tracking and energy consumption minimization. Additionally, Bayesian optimization is utilized to determine the control target zone, which effectively balances zone tracking and energy consumption in the presence of external disturbances. Comprehensive simulations and comparative analyses demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The proposed method maintains water levels within the desired zone for 97.04% of the operating time, with an average energy consumption of 33.5 kWh per 0.5 h. Compared to baseline methods, the proposed approach reduces the zone-tracking mean square error by 98.82% relative to economic zone DeePC without Bayesian optimization, and lowers energy consumption by 44.08% relative to economic set-point tracking DeePC. As compared to passive pump/gate control, the proposed method lowers the frequency of zone violations by 86.94% and the average energy consumption by 4.69%.

Authors:Mohammad Abtahi, Navid Mojahed, Shima Nazari
Title: Efficient Optimal Path Planning in Dynamic Environments Using Koopman MPC
Abstract:
This paper presents a data-driven model predictive control framework for mobile robots navigating in dynamic environments, leveraging Koopman operator theory. Unlike the conventional Koopman-based approaches that focus on the linearization of system dynamics only, our work focuses on finding a global linear representation for the optimal path planning problem that includes both the nonlinear robot dynamics and collision-avoidance constraints. We deploy extended dynamic mode decomposition to identify linear and bilinear Koopman realizations from input-state data. Our open-loop analysis demonstrates that only the bilinear Koopman model can accurately capture nonlinear state-input couplings and quadratic terms essential for collision avoidance, whereas linear realizations fail to do so. We formulate a quadratic program for the robot path planning in the presence of moving obstacles in the lifted space and determine the optimal robot action in an MPC framework. Our approach is capable of finding the safe optimal action 320 times faster than a nonlinear MPC counterpart that solves the path planning problem in the original state space. Our work highlights the potential of bilinear Koopman realizations for linearization of highly nonlinear optimal control problems subject to nonlinear state and input constraints to achieve computational efficiency similar to linear problems.

Authors:Varun Kotian, Vishrut Jain, Andrea Michelle Rios Lazcano, Daan Marinus Pool, Riender Happee, Barys Shyrokau
Title: Reducing Discomfort in Driving Simulators: Motion Cueing for Motion Sickness Mitigation
Abstract:
Driving simulators are increasingly used in research and development. However, simulators often cause motion sickness due to downscaled motion and unscaled veridical visuals. In this paper, a motion cueing algorithm is proposed that reduces motion sickness as predicted by the subjective vertical conflict (SVC) model using model predictive control (MPC). Both sensory conflict and specific force errors are penalised in the cost function, allowing the algorithm to jointly optimise fidelity and comfort. Human-in-the-loop experiments were conducted to compare four simulator motion settings: two variations of our MPC-based algorithm, one focused on pure specific force tracking and the second compromising specific force tracking and motion sickness minimisation, as well as reference adaptive washout and no motion cases. The experiments were performed on a hexapod driving simulator with participants exposed to passive driving. Experimental motion sickness results closely matched the sickness model predictions. As predicted by the model, the no motion condition yielded the lowest sickness levels. However, it was rated lowest in terms of fidelity. The compromise solution reduced sickness by over 50% (average MISC level 3 to 1.5) compared to adaptive washout and the algorithm focusing on specific force tracking, without any significant reduction in fidelity rating. The proposed approach for developing MCA that takes into account both the simulator dynamics and time evolution of motion sickness offers a significant advancement in achieving an optimal control of motion sickness and specific force recreation in driving simulators, supporting broader simulator use.

Authors:Yuto Watanabe, Feng-Yi Liao, Yang Zheng
Title: Policy Optimization in Robust Control: Weak Convexity and Subgradient Methods
Abstract:
Robust control seeks stabilizing policies that perform reliably under adversarial disturbances, with $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ control as a classical formulation. It is known that policy optimization of robust $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ control naturally lead to nonsmooth and nonconvex problems. This paper builds on recent advances in nonsmooth optimization to analyze discrete-time static output-feedback $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ control. We show that the $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ cost is weakly convex over any convex subset of a sublevel set. This structural property allows us to establish the first non-asymptotic deterministic convergence rate for the subgradient method under suitable assumptions. In addition, we prove a weak Polyak-Łojasiewicz (PL) inequality in the state-feedback case, implying that all stationary points are globally optimal. We finally present a few numerical examples to validate the theoretical results.

Authors:Praveen Kumar Ranjan, Abhinav Sinha, Yongcan Cao
Title: Safety-Critical Input-Constrained Nonlinear Intercept Guidance in Multiple Engagement Zones
Abstract:
This paper presents an input-constrained nonlinear guidance law to address the problem of intercepting a stationary target in contested environments with multiple defending agents. Contrary to prior approaches that rely on explicit knowledge of defender strategies or utilize conservative safety conditions based on a defender's range, our work characterizes defender threats geometrically through engagement zones that delineate inevitable interception regions. Outside these engagement zones, the interceptor remains invulnerable. The proposed guidance law switches between a repulsive safety maneuver near these zones and a pursuit maneuver outside their influence. To deal with multiple engagement zones, we employ a smooth minimum function (log-sum-exponent approximation) that aggregates threats from all the zones while prioritizing the most critical threats. Input saturation is modeled and embedded in the non-holonomic vehicle dynamics so the controller respects actuator limits while maintaining stability. Numerical simulations with several defenders demonstrate the proposed method's ability to avoid engagement zones and achieve interception across diverse initial conditions.

Authors:Umer Siddique, Abhinav Sinha, Yongcan Cao
Title: Adaptive Event-Triggered Policy Gradient for Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Conventional multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) methods rely on time-triggered execution, where agents sample and communicate actions at fixed intervals. This approach is often computationally expensive and communication-intensive. To address this limitation, we propose ET-MAPG (Event-Triggered Multi-Agent Policy Gradient reinforcement learning), a framework that jointly learns an agent's control policy and its event-triggering policy. Unlike prior work that decouples these mechanisms, ET-MAPG integrates them into a unified learning process, enabling agents to learn not only what action to take but also when to execute it. For scenarios with inter-agent communication, we introduce AET-MAPG, an attention-based variant that leverages a self-attention mechanism to learn selective communication patterns. AET-MAPG empowers agents to determine not only when to trigger an action but also with whom to communicate and what information to exchange, thereby optimizing coordination. Both methods can be integrated with any policy gradient MARL algorithm. Extensive experiments across diverse MARL benchmarks demonstrate that our approaches achieve performance comparable to state-of-the-art, time-triggered baselines while significantly reducing both computational load and communication overhead.

Authors:Zhiyuan Ren, Zhiliang Shuai, Wenchi Cheng
Title: System Relaxation for Interpretable and Adaptive Network Control
Abstract:
Prevailing network control strategies, which rely on static shortest-path logic, suffer from catastrophic "stress concentration" on critical nodes. This paper introduces the System Relaxation Algorithm (SRA), a new control paradigm inspired by physical relaxation that guides a network toward an emergent equilibrium of load balance. SRA is an interpretable, 'white-box' dynamical system whose behavior is profoundly topology-dependent: in heterogeneous networks, it acts as a proactive performance optimizer, reducing peak centrality by over 80\% and increasing high-load throughput by more than 45\%; in homogeneous topologies, its objective intelligently shifts to resilience enhancement. We rigorously prove its global convergence and practical stability using the theory of non-smooth dynamical systems, establishing a predictable paradigm for network governance that intelligently trades off performance and resilience.

Authors:Guangjin Pan, Liping Bai, Zhuojun Tian, Hui Chen, Mehdi Bennis, Henk Wymeersch
Title: Active Inference Framework for Closed-Loop Sensing, Communication, and Control in UAV Systems
Abstract:
Integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) is a core technology for 6G, and its application to closed-loop sensing, communication, and control (SCC) enables various services. Existing SCC solutions often treat sensing and control separately, leading to suboptimal performance and resource usage. In this work, we introduce the active inference framework (AIF) into SCC-enabled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems for joint state estimation, control, and sensing resource allocation. By formulating a unified generative model, the problem reduces to minimizing variational free energy for inference and expected free energy for action planning. Simulation results show that both control cost and sensing cost are reduced relative to baselines.

Authors:Ruining Yang, Jingyuan Zhou, Qiqing Wang, Jinhao Liang, Kaidi Yang
Title: Platoon-Centric Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory Using Safe Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
With recent advancements in Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs), Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory (GLOSA) emerges as a promising eco-driving strategy to reduce the number of stops and idle time at intersections, thereby reducing energy consumption and emissions. Existing studies typically improve energy and travel efficiency for individual CAVs without considering their impacts on the entire mixed-traffic platoon, leading to inefficient traffic flow. While Reinforcement Learning (RL) has the potential to achieve platoon-level control in a mixed-traffic environment, the training of RL is still challenged by (i) car-following safety, i.e., CAVs should not collide with their immediate preceding vehicles, and (ii) red-light safety, i.e., CAVs should not run red lights. To address these challenges, this paper develops a platoon-centric, safe RL-based GLOSA system that uses a multi-agent controller to optimize CAV speed while achieving a balance between energy consumption and travel efficiency. We further incorporate Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) into the RL-based policy to provide explicit safety guarantees in terms of car-following safety and red-light safety. Our simulation results illustrate that our proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of driving safety and platoon energy consumption.

Authors:Armin Abdolmohammadi, Navid Mojahed, Bahram Ravani, Shima Nazari
Title: Optimal Path Planning for Wheel Loader Automation Enabled by Efficient Soil-Tool Interaction Modeling
Abstract:
Earthmoving operations with wheel loaders require substantial power and incur high operational costs. This work presents an efficient automation framework based on the Fundamental Earthmoving Equation (FEE) for soil-tool interaction modeling. A reduced-order multi-step parameter estimation method guided by Sobol's global sensitivity analysis is deployed for accurate, online excavation force prediction. An optimal control problem is then formulated to compute energy-efficient bucket trajectories using soil parameters identified in the previous digging cycle. High-fidelity simulations in Algoryx Dynamics confirm accurate force prediction and demonstrate 15-40% energy savings compared to standard paths. The total computation time is comparable to a single digging cycle, highlighting the framework's potential for real-time, energy-optimized wheel loader automation.

Authors:Jingyuan Zhou, Haoze Wu, Haokun Yu, Kaidi Yang
Title: Scalable Synthesis and Verification of String Stable Neural Certificates for Interconnected Systems
Abstract:
Ensuring string stability is critical for the safety and efficiency of large-scale interconnected systems. Although learning-based controllers (e.g., those based on reinforcement learning) have demonstrated strong performance in complex control scenarios, their black-box nature hinders formal guarantees of string stability. To address this gap, we propose a novel verification and synthesis framework that integrates discrete-time scalable input-to-state stability (sISS) with neural network verification to formally guarantee string stability in interconnected systems. Our contributions are four-fold. First, we establish a formal framework for synthesizing and robustly verifying discrete-time scalable input-to-state stability (sISS) certificates for neural network-based interconnected systems. Specifically, our approach extends the notion of sISS to discrete-time settings, constructs neural sISS certificates, and introduces a verification procedure that ensures string stability while explicitly accounting for discrepancies between the true dynamics and their neural approximations. Second, we establish theoretical foundations and algorithms to scale the training and verification pipeline to large-scale interconnected systems. Third, we extend the framework to handle systems with external control inputs, thereby allowing the joint synthesis and verification of neural certificates and controllers. Fourth, we validate our approach in scenarios of mixed-autonomy platoons, drone formations, and microgrids. Numerical simulations show that the proposed framework not only guarantees sISS with minimal degradation in control performance but also efficiently trains and verifies controllers for large-scale interconnected systems under specific practical conditions.

Authors:Alexander Von Moll, Dipankar Maity, Meir Pachter, Daigo Shishika, Michael Dorothy
Title: Target Defense Using a Turret and Mobile Defender Team
Abstract:
A scenario is considered wherein a stationary, turn constrained agent (Turret) and a mobile agent (Defender) cooperate to protect the former from an adversarial mobile agent (Attacker). The Attacker wishes to reach the Turret prior to getting captured by either the Defender or Turret, if possible. Meanwhile, the Defender and Turret seek to capture the Attacker as far from the Turret as possible. This scenario is formulated as a differential game and solved using a geometric approach. Necessary and sufficient conditions for the Turret-Defender team winning and the Attacker winning are given. In the case of the Turret-Defender team winning equilibrium strategies for the min max terminal distance of the Attacker to the Turret are given. Three cases arise corresponding to solo capture by the Defender, solo capture by the Turret, and capture simultaneously by both Turret and Defender.

Authors:Luca Ballotta, Juncal Arbelaiz, Vijay Gupta, Luca Schenato, Mihailo R. Jovanović
Title: The role of communication delays in the optimal control of spatially invariant systems
Abstract:
We study optimal proportional feedback controllers for spatially invariant systems when the controller has access to delayed state measurements received from different spatial locations. We analyze how delays affect the spatial locality of the optimal feedback gain leveraging the problem decoupling in the spatial frequency domain. For the cases of expensive control and small delay, we provide exact expressions of the optimal controllers in the limit for infinite control weight and vanishing delay, respectively. In the expensive control regime, the optimal feedback control law decomposes into a delay-aware filtering of the delayed state and the optimal controller in the delay-free setting. Under small delays, the optimal controller is a perturbation of the delay-free one which depends linearly on the delay. We illustrate our analytical findings with a reaction-diffusion process over the real line and a multi-agent system coupled through circulant matrices, showing that delays reduce the effectiveness of optimal feedback control and may require each subsystem within a distributed implementation to communicate with farther-away locations.

Authors:Luke Snow, Vikram Krishnamurthy
Title: Multi-Agent Inverse Reinforcement Learning for Identifying Pareto-Efficient Coordination -- A Distributionally Robust Approach
Abstract:
Multi-agent inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) aims to identify Pareto-efficient behavior in a multi-agent system, and reconstruct utility functions of the individual agents. Motivated by the problem of detecting UAV coordination, how can we construct a statistical detector for Pareto-efficient behavior given noisy measurements of the decisions of a multi-agent system? This paper approaches this IRL problem by deriving necessary and sufficient conditions for a dataset of multi-agent system dynamics to be consistent with Pareto-efficient coordination, and providing algorithms for recovering utility functions which are consistent with the system dynamics. We derive an optimal statistical detector for determining Pareto-efficient coordination from noisy system measurements, which minimizes Type-I statistical detection error. Then, we provide a utility estimation algorithm which minimizes the worst-case estimation error over a statistical ambiguity set centered at empirical observations; this min-max solution achieves distributionally robust IRL, which is crucial in adversarial strategic interactions. We illustrate these results in a detailed example for detecting Pareto-efficient coordination among multiple UAVs given noisy measurement recorded at a radar. We then reconstruct the utility functions of the UAVs in a distributionally robust sense.

Authors:Shiqi Xu, Lihao Zhang, Yuyang Du, Qun Yang, Soung Chang Liew
Title: A Hybrid TDMA/CSMA Protocol for Time-Sensitive Traffic in Robot Applications
Abstract:
Recent progress in robotics has underscored the demand for real-time control in applications such as manufacturing, healthcare, and autonomous systems, where the timely delivery of mission-critical commands under heterogeneous robotic traffic is paramount for operational efficacy and safety. In these scenarios, mission-critical traffic follows a strict deadline-constrained communication pattern: commands must arrive within defined QoS deadlines, otherwise late arrivals can degrade performance or destabilize control loops.In this work, we demonstrate on a real-time SDR platform that CSMA, widely adopted in robotic communications,suffers severe degradation under high robot traffic loads, with contention-induced collisions and delays disrupting the on-time arrival of mission-critical packets. To address this problem, we propose an IEEE 802.11-compatible hybrid TDMA/CSMA protocol that combines TDMA's deterministic slot scheduling with CSMA's adaptability for heterogeneous robot traffic.The protocol achieves collision-free, low-latency mission-critical command delivery and IEEE 802.11 compatibility through the synergistic integration of sub-microsecond PTP-based slot synchronization-essential for establishing precise timing for TDMA, a three-session superframe with dynamic TDMA allocation for structured and adaptable traffic management,and beacon-NAV protection to preemptively secure these critical communication sessions from interference. Emulation experiments on real-time SDR testbed and Robot Operating System (ROS) simulation show that the proposed protocol reduces missed-deadline errors by 93% compared to the CSMA baseline. In high-speed robot path-tracking ROS simulations, the protocol lowers Root Mean Square (RMS) trajectory error by up to 90% compared with a CSMA baseline, all while maintaining throughput for non-critical traffic within +-2%.

Authors:Feng-Yi Liao, Yang Zheng
Title: A Proximal Descent Method for Minimizing Weakly Convex Optimization
Abstract:
We study the problem of minimizing a $m$-weakly convex and possibly nonsmooth function. Weak convexity provides a broad framework that subsumes convex, smooth, and many composite nonconvex functions. In this work, we propose a $\textit{proximal descent method}$, a simple and efficient first-order algorithm that combines the inexact proximal point method with classical convex bundle techniques. Our analysis establishes explicit non-asymptotic convergence rates in terms of $(η,ε)$-inexact stationarity. In particular, the method finds an $(η,ε)$-inexact stationary point using at most $\mathcal{O}\!\left( \Big(\tfrac{1}{η^2} + \tfrac{1}ε\Big) \max\!\left\{\tfrac{1}{η^2}, \tfrac{1}ε\right\} \right)$ function value and subgradient evaluations. Consequently, the algorithm also achieves the best-known complexity of $\mathcal{O}(1/δ^4)$ for finding an approximate Moreau stationary point with $\|\nabla f_{2m}(x)\|\leq δ$. A distinctive feature of our method is its \emph{automatic adaptivity}: with no parameter tuning or algorithmic modification, it accelerates to $\mathcal{O}(1/δ^2)$ complexity under smoothness and further achieves linear convergence under quadratic growth. Overall, this work bridges convex bundle methods and weakly convex optimization, while providing accelerated guarantees under structural assumptions.

Authors:Mohammad Rajabdorri, Bo Zhou, Lukas Sigrist, Enrique Lobato
Title: Implementing General-Order Frequency Dynamic Response Model and Frequency Excursion Duration Criterion in Unit Commitment Problem
Abstract:
This paper introduces a novel approach for incorporating frequency dynamics into the unit commitment (UC) problem through a general-order differential equation model, solved using Bernstein polynomial approximation. Traditional frequency-constrained UC (FCUC) models typically rely on simplified first-order assumptions or scalar frequency metrics, such as frequency nadir, to indirectly enforce dynamic behavior. In contrast, our formulation explicitly models time-domain frequency response using second-order dynamics, enabling a more accurate and flexible representation of generator behavior. The resulting differential equations are approximated with high fidelity using Bernstein polynomials, leading to a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) formulation that remains computationally tractable for small-scale power systems. Additionally, we introduce a new constraint based on the duration of frequency excursions below a critical threshold, motivated by practical concerns such as relay operation and equipment protection. A data-driven method is employed to relate the area under this threshold-computed as the integral of the Bernstein approximation-to the duration of frequency deviation. The proposed framework is validated using real-world data from an island system in Spain, demonstrating enhanced frequency security with a moderate increase in operational cost. These results suggest the method's strong potential for application in low-inertia, small-scale power systems.

Authors:Rui Bai, Rui Xu, Teng Rui, Jiale Liu, Qi Wei Oung, Hoi Leong Lee, Zhen Tian, Fujiang Yuan
Title: Safe and Efficient Lane-Changing for Autonomous Vehicles: An Improved Double Quintic Polynomial Approach with Time-to-Collision Evaluation
Abstract:
Autonomous driving technology has made significant advancements in recent years, yet challenges remain in ensuring safe and comfortable interactions with human-driven vehicles (HDVs), particularly during lane-changing maneuvers. This paper proposes an improved double quintic polynomial approach for safe and efficient lane-changing in mixed traffic environments. The proposed method integrates a time-to-collision (TTC) based evaluation mechanism directly into the trajectory optimization process, ensuring that the ego vehicle proactively maintains a safe gap from surrounding HDVs throughout the maneuver. The framework comprises state estimation for both the autonomous vehicle (AV) and HDVs, trajectory generation using double quintic polynomials, real-time TTC computation, and adaptive trajectory evaluation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to embed an analytic TTC penalty directly into the closed-form double-quintic polynomial solver, enabling real-time safety-aware trajectory generation without post-hoc validation. Extensive simulations conducted under diverse traffic scenarios demonstrate the safety, efficiency, and comfort of the proposed approach compared to conventional methods such as quintic polynomials, Bezier curves, and B-splines. The results highlight that the improved method not only avoids collisions but also ensures smooth transitions and adaptive decision-making in dynamic environments. This work bridges the gap between model-based and adaptive trajectory planning approaches, offering a stable solution for real-world autonomous driving applications.

Authors:Lorenzo Zino, Mattia Boggio, Deborah Volpe, Giacomo Orlandi, Giovanna Turvani, Carlo Novara
Title: A Quantum-Compliant Formulation for Network Epidemic Control
Abstract:
We deal with controlling the spread of an epidemic disease on a network by isolating one or multiple locations by banning people from leaving them. To this aim, we build on the susceptible-infected-susceptible and the susceptible-infected-removed discrete-time network models, encapsulating a control action that captures mobility bans via removing links from the network. Then, we formulate the problem of optimally devising a control policy based on mobility bans that trades-off the burden on the healthcare system and the social and economic costs associated with interventions. The binary nature of mobility bans hampers the possibility to solve the control problem with standard optimization methods, yielding a NP-hard problem. Here, this is tackled by deriving a Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) formulation of the control problem, and leveraging the growing potentialities of quantum computing to efficiently solve it.

Authors:Chi Kit Ng, Huxin Gao, Tian-Ao Ren, Jiewen Lai, Hongliang Ren
Title: Contact-Aided Navigation of Flexible Robotic Endoscope Using Deep Reinforcement Learning in Dynamic Stomach
Abstract:
Navigating a flexible robotic endoscope (FRE) through the gastrointestinal tract is critical for surgical diagnosis and treatment. However, navigation in the dynamic stomach is particularly challenging because the FRE must learn to effectively use contact with the deformable stomach walls to reach target locations. To address this, we introduce a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) based Contact-Aided Navigation (CAN) strategy for FREs, leveraging contact force feedback to enhance motion stability and navigation precision. The training environment is established using a physics-based finite element method (FEM) simulation of a deformable stomach. Trained with the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm, our approach achieves high navigation success rates (within 3 mm error between the FRE's end-effector and target) and significantly outperforms baseline policies. In both static and dynamic stomach environments, the CAN agent achieved a 100% success rate with 1.6 mm average error, and it maintained an 85% success rate in challenging unseen scenarios with stronger external disturbances. These results validate that the DRL-based CAN strategy substantially enhances FRE navigation performance over prior methods.

Authors:Anant A. Joshi, Saviz Mowlavi, Mouhacine Benosman
Title: A Dual Ensemble Kalman Filter Approach to Robust Control of Nonlinear Systems: An Application to Partial Differential Equations
Abstract:
This paper considers the problem of data-driven robust control design for nonlinear systems, for instance, obtained when discretizing nonlinear partial differential equations (PDEs). A robust learning control approach is developed for nonlinear affine in control systems based on Lyapunov redesign technique. The robust control is developed as a sum of an optimal learning control which stabilizes the system in absence of disturbances, and an additive Lyapunov-based robustification term which handles the effects of disturbances. The dual ensemble Kalman filter (dual EnKF) algorithm is utilized in the optimal control design methodology. A simulation study is done on the heat equation and Burgers partial differential equation.

Authors:Fabian Raisch, Max Langtry, Felix Koch, Ruchi Choudhary, Christoph Goebel, Benjamin Tischler
Title: Adapting to Change: A Comparison of Continual and Transfer Learning for Modeling Building Thermal Dynamics under Concept Drifts
Abstract:
Transfer Learning (TL) is currently the most effective approach for modeling building thermal dynamics when only limited data are available. TL uses a pretrained model that is fine-tuned to a specific target building. However, it remains unclear how to proceed after initial fine-tuning, as more operational measurement data are collected over time. This challenge becomes even more complex when the dynamics of the building change, for example, after a retrofit or a change in occupancy. In Machine Learning literature, Continual Learning (CL) methods are used to update models of changing systems. TL approaches can also address this challenge by reusing the pretrained model at each update step and fine-tuning it with new measurement data. A comprehensive study on how to incorporate new measurement data over time to improve prediction accuracy and address the challenges of concept drifts (changes in dynamics) for building thermal dynamics is still missing. Therefore, this study compares several CL and TL strategies, as well as a model trained from scratch, for thermal dynamics modeling during building operation. The methods are evaluated using 5--7 years of simulated data representative of single-family houses in Central Europe, including scenarios with concept drifts from retrofits and changes in occupancy. We propose a CL strategy (Seasonal Memory Learning) that provides greater accuracy improvements than existing CL and TL methods, while maintaining low computational effort. SML outperformed the benchmark of initial fine-tuning by 28.1\% without concept drifts and 34.9\% with concept drifts.

Authors:Evagoras Makridis, Gabriele Oliva, Themistoklis Charalambous
Title: Multi-cluster distributed optimization in open multi-agent systems over directed graphs with acknowledgement messages
Abstract:
In this paper, we tackle the problem of distributed optimization over directed networks in open multi-agent systems (OMAS), where agents may dynamically join or leave, causing persistent changes in network topology and problem dimension. These disruptions not only pose significant challenges to maintaining convergence and stability in distributed optimization algorithms, but could also break the network topology into multiple clusters, each one associated with its own set of objective functions. To address this, we propose a novel Open Distributed Optimization Algorithm with Gradient Tracking (OPEN-GT), which employs: (a) a dynamic mechanism for detecting active out-neighbors through acknowledgement messages, and (b) a fully distributed max-consensus procedure to spread information regarding agent departures, in possibly unbalanced directed networks. We show that when all active agents execute OPEN-GT, the optimization process in each formed cluster remains consistent, while the agents converge to their cluster-wide optimal solution if there exists a time after which the network remains unchanged. Finally, we validate our approach in a simulated environment with dynamically changing agent populations, demonstrating its resilience to network variations and its ability to support distributed optimization under OMAS dynamics.

Authors:Yang Li, Hanjie Wang, Yuanzheng Li, Jiazheng Li, Zhaoyang Dong
Title: ZTFed-MAS2S: A Zero-Trust Federated Learning Framework with Verifiable Privacy and Trust-Aware Aggregation for Wind Power Data Imputation
Abstract:
Wind power data often suffers from missing values due to sensor faults and unstable transmission at edge sites. While federated learning enables privacy-preserving collaboration without sharing raw data, it remains vulnerable to anomalous updates and privacy leakage during parameter exchange. These challenges are amplified in open industrial environments, necessitating zero-trust mechanisms where no participant is inherently trusted. To address these challenges, this work proposes ZTFed-MAS2S, a zero-trust federated learning framework that integrates a multi-head attention-based sequence-to-sequence imputation model. ZTFed integrates verifiable differential privacy with non-interactive zero-knowledge proofs and a confidentiality and integrity verification mechanism to ensure verifiable privacy preservation and secure model parameters transmission. A dynamic trust-aware aggregation mechanism is employed, where trust is propagated over similarity graphs to enhance robustness, and communication overhead is reduced via sparsity- and quantization-based compression. MAS2S captures long-term dependencies in wind power data for accurate imputation. Extensive experiments on real-world wind farm datasets validate the superiority of ZTFed-MAS2S in both federated learning performance and missing data imputation, demonstrating its effectiveness as a secure and efficient solution for practical applications in the energy sector.

Authors:Dilermando Almeida, Guilherme Lazzarini, Juliano Negri, Thiago H. Segreto, Ricardo V. Godoy, Marcelo Becker
Title: Optimizing Grasping in Legged Robots: A Deep Learning Approach to Loco-Manipulation
Abstract:
Quadruped robots have emerged as highly efficient and versatile platforms, excelling in navigating complex and unstructured terrains where traditional wheeled robots might fail. Equipping these robots with manipulator arms unlocks the advanced capability of loco-manipulation to perform complex physical interaction tasks in areas ranging from industrial automation to search-and-rescue missions. However, achieving precise and adaptable grasping in such dynamic scenarios remains a significant challenge, often hindered by the need for extensive real-world calibration and pre-programmed grasp configurations. This paper introduces a deep learning framework designed to enhance the grasping capabilities of quadrupeds equipped with arms, focusing on improved precision and adaptability. Our approach centers on a sim-to-real methodology that minimizes reliance on physical data collection. We developed a pipeline within the Genesis simulation environment to generate a synthetic dataset of grasp attempts on common objects. By simulating thousands of interactions from various perspectives, we created pixel-wise annotated grasp-quality maps to serve as the ground truth for our model. This dataset was used to train a custom CNN with a U-Net-like architecture that processes multi-modal input from an onboard RGB and depth cameras, including RGB images, depth maps, segmentation masks, and surface normal maps. The trained model outputs a grasp-quality heatmap to identify the optimal grasp point. We validated the complete framework on a four-legged robot. The system successfully executed a full loco-manipulation task: autonomously navigating to a target object, perceiving it with its sensors, predicting the optimal grasp pose using our model, and performing a precise grasp. This work proves that leveraging simulated training with advanced sensing offers a scalable and effective solution for object handling.

Authors:Marco S. Tayar, Lucas K. de Oliveira, Juliano D. Negri, Thiago H. Segreto, Ricardo V. Godoy, Marcelo Becker
Title: Autonomous UAV Flight Navigation in Confined Spaces: A Reinforcement Learning Approach
Abstract:
Inspecting confined industrial infrastructure, such as ventilation shafts, is a hazardous and inefficient task for humans. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer a promising alternative, but GPS-denied environments require robust control policies to prevent collisions. Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) has emerged as a powerful framework for developing such policies, and this paper provides a comparative study of two leading DRL algorithms for this task: the on-policy Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) and the off-policy Soft Actor-Critic (SAC). The training was conducted with procedurally generated duct environments in Genesis simulation environment. A reward function was designed to guide a drone through a series of waypoints while applying a significant penalty for collisions. PPO learned a stable policy that completed all evaluation episodes without collision, producing smooth trajectories. By contrast, SAC consistently converged to a suboptimal behavior that traversed only the initial segments before failure. These results suggest that, in hazard-dense navigation, the training stability of on-policy methods can outweigh the nominal sample efficiency of off-policy algorithms. More broadly, the study provides evidence that procedurally generated, high-fidelity simulations are effective testbeds for developing and benchmarking robust navigation policies.

Authors:Murilo Vinicius da Silva, Matheus Hipolito Carvalho, Juliano Negri, Thiago Segreto, Gustavo J. G. Lahr, Ricardo V. Godoy, Marcelo Becker
Title: A Vision-Based Shared-Control Teleoperation Scheme for Controlling the Robotic Arm of a Four-Legged Robot
Abstract:
In hazardous and remote environments, robotic systems perform critical tasks demanding improved safety and efficiency. Among these, quadruped robots with manipulator arms offer mobility and versatility for complex operations. However, teleoperating quadruped robots is challenging due to the lack of integrated obstacle detection and intuitive control methods for the robotic arm, increasing collision risks in confined or dynamically changing workspaces. Teleoperation via joysticks or pads can be non-intuitive and demands a high level of expertise due to its complexity, culminating in a high cognitive load on the operator. To address this challenge, a teleoperation approach that directly maps human arm movements to the robotic manipulator offers a simpler and more accessible solution. This work proposes an intuitive remote control by leveraging a vision-based pose estimation pipeline that utilizes an external camera with a machine learning-based model to detect the operator's wrist position. The system maps these wrist movements into robotic arm commands to control the robot's arm in real-time. A trajectory planner ensures safe teleoperation by detecting and preventing collisions with both obstacles and the robotic arm itself. The system was validated on the real robot, demonstrating robust performance in real-time control. This teleoperation approach provides a cost-effective solution for industrial applications where safety, precision, and ease of use are paramount, ensuring reliable and intuitive robotic control in high-risk environments.

Authors:Vasileios Kouvakis, Stylianos E. Trevlakis, Alexandros-Apostolos A. Boulogeorgos, Hongwu Liu, Theodoros A. Tsiftsis, Octavia A. Dobre
Title: Markov Chain-based Model of Blockchain Radio Access Networks
Abstract:
Security has always been a priority, for researchers, service providers and network operators when it comes to radio access networks (RAN). One wireless access approach that has captured attention is blockchain enabled RAN (B-RAN) due to its secure nature. This research introduces a framework that integrates blockchain technology into RAN while also addressing the limitations of state-of-the-art models. The proposed framework utilizes queuing and Markov chain theory to model the aspects of B-RAN. An extensive evaluation of the models performance is provided, including an analysis of timing factors and a focused assessment of its security aspects. The results demonstrate reduced latency and comparable security making the presented framework suitable for diverse application scenarios.

Authors:Yuyang Du, Qun Yang, Liujianfu Wang, Jingqi Lin, Hongwei Cui, Soung Chang Liew
Title: LLMind 2.0: Distributed IoT Automation with Natural Language M2M Communication and Lightweight LLM Agents
Abstract:
Recent advances in large language models (LLMs) have sparked interest in their application to IoT and automation systems, particularly for facilitating device management through natural language instructions. However, existing centralized approaches face significant scalability challenges when managing and coordinating the collaboration between IoT devices of diverse capabilities in large-scale heterogeneous IoT systems. This paper introduces LLMind 2.0, a distributed IoT automation framework that addresses the scalability challenges through lightweight LLM-empowered device agents via natural language-based machine-to-machine (M2M) communication. Unlike previous LLM-controlled automation systems that rely on a centralized coordinator to generate device-specific code to be executed on individual devices, LLMind 2.0 distributes intelligence across individual devices through lightweight LLMs embedded in IoT devices. The central coordinator translates human instructions into simple subtasks described in natural human language, which are then processed by device-specific agents to generate device-specific code locally at the associated devices. This approach transcends device heterogeneity barriers by using natural language as a unified communication medium, enabling seamless collaboration between devices from different manufacturers. The system incorporates several key innovations: a Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) mechanism for accurate subtask-to-API mapping, fine-tuned lightweight LLMs for reliable code generation, and a finite state machine-based task execution framework. Experimental validation in multi-robot warehouse scenarios and real-world WiFi network deployments demonstrates significant improvements in scalability, reliability, and privacy protection compared to the centralized approach.

Authors:Chenyu Tang, Yu Zhu, Josée Mallah, Wentian Yi, Luyao Jin, Zibo Zhang, Shengbo Wang, Muzi Xu, Ming Shen, Calvin Kalun Or, Shuo Gao, Shaoping Bai, Luigi G. Occhipinti
Title: A layered smart sensing platform for physiologically informed human-exoskeleton interaction
Abstract:
Wearable exoskeletons offer transformative potential to assist mobility across diverse user groups with reduced muscle strength or other forms of impaired mobility. Yet, their deployment beyond laboratory settings remains constrained by sensing systems able to fully capture users' physiological and biomechanical states in real time. We introduce a soft, lightweight smart leg sleeve with anatomically inspired layered multimodal sensing, integrating textile-based surface electromyography (sEMG) electrodes, ultrasensitive textile strain sensors, and inertial measurement units (IMUs). Each sensing modality targets a distinct physiological layer: IMUs track joint kinematics at the skeletal level, sEMG monitors muscle activation at the muscular level, and strain sensors detect skin deformation at the cutaneous level. Together, these sensors provide real-time perception to support three core objectives: controlling personalized assistance, optimizing user effort, and safeguarding against injury risks. The system is skin-conformal, mechanically compliant, and seamlessly integrated with a custom exoskeleton (<20 g total sensor and electronics weight). We demonstrate: (1) accurate ankle joint moment estimation (RMSE = 0.13 Nm/kg), (2) real-time classification of metabolic trends (accuracy = 97.1%), and (3) injury risk detection within 100 ms (recall = 0.96), all validated on unseen users using a leave-one-subject-out protocol. This work demonstrates a lightweight, multimodal sensing architecture for next-generation human-exoskeleton interaction in controlled and semi-structured walking scenarios, with potential for scaling to broader exoskeleton applications towards intelligent, responsive, and personalized wearable robotics.

Authors:Giacomo Oliveri, Francesco Zardi, Aaron Angel Salas Sanchez, Andrea Massa
Title: Multi-Functional Polarization-Based Coverage Control through Static Passive EMSs
Abstract:
An innovative multi-functional static-passive electromagnetic skin (SP-EMS) solution is proposed to simultaneously support, in reflection, two independent wave-manipulation functionalities with a single meta-atoms arrangement on the EMS aperture when illuminated by two EM sources operating at the same frequency, but working in different polarization states. Towards this end, a simple reference meta-atom is designed first to enable an accurate and independent control of each polarization component of the local reflection tensor. Successively, the macro-scale synthesis of multi-polarization (MP) SP-EMSs (MP-SP-EMSs) is carried out by solving a global optimization problem where a cost function, which mathematically codes separate requirements for each polarization, is minimized with a customized version of the system-by-design (SbD) technique. Representative results from a set of numerical and experimental tests are reported to assess the feasibility of a multi-function EMS based on polarization diversity as well as the effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed method for the synthesis of MP-SP-EMSs.

Authors:Jason J. Choi, Claire J. Tomlin, Shankar Sastry, Koushil Sreenath
Title: When are safety filters safe? On minimum phase conditions of control barrier functions
Abstract:
In emerging control applications involving multiple and complex tasks, safety filters are gaining prominence as a modular approach to enforcing safety constraints. Among various methods, control barrier functions (CBFs) are widely used for designing safety filters due to their simplicity, imposing a single linear constraint on the control input at each state. In this work, we focus on the internal dynamics of systems governed by CBF-constrained control laws. Our key observation is that, although CBFs guarantee safety by enforcing state constraints, they can inadvertently be "unsafe" by causing the internal state to diverge. We investigate the conditions under which the full system state, including the internal state, can remain bounded under a CBF-based safety filter. Drawing inspiration from the input-output linearization literature, where boundedness is ensured by minimum phase conditions, we propose a new set of CBF minimum phase conditions tailored to the structure imposed by the CBF constraint. A critical distinction from the original minimum phase conditions is that the internal dynamics in our setting is driven by a nonnegative virtual control input, which reflects the enforcement of the safety constraint. We include a range of numerical examples, including single-input, multi-input, linear, and nonlinear systems, validating both our analysis and the necessity of the proposed CBF minimum phase conditions.

Authors:Zhiyuan Ren, Zhiliang Shuai, Wenchi Cheng, Kun Yang
Title: Decoupling Structural Heterogeneity from Functional Fairness in Complex Networks: A Theoretical Framework based on the Imbalance Metric
Abstract:
Performance evaluation of complex networks has traditionally focused on structural integrity or average transmission efficiency, perspectives that often overlook the dimension of functional fairness. This raises a central question: Under certain conditions, structurally heterogeneous networks can exhibit high functional fairness. To systematically address this issue, we introduce a new metric, Network Imbalance (I), designed to quantitatively assess end-to-end accessibility fairness from a perceived QoS perspective. By combining a tunable sigmoid function with a global Shannon entropy framework, the I metric quantifies the uniformity of connection experiences between all node pairs. We analyze the mathematical properties of this metric and validate its explanatory power on various classical network models. Our findings reveal that low imbalance (i.e., high functional fairness) can be achieved through two distinct mechanisms: one via topological symmetry (e.g., in a complete graph) and the other via extreme connection efficiency driven by structural inequality (e.g., in a scale-free network). This decoupling of structure and function provides a new theoretical perspective for network performance evaluation and offers an effective quantitative tool for balancing efficiency and fairness in network design.

Authors:Evagoras Makridis, Gabriele Oliva, Apostolos I. Rikos, Themistoklis Charalambous
Title: Average Consensus with Dynamic Compression in Bandwidth-Limited Directed Networks
Abstract:
In this paper, the average consensus problem has been considered for directed unbalanced networks under finite bit-rate communication. We propose the Push-Pull Average Consensus algorithm with Dynamic Compression (PP-ACDC) algorithm, a distributed consensus algorithm that deploys an adaptive quantization scheme and achieves convergence to the exact average without the need of global information. A preliminary numerical convergence analysis and simulation results corroborate the performance of PP-ACDC.

Authors:Bing Li, Haoming Guo, Zhiyuan Ren, Wenchi Cheng, Jialin Hu, Xinke Jian
Title: Collaborative Computing Strategy Based SINS Prediction for Emergency UAVs Network
Abstract:
In emergency scenarios, the dynamic and harsh conditions necessitate timely trajectory adjustments for drones, leading to highly dynamic network topologies and potential task failures. To address these challenges, a collaborative computing strategy based strapdown inertial navigation system (SINS) prediction for emergency UAVs network (EUN) is proposed, where a two-step weighted time expanded graph (WTEG) is constructed to deal with dynamic network topology changes. Furthermore, the task scheduling is formulated as a Directed Acyclic Graph (DAG) to WTEG mapping problem to achieve collaborative computing while transmitting among UAVs. Finally, the binary particle swarm optimization (BPSO) algorithm is employed to choose the mapping strategy that minimizes end-to-end processing latency. The simulation results validate that the collaborative computing strategy significantly outperforms both cloud and local computing in terms of latency. Moreover, the task success rate using SINS is substantially improved compared to approaches without prior prediction.

Authors:Gioele Buriani, Jingyue Liu, Maximilian Stölzle, Cosimo Della Santina, Jiatao Ding
Title: Symbolic Learning of Interpretable Reduced-Order Models for Jumping Quadruped Robots
Abstract:
Reduced-order models are essential for motion planning and control of quadruped robots, as they simplify complex dynamics while preserving critical behaviors. This paper introduces a novel methodology for deriving such interpretable dynamic models, specifically for jumping. We capture the high-dimensional, nonlinear jumping dynamics in a low-dimensional latent space by proposing a learning architecture combining Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamics (SINDy) with physical structural priors on the jump dynamics. Our approach demonstrates superior accuracy to the traditional actuated Spring-loaded Inverted Pendulum (aSLIP) model and is validated through simulation and hardware experiments across different jumping strategies.

Authors:Luke Snow, Vikram Krishnamurthy
Title: Multi-Agent Inverse Learning for Sensor Networks: Identifying Coordination in UAV Networks
Abstract:
Suppose there is an adversarial UAV network being tracked by a radar. How can the radar determine whether the UAVs are coordinating, in some well-defined sense? How can the radar infer the objectives of the individual UAVs and the network as a whole? We present an abstract interpretation of such a strategic interaction, allowing us to conceptualize coordination as a linearly constrained multi-objective optimization problem. Then, we present some tools from microeconomic theory that allow us to detect coordination and reconstruct individual UAV objective functions, from radar tracking signals. This corresponds to performing inverse multi-objective optimization. We present details for how the abstract microeconomic interpretation corresponds to, and naturally arises from, physical-layer radar waveform modulation and multi-target filtering. This article serves as a tutorial, bringing together concepts from several established research contributions in an expository style.

Authors:MohammadHossein Ashoori, Ali Aminzadeh, Amy Nejati, Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: Physics-Informed Data-Driven Control of Nonlinear Polynomial Systems with Noisy Data
Abstract:
This work addresses the critical challenge of guaranteeing safety for complex dynamical systems where precise mathematical models are uncertain and data measurements are corrupted by noise. We develop a physics-informed, direct data-driven framework for synthesizing robust safety controllers (R-SCs) for both discrete- and continuous-time nonlinear polynomial systems that are subject to unknown-but-bounded disturbances. To do so, we introduce a notion of safety through robust control barrier certificates (R-CBCs), which ensure avoidance of (potentially multiple) unsafe regions, offering a less conservative alternative to existing methods based on robust invariant sets. Our core innovation lies in integrating the fundamental physical principles with observed noisy data which drastically reduces data requirements, enabling robust safety analysis with significantly shorter trajectories, compared to purely data-driven methods. To achieve this, the proposed synthesis procedure is formulated as a sum-of-squares (SOS) optimization program that systematically designs the R-CBC and its associated R-SC by leveraging both collected data and underlying physical laws. The efficacy of our framework is demonstrated on four benchmark systems, three discrete-time and one continuous-time nonlinear polynomial systems, confirming its ability to offer robust safety guarantees with reduced data demands.

Authors:Omid Akbarzadeh, Mohammad H. Mamduhi, Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: Safety Controller Synthesis for Stochastic Networked Systems under Communication Constraints
Abstract:
This paper develops a framework for synthesizing safety controllers for discrete-time stochastic linear control systems (dt-SLS) operating under communication imperfections. The control unit is remote and communicates with the sensor and actuator through an imperfect wireless network. We consider a constant delay in the sensor-to-controller channel (uplink), and data loss in both sensor-to-controller and controller-to-actuator (downlink) channels. In our proposed scheme, data loss in each channel is modeled as an independent Bernoulli-distributed random process. To systematically handle the uplink delay, we first introduce an augmented discrete-time stochastic linear system (dt-ASLS) by concatenating all states and control inputs that sufficiently represent the state-input evolution of the original dt-SLS under the delay and packet loss constraints. We then leverage control barrier certificates for dt-ASLS to synthesize a controller that ensures the stochastic safety of dt-SLS, guaranteeing that all trajectories remain outside unsafe regions with a quantified probabilistic bound. Our approach translates safety constraints into matrix inequalities, leading to an optimization problem that eventually quantifies the probability of satisfying the safety specification in the presence of communication imperfections. We validate our results on an RLC circuit subject to both constant delay and probabilistic data loss.

Authors:Giacomo Oliveri, Francesco Zardi, Aaron Angel Salas Sancez, Andrea Massa
Title: One-Time Programmable Passive Electromagnetic Skins
Abstract:
The implementation of simple, inexpensive, and mass-production-oriented solutions for smart electromagnetic environments (SEMEs) is dealt with by introducing the concept of "one-time programmable" electromagnetic skins (OTP-EMSs). The simultaneous achievement of modular fabrication, (one-time) configurable reflection properties, passive-static operation, and zero maintenance is yielded by integrating expendable components at the atomic level of EMSs. Towards this end, an OTP meta-atom structure is properly defined and optimized to build EMSs featuring the desired scenario-dependent EM wave manipulation functionalities. In order to illustrate the features as well as to point out the potentialities of OTP-EMSs, a representative set of analytical, numerical, and experimental results is reported by considering different apertures, illuminations, and EM wave manipulation requirements.

Authors:Rahel Rickenbach, Alan A. Lahoud, Erik Schaffernicht, Melanie N. Zeilinger, Johannes A. Stork
Title: ZipMPC: Compressed Context-Dependent MPC Cost via Imitation Learning
Abstract:
The computational burden of model predictive control (MPC) limits its application on real-time systems, such as robots, and often requires the use of short prediction horizons. This not only affects the control performance, but also increases the difficulty of designing MPC cost functions that reflect the desired long-term objective. This paper proposes ZipMPC, a method that imitates a long-horizon MPC behaviour by learning a compressed and context-dependent cost function for a short-horizon MPC. It improves performance over alternative methods, such as approximate explicit MPC and automatic cost parameter tuning, in particular in terms of i) optimizing the long term objective; ii) maintaining computational costs comparable to a short-horizon MPC; iii) ensuring constraint satisfaction; and iv) generalizing control behaviour to environments not observed during training. For this purpose, ZipMPC leverages the concept of differentiable MPC with neural networks to propagate gradients of the imitation loss through the MPC optimization. We validate our proposed method in simulation and real-world experiments on autonomous racing. ZipMPC consistently completes laps faster than selected baselines, achieving lap times close to the long-horizon MPC baseline. In challenging scenarios where the short-horizon MPC baseline fails to complete a lap, ZipMPC is able to do so. In particular, these performance gains are also observed on tracks unseen during training.

Authors:Rahel Rickenbach, Bruce Lee, René Zurbrügg, Carmen Amo Alonso, Melanie N. Zeilinger
Title: DEMONSTRATE: Zero-shot Language to Robotic Control via Multi-task Demonstration Learning
Abstract:
The integration of large language models (LLMs) with control systems has demonstrated significant potential in various settings, such as task completion with a robotic manipulator. A main reason for this success is the ability of LLMs to perform in-context learning, which, however, strongly relies on the design of task examples, closely related to the target tasks. Consequently, employing LLMs to formulate optimal control problems often requires task examples that contain explicit mathematical expressions, designed by trained engineers. Furthermore, there is often no principled way to evaluate for hallucination before task execution. To address these challenges, we propose DEMONSTRATE, a novel methodology that avoids the use of LLMs for complex optimization problem generations, and instead only relies on the embedding representations of task descriptions. To do this, we leverage tools from inverse optimal control to replace in-context prompt examples with task demonstrations, as well as the concept of multitask learning, which ensures target and example task similarity by construction. Given the fact that hardware demonstrations can easily be collected using teleoperation or guidance of the robot, our approach significantly reduces the reliance on engineering expertise for designing in-context examples. Furthermore, the enforced multitask structure enables learning from few demonstrations and assessment of hallucinations prior to task execution. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method through simulation and hardware experiments involving a robotic arm tasked with tabletop manipulation.

Authors:Mohammad Abtahi, Farhang Motallebi Araghi, Navid Mojahed, Shima Nazari
Title: Deep Bilinear Koopman Model for Real-Time Vehicle Control in Frenet Frame
Abstract:
Accurate modeling and control of autonomous vehicles remain a fundamental challenge due to the nonlinear and coupled nature of vehicle dynamics. While Koopman operator theory offers a framework for deploying powerful linear control techniques, learning a finite-dimensional invariant subspace for high-fidelity modeling continues to be an open problem. This paper presents a deep Koopman approach for modeling and control of vehicle dynamics within the curvilinear Frenet frame. The proposed framework uses a deep neural network architecture to simultaneously learn the Koopman operator and its associated invariant subspace from the data. Input-state bilinear interactions are captured by the algorithm while preserving convexity, which makes it suitable for real-time model predictive control (MPC) application. A multi-step prediction loss is utilized during training to ensure long-horizon prediction capability. To further enhance real-time trajectory tracking performance, the model is integrated with a cumulative error regulator (CER) module, which compensates for model mismatch by mitigating accumulated prediction errors. Closed-loop performance is evaluated through hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) experiments using a CarSim RT model as the target plant, with real-time validation conducted on a dSPACE SCALEXIO system. The proposed controller achieved significant reductions in tracking error relative to baseline controllers, confirming its suitability for real-time implementation in embedded autonomous vehicle systems.

Authors:Wenhan Cao, Tianyi Zhang, Shengbo Eben Li
Title: Algorithm Design and Comparative Test of Natural Gradient Gaussian Approximation Filter
Abstract:
Popular Bayes filters typically rely on linearization techniques such as Taylor series expansion and stochastic linear regression to use the structure of standard Kalman filter. These techniques may introduce large estimation errors in nonlinear and non-Gaussian systems. This paper overviews a recent breakthrough in filtering algorithm design called \textit{N}atural Gr\textit{a}dient Gaussia\textit{n} Appr\textit{o}ximation (NANO) filter and compare its performance over a large class of nonlinear filters. The NANO filter interprets Bayesian filtering as solutions to two distinct optimization problems, which allows to define optimal Gaussian approximation and derive its corresponding extremum conditions. The algorithm design still follows the two-step structure of Bayes filters. In the prediction step, NANO filter calculates the first two moments of the prior distribution, and this process is equivalent to a moment-matching filter. In the update step, natural gradient descent is employed to directly minimize the objective of the update step, thereby avoiding errors caused by model linearization. Comparative tests are conducted on four classic systems, including the damped linear oscillator, sequence forecasting, modified growth model, and robot localization, under Gaussian, Laplace, and Beta noise to evaluate the NANO filter's capability in handling nonlinearity. Additionally, we validate the NANO filter's robustness to data outliers using a satellite attitude estimation example. It is observed that the NANO filter outperforms popular Kalman filters family such as extended Kalman filter (EKF), unscented Kalman filter (UKF), iterated extended Kalman filter (IEKF) and posterior linearization filter (PLF), while having similar computational burden.

Authors:Rahel Rickenbach, Amon Lahr, Melanie N. Zeilinger
Title: Inverse Optimal Control with Constraint Relaxation
Abstract:
Inverse optimal control (IOC) is a promising paradigm for learning and mimicking optimal control strategies from capable demonstrators, or gaining a deeper understanding of their intentions, by estimating an unknown objective function from one or more corresponding optimal control sequences. When computing estimates from demonstrations in environments with safety-preserving inequality constraints, acknowledging their presence in the chosen IOC method is crucial given their strong influence on the final control strategy. However, solution strategies capable of considering inequality constraints, such as the inverse Karush-Kuhn-Tucker approach, rely on their correct activation and fulfillment; a restrictive assumption when dealing with noisy demonstrations. To overcome this problem, we leverage the concept of exact penalty functions for IOC and show preservation of estimation accuracy. Considering noisy demonstrations, we then illustrate how the usage of penalty functions reduces the number of unknown variables and how their approximations enhance the estimation method's capacity to account for wrong constraint activations within a polytopic-constrained environment. The proposed method is evaluated for three systems in simulation, outperforming traditional relaxation approaches for noisy demonstrations.

Authors:Paul Saves, Jasper Bussemaker, Rémi Lafage, Thierry Lefebvre, Nathalie Bartoli, Youssef Diouane, Joseph Morlier
Title: System-of-systems Modeling and Optimization: An Integrated Framework for Intermodal Mobility
Abstract:
For developing innovative systems architectures, modeling and optimization techniques have been central to frame the architecting process and define the optimization and modeling problems. In this context, for system-of-systems the use of efficient dedicated approaches (often physics-based simulations) is highly recommended to reduce the computational complexity of the targeted applications. However, exploring novel architectures using such dedicated approaches might pose challenges for optimization algorithms, including increased evaluation costs and potential failures. To address these challenges, surrogate-based optimization algorithms, such as Bayesian optimization utilizing Gaussian process models have emerged.

Authors:Koki Yamane, Yunhan Li, Masashi Konosu, Koki Inami, Junji Oaki, Sho Sakaino, Toshiaki Tsuji
Title: Fast Bilateral Teleoperation and Imitation Learning Using Sensorless Force Control via Accurate Dynamics Model
Abstract:
In recent years, the advancement of imitation learning has led to increased interest in teleoperating low-cost manipulators to collect demonstration data. However, most existing systems rely on unilateral control, which only transmits target position values. While this approach is easy to implement and suitable for slow, non-contact tasks, it struggles with fast or contact-rich operations due to the absence of force feedback. This work demonstrates that fast teleoperation with force feedback is feasible even with force-sensorless, low-cost manipulators by leveraging 4-channel bilateral control. Based on accurately identified manipulator dynamics, our method integrates nonlinear terms compensation, velocity and external force estimation, and variable gain corresponding to inertial variation. Furthermore, using data collected by 4-channel bilateral control, we show that incorporating force information into both the input and output of learned policies improves performance in imitation learning. These results highlight the practical effectiveness of our system for high-fidelity teleoperation and data collection on affordable hardware.

Authors:Miad Sarvarizadeh, Mohammad Rajabdorri, Enrique Lobato, Lukas Sigrist
Title: A Comparative Study on Frequency-Constrained Unit Commitment Approaches in Island Power Systems
Abstract:
The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources reduces rotating inertia and even frequency control capacity, affecting frequency stability. This challenge is significant in \gls{ips} that already suffer from low inertia and frequency control capacity. This paper presents a comparative study on different \gls{fcuc} formulations applied to \gls{ips}. Then, by considering under-frequency load shedding as a significant measure of frequency stability in \gls{ips}, two indices are presented to fully compare the formulations from system benefits and computational burden perspectives. Simulations conducted on a real Spanish island show that the data-driven corrective \gls{fcuc} formulation has the most advantages among other formulations.

Authors:Miad Sarvarizadeh, Lukas Sigrist, Almudena Rouco, Mohammad Rajabdorri, Enrique Lobato
Title: A Corrective Frequency-Constrained Unit Commitment with Data-driven Estimation of Optimal UFLS in Island Power Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel corrective \gls{fcuc} formulation for island power systems by implementing data-driven constraint learning to estimate the optimal \gls{ufls}. The Tobit model is presented to estimate the optimal amount of \gls{ufls} using the initial rate of change of frequency. The proposed formulation enables co-optimizing operation costs and \gls{ufls}. The aim is to account for optimal \gls{ufls} occurrences during operation planning, without increasing them. This would potentially reduce system operation costs by relaxing the reserve requirement constraint. The performance of the proposed formulation has been analyzed for a Spanish island power system through various simulations. Different daily demand profiles are analyzed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed formulation. Additionally, a sensitivity analysis is conducted to demonstrate the effects of changing the cost associated with \gls{ufls}. The corrective \gls{fcuc} is shown to be capable of reducing system operation costs without jeopardizing the quality of the frequency response in terms of \gls{ufls} occurrence.

Authors:Antonio González-Morgado, Sander Smits, Guillermo Heredia, Anibal Ollero, Alexandre Krupa, François Chaumette, Fabien Spindler, Antonio Franchi, Chiara Gabellieri
Title: Multi-robot Aerial Soft Manipulator For Floating Litter Collection
Abstract:
Removing floating litter from water bodies is crucial to preserving aquatic ecosystems and preventing environmental pollution. In this work, we present a multi-robot aerial soft manipulator for floating litter collection, leveraging the capabilities of aerial robots. The proposed system consists of two aerial robots connected by a flexible rope manipulator, which collects floating litter using a hook-based tool. Compared to single-aerial-robot solutions, the use of two aerial robots increases payload capacity and flight endurance while reducing the downwash effect at the manipulation point, located at the midpoint of the rope. Additionally, we employ an optimization-based rope-shape planner to compute the desired rope shape. The planner incorporates an adaptive behavior that maximizes grasping capabilities near the litter while minimizing rope tension when farther away. The computed rope shape trajectory is controlled by a shape visual servoing controller, which approximates the rope as a parabola. The complete system is validated in outdoor experiments, demonstrating successful grasping operations. An ablation study highlights how the planner's adaptive mechanism improves the success rate of the operation. Furthermore, real-world tests in a water channel confirm the effectiveness of our system in floating litter collection. These results demonstrate the potential of aerial robots for autonomous litter removal in aquatic environments.

Authors:Murad Dawood, Usama Ahmed Siddiquie, Shahram Khorshidi, Maren Bennewitz
Title: Constraint-Aware Reinforcement Learning via Adaptive Action Scaling
Abstract:
Safe reinforcement learning (RL) seeks to mitigate unsafe behaviors that arise from exploration during training by reducing constraint violations while maintaining task performance. Existing approaches typically rely on a single policy to jointly optimize reward and safety, which can cause instability due to conflicting objectives, or they use external safety filters that override actions and require prior system knowledge. In this paper, we propose a modular cost-aware regulator that scales the agent's actions based on predicted constraint violations, preserving exploration through smooth action modulation rather than overriding the policy. The regulator is trained to minimize constraint violations while avoiding degenerate suppression of actions. Our approach integrates seamlessly with off-policy RL methods such as SAC and TD3, and achieves state-of-the-art return-to-cost ratios on Safety Gym locomotion tasks with sparse costs, reducing constraint violations by up to 126 times while increasing returns by over an order of magnitude compared to prior methods.

Authors:Fanfan Lin, Peter Wilson, Xinze Li, Alan Mantooth
Title: Demystifying and Navigating AI Ethics in Power Electronics
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming power electronics, with AI-related publications in IEEE Power Electronics Society selected journals increasing more than fourfold from 2020 to 2025. However, the ethical dimensions of this transformation have received limited attention. This article underscores the urgent need for an ethical framework to guide responsible AI integration in power electronics, not only to prevent AI-related incidents but also to comply with legal and regulatory responsibilities. In this context, this article identifies four core pillars of AI ethics in power electronics: Security & Safety, Explainability & Transparency, Energy Sustainability, and Evolving Roles of Engineers. Each pillar is supported by practical and actionable insights to ensure that ethical principles are embedded in algorithm design, system deployment, and workforce development. The authors advocate for power electronics engineers to lead the ethical discourse, given their deep technical understanding of both AI systems and power conversion technologies. The paper concludes by calling on the IEEE Power Electronics Society to spearhead the establishment of ethical standards and best practices that ensure AI innovations are not only technically advanced but also trustworthy, safe, and sustainable.

Authors:Igor G. Vladimirov, Ian R. Petersen, Guodong Shi
Title: Quantum memory optimisation using finite-horizon, decoherence time and discounted mean-square performance criteria
Abstract:
This paper is concerned with open quantum memory systems for approximately retaining quantum information, such as initial dynamic variables or quantum states to be stored over a bounded time interval. In the Heisenberg picture of quantum dynamics, the deviation of the system variables from their initial values lends itself to closed-form computation in terms of tractable moment dynamics for open quantum harmonic oscillators and finite-level quantum systems governed by linear or quasi-linear Hudson-Parthasarathy quantum stochastic differential equations, respectively. This tractability is used in a recently proposed optimality criterion for varying the system parameters so as to maximise the memory decoherence time when the mean-square deviation achieves a given critical threshold. The memory decoherence time maximisation approach is extended beyond the previously considered low-threshold asymptotic approximation and to Schrödinger type mean-square deviation functionals for the reduced system state governed by the Lindblad master equation. We link this approach with the minimisation of the mean-square deviation functionals at a finite time horizon and with their discounted version which quantifies the averaged performance of the quantum system as a temporary memory under a Poisson flow of storage requests.

Authors:Hamidreza Montazeri Hedesh, Milad Siami
Title: Delay Independent Safe Control with Neural Networks: Positive Lur'e Certificates for Risk Aware Autonomy
Abstract:
We present a risk-aware safety certification method for autonomous, learning enabled control systems. Focusing on two realistic risks, state/input delays and interval matrix uncertainty, we model the neural network (NN) controller with local sector bounds and exploit positivity structure to derive linear, delay-independent certificates that guarantee local exponential stability across admissible uncertainties. To benchmark performance, we adopt and implement a state-of-the-art IQC NN verification pipeline. On representative cases, our positivity-based tests run orders of magnitude faster than SDP-based IQC while certifying regimes the latter cannot-providing scalable safety guarantees that complement risk-aware control.

Authors:Mohammadreza Doostmohammadian, Narahari Kasagatta Ramesh, Alireza Aghasi
Title: Delay-Tolerant Augmented-Consensus-based Distributed Directed Optimization
Abstract:
Distributed optimization finds applications in large-scale machine learning, data processing and classification over multi-agent networks. In real-world scenarios, the communication network of agents may encounter latency that may affect the convergence of the optimization protocol. This paper addresses the case where the information exchange among the agents (computing nodes) over data-transmission channels (links) might be subject to communication time-delays, which is not well addressed in the existing literature. Our proposed algorithm improves the state-of-the-art by handling heterogeneous and arbitrary but bounded and fixed (time-invariant) delays over general strongly-connected directed networks. Arguments from matrix theory, algebraic graph theory, and augmented consensus formulation are applied to prove the convergence to the optimal value. Simulations are provided to verify the results and compare the performance with some existing delay-free algorithms.

Authors:Reza Vafaee, Kian Behzad, Milad Siami, Luca Carlone, Ali Jadbabaie
Title: Non-submodular Visual Attention for Robot Navigation
Abstract:
This paper presents a task-oriented computational framework to enhance Visual-Inertial Navigation (VIN) in robots, addressing challenges such as limited time and energy resources. The framework strategically selects visual features using a Mean Squared Error (MSE)-based, non-submodular objective function and a simplified dynamic anticipation model. To address the NP-hardness of this problem, we introduce four polynomial-time approximation algorithms: a classic greedy method with constant-factor guarantees; a low-rank greedy variant that significantly reduces computational complexity; a randomized greedy sampler that balances efficiency and solution quality; and a linearization-based selector based on a first-order Taylor expansion for near-constant-time execution. We establish rigorous performance bounds by leveraging submodularity ratios, curvature, and element-wise curvature analyses. Extensive experiments on both standardized benchmarks and a custom control-aware platform validate our theoretical results, demonstrating that these methods achieve strong approximation guarantees while enabling real-time deployment.

Authors:Mattia Piazza, Mattia Piccinini, Sebastiano Taddei, Francesco Biral, Enrico Bertolazzi
Title: Real-time Velocity Profile Optimization for Time-Optimal Maneuvering with Generic Acceleration Constraints
Abstract:
The computation of time-optimal velocity profiles along prescribed paths, subject to generic acceleration constraints, is a crucial problem in robot trajectory planning, with particular relevance to autonomous racing. However, the existing methods either support arbitrary acceleration constraints at high computational cost or use conservative box constraints for computational efficiency. We propose FBGA, a new \underline{F}orward-\underline{B}ackward algorithm with \underline{G}eneric \underline{A}cceleration constraints, which achieves both high accuracy and low computation time. FBGA operates forward and backward passes to maximize the velocity profile in short, discretized path segments, while satisfying user-defined performance limits. Tested on five racetracks and two vehicle classes, FBGA handles complex, non-convex acceleration constraints with custom formulations. Its maneuvers and lap times closely match optimal control baselines (within $0.11\%$-$0.36\%$), while being up to three orders of magnitude faster. FBGA maintains high accuracy even with coarse discretization, making it well-suited for online multi-query trajectory planning. Our open-source \texttt{C++} implementation is available at: https://anonymous.4open.science/r/FB_public_RAL.

Authors:Ayush Patnaik, Adam B Zufall, Stephen K Robinson, Xinfan Lin
Title: Machine Learning Detection of Lithium Plating in Lithium-ion Cells: A Gaussian Process Approach
Abstract:
Lithium plating during fast charging is a critical degradation mechanism that accelerates capacity fade and can trigger catastrophic safety failures. Recent work has identified a distinctive dQ/dV peak above 4.0 V as a reliable signature of plating onset; however, conventional methods for computing dQ/dV rely on finite differencing with filtering, which amplifies sensor noise and introduces bias in peak location. In this paper, we propose a Gaussian Process (GP) framework for lithium plating detection by directly modeling the charge-voltage relationship Q(V) as a stochastic process with calibrated uncertainty. Leveraging the property that derivatives of GPs remain GPs, we infer dQ/dV analytically and probabilistically from the posterior, enabling robust detection without ad hoc smoothing. The framework provides three key benefits: (i) noise-aware inference with hyperparameters learned from data, (ii) closed-form derivatives with credible intervals for uncertainty quantification, and (iii) scalability to online variants suitable for embedded BMS. Experimental validation on Li-ion coin cells across a range of C-rates (0.2C-1C) and temperatures (0-40°C) demonstrates that the GP-based method reliably detects plating peaks under low-temperature, high-rate charging, while correctly reporting no peaks in baseline cases. The concurrence of GP-identified differential peaks, reduced charge throughput, and capacity fade measured via reference performance tests confirms the method's accuracy and robustness, establishing a practical pathway for real-time lithium plating detection.

Authors:Benjamin Wong, Aaron Weber, Mohamed M. Safwat, Santosh Devasia, Ashis G. Banerjee
Title: Simulated Annealing for Multi-Robot Ergodic Information Acquisition Using Graph-Based Discretization
Abstract:
One of the goals of active information acquisition using multi-robot teams is to keep the relative uncertainty in each region at the same level to maintain identical acquisition quality (e.g., consistent target detection) in all the regions. To achieve this goal, ergodic coverage can be used to assign the number of samples according to the quality of observation, i.e., sampling noise levels. However, the noise levels are unknown to the robots. Although this noise can be estimated from samples, the estimates are unreliable at first and can generate fluctuating values. The main contribution of this paper is to use simulated annealing to generate the target sampling distribution, starting from uniform and gradually shifting to an estimated optimal distribution, by varying the coldness parameter of a Boltzmann distribution with the estimated sampling entropy as energy. Simulation results show a substantial improvement of both transient and asymptotic entropy compared to both uniform and direct-ergodic searches. Finally, a demonstration is performed with a TurtleBot swarm system to validate the physical applicability of the algorithm.

Authors:Yuting Hu, Jinjun Xiong
Title: Rebuild AC Power Flow Models with Graph Attention Networks
Abstract:
A full power flow (PF) model is a complete representation of the physical power network. Traditional model-based methods rely on the full PF model to implement power flow analysis. In practice, however, some PF model parameters can be inaccurate or even unavailable due to the uncertainties or dynamics in the power systems. Moreover, because the power network keeps evolving with possibly changing topology, the generalizability of a PF model to different network sizes and typologies should be considered. In this paper, we propose a PF rebuild model based on graph attention networks (GAT) by constructing a new graph based on the real and imaginary parts of voltage at each bus. By comparing with two state-of-the-art PF rebuild models for different standard IEEE power system cases and their modified topology variants, we demonstrate the feasibility of our method. Experimental results show that our proposed model achieves better accuracy for a changing network and can generalize to different networks with less accuracy discount.

Authors:Filippos Fotiadis, Quentin Rommel, Gregory Falco, Ufuk Topcu
Title: Adversarial Pursuits in Cislunar Space
Abstract:
Cislunar space is becoming a critical domain for future lunar and interplanetary missions, yet its remoteness, sparse infrastructure, and unstable dynamics create single points of failure. Adversaries in cislunar orbits can exploit these vulnerabilities to pursue and jam co-located communication relays, potentially severing communications between lunar missions and the Earth. We study a pursuit-evasion scenario between two spacecraft in a cislunar orbit, where the evader must avoid a pursuer-jammer while remaining close to its nominal trajectory. We model the evader-pursuer interaction as a zero-sum adversarial differential game cast in the circular restricted three-body problem. This formulation incorporates critical aspects of cislunar orbital dynamics, including autonomous adjustment of the reference orbit phasing to enable aggressive evading maneuvers, and shaping of the evader's cost with the orbit's stable and unstable manifolds. We solve the resulting nonlinear game locally using a continuous-time differential dynamic programming variant, which iteratively applies linear-quadratic approximations to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs equation. We simulate the evader's behavior against both a worst-case and a linear-quadratic pursuer. Our results pave the way for securing future missions in cislunar space against emerging cyber threats.

Authors:Siddharth Chandak, Ilai Bistritz, Nicholas Bambos
Title: Choose Your Battles: Distributed Learning Over Multiple Tug of War Games
Abstract:
Consider N players and K games taking place simultaneously. Each of these games is modeled as a Tug-of-War (ToW) game where increasing the action of one player decreases the reward for all other players. Each player participates in only one game at any given time. At each time step, a player decides the game in which they wish to participate in and the action they take in that game. Their reward depends on the actions of all players that are in the same game. This system of K games is termed `Meta Tug-of-War' (Meta-ToW) game. These games can model scenarios such as power control, distributed task allocation, and activation in sensor networks. We propose the Meta Tug-of-Peace algorithm, a distributed algorithm where the action updates are done using a simple stochastic approximation algorithm, and the decision to switch games is made using an infrequent 1-bit communication between the players. We prove that in Meta-ToW games, our algorithm converges to an equilibrium that satisfies a target Quality of Service reward vector for the players. We then demonstrate the efficacy of our algorithm through simulations for the scenarios mentioned above.

Authors:Mahmoud Ali, Hassan Jardali, Youwei Yu, Durgakant Pushp, Lantao Liu
Title: Minimalistic Autonomous Stack for High-Speed Time-Trial Racing
Abstract:
Autonomous racing has seen significant advancements, driven by competitions such as the Indy Autonomous Challenge (IAC) and the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL). However, developing an autonomous racing stack for a full-scale car is often constrained by limited access to dedicated test tracks, restricting opportunities for real-world validation. While previous work typically requires extended development cycles and significant track time, this paper introduces a minimalistic autonomous racing stack for high-speed time-trial racing that emphasizes rapid deployment and efficient system integration with minimal on-track testing. The proposed stack was validated on real speedways, achieving a top speed of 206 km/h within just 11 hours' practice run on the track with 325 km in total. Additionally, we present the system performance analysis, including tracking accuracy, vehicle dynamics, and safety considerations, offering insights for teams seeking to rapidly develop and deploy an autonomous racing stack with limited track access.

Authors:Samuel Chamoun, Christian McDowell, Robin Buchanan, Kevin Chan, Eric Graves, Yin Sun
Title: MAPPO for Edge Server Monitoring
Abstract:
In this paper, we consider a goal-oriented communication problem for edge server monitoring, where jobs arrive intermittently at multiple dispatchers and must be assigned to shared edge servers with finite queues and time-varying availability. Accurate knowledge of server status is critical for sustaining high throughput, yet remains challenging under dynamic workloads and partial observability. To address this challenge, each dispatcher maintains server knowledge through two complementary mechanisms: (i) active status queries that provide instantaneous updates at a communication cost, and (ii) job execution feedback that reveals server conditions upon successful or failed job completion. We formulate a cooperative multi-agent distributed decision-making problem in which dispatchers jointly optimize query scheduling to balance throughput against communication overhead. To solve this problem, we propose a Multi-Agent Proximal Policy Optimization (MAPPO)-based algorithm that leverages centralized training with decentralized execution (CTDE) to learn distributed query-and-dispatch policies under partial and stale observations. Experiments show that MAPPO achieves superior throughput-cost tradeoffs and significantly outperforms baseline strategies across varying query costs, job arrival rates, and dispatchers.

Authors:Jan-Hendrik Ewering, Alessandro Papa, Simon F. G. Ehlers, Thomas Seel, Michael Meindl
Title: Dual Iterative Learning Control for Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Dynamics with Validation in Robotic Systems
Abstract:
Solving motion tasks autonomously and accurately is a core ability for intelligent real-world systems. To achieve genuine autonomy across multiple systems and tasks, key challenges include coping with unknown dynamics and overcoming the need for manual parameter tuning, which is especially crucial in complex Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) systems. This paper presents MIMO Dual Iterative Learning Control (DILC), a novel data-driven iterative learning scheme for simultaneous tracking control and model learning, without requiring any prior system knowledge or manual parameter tuning. The method is designed for repetitive MIMO systems and integrates seamlessly with established iterative learning control methods. We provide monotonic convergence conditions for both reference tracking error and model error in linear time-invariant systems. The DILC scheme -- rapidly and autonomously -- solves various motion tasks in high-fidelity simulations of an industrial robot and in multiple nonlinear real-world MIMO systems, without requiring model knowledge or manually tuning the algorithm. In our experiments, many reference tracking tasks are solved within 10-20 trials, and even complex motions are learned in less than 100 iterations. We believe that, because of its rapid and autonomous learning capabilities, DILC has the potential to serve as an efficient building block within complex learning frameworks for intelligent real-world systems.

Authors:Rudi Coppola, Yannik Schnitzer, Mirco Giacobbe, Alessandro Abate, Manuel Mazo
Title: Existence and Synthesis of Multi-Resolution Approximate Bisimulations for Continuous-State Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
We present a fully automatic framework for synthesising compact, finite-state deterministic abstractions of deterministic, continuous-state autonomous systems under locally specified resolution requirements. Our approach builds on multi-resolution approximate bisimulations, a generalisation of classical $ε$-approximate bisimulations, that support state-dependent error bounds and subsumes both variable- and uniform-resolution relations. We show that some systems admit multi-resolution bisimulations but no $ε$-approximate bisimulation. We prove the existence of multi-resolution approximately bisimilar abstractions for all incrementally uniformly bounded ($δ$-UB) systems, thereby broadening the applicability of symbolic verification to a larger class of dynamics; as a trivial special case, this result also covers incrementally globally asymptotically stable ($δ$-GAS) systems. The Multi-resolution Abstraction Synthesis Problem (MRASP) is solved via a scalable Counterexample-Guided Inductive Synthesis (CEGIS) loop, combining mesh refinement with counterexample-driven refinement. This ensures soundness for all $δ$-UB systems, and ensures termination in certain special cases. Experiments on linear and nonlinear benchmarks, including non-$δ$-GAS and non-differentiable cases, demonstrate that our algorithm yields abstractions up to 50\% smaller than Lyapunov-based grids while enforcing tighter, location-dependent error guarantees.

Authors:Xin Chen, Rui Huang, Longbin Tang, Lin Zhao
Title: AERO-MPPI: Anchor-Guided Ensemble Trajectory Optimization for Agile Mapless Drone Navigation
Abstract:
Agile mapless navigation in cluttered 3D environments poses significant challenges for autonomous drones. Conventional mapping-planning-control pipelines incur high computational cost and propagate estimation errors. We present AERO-MPPI, a fully GPU-accelerated framework that unifies perception and planning through an anchor-guided ensemble of Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI) optimizers. Specifically, we design a multi-resolution LiDAR point-cloud representation that rapidly extracts spatially distributed "anchors" as look-ahead intermediate endpoints, from which we construct polynomial trajectory guides to explore distinct homotopy path classes. At each planning step, we run multiple MPPI instances in parallel and evaluate them with a two-stage multi-objective cost that balances collision avoidance and goal reaching. Implemented entirely with NVIDIA Warp GPU kernels, AERO-MPPI achieves real-time onboard operation and mitigates the local-minima failures of single-MPPI approaches. Extensive simulations in forests, verticals, and inclines demonstrate sustained reliable flight above 7 m/s, with success rates above 80% and smoother trajectories compared to state-of-the-art baselines. Real-world experiments on a LiDAR-equipped quadrotor with NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16G confirm that AERO-MPPI runs in real time onboard and consistently achieves safe, agile, and robust flight in complex cluttered environments. The code will be open-sourced upon acceptance of the paper.

Authors:Haolin Liu, Shiliang Zhang, Xiaohui Zhang, Shangbin Jiao, Xuehui Ma, Ting Shang, Yan Yan, Wenqi Bai, Youmin Zhang
Title: Adaptive Lyapunov-constrained MPC for fault-tolerant AUV trajectory tracking
Abstract:
Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) are subject to various sources of faults during their missions, which challenges AUV control and operation in real environments. This paper addresses fault-tolerant trajectory tracking of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) under thruster failures. We propose an adaptive Lyapunov-constrained model predictive control (LMPC) that guarantees stable trajectory tracking when the AUV switches between fault and normal modes. Particularly, we model different AUV thruster faults and build online failure identification based on Bayesian approach. This facilitates a soft switch between AUV status, and the identified and updated AUV failure model feeds LMPC controller for the control law derivation. The Lyapunov constrain in LMPC ensures that the trajectory tracking control remains stable during AUV status shifts, thus mitigating severe and fatal fluctuations when an AUV thruster occurs or recovers. We conduct numerical simulations on a four-thruster planar AUV using the proposed approach. The results demonstrate smooth transitions between thruster failure types and low trajectory tracking errors compared with the benchmark adaptive MPC and backstepping control with rapid failure identification and failure accommodation during the trajectory tracking.

Authors:Stelios Zarifis, Ioannis Kordonis, Petros Maragos
Title: Diffusion-Based Scenario Tree Generation for Multivariate Time Series Prediction and Multistage Stochastic Optimization
Abstract:
Stochastic forecasting is critical for efficient decision-making in uncertain systems, such as energy markets and finance, where estimating the full distribution of future scenarios is essential. We propose Diffusion Scenario Tree (DST), a general framework for constructing scenario trees for multivariate prediction tasks using diffusion-based probabilistic forecasting models. DST recursively samples future trajectories and organizes them into a tree via clustering, ensuring non-anticipativity (decisions depending only on observed history) at each stage. We evaluate the framework on the optimization task of energy arbitrage in New York State's day-ahead electricity market. Experimental results show that our approach consistently outperforms the same optimization algorithms that use scenario trees from more conventional models and Model-Free Reinforcement Learning baselines. Furthermore, using DST for stochastic optimization yields more efficient decision policies, achieving higher performance by better handling uncertainty than deterministic and stochastic MPC variants using the same diffusion-based forecaster.

Authors:Méloné Nyoba Tchonkeu, Soulaimane Berkane, Tarek Hamel
Title: Barometer-Aided Attitude Estimation
Abstract:
Accurate and robust attitude estimation is a central challenge for autonomous vehicles operating in GNSS-denied or highly dynamic environments. In such cases, Inertial Measurement Units (IMUs) alone are insufficient for reliable tilt estimation due to the ambiguity between gravitational and inertial accelerations. While auxiliary velocity sensors, such as GNSS, Pitot tubes, Doppler radar, or visual odometry, are often used, they can be unavailable, intermittent, or costly. This work introduces a barometer-aided attitude estimation architecture that leverages barometric altitude measurements to infer vertical velocity and attitude within a nonlinear observer on SO(3). The design cascades a deterministic Riccati observer with a complementary filter, ensuring Almost Global Asymptotic Stability (AGAS) under a uniform observability condition while maintaining geometric consistency. The analysis highlights barometer-aided estimation as a lightweight and effective complementary modality.

Authors:Riccardo Zuliani, Efe Balta, John Lygeros
Title: Differentiable by Design Nonlinear Optimization and its application to Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
Nonlinear optimization-based policies have seen large success in recent years, primarily due to the incredible capabilities of nonlinear Model Predictive Control (nMPC). These policies require solving computationally demanding nonlinear optimization programs (NLP) online at each time-step. The solution map of these NLPs, viewed as a function of the measured state of the system and design parameters, may not be differentiable, which poses significant challenges if the policy is designed with a policy optimization scheme. In this paper, we propose a principled way to regularize NLPs to obtain a surrogate derivative even if the NLP is not differentiable. The surrogate problem is differentiable by design and its solution map coincides with the solution of the unregularized problem. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in a free-final-time optimal control problem and a receding-horizon nonlinear MPC example.

Authors:Jonas Ohnemus, Marta Fochesato, Riccardo Zuliani, John Lygeros
Title: Loss-aware distributionally robust optimization via trainable optimal transport ambiguity sets
Abstract:
Optimal-Transport Distributionally Robust Optimization (OT-DRO) robustifies data-driven decision-making under uncertainty by capturing the sampling-induced statistical error via optimal transport ambiguity sets. The standard OT-DRO pipeline consists of a two-step procedure, where the ambiguity set is first designed and subsequently embedded into the downstream OT-DRO problem. However, this separation between uncertainty quantification and optimization might result in excessive conservatism. We introduce an end-to-end pipeline to automatically learn decision-focused ambiguity sets for OT-DRO problems, where the loss function informs the shape of the optimal transport ambiguity set, leading to less conservative yet distributionally robust decisions. We formulate the learning problem as a bilevel optimization program and solve it via a hypergradient-based method. By leveraging the recently introduced nonsmooth conservative implicit function theorem, we establish convergence to a critical point of the bilevel problem. We present experiments validating our method on standard portfolio optimization and linear regression tasks.

Authors:Àlmos Veres-Vitàlyos, Genis Castillo Gomez-Raya, Filip Lemic, Daniel Johannes Bugelnig, Bernhard Rinner, Sergi Abadal, Xavier Costa-Pérez
Title: Neural 3D Object Reconstruction with Small-Scale Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Abstract:
Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) exhibit immense potential for navigating indoor and hard-to-reach areas, yet their significant constraints in payload and autonomy have largely prevented their use for complex tasks like high-quality 3-Dimensional (3D) reconstruction. To overcome this challenge, we introduce a novel system architecture that enables fully autonomous, high-fidelity 3D scanning of static objects using UAVs weighing under 100 grams. Our core innovation lies in a dual-reconstruction pipeline that creates a real-time feedback loop between data capture and flight control. A near-real-time (near-RT) process uses Structure from Motion (SfM) to generate an instantaneous pointcloud of the object. The system analyzes the model quality on the fly and dynamically adapts the UAV's trajectory to intelligently capture new images of poorly covered areas. This ensures comprehensive data acquisition. For the final, detailed output, a non-real-time (non-RT) pipeline employs a Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF)-based Neural 3D Reconstruction (N3DR) approach, fusing SfM-derived camera poses with precise Ultra Wide-Band (UWB) location data to achieve superior accuracy. We implemented and validated this architecture using Crazyflie 2.1 UAVs. Our experiments, conducted in both single- and multi-UAV configurations, conclusively show that dynamic trajectory adaptation consistently improves reconstruction quality over static flight paths. This work demonstrates a scalable and autonomous solution that unlocks the potential of miniaturized UAVs for fine-grained 3D reconstruction in constrained environments, a capability previously limited to much larger platforms.

Authors:Tao Yan, Zheyu Zhang, Jingjing Jiang, Wen-Hua Chen
Title: Approaches to Analysis and Design of AI-Based Autonomous Vehicles
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) models are becoming key components in an autonomous vehicle (AV), especially in handling complicated perception tasks. However, closing the loop through AI-based feedback may pose significant risks on reliability of autonomous driving due to very limited understanding about the mechanism of AI-driven perception processes. To overcome it, this paper aims to develop tools for modeling, analysis, and synthesis for a class of AI-based AV; in particular, their closed-loop properties, e.g., stability, robustness, and performance, are rigorously studied in the statistical sense. First, we provide a novel modeling means for the AI-driven perception processes by looking at their error characteristics. Specifically, three fundamental AI-induced perception uncertainties are recognized and modeled by Markov chains, Gaussian processes, and bounded disturbances, respectively. By means of that, the closed-loop stochastic stability (SS) is established in the sense of mean square, and then, an SS control synthesis method is presented within the framework of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Besides the SS properties, the robustness and performance of AI-based AVs are discussed in terms of a stochastic guaranteed cost, and criteria are given to test the robustness level of an AV when in the presence of AI-induced uncertainties. Furthermore, the stochastic optimal guaranteed cost control is investigated, and an efficient design procedure is developed innovatively based on LMI techniques and convex optimization. Finally, to illustrate the effectiveness, the developed results are applied to an example of car following control, along with extensive simulation.

Authors:Tao Yan, Zheyu Zhang, Jingjing Jiang, Wen-Hua Chen
Title: Control Analysis and Design for Autonomous Vehicles Subject to Imperfect AI-Based Perception
Abstract:
Safety is a critical concern in autonomous vehicle (AV) systems, especially when AI-based sensing and perception modules are involved. However, due to the black box nature of AI algorithms, it makes closed-loop analysis and synthesis particularly challenging, for example, establishing closed-loop stability and ensuring performance, while they are fundamental to AV safety. To approach this difficulty, this paper aims to develop new modeling, analysis, and synthesis tools for AI-based AVs. Inspired by recent developments in perception error models (PEMs), the focus is shifted from directly modeling AI-based perception processes to characterizing the perception errors they produce. Two key classes of AI-induced perception errors are considered: misdetection and measurement noise. These error patterns are modeled using continuous-time Markov chains and Wiener processes, respectively. By means of that, a PEM-augmented driving model is proposed, with which we are able to establish the closed-loop stability for a class of AI-driven AV systems via stochastic calculus. Furthermore, a performance-guaranteed output feedback control synthesis method is presented, which ensures both stability and satisfactory performance. The method is formulated as a convex optimization problem, allowing for efficient numerical solutions. The results are then applied to an adaptive cruise control (ACC) scenario, demonstrating their effectiveness and robustness despite the corrupted and misleading perception.

Authors:Steven Carr, Georgios Bakirtzis, Ufuk Topcu
Title: Compositional shield synthesis for safe reinforcement learning in partial observability
Abstract:
Agents controlled by the output of reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms often transition to unsafe states, particularly in uncertain and partially observable environments. Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) provide a natural setting for studying such scenarios with limited sensing. Shields filter undesirable actions to ensure safe RL by preserving safety requirements in the agents' policy. However, synthesizing holistic shields is computationally expensive in complex deployment scenarios. We propose the compositional synthesis of shields by modeling safety requirements by parts, thereby improving scalability. In particular, problem formulations in the form of POMDPs using RL algorithms illustrate that an RL agent equipped with the resulting compositional shielding, beyond being safe, converges to higher values of expected reward. By using subproblem formulations, we preserve and improve the ability of shielded agents to require fewer training episodes than unshielded agents, especially in sparse-reward settings. Concretely, we find that compositional shield synthesis allows an RL agent to remain safe in environments two orders of magnitude larger than other state-of-the-art model-based approaches.

Authors:Zishun Liu, Liqian Ma, Yongxin Chen
Title: Model Predictive Control with High-Probability Safety Guarantee for Nonlinear Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
We present a model predictive control (MPC) framework for nonlinear stochastic systems that ensures safety guarantee with high probability. Unlike most existing stochastic MPC schemes, our method adopts a set-erosion that converts the probabilistic safety constraint into a tractable deterministic safety constraint on a smaller safe set over deterministic dynamics. As a result, our method is compatible with any off-the-shelf deterministic MPC algorithm. The key to the effectiveness of our method is a tight bound on the stochastic fluctuation of a stochastic trajectory around its nominal version. Our method is scalable and can guarantee safety with high probability level (e.g., 99.99%), making it particularly suitable for safety-critical applications involving complex nonlinear dynamics. Rigorous analysis is conducted to establish a theoretical safety guarantee, and numerical experiments are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed MPC method.

Authors:Yalei Yu, Matthew Coombes, Wen-Hua Chen, Cong Sun, Myles Flanagan, Jingjing Jiang, Pramod Pashupathy, Masoud Sotoodeh-Bahraini, Peter Kinnell, Niels Lohse
Title: A Goal-Oriented Approach for Active Object Detection with Exploration-Exploitation Balance
Abstract:
Active object detection, which aims to identify objects of interest through controlled camera movements, plays a pivotal role in real-world visual perception for autonomous robotic applications, such as manufacturing tasks (e.g., assembly operations) performed in unknown environments. A dual control for exploration and exploitation (DCEE) algorithm is presented within goal-oriented control systems to achieve efficient active object detection, leveraging active learning by incorporating variance-based uncertainty estimation in the cost function. This novel method employs an exploration-exploitation balanced cost function to actively guide the selection of the next viewpoint. Specifically, active object detection is achieved through the development of a reward function that encodes knowledge about the confidence variation of objects as a function of viewpoint position within a given domain. By identifying the unknown parameters of this function, the system generates an optimal viewpoint planning strategy. DCEE integrates parameter estimation of the reward function and view planning, ensuring a balanced trade-off between the exploitation of learned knowledge and active exploration during the planning process. Moreover, it demonstrates remarkable adaptability across diverse scenarios, effectively handling LEGO brick detection at varying locations. Importantly, the algorithm maintains consistent configuration settings and a fixed number of parameters across various scenarios, underscoring its efficiency and robustness. To validate the proposed approach, extensive numerical studies, high-fidelity virtual simulations, and real-world experiments under various scenarios were conducted. The results confirm the effectiveness of DCEE in active object detection, showcasing superior performance compared to existing methods, including model predictive control (MPC) and entropy approaches.

Authors:Irina Subotić, Dominic Groß, Alexander Winkens, Julian Jansen, Florian Klein-Helmkamp, Andreas Ulbig
Title: Dynamic Modeling, Analysis, and Validation of Dual-Port Grid-Forming Control for Hybrid AC/DC Systems
Abstract:
This work investigates the transient and dynamical behavior of hybrid AC/DC systems using dual-port grid-forming (GFM) control. A generalized modeling framework for hybrid AC/DC networks is first introduced that accounts for converter, control, and network circuit dynamics and arbitrary network topologies. This modeling framework is applied to low-voltage networks to analyze the performance of dual-port grid-forming (GFM) control. The results demonstrate that active damping by dual-port GFM control is effective at improving the transient response and mitigating oscillations. In contrast, the steady-state response characteristics can be adjusted independently with minimal impact on damping characteristics. The dynamic model and results are validated through hardware experiments for three prototypical system architectures. Furthermore, we demonstrate that low-voltage DC distribution interfaced by AC/DC converters using dual-port GFM control, can serve both as the sole interconnection between AC distribution systems and in parallel to an AC connection, thereby enhancing the operational flexibility of low- and medium-voltage distribution networks.

Authors:Maísa Beraldo Bandeira, Alexander Engelmann, Timm Faulwasser
Title: Complexity Reduction for TSO-DSO Coordination: Flexibility Aggregation vs. Distributed Optimization
Abstract:
The increasing number of flexible devices and distributed energy resources in power grids renders the coordination of transmission and distribution systems increasingly complex. In this paper, we discuss and compare two different approaches to optimization-based complexity reduction: Flexibility aggregation via Approximate Dynamic Programming (ADP) and distributed optimization via the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM). Flexibility aggregation achieves near-optimal solutions with minimal communication. However, its performance depends on the quality of the approximation used. In contrast, ADMM attains results closer to the centralized solution but requires significantly more communication steps. We draw upon a case study combining different matpower benchmarks to compare both methods.

Authors:Soumyoraj Mallick, Sanchita Ghosh, Tanushree Roy
Title: KAN-Therm: A Lightweight Battery Thermal Model Using Kolmogorov-Arnold Network
Abstract:
Battery management systems (BMSs) rely on real-time estimation of battery temperature distribution in battery cells to ensure safe and optimal operation of Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, physical BMS often suffers from memory and computational resource limitations required by highfidelity models. Temperature prediction using physics-based models becomes challenging due to their higher computational time. In contrast, machine learning based approaches offer faster predictions but demand larger memory overhead. In this work, we develop a lightweight and efficient Kolmogorov-Arnold networks (KAN) based thermal model, KAN-Therm, to predict the core temperature of a cylindrical battery. We have compared the memory overhead and computation costs of our method with Multi-layer perceptron (MLP), recurrent neural network (RNN), and long shortterm memory (LSTM) network. Our results show that the proposed KAN-Therm model exhibit the best prediction accuracy with the least memory overhead and computation time.

Authors:Samuel Chamoun, Sirin Chakraborty, Eric Graves, Kevin Chan, Yin Sun
Title: Edge Server Monitoring for Job Assignment
Abstract:
In this paper, we study a goal-oriented communication problem for edge server monitoring, where compute jobs arrive intermittently at dispatchers and must be immediately assigned to distributed edge servers. Due to competing workloads and the dynamic nature of the edge environment, server availability fluctuates over time. To maintain accurate estimates of server availability states, each dispatcher updates its belief using two mechanisms: (i) active queries over shared communication channels and (ii) feedback from past job executions. We formulate a query scheduling problem that maximizes the job success rate under limited communication resources for queries. This problem is modeled as a Restless Multi-Armed Bandit (RMAB) with multiple actions and addressed using a Net-Gain Maximization (NGM) scheduling algorithm, which selects servers to query based on their expected improvement in execution performance. Simulation results show that the proposed NGM Policy significantly outperforms baseline strategies, achieving up to a 30% gain over the Round-Robin Policy and up to a 107% gain over the Never-Query Policy.

Authors:Qianren Li, Yuncong Hong, Bojie Lv, Rui Wang
Title: A Dynamic Programming Framework for Vehicular Task Offloading with Successive Action Improvement
Abstract:
In this paper, task offloading from vehicles with random velocities is optimized via a novel dynamic programming framework. Particularly, in a vehicular network with multiple vehicles and base stations (BSs), computing tasks of vehicles are offloaded via BSs to an edge server. Due to the random velocities, the exact locations of vehicles versus time, namely trajectories, cannot be determined in advance. Hence, instead of deterministic optimization, the cell association, uplink time, and throughput allocation of multiple vehicles during a period of task offloading are formulated as a finite-horizon Markov decision process. In order to derive a low-complexity solution algorithm, a two-time-scale framework is proposed. The scheduling period is divided into super slots, each super slot is further divided into a number of time slots. At the beginning of each super slot, we first obtain a reference scheduling scheme of cell association, uplink time and throughput allocation via deterministic optimization, yielding an approximation of the optimal value function. Within the super slot, the actual scheduling action of each time slot is determined by making improvement to the approximate value function according to the system state. Due to the successive improvement framework, a non-trivial average cost upper bound could be derived. In the simulation, the random trajectories of vehicles are generated from a high-fidelity traffic simulator. It is shown that the performance gain of the proposed scheduling framework over the baselines is significant.

Authors:Simone Pirrera, Nicolas Faedo, Sophie M. Fosson, Diego Regruto
Title: Real-Time Single-Iteration Model Predictive Control for Wave Energy Converters
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel real-time algorithm for controlling wave energy converters (WECs). We begin with the economic model predictive control (MPC) problem formulation and apply a novel, first-order optimization algorithm inspired by recently developed control-based algorithms for constrained optimization to define the controller dynamics according to the single-iteration MPC approach. We theoretically analyse the convergence of the employed algorithm and the computational complexity of the obtained controller. Results from simulations using a benchmark WEC system indicate that the proposed approach significantly outperforms standard MPC, thanks to the inherent ability to handle faster sampling rates.

Authors:Simone Pirrera, Lorenzo Calogero, Francesco Gabriele, Diego Regruto, Alessandro Rizzo, Gianluca Setti
Title: A Fully Analog Implementation of Model Predictive Control with Application to Buck Converters
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel approach to design analog electronic circuits that implement Model Predictive Control (MPC) policies for plants described by affine models. The combination of state-of-the-art approaches to define reduced-complexity Explicit MPC (EMPC) is employed to realize an analog circuit characterized by a limited amount of low-latency and commercially available components. The practical feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach are demonstrated through its application in the design of an advanced controller for DC-DC Buck converters. We formally analyze the stability of the obtained system and conduct extensive numerical simulations to demonstrate that it is capable of achieving outstanding load disturbance rejection performance, outclassing standard approaches.

Authors:Simone Pirrera, Francesco Gabriele, Davide Lena, Fabio Pareschi, Diego Regruto, Gianluca Setti
Title: Robust Load Disturbance Rejection in PWM DC-DC Buck Converters
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel approach to robust load disturbance rejection in DC-DC Buck converters. We propose a novel control scheme based on the design of two nested feedback loops. First, we design the controller in the outer loop using H infinity optimal control theory, and we show, by means of mu-analysis, that such a controller provides robust stability in the presence of uncertainty affecting the physical parameters of the circuit. Then, we introduce an inner feedback loop to improve the system's response to output load disturbances. As far as the inner loop is considered, we propose a novel load estimation-compensation (LEC) scheme, and we discuss under what conditions the insertion of such an inner loop preserves the robust stability of the entire control system. The LEC scheme is compared with the other two linear structures based on well-established disturbance rejection methods. The advantages of LEC in terms of both complexity of implementation and obtained performances are discussed and demonstrated by means of numerical simulation. Finally, we present experimental results obtained through the implementation of the proposed control scheme on a prototype board to demonstrate that the proposed approach significantly enhances disturbance rejection performances with respect to the approach commonly used in DC-DC buck converters.

Authors:Vito Cerone, Sophie M. Fosson, Simone Pirrera, Diego Regruto
Title: A constrained optimization approach to nonlinear system identification through simulation error minimization
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel approach to system identification for nonlinear input-output models by minimizing the simulation error and formulating it as a constrained optimization problem. This method addresses vanishing gradient issues, enabling faster convergence than traditional gradient-based methods. We present an algorithm that utilizes feedback-linearization controlled multipliers optimization and provide a theoretical analysis of its performance. We prove that the algorithm converges to a local minimum, and we optimize the computational efficiency by leveraging the problem structure. Numerical experiments illustrate that our approach outperforms gradient-based methods in computational effort and accuracy.

Authors:Riccardo Cescon, Andrea Martin, Giancarlo Ferrari-Trecate
Title: On the Global Optimality of Linear Policies for Sinkhorn Distributionally Robust Linear Quadratic Control
Abstract:
The Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) regulator is a cornerstone of optimal control theory, yet its performance can degrade significantly when the noise distributions deviate from the assumed Gaussian model. To address this limitation, this work proposes a distributionally robust generalization of the finite-horizon LQG control problem. Specifically, we assume that the noise distributions are unknown and belong to ambiguity sets defined in terms of an entropy-regularized Wasserstein distance centered at a nominal Gaussian distribution. By deriving novel bounds on this Sinkhorn discrepancy and proving structural and topological properties of the resulting ambiguity sets, we establish global optimality of linear policies. Numerical experiments showcase improved distributional robustness of our control policy.

Authors:Alberto Bertipaglia, Dariu M. Gavrila, Barys Shyrokau
Title: Multi-Modal Model Predictive Path Integral Control for Collision Avoidance
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel approach to motion planning and decision-making for automated vehicles, using a multi-modal Model Predictive Path Integral control algorithm. The method samples with Sobol sequences around the prior input and incorporates analytical solutions for collision avoidance. By leveraging multiple modes, the multi-modal control algorithm explores diverse trajectories, such as manoeuvring around obstacles or stopping safely before them, mitigating the risk of sub-optimal solutions. A non-linear single-track vehicle model with a Fiala tyre serves as the prediction model, and tyre force constraints within the friction circle are enforced to ensure vehicle stability during evasive manoeuvres. The optimised steering angle and longitudinal acceleration are computed to generate a collision-free trajectory and to control the vehicle. In a high-fidelity simulation environment, we demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can successfully avoid obstacles, keeping the vehicle stable while driving a double lane change manoeuvre on high and low-friction road surfaces and occlusion scenarios with moving obstacles, outperforming a standard Model Predictive Path Integral approach.

Authors:Tarek Bouazza, Soulaimane Berkane, Minh-Duc Hua, Tarek Hamel
Title: Observer Design for Optical Flow-Based Visual-Inertial Odometry with Almost-Global Convergence
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel cascaded observer architecture that combines optical flow and IMU measurements to perform continuous monocular visual-inertial odometry (VIO). The proposed solution estimates body-frame velocity and gravity direction simultaneously by fusing velocity direction information from optical flow measurements with gyro and accelerometer data. This fusion is achieved using a globally exponentially stable Riccati observer, which operates under persistently exciting translational motion conditions. The estimated gravity direction in the body frame is then employed, along with an optional magnetometer measurement, to design a complementary observer on $\mathbf{SO}(3)$ for attitude estimation. The resulting interconnected observer architecture is shown to be almost globally asymptotically stable. To extract the velocity direction from sparse optical flow data, a gradient descent algorithm is developed to solve a constrained minimization problem on the unit sphere. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is validated through simulation results.

Authors:Jun Xie, Yuan-Hua Ni, Yiqin Yang, Bo Xu
Title: An Efficient Data-Driven Framework for Linear Quadratic Output Feedback Control
Abstract:
Linear quadratic regulator with unmeasurable states and unknown system matrix parameters better aligns with practical scenarios. However, for this problem, balancing the optimality of the resulting controller and the leniency of the algorithm's feasibility conditions remains a non-trivial challenge, as no well-established general method has yet been developed to address this trade-off. To address this gap, this study first develops a comprehensive theoretical framework for state parameterization that equivalently substitutes for unknown states. By analyzing the controllability of consistent systems satisfied by substitute states, this framework quantifies the capability of substitute state data matrices to parameterize unknown closed-loop systems and output feedback controllers, thereby constructing a modified state parameterization form that meets the complete data parameterization condition of Willems' Fundamental Lemma. Leveraging this framework, this study proposes efficient model-free off-policy policy iteration and value iteration algorithms with theoretical guarantees to solve for the optimal output feedback controller. Compared with existing studies, particularly for multi-output problems where existing model-free reinforcement learning algorithms may fail, the proposed method removes redundant information in substitute states and the additional full row rank condition on regression matrices, thereby ensuring the solution of optimal output feedback controllers equivalent to optimal state feedback controllers for multi-output systems. Furthermore, this study pioneers a comprehensive and highly scalable theoretical analysis of state parameterization from a data-driven viewpoint, and the proposed algorithms exhibit significant advantages in implementation conditions, data demand, unknown handling, and convergence speed.

Authors:Heng-Sheng Chang, Prashant G. Mehta
Title: What can we learn from signals and systems in a transformer? Insights for probabilistic modeling and inference architecture
Abstract:
In the 1940s, Wiener introduced a linear predictor, where the future prediction is computed by linearly combining the past data. A transformer generalizes this idea: it is a nonlinear predictor where the next-token prediction is computed by nonlinearly combining the past tokens. In this essay, we present a probabilistic model that interprets transformer signals as surrogates of conditional measures, and layer operations as fixed-point updates. An explicit form of the fixed-point update is described for the special case when the probabilistic model is a hidden Markov model (HMM). In part, this paper is in an attempt to bridge the classical nonlinear filtering theory with modern inference architectures.

Authors:Vito Cerone, Sophie M. Fosson, Simone Pirrera, Diego Regruto
Title: Set-membership identification of continuous-time MIMO systems via Tustin discretization
Abstract:
In this paper, we deal with the identification of continuous-time systems from sampled data corrupted by unknown but bounded errors. A significant challenge in continuous-time identification is the estimation of the input and output data derivatives. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on set-membership techniques and Tustin discretization, which overcomes the derivative measurement problem and the presence of bounded errors affecting all the measured signals. First, we derive the proposed method and prove that it becomes an affordable polynomial optimization problem. Then, we present some numerical results based on simulation and experimental data to explore the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Authors:Ersin Das, Rahal Nanayakkara, Xiao Tan, Ryan M. Bena, Joel W. Burdick, Paulo Tabuada, Aaron D. Ames
Title: Safe Navigation under State Uncertainty: Online Adaptation for Robust Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Measurements and state estimates are often imperfect in control practice, posing challenges for safety-critical applications, where safety guarantees rely on accurate state information. In the presence of estimation errors, several prior robust control barrier function (R-CBF) formulations have imposed strict conditions on the input. These methods can be overly conservative and can introduce issues such as infeasibility, high control effort, etc. This work proposes a systematic method to improve R-CBFs, and demonstrates its advantages on a tracked vehicle that navigates among multiple obstacles. A primary contribution is a new optimization-based online parameter adaptation scheme that reduces the conservativeness of existing R-CBFs. In order to reduce the complexity of the parameter optimization, we merge several safety constraints into one unified numerical CBF via Poisson's equation. We further address the dual relative degree issue that typically causes difficulty in vehicle tracking. Experimental trials demonstrate the overall performance improvement of our approach over existing formulations.

Authors:Filippos Fotiadis, Brian M. Sadler, Ufuk Topcu
Title: Coordinated UAV Beamforming and Control for Directional Jamming and Nulling
Abstract:
Efficient mobile jamming against eavesdroppers in wireless networks necessitates accurate coordination between mobility and antenna beamforming. We study the coordinated beamforming and control problem for a UAV that carries two omnidirectional antennas, and which uses them to jam an eavesdropper while leaving a friendly client unaffected. The UAV can shape its jamming beampattern by controlling its position, its antennas' orientation, and the relative phasing for each antenna. We derive a closed-form expression for the antennas' phases that guarantees zero jamming impact on the client. In addition, we determine the antennas' orientation and the UAV's position that maximizes jamming impact on the eavesdropper through an optimal control problem, optimizing the orientation pointwise and the position through the UAV's control input. Simulations show how this coordinated beamforming and control scheme enables directional GPS denial while guaranteeing zero interference towards a friendly direction.

Authors:Olivia Rubbers, Sari Kerckhove, Md Umar Hashmi, Dirk Van Hertem
Title: Fairness for distribution network hosting capacity
Abstract:
The integration of distributed generation (DG) is essential to the energy transition but poses challenges for lowvoltage (LV) distribution networks (DNs) with limited hosting capacity (HC). This study incorporates multiple fairness criteria, utilitarian, egalitarian, bounded, and bargaining, into the HC optimisation framework to assess their impact. When applied to LV feeders of different sizes and topologies, the analysis shows that bargaining and upper-bounded fairness provide the best balance between efficiency and fairness. Efficiency refers to maximising the social welfare of the LV DNs, while fairness is proportional to the minimisation of disparity in opportunity for installing DG. Feeder topology significantly influences fairness outcomes, while feeder size affects total HC and the inherent fairness of feeders. These results emphasise the importance of regulatory incentives and network designs in order to facilitate fair and efficient DG integration.

Authors:Mahdi Nazeri, Thom Badings, Anne-Kathrin Schmuck, Sadegh Soudjani, Alessandro Abate
Title: Data-Driven Abstraction and Synthesis for Stochastic Systems with Unknown Dynamics
Abstract:
We study the automated abstraction-based synthesis of correct-by-construction control policies for stochastic dynamical systems with unknown dynamics. Our approach is to learn an abstraction from sampled data, which is represented in the form of a finite Markov decision process (MDP). In this paper, we present a data-driven technique for constructing finite-state interval MDP (IMDP) abstractions of stochastic systems with unknown nonlinear dynamics. As a distinguishing and novel feature, our technique only requires (1) noisy state-input-state observations and (2) an upper bound on the system's Lipschitz constant. Combined with standard model-checking techniques, our IMDP abstractions enable the synthesis of policies that satisfy probabilistic temporal properties (such as "reach-while-avoid") with a predefined confidence. Our experimental results show the effectiveness and robustness of our approach.

Authors:Jan Krejčí, Oliver Kost, Yuxuan Xia, Lennart Svensson, Ondřej Straka
Title: Model-based Multi-object Visual Tracking: Identification and Standard Model Limitations
Abstract:
This paper uses multi-object tracking methods known from the radar tracking community to address the problem of pedestrian tracking using 2D bounding box detections. The standard point-object (SPO) model is adopted, and the posterior density is computed using the Poisson multi-Bernoulli mixture (PMBM) filter. The selection of the model parameters rooted in continuous time is discussed, including the birth and survival probabilities. Some parameters are selected from the first principles, while others are identified from the data, which is, in this case, the publicly available MOT-17 dataset. Although the resulting PMBM algorithm yields promising results, a mismatch between the SPO model and the data is revealed. The model-based approach assumes that modifying the problematic components causing the SPO model-data mismatch will lead to better model-based algorithms in future developments.

Authors:Yashaswini Murthy, Bassam Bamieh, R. Srikant
Title: On the Gaussian Limit of the Output of IIR Filters
Abstract:
We study the asymptotic distribution of the output of a stable Linear Time-Invariant (LTI) system driven by a non-Gaussian stochastic input. Motivated by longstanding heuristics in the stochastic describing function method, we rigorously characterize when the output process becomes approximately Gaussian, even when the input is not. Using the Wasserstein-1 distance as a quantitative measure of non-Gaussianity, we derive upper bounds on the distance between the appropriately scaled output and a standard normal distribution. These bounds are obtained via Stein's method and depend explicitly on the system's impulse response and the dependence structure of the input process. We show that when the dominant pole of the system approaches the edge of stability and the input satisfies one of the following conditions: (i) independence, (ii) positive correlation with a real and positive dominant pole, or (iii) sufficient correlation decay, the output converges to a standard normal distribution at rate $O(1/\sqrt{t})$. We also present counterexamples where convergence fails, thereby motivating the stated assumptions. Our results provide a rigorous foundation for the widespread observation that outputs of low-pass LTI systems tend to be approximately Gaussian.

Authors:Johann Licher, Max Bartholdt, Henrik Krauss, Tim-Lukas Habich, Thomas Seel, Moritz Schappler
Title: Adaptive Model-Predictive Control of a Soft Continuum Robot Using a Physics-Informed Neural Network Based on Cosserat Rod Theory
Abstract:
Dynamic control of soft continuum robots (SCRs) holds great potential for expanding their applications, but remains a challenging problem due to the high computational demands of accurate dynamic models. While data-driven approaches like Koopman-operator-based methods have been proposed, they typically lack adaptability and cannot capture the full robot shape, limiting their applicability. This work introduces a real-time-capable nonlinear model-predictive control (MPC) framework for SCRs based on a domain-decoupled physics-informed neural network (DD-PINN) with adaptable bending stiffness. The DD-PINN serves as a surrogate for the dynamic Cosserat rod model with a speed-up factor of 44000. It is also used within an unscented Kalman filter for estimating the model states and bending compliance from end-effector position measurements. We implement a nonlinear evolutionary MPC running at 70 Hz on the GPU. In simulation, it demonstrates accurate tracking of dynamic trajectories and setpoint control with end-effector position errors below 3 mm (2.3% of the actuator's length). In real-world experiments, the controller achieves similar accuracy and accelerations up to 3.55 m/s2.

Authors:Yunfan Gao, Florian Messerer, Niels van Duijkeren, Rashmi Dabir, Moritz Diehl
Title: Semi-Infinite Programming for Collision-Avoidance in Optimal and Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel approach for collision avoidance in optimal and model predictive control, in which the environment is represented by a large number of points and the robot as a union of padded polygons. The conditions that none of the points shall collide with the robot can be written in terms of an infinite number of constraints per obstacle point. We show that the resulting semi-infinite programming (SIP) optimal control problem (OCP) can be efficiently tackled through a combination of two methods: local reduction and an external active-set method. Specifically, this involves iteratively identifying the closest point obstacles, determining the lower-level distance minimizer among all feasible robot shape parameters, and solving the upper-level finitely-constrained subproblems. In addition, this paper addresses robust collision avoidance in the presence of ellipsoidal state uncertainties. Enforcing constraint satisfaction over all possible uncertainty realizations extends the dimension of constraint infiniteness. The infinitely many constraints arising from translational uncertainty are handled by local reduction together with the robot shape parameterization, while rotational uncertainty is addressed via a backoff reformulation. A controller implemented based on the proposed method is demonstrated on a real-world robot running at 20Hz, enabling fast and collision-free navigation in tight spaces. An application to 3D collision avoidance is also demonstrated in simulation.

Authors:Laura Lützow, Michael Eichelbeck, Mykel J. Kochenderfer, Matthias Althoff
Title: Zono-Conformal Prediction: Zonotope-Based Uncertainty Quantification for Regression and Classification Tasks
Abstract:
Conformal prediction is a popular uncertainty quantification method that augments a base predictor with prediction sets with statistically valid coverage guarantees. However, current methods are often computationally expensive and data-intensive, as they require constructing an uncertainty model before calibration. Moreover, existing approaches typically represent the prediction sets with intervals, which limits their ability to capture dependencies in multi-dimensional outputs. We address these limitations by introducing zono-conformal prediction, a novel approach inspired by interval predictor models and reachset-conformant identification that constructs prediction zonotopes with assured coverage. By placing zonotopic uncertainty sets directly into the model of the base predictor, zono-conformal predictors can be identified via a single, data-efficient linear program. While we can apply zono-conformal prediction to arbitrary nonlinear base predictors, we focus on feed-forward neural networks in this work. Aside from regression tasks, we also construct optimal zono-conformal predictors in classification settings where the output of an uncertain predictor is a set of possible classes. We provide probabilistic coverage guarantees and present methods for detecting outliers in the identification data. In extensive numerical experiments, we show that zono-conformal predictors are less conservative than interval predictor models and standard conformal prediction methods, while achieving a similar coverage over the test data.

Authors:Robert Graubohm, Markus Maurer
Title: Besondere Anforderungen des automatisierten Fahrens an den Entwurf
Abstract:
The development of automated vehicles and automated driving functions is an exceptionally complex task that requires the integration of numerous, sometimes conflicting interests and various constraints already in the early stages of system design. This chapter explains important challenges in concept specifications for automated driving and presents a systematic process model that contributes to overcoming the special requirements in this field. In addition, it describes the successful implementation of a structured concept specification for an automated vehicle guidance system. -- Die Entwicklung automatisierter Fahrzeuge und Fahrfunktionen stellt eine ausgesprochen komplexe Aufgabe dar, die bereits im Zuge des Systementwurfs die Einbeziehung einer Vielzahl teilweise konfliktärer Interessen und diverser Randbedingungen erfordert. Dieses Kapitel erläutert wichtige Herausforderungen bei Konzeptspezifikationen im Themenfeld des automatisierten Fahrens und stellt ein systematisches Prozessmodell vor, das einen Beitrag zur Erfüllung der besonderen Anforderungen des automatisierten Fahrens an den Entwurf leistet. Darüber hinaus wird die erfolgreiche Durchführung einer strukturierten Konzeptspezifikation für ein automatisiertes Fahrzeugführungssystem beschrieben.

Authors:Shengling Shi, Jacob Sass, Jiaen Wu, Minsu Kim, Yingjie Ma, Sungho Shin, Rolf Findeisen, Richard D. Braatz
Title: Bang-Ride Optimal Control: Monotonicity, External Positivity, and Fast Battery Charging
Abstract:
This work studies a class of optimal control problems with scalar inputs and general constraints, whose solutions follow a bang-ride pattern that always activates a constraint and enables efficient numerical computation. As a motivating example, fast battery charging leads to computationally demanding optimal control problems when detailed electrochemical models are used. Recently proposed optimization-free heuristics reduce this computational cost while producing input profiles observed in practice, following a bang-ride pattern and applying the maximum feasible input. We investigate when such heuristics satisfy necessary optimality conditions. By leveraging Pontryagin's maximum principle, we unify and formalize existing insights on the bang-ride structure and on the optimal control attaining the maximum feasible input under monotonicity. We further establish a novel connection between the structured optimal control and the external positivity of the costate dynamics. These results provide a rigorous theoretical foundation for heuristic charging strategies and explain the efficiency of optimization-free algorithms.

Authors:Changrui Liu, Anil Alan, Shengling Shi, Bart De Schutter
Title: Robust Adaptive Discrete-Time Control Barrier Certificate
Abstract:
This work develops a robust adaptive control strategy for discrete-time systems using Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) to ensure safety under parametric model uncertainty and disturbances. A key contribution of this work is establishing a barrier function certificate in discrete time for general online parameter estimation algorithms. This barrier function certificate guarantees positive invariance of the safe set despite disturbances and parametric uncertainty without access to the true system parameters. In addition, real-time implementation and inherent robustness guarantees are provided. Our approach demonstrates that, using the proposed robust adaptive CBF framework, the parameter estimation module can be designed separately from the CBF-based safety filter, simplifying the development of safe adaptive controllers for discrete-time systems. The resulting safety filter guarantees that the system remains within the safe set while adapting to model uncertainties, making it a promising strategy for real-world applications involving discrete-time safety-critical systems.

Authors:Thom Badings, Alessandro Abate
Title: Probabilistic Alternating Simulations for Policy Synthesis in Uncertain Stochastic Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
A classical approach to formal policy synthesis in stochastic dynamical systems is to construct a finite-state abstraction, often represented as a Markov decision process (MDP). The correctness of these approaches hinges on a behavioural relation between the dynamical system and its abstraction, such as a probabilistic simulation relation. However, probabilistic simulation relations do not suffice when the system dynamics are, next to being stochastic, also subject to nondeterministic (i.e., set-valued) disturbances. In this work, we extend probabilistic simulation relations to systems with both stochastic and nondeterministic disturbances. Our relation, which is inspired by a notion of alternating simulation, generalises existing relations used for verification and policy synthesis used in several works. Intuitively, our relation allows reasoning probabilistically over stochastic uncertainty, while reasoning robustly (i.e., adversarially) over nondeterministic disturbances. We experimentally demonstrate the applicability of our relations for policy synthesis in a 4D-state Dubins vehicle.

Authors:Yi-Hsuan Hsiao, Andrea Tagliabue, Owen Matteson, Suhan Kim, Tong Zhao, Jonathan P. How, YuFeng Chen
Title: Aerobatic maneuvers in insect-scale flapping-wing aerial robots via deep-learned robust tube model predictive control
Abstract:
Aerial insects exhibit highly agile maneuvers such as sharp braking, saccades, and body flips under disturbance. In contrast, insect-scale aerial robots are limited to tracking non-aggressive trajectories with small body acceleration. This performance gap is contributed by a combination of low robot inertia, fast dynamics, uncertainty in flapping-wing aerodynamics, and high susceptibility to environmental disturbance. Executing highly dynamic maneuvers requires the generation of aggressive flight trajectories that push against the hardware limit and a high-rate feedback controller that accounts for model and environmental uncertainty. Here, through designing a deep-learned robust tube model predictive controller, we showcase insect-like flight agility and robustness in a 750-millgram flapping-wing robot. Our model predictive controller can track aggressive flight trajectories under disturbance. To achieve a high feedback rate in a compute-constrained real-time system, we design imitation learning methods to train a two-layer, fully connected neural network, which resembles insect flight control architecture consisting of central nervous system and motor neurons. Our robot demonstrates insect-like saccade movements with lateral speed and acceleration of 197 centimeters per second and 11.7 meters per second square, representing 447$\%$ and 255$\%$ improvement over prior results. The robot can also perform saccade maneuvers under 160 centimeters per second wind disturbance and large command-to-force mapping errors. Furthermore, it performs 10 consecutive body flips in 11 seconds - the most challenging maneuver among sub-gram flyers. These results represent a milestone in achieving insect-scale flight agility and inspire future investigations on sensing and compute autonomy.

Authors:Yihan Zhou, Yiwen Lu, Bo Yang, Jiayun Li, Yilin Mo
Title: Learning to Drift with Individual Wheel Drive: Maneuvering Autonomous Vehicle at the Handling Limits
Abstract:
Drifting, characterized by controlled vehicle motion at high sideslip angles, is crucial for safely handling emergency scenarios at the friction limits. While recent reinforcement learning approaches show promise for drifting control, they struggle with the significant simulation-to-reality gap, as policies that perform well in simulation often fail when transferred to physical systems. In this paper, we present a reinforcement learning framework with GPU-accelerated parallel simulation and systematic domain randomization that effectively bridges the gap. The proposed approach is validated on both simulation and a custom-designed and open-sourced 1/10 scale Individual Wheel Drive (IWD) RC car platform featuring independent wheel speed control. Experiments across various scenarios from steady-state circular drifting to direction transitions and variable-curvature path following demonstrate that our approach achieves precise trajectory tracking while maintaining controlled sideslip angles throughout complex maneuvers in both simulated and real-world environments.

Authors:Biswarup Mukherjee, Li Zhou, S. Gokul Krishnan, Milad Kabirifar, Subhash Lakshminarayana, Charalambos Konstantinou
Title: VAE-GAN Based Price Manipulation in Coordinated Local Energy Markets
Abstract:
This paper introduces a model for coordinating prosumers with heterogeneous distributed energy resources (DERs), participating in the local energy market (LEM) that interacts with the market-clearing entity. The proposed LEM scheme utilizes a data-driven, model-free reinforcement learning approach based on the multi-agent deep deterministic policy gradient (MADDPG) framework, enabling prosumers to make real-time decisions on whether to buy, sell, or refrain from any action while facilitating efficient coordination for optimal energy trading in a dynamic market. In addition, we investigate a price manipulation strategy using a variational auto encoder-generative adversarial network (VAE-GAN) model, which allows utilities to adjust price signals in a way that induces financial losses for the prosumers. Our results show that under adversarial pricing, heterogeneous prosumer groups, particularly those lacking generation capabilities, incur financial losses. The same outcome holds across LEMs of different sizes. As the market size increases, trading stabilizes and fairness improves through emergent cooperation among agents.

Authors:Hangli Ge, Xiaojie Yang, Zipei Fan, Francesco Flammini, Noboru Koshizuka
Title: Simulation of Emergency Evacuation in Large Scale Metropolitan Railway Systems for Urban Resilience
Abstract:
This paper presents a simulation for traffic evacuation during railway disruptions to enhance urban resilience. The research focuses on large-scale railway networks and provides flexible simulation settings to accommodate multiple node or line failures. The evacuation optimization model is mathematically formulated using matrix computation and nonlinear programming. The simulation integrates railway lines operated by various companies, along with external geographical features of the network. Furthermore, to address computational complexity in large-scale graph networks, a subgraph partitioning solution is employed for computation acceleration. The model is evaluated using the extensive railway network of Greater Tokyo. Data collection included both railway network structure and real-world GPS footfall data to estimate the number of station-area visitors for simulation input and evaluation purposes. Several evacuation scenarios were simulated for major stations including Tokyo, Shinjuku, Shibuya and so on. The results demonstrate that both evacuation passenger flow (EPF) and average travel time (ATT) during emergencies were successfully optimized, while remaining within the capacity constraints of neighboring stations and the targeted disruption recovery times.

Authors:Anjie Mao, Zheming Wang, Hao Gu, Bo Chen, Li Yu
Title: A safety governor for learning explicit MPC controllers from data
Abstract:
We tackle neural networks (NNs) to approximate model predictive control (MPC) laws. We propose a novel learning-based explicit MPC structure, which is reformulated into a dual-mode scheme over maximal constrained feasible set. The scheme ensuring the learning-based explicit MPC reduces to linear feedback control while entering the neighborhood of origin. We construct a safety governor to ensure that learning-based explicit MPC satisfies all the state and input constraints. Compare to the existing approach, our approach is computationally easier to implement even in high-dimensional system. The proof of recursive feasibility for the safety governor is given. Our approach is demonstrated on numerical examples.

Authors:Daniele Falchi, Eduardo Prieto-Araujo, Oriol Gomis-Bellmunt
Title: Cell-based VSC Analysis Methodology: From Graph Laplacian to Converter Degrees of Freedom
Abstract:
Power-electronics-based converters are being considerably employed through the power system to interconnect multiple heterogeneous electrical layers. Furthermore, the intrinsic versatility to play with the converter network topology is widely exploited to accommodate a certain number of terminals and ports according with the specific application. On this regard, several converter arrangements can be encountered in power applications. Moreover, to properly establish both the operation and the control, the so-called degrees of freedom (DOFs) need to be assessed per each converter topology. On this matter, similarly to the well-known Clarke transformation, which clearly reveals the DOFs for the star-based topology system, further similar transformations can be achieved to depict the independent set of variables characterizing a certain converter structure. Referring to the cell-based class of Voltage Source Converter (VSC) topologies, including Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC); this article proposes a general methodology to determine the change of variable matrix transformation for several converter arrangements which are related to complete bi-partite and multi-partite graphs. The methodology lies in the graph Laplacian spectral analysis, which remarks the structural normal modes at the converter points of connections. Furthermore, for a complete characterization, the instantaneous power patterns formulations, based on the DOFs, are also introduced.

Authors:Rodrigo A. González, Angel L. Cedeño, Koen Tiels, Tom Oomen
Title: Truncated Gaussian Noise Estimation in State-Space Models
Abstract:
Within Bayesian state estimation, considerable effort has been devoted to incorporating constraints into state estimation for process optimization, state monitoring, fault detection and control. Nonetheless, in the domain of state-space system identification, the prevalent practice entails constructing models under Gaussian noise assumptions, which can lead to inaccuracies when the noise follows bounded distributions. With the aim of generalizing the Gaussian noise assumption to potentially truncated densities, this paper introduces a method for estimating the noise parameters in a state-space model subject to truncated Gaussian noise. Our proposed data-driven approach is rooted in maximum likelihood principles combined with the Expectation-Maximization algorithm. The efficacy of the proposed approach is supported by a simulation example.

Authors:Weihong Tang, Yun Li, Shalika Walker, Tamas Keviczky
Title: Model Predictive Control for Unlocking Energy Flexibility of Heat Pump and Thermal Energy Storage Systems: Experimental Results
Abstract:
Increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) and electrification of energy systems necessitates the engagement of demand-side management (DSM) to help alleviate congestion in electricity grid. Heat pump and thermal energy storage (HPTES) systems, being energy efficient solutions, are becoming popular in modern buildings and are promising to contribute to demand-side management (DSM) due to their significant share in household electricity consumption. For typical HPTES systems, this paper presents a systematic design framework covering a control-oriented modeling process and energy-flexible model predictive control (MPC) design. The proposed MPC-based DSM strategy offers an innovative solution for efficient DSM by following a two-step DSM framework. In the first step, flexibility assessment is performed to quantitatively evaluate the flexibility potential of the HPTES system by solving a mixed-integer economic MPC problem. In the second step, flexibility exploitation is achieved through reacting to feasible demand response (DR) requests while respecting system constraints. Both numerical simulations and real-world experiments are performed based on a real HPTES installation to showcase the viability and effectiveness of the proposed design.

Authors:Zijian Zhou, Jingze Ding, Rui Zhang
Title: Polarforming Design for Movable Antenna Systems
Abstract:
Polarforming has emerged as a promising technique to enable the antenna to shape its polarization into a desired state for aligning with that of the received electromagnetic (EM) wave or reconfiguring that of the transmitted EM wave. In this letter, we investigate polarforming design for the movable antenna (MA)-enabled communication system. Specifically, we consider a single-input single-output (SISO) system with reconfigurable antenna positions and polarizations to leverage both spatial and polarization degrees of freedom (DoFs). First, we present a polarized channel model and characterize the channel response as a function of antenna positions and polarforming phase shifts. To maximize the achievable rate of the proposed system, we then develop a successive convex approximation (SCA)-based optimization algorithm by iteratively optimizing the antenna positions and phase shifts at both the transmitter and receiver. Furthermore, simulation results demonstrate the performance gains of the proposed system over conventional systems in mitigating channel depolarization and adapting to channel fading.

Authors:Gian Carlo Maffettone, Alain Boldini, Mario di Bernardo, Maurizio Porfiri
Title: Density control of multi-agent swarms via bio-inspired leader-follower plasticity
Abstract:
The design of control systems for the spatial self-organization of mobile agents is an open challenge across several engineering domains, including swarm robotics and synthetic biology. Here, we propose a bio-inspired leader-follower solution, which is aware of energy constraints of mobile agents and is apt to deal with large swarms. Akin to many natural systems, control objectives are formulated for the entire collective, and leaders and followers are allowed to plastically switch their role in time. We frame a density control problem, modeling the agents' population via a system of nonlinear partial differential equations. This approach allows for a compact description that inherently avoids the curse of dimensionality and improves analytical tractability. We derive analytical guarantees for the existence of desired steady-state solutions and their local stability for one-dimensional and higher-dimensional problems. We numerically validate our control methodology, offering support to the effectiveness, robustness, and versatility of our proposed bio-inspired control strategy.

Authors:Saptarshi Mitra, Rachid Karami, Haocheng Xu, Sitao Huang, Hyoukjun Kwon
Title: Characterizing State Space Model (SSM) and SSM-Transformer Hybrid Language Model Performance with Long Context Length
Abstract:
The demand for machine intelligence capable of processing continuous, long-context inputs on local devices is growing rapidly. However, the quadratic complexity and memory requirements of traditional Transformer architectures make them inefficient and often unusable for these tasks. This has spurred a paradigm shift towards new architectures like State Space Models (SSMs) and hybrids, which promise near-linear scaling. While most current research focuses on the accuracy and theoretical throughput of these models, a systematic performance characterization on practical consumer hardware is critically needed to guide system-level optimization and unlock new applications. To address this gap, we present a comprehensive, comparative benchmarking of carefully selected Transformer, SSM, and hybrid models specifically for long-context inference on consumer and embedded GPUs. Our analysis reveals that SSMs are not only viable but superior for this domain, capable of processing sequences up to 220K tokens on a 24GB consumer GPU-approximately 4x longer than comparable Transformers. While Transformers may be up to 1.8x faster at short sequences, SSMs demonstrate a dramatic performance inversion, becoming up to 4x faster at very long contexts (~57K tokens). Our operator-level analysis reveals that custom, hardware-aware SSM kernels dominate the inference runtime, accounting for over 55% of latency on edge platforms, identifying them as a primary target for future hardware acceleration. We also provide detailed, device-specific characterization results to guide system co-design for the edge. To foster further research, we will open-source our characterization framework.

Authors:Rodion Nazarov, Anthony Quinn, Robert Shorten, Jakub Marecek
Title: humancompatible.interconnect: Testing Properties of Repeated Uses of Interconnections of AI Systems
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems often interact with multiple agents. The regulation of such AI systems often requires that {\em a priori\/} guarantees of fairness and robustness be satisfied. With stochastic models of agents' responses to the outputs of AI systems, such {\em a priori\/} guarantees require non-trivial reasoning about the corresponding stochastic systems. Here, we present an open-source PyTorch-based toolkit for the use of stochastic control techniques in modelling interconnections of AI systems and properties of their repeated uses. It models robustness and fairness desiderata in a closed-loop fashion, and provides {\em a priori\/} guarantees for these interconnections. The PyTorch-based toolkit removes much of the complexity associated with the provision of fairness guarantees for closed-loop models of multi-agent systems.

Authors:Sari Kerckhove, Marta Vanin, Reinhilde D'hulst, Dirk Van Hertem
Title: Low voltage user phase reconfiguration as a planning problem
Abstract:
Considerable levels of phase imbalance in low voltage (LV) distribution networks imply that grid assets are suboptimally utilized and can cause additional losses, equipment failure and degradation. With the ongoing energy transition, the installation of additional single-phase distributed energy resources may further increase the phase imbalance if no countermeasures are taken. Phase reconfiguration is a cost-effective solution to reduce imbalance. However, dynamic reconfiguration, through real-time phase swapping of loads using remotely controlled switches, is often impractical because these switches are too costly for widespread installation at LV users. Approaching phase reconfiguration as a planning problem, i.e. static reconfiguration, is an underaddressed but promising alternative. Effective static approaches that allow appropriate imbalance objectives are currently lacking. This paper presents reliable and expressive static phase reconfiguration methods that grid operators can easily integrate into routine maintenance for effective phase balancing. We present and compare three static methods, an exact mixed-integer nonlinear formulation (MINLP), a mixed-integer quadratic approximation (MIQP), and a genetic algorithm (GA), each supporting different imbalance objectives. The MIQP approach, despite using proxy objectives, efficiently mitigates the different types of imbalance considered, and outperforms both MINLP and GA in scalability and consistency.

Authors:Keith Moffat, Florian Dörfler, Alessandro Chiuso
Title: The Bias of Subspace-based Data-Driven Predictive Control
Abstract:
This paper quantifies and addresses the bias of subspace-based Data-Driven Predictive Control (DDPC) for linear, time-invariant (LTI) systems. The primary focus is the bias that arises when the training data is gathered with a feedback controller in closed-loop with the system. First, the closed-loop bias of Subspace Predictive Control is quantified using the training data innovations. Next, the bias of direct, subspace-based DDPC methods DeePC and $γ$-DDPC is shown to consist of two parts--the Subspace Bias, which arises from closed-loop data, and an Optimism Bias, which arises from DeePC/$γ$-DDPC's "optimistic" adjustment of the output trajectory. We show that, unlike subspace-based DDPC methods, Transient Predictive Control does not suffer from Subspace Bias or Optimism Bias. Double integrator experiments demonstrate that Subspace and Optimism Bias are responsible for poor reference tracking by the subspace-based DDPC methods.

Authors:Sebastian Graf, Keith Moffat, Anurag Mohapatra, Alessandro Chiuso, Florian Dörfler
Title: Grid-Connected, Data-Driven Inverter Control, Theory to Hardware
Abstract:
Grid-connected inverter control is challenging to implement due to the difficulty of obtaining and maintaining an accurate grid model. Direct Data-Driven Predictive Control provides a model-free alternative to traditional model-based control methods. This paper describes how the recently-proposed Transient Predictive Control (TPC) can be used for real-world, plug-and-play inverter control. The following hypotheses were tested: 1) The TPC algorithm can be run online using standard hardware, and 2) TPC, which is derived using Linear Time-Invariant assumptions, is effective for grid-connected inverter control, which is a nonlinear and time-varying system. Experiments conducted on a two-converter benchtop setup and at the CoSES Laboratory on a 25 kVA converter connected to the Munich grid support these hypotheses.

Authors:Maarten van der Hulst, Rodrigo A. González, Koen Classens, Paul Tacx, Nick Dirkx, Jeroen van de Wijdeven, Tom Oomen
Title: Structured identification of multivariable modal systems
Abstract:
Physically interpretable models are essential for next-generation industrial systems, as these representations enable effective control, support design validation, and provide a foundation for monitoring strategies. The aim of this paper is to develop a system identification framework for estimating modal models of complex multivariable mechanical systems from frequency response data. To achieve this, a two-step structured identification algorithm is presented, where an additive model is first estimated using a refined instrumental variable method and subsequently projected onto a modal form. The developed identification method provides accurate, physically-relevant, minimal-order models, for both generally-damped and proportionally damped modal systems. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through experimental validation on a prototype wafer-stage system, which features a large number of spatially distributed actuators and sensors and exhibits complex flexible dynamics.

Authors:Tianhao Liang, Mu Jia, Tingting Zhang, Junting Chen, Longyu Zhou, Tony Q. S. Quek, Pooi-Yuen Kam
Title: Sensing, Detection and Localization for Low Altitude UAV: A RF-Based Framework via Multiple BSs Collaboration
Abstract:
The rapid growth of the low-altitude economy has resulted in a significant increase in the number of Low, slow, and small (LLS) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), raising critical challenges for secure airspace management and reliable trajectory planning. To address this, this paper proposes a cooperative radio-frequency (RF) detection and localization framework that leverages existing cellular base stations. The proposed approach features a robust scheme for LSS target identification, integrating a cell averaging-constant false alarm rate (CA-CFAR) detector with a micro-Doppler signature (MDS) based recognition method. Multi-station measurements are fused through a grid-based probabilistic algorithm combined with clustering techniques, effectively mitigating ghost targets and improving localization accuracy in multi-UAV scenarios. Furthermore, the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) is derived as a performance benchmark and reinforcement learning (RL)-based optimization is employed to balance localization accuracy against station resource usage. Simulations demonstrate that increasing from one to multiple BSs reduces the positioning error to near the CRLB, while practical experiments further verify the framework's effectiveness. Furthermore, our RL-based optimization can find solutions that maintain high accuracy while minimizing resource usage, highlighting its potential as a scalable solution for ensuring airspace safety in the emerging low-altitude economy.

Authors:Mehmet Fatih Ozkan, Dennis Kibalama, Jacob Paugh, Marcello Canova, Stephanie Stockar
Title: Traffic-Aware Eco-Driving Control in CAVs via Learning-based Terminal Cost Model
Abstract:
Connected and Automated Vehicles (CAVs) offer significant potential for improving energy efficiency and lowering vehicle emissions through eco-driving technologies. Control algorithms in CAVs leverage look-ahead route information and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication to optimize vehicle performance. However, existing eco-driving strategies often neglect macroscopic traffic effects, such as upstream traffic jams, that occur outside the optimization horizon but significantly impact vehicle energy efficiency. This work presents a novel Neural Network (NN)-based methodology to approximate the terminal cost within a model predictive control (MPC) problem framework, explicitly incorporating upstream traffic dynamics. By incorporating traffic jams into the optimization process, the proposed traffic-aware approach yields more energy-efficient speed trajectories compared to traffic-agnostic methods, with minimal impact on travel time. The framework is scalable for real-time implementation while effectively addressing uncertainties from dynamic traffic conditions and macroscopic traffic events.

Authors:Abhijeet, Mohamed Naveed Gul Mohamed, Aayushman Sharma, Suman Chakravorty
Title: Optimal Control with Lyapunov Stability Guarantees for Space Applications
Abstract:
This paper investigates the infinite horizon optimal control problem (OCP) for space applications characterized by nonlinear dynamics. The proposed approach divides the problem into a finite horizon OCP with a regularized terminal cost, guiding the system towards a terminal set, and an infinite horizon linear regulation phase within this set. This strategy guarantees global asymptotic stability under specific assumptions. Our method maintains the system's fully nonlinear dynamics until it reaches the terminal set, where the system dynamics is linearized. As the terminal set converges to the origin, the difference in optimal cost incurred reduces to zero, guaranteeing an efficient and stable solution. The approach is tested through simulations on three problems: spacecraft attitude control, rendezvous maneuver, and soft landing. In spacecraft attitude control, we focus on achieving precise orientation and stabilization. For rendezvous maneuvers, we address the navigation of a chaser to meet a target spacecraft. For the soft landing problem, we ensure a controlled descent and touchdown on a planetary surface. We provide numerical results confirming the effectiveness of the proposed method in managing these nonlinear dynamics problems, offering robust solutions essential for successful space missions.

Authors:Romeo Ortega, Leyan Fang, Jose Guadalupe Romero
Title: Some Reflections on Sliding Mode Designs in Control Systems: An Example of Adaptive Tracking Control for Simple Mechanical Systems With Friction Without Measurement of Velocity
Abstract:
The objective of this note is to share some reflections of the authors regarding the use of sliding mode designs in control systems. We believe the abundant, and ever increasing, appearance of this kind of works on our scientific publications deserves some critical evaluation of their actual role, relevance and pertinence. First, we discuss the procedure followed by most of these designs -- illustrated with examples from the literature. Second, we bring to the readers attention several aspects of the control problem, central in classical designs, which are disregarded in the sliding mode literature. Finally, to illustrate with an specific example our previous considerations, we compare the performance of two adaptive tracking controllers for a simple one degree of freedom mechanical systems with unknown parameters and static and Coulomb friction -- that do not rely on the measurement of velocity.

Authors:Xiaokan Yang, Ding Zhang, Wei Chen, Li Qiu
Title: A Cascade of Systems and the Product of Their $θ$-Symmetric Scaled Relative Graphs
Abstract:
In this paper, we utilize a variant of the scaled relative graph (SRG), referred to as the $θ$-symmetric SRG, to develop a graphical stability criterion for the feedback interconnection of a cascade of systems. A crucial submultiplicative property of $θ$-symmetric SRG is established, enabling it to handle cyclic interconnections for which conventional graph separation methods are not applicable. By integrating both gain and refined phase information, the $θ$-symmetric SRG provides a unified graphical characterization of the system, which better captures system properties and yields less conservative results. In the scalar case, the $θ$-symmetric SRG can be reduced exactly to the scalar itself, whereas the standard SRG appears to be a conjugate pair. Consequently, the frequency-wise $θ$-symmetric SRG is more suitable than the standard SRG as a multi-input multi-output extension of the classical Nyquist plot. Illustrative examples are included to demonstrate the effectiveness of the $θ$-symmetric SRG.

Authors:Amin Vahidi-Moghaddam, Sayed Pedram Haeri Boroujeni, Iman Jebellat, Ehsan Jebellat, Niloufar Mehrabi, Zhaojian Li
Title: From Shadow to Light: Toward Safe and Efficient Policy Learning Across MPC, DeePC, RL, and LLM Agents
Abstract:
One of the main challenges in modern control applications, particularly in robot and vehicle motion control, is achieving accurate, fast, and safe movement. To address this, optimal control policies have been developed to enforce safety while ensuring high performance. Since basic first-principles models of real systems are often available, model-based controllers are widely used. Model predictive control (MPC) is a leading approach that optimizes performance while explicitly handling safety constraints. However, obtaining accurate models for complex systems is difficult, which motivates data-driven alternatives. ML-based MPC leverages learned models to reduce reliance on hand-crafted dynamics, while reinforcement learning (RL) can learn near-optimal policies directly from interaction data. Data-enabled predictive control (DeePC) goes further by bypassing modeling altogether, directly learning safe policies from raw input-output data. Recently, large language model (LLM) agents have also emerged, translating natural language instructions into structured formulations of optimal control problems. Despite these advances, data-driven policies face significant limitations. They often suffer from slow response times, high computational demands, and large memory needs, making them less practical for real-world systems with fast dynamics, limited onboard computing, or strict memory constraints. To address this, various technique, such as reduced-order modeling, function-approximated policy learning, and convex relaxations, have been proposed to reduce computational complexity. In this paper, we present eight such approaches and demonstrate their effectiveness across real-world applications, including robotic arms, soft robots, and vehicle motion control.

Authors:Kaidi Huang, Lin Cheng, Yue Zhou, Fashun Shi, Yufei Xi, Yingrui Zhuang, Ning Qi
Title: Real-Time Peer-to-Peer Energy Trading for Multi-Microgrids: Improved Double Auction Mechanism and Prediction-Free Online Trading Approach
Abstract:
Peer-to-peer energy trading offers a promising solution for enhancing renewable energy utilization and economic benefits within interconnected microgrids. However, existing real-time P2P markets face two key challenges: high computational complexity in trading mechanisms, and suboptimal participant decision-making under diverse uncertainties. Existing prediction-based decision-making methods rely heavily on accurate forecasts, which are typically unavailable for microgrids, while prediction-free methods suffer from myopic behaviors. To address these challenges, this paper proposes an improved double auction mechanism combined with an adaptive step-size search algorithm to reduce computational burden, and a data-driven dual-reference online optimization (DDOO) framework to enhance participant decision-making. The improved mechanism simplifies bidding procedures, significantly reducing computational burden and ensuring rapid convergence to the market equilibrium. Additionally, the prediction-free DDOO framework mitigates myopic decision-making by introducing two informative reference signals. Case studies on a 20-microgrid system demonstrate the effectiveness and scalability of the proposed mechanism and approach. The improved mechanism significantly decreases the computational time while increasing local energy self-sufficiency periods from 0.01% to 29.86%, reducing reverse power flow periods from 24.51% to 3.96%, and lowering average operating costs by 19.20%. Compared with conventional approaches such as Lyapunov optimization and model predictive control, the DDOO framework achieves a 10%-13% reduction in operating costs with an optimality gap of only 5.76%.

Authors:Jaewoo Lee, Dongjae Lee, Jinwoo Lee, Hyungyu Lee, Yeonjoon Kim, H. Jin Kim
Title: Geometric Backstepping Control of Omnidirectional Tiltrotors Incorporating Servo-Rotor Dynamics for Robustness against Sudden Disturbances
Abstract:
This work presents a geometric backstepping controller for a variable-tilt omnidirectional multirotor that explicitly accounts for both servo and rotor dynamics. Considering actuator dynamics is essential for more effective and reliable operation, particularly during aggressive flight maneuvers or recovery from sudden disturbances. While prior studies have investigated actuator-aware control for conventional and fixed-tilt multirotors, these approaches rely on linear relationships between actuator input and wrench, which cannot capture the nonlinearities induced by variable tilt angles. In this work, we exploit the cascade structure between the rigid-body dynamics of the multirotor and its nonlinear actuator dynamics to design the proposed backstepping controller and establish exponential stability of the overall system. Furthermore, we reveal parametric uncertainty in the actuator model through experiments, and we demonstrate that the proposed controller remains robust against such uncertainty. The controller was compared against a baseline that does not account for actuator dynamics across three experimental scenarios: fast translational tracking, rapid rotational tracking, and recovery from sudden disturbance. The proposed method consistently achieved better tracking performance, and notably, while the baseline diverged and crashed during the fastest translational trajectory tracking and the recovery experiment, the proposed controller maintained stability and successfully completed the tasks, thereby demonstrating its effectiveness.

Authors:Laura Connolly, Tamas Ungi, Adnan Munawar, Anton Deguet, Chris Yeung, Russell H. Taylor, Parvin Mousavi, Gabor Fichtinger Keyvan Hashtrudi-Zaad
Title: Touching the tumor boundary: A pilot study on ultrasound based virtual fixtures for breast-conserving surgery
Abstract:
Purpose: Delineating tumor boundaries during breast-conserving surgery is challenging as tumors are often highly mobile, non-palpable, and have irregularly shaped borders. To address these challenges, we introduce a cooperative robotic guidance system that applies haptic feedback for tumor localization. In this pilot study, we aim to assess if and how this system can be successfully integrated into breast cancer care. Methods: A small haptic robot is retrofitted with an electrocautery blade to operate as a cooperatively controlled surgical tool. Ultrasound and electromagnetic navigation are used to identify the tumor boundaries and position. A forbidden region virtual fixture is imposed when the surgical tool collides with the tumor boundary. We conducted a study where users were asked to resect tumors from breast simulants both with and without the haptic guidance. We then assess the results of these simulated resections both qualitatively and quantitatively. Results: Virtual fixture guidance is shown to improve resection margins. On average, users find the task to be less mentally demanding, frustrating, and effort intensive when haptic feedback is available. We also discovered some unanticipated impacts on surgical workflow that will guide design adjustments and training protocol moving forward. Conclusion: Our results suggest that virtual fixtures can help localize tumor boundaries in simulated breast-conserving surgery. Future work will include an extensive user study to further validate these results and fine-tune our guidance system.

Authors:Rafael Cisneros, Leyan Fang, Wei He, Romeo Ortega
Title: A New Partial State-Feedback IDA-PBC for Two-Dimensional Nonlinear Systems: Application to Power Converters with Experimental Results
Abstract:
In this paper we propose a variation of the widely popular Interconnection-and-Damping-Assigment Passivity-Based Control (IDA-PBC) based on Poincare's Lemma to design output feedback globally stabilizing controllers for two dimensional systems. The procedure is constructive and, in comparison with the classical IDA-PBC, whose application is often stymied by the need to solve the (infamous) matching partial differential equation (PDE), in this new method the PDE is replaced by an ordinary differential equation, whose solution is far simpler. The procedure is then applied for the design of voltage-feedback controllers for the three most typical DC-to-DC power converter topologies: the Buck, Boost and Buck-Boost. It is assumed that these converters feed an uncertain load, which is characterized by a static relation between its voltage and current. In the case when the load consists of the parallel connection of a resistive term and a constant power load we propose an adaptive version of the design, adding an identification scheme for the load parameters. This allows the controller to regulate the converter output when the load varies-that is a typical scenario in these applications. Extensive numerical simulations and experimental results validate the approach.

Authors:Hun Kuk Park, Taekyung Kim, Dimitra Panagou
Title: Beyond Collision Cones: Dynamic Obstacle Avoidance for Nonholonomic Robots via Dynamic Parabolic Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) are a powerful tool for ensuring the safety of autonomous systems, yet applying them to nonholonomic robots in cluttered, dynamic environments remains an open challenge. State-of-the-art methods often rely on collision-cone or velocity-obstacle constraints which, by only considering the angle of the relative velocity, are inherently conservative and can render the CBF-based quadratic program infeasible, particularly in dense scenarios. To address this issue, we propose a Dynamic Parabolic Control Barrier Function (DPCBF) that defines the safe set using a parabolic boundary. The parabola's vertex and curvature dynamically adapt based on both the distance to an obstacle and the magnitude of the relative velocity, creating a less restrictive safety constraint. We prove that the proposed DPCBF is valid for a kinematic bicycle model subject to input constraints. Extensive comparative simulations demonstrate that our DPCBF-based controller significantly enhances navigation success rates and QP feasibility compared to baseline methods. Our approach successfully navigates through dense environments with up to 100 dynamic obstacles, scenarios where collision cone-based methods fail due to infeasibility.

Authors:Julian Lemmel, Manuel Kranzl, Adam Lamine, Philipp Neubauer, Radu Grosu, Sophie A. Neubauer
Title: TubeDAgger: Reducing the Number of Expert Interventions with Stochastic Reach-Tubes
Abstract:
Interactive Imitation Learning deals with training a novice policy from expert demonstrations in an online fashion. The established DAgger algorithm trains a robust novice policy by alternating between interacting with the environment and retraining of the network. Many variants thereof exist, that differ in the method of discerning whether to allow the novice to act or return control to the expert. We propose the use of stochastic reachtubes - common in verification of dynamical systems - as a novel method for estimating the necessity of expert intervention. Our approach does not require fine-tuning of decision thresholds per environment and effectively reduces the number of expert interventions, especially when compared with related approaches that make use of a doubt classification model.

Authors:Paniz Foshat, Samane Kalhor, Shima Poorgholam-khanjari, Douglas Paul, Martin Weides, Kaveh Delfanazari
Title: Robust NbN on Si-SiGe hybrid superconducting-semiconducting microwave quantum circuit
Abstract:
Advancing large-scale quantum computing requires superconducting circuits that combine long coherence times with compatibility with semiconductor technology. We investigate niobium nitride (NbN) coplanar waveguide resonators integrated with Si/SiGe quantum wells, creating a hybrid platform designed for CMOS-compatible quantum hardware. Using temperature-dependent microwave spectroscopy in the single-photon regime, we examine resonance frequency and quality factor variations to probe the underlying loss mechanisms. Our analysis identifies the roles of two-level systems, quasiparticles, and scattering processes, and connects these losses to wafer properties and fabrication methods. The devices demonstrate reproducible performance and stable operation maintained for over two years, highlighting their robustness. These results provide design guidelines for developing low-loss, CMOS-compatible superconducting circuits and support progress toward resilient, scalable architectures for quantum information processing.

Authors:Yonatan Gizachew Achamyeleh, Yang Xiang, Yun-Ping Hsiao, Yasamin Moghaddas, Mohammad Abdullah Al Faruque
Title: Environmental Rate Manipulation Attacks on Power Grid Security
Abstract:
The growing complexity of global supply chains has made hardware Trojans a significant threat in sensor-based power electronics. Traditional Trojan designs depend on digital triggers or fixed threshold conditions that can be detected during standard testing. In contrast, we introduce Environmental Rate Manipulation (ERM), a novel Trojan triggering mechanism that activates by monitoring the rate of change in environmental parameters rather than their absolute values. This approach allows the Trojan to remain inactive under normal conditions and evade redundancy and sensor-fusion defenses. We implement a compact 14~$μ$m$^2$ circuit that measures capacitor charging rates in standard sensor front-ends and disrupts inverter pulse-width modulation PWM signals when a rapid change is induced. Experiments on a commercial Texas Instruments solar inverter demonstrate that ERM can trigger catastrophic driver chip failure. Furthermore, ETAP simulations indicate that a single compromised 100~kW inverter may initiate cascading grid instabilities. The attack's significance extends beyond individual sensors to entire classes of environmental sensing systems common in power electronics, demonstrating fundamental challenges for hardware security.

Authors:Xiaoyuan Cheng, Xiaohang Tang, Yiming Yang
Title: Safe and Stable Control via Lyapunov-Guided Diffusion Models
Abstract:
Diffusion models have made significant strides in recent years, exhibiting strong generalization capabilities in planning and control tasks. However, most diffusion-based policies remain focused on reward maximization or cost minimization, often overlooking critical aspects of safety and stability. In this work, we propose Safe and Stable Diffusion ($S^2$Diff), a model-based diffusion framework that explores how diffusion models can ensure safety and stability from a Lyapunov perspective. We demonstrate that $S^2$Diff eliminates the reliance on both complex gradient-based solvers (e.g., quadratic programming, non-convex solvers) and control-affine structures, leading to globally valid control policies driven by the learned certificate functions. Additionally, we uncover intrinsic connections between diffusion sampling and Almost Lyapunov theory, enabling the use of trajectory-level control policies to learn better certificate functions for safety and stability guarantees. To validate our approach, we conduct experiments on a wide variety of dynamical control systems, where $S^2$Diff consistently outperforms both certificate-based controllers and model-based diffusion baselines in terms of safety, stability, and overall control performance.

Authors:Nicola Anselmi, Paolo Rocca, Andrea Massa
Title: Sensitivity Analysis for Antenna Devices through Interval Arithmetic -- A Generalized Approach
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel method for the sensitivity analysis of electromagnetic (EM) systems whose transfer function (TF), that is the input-output (I/O) relationship between the input parameters affected by tolerance and the system response (i.e., the arising EM performance of interest), is not available in closed (or explicit) form. The method is a generalized analytic technique based on the Interval Analysis (IA). First, an analytic surrogate model (SM) of the TF is defined by means of a learning-by-example (LBE) approach starting from a set of available I/O examples. Then, the LBE-derived SM is extended to intervals through IA to yield inclusive, yet finite, performance bounds of the output system response when the control parameters are affected by unknown, but bounded, tolerances. A set of representative numerical examples is reported to validate the proposed IA-LBE method as well as to assess its effectiveness and reliability when dealing with realistic EM systems (e.g., antennas) for which the TF is not explicitly known.

Authors:Sinan Oğuz, Emanuele Garone, Marco Dorigo, Mary Katherine Heinrich
Title: Proactive-reactive detection and mitigation of intermittent faults in robot swarms
Abstract:
Intermittent faults are transient errors that sporadically appear and disappear. Although intermittent faults pose substantial challenges to reliability and coordination, existing studies of fault tolerance in robot swarms focus instead on permanent faults. One reason for this is that intermittent faults are prohibitively difficult to detect in the fully self-organized ad-hoc networks typical of robot swarms, as their network topologies are transient and often unpredictable. However, in the recently introduced self-organizing nervous systems (SoNS) approach, robot swarms are able to self-organize persistent network structures for the first time, easing the problem of detecting intermittent faults. To address intermittent faults in robot swarms that have persistent networks, we propose a novel proactive-reactive strategy to detection and mitigation, based on self-organized backup layers and distributed consensus in a multiplex network. Proactively, the robots self-organize dynamic backup paths before faults occur, adapting to changes in the primary network topology and the robots' relative positions. Reactively, robots use one-shot likelihood ratio tests to compare information received along different paths in the multiplex network, enabling early fault detection. Upon detection, communication is temporarily rerouted in a self-organized way, until the detected fault resolves. We validate the approach in representative scenarios of faulty positional data occurring during formation control, demonstrating that intermittent faults are prevented from disrupting convergence to desired formations, with high fault detection accuracy and low rates of false positives.

Authors:Yiqiao Xu, Quan Wan, Alessandra Parisio
Title: Frequency-Varying Optimization: A Control Framework for New Dynamic Frequency Response Services
Abstract:
To address the variability of renewable generation, initiatives have been launched globally to provide faster and more effective frequency responses. In the UK, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) has introduced a suite of three new dynamic services, where aggregation of assets is expected to play a key role. For an Aggregated Response Unit (ARU), the required level of frequency response varies with grid frequency, resulting in a frequency-varying equality constraint that assets should meet collectively. We show that the optimal coordination of an ARU constitutes a Frequency-Varying Optimization (FVO) problem, in which the optimal trajectory for each asset evolves dynamically. To facilitate online optimization, we reformulate the FVO problem into Tracking of the Optimal Trajectory (TOT) problems, with algorithms proposed for two scenarios: one where the asset dynamics are negligible, and another where they must be accounted for. Under reasonable conditions, the ARU converges to the optimal trajectory within a fixed time, and within the maximum delivery time requested by NESO. The proposed framework can be readily distributed to coordinate a large number of assets. Numerical results verify the effectiveness and scalability of the proposed control framework.

Authors:Eduardo Sebastián, Maitrayee Keskar, Eeman Iqbal, Eduardo Montijano, Carlos Sagüés, Nikolay Atanasov
Title: Policy Gradient with Self-Attention for Model-Free Distributed Nonlinear Multi-Agent Games
Abstract:
Multi-agent games in dynamic nonlinear settings are challenging due to the time-varying interactions among the agents and the non-stationarity of the (potential) Nash equilibria. In this paper we consider model-free games, where agent transitions and costs are observed without knowledge of the transition and cost functions that generate them. We propose a policy gradient approach to learn distributed policies that follow the communication structure in multi-team games, with multiple agents per team. Our formulation is inspired by the structure of distributed policies in linear quadratic games, which take the form of time-varying linear feedback gains. In the nonlinear case, we model the policies as nonlinear feedback gains, parameterized by self-attention layers to account for the time-varying multi-agent communication topology. We demonstrate that our distributed policy gradient approach achieves strong performance in several settings, including distributed linear and nonlinear regulation, and simulated and real multi-robot pursuit-and-evasion games.

Authors:Yinuo Wang, Yuanyang Qi, Jinzhao Zhou, Gavin Tao
Title: HuMam: Humanoid Motion Control via End-to-End Deep Reinforcement Learning with Mamba
Abstract:
End-to-end reinforcement learning (RL) for humanoid locomotion is appealing for its compact perception-action mapping, yet practical policies often suffer from training instability, inefficient feature fusion, and high actuation cost. We present HuMam, a state-centric end-to-end RL framework that employs a single-layer Mamba encoder to fuse robot-centric states with oriented footstep targets and a continuous phase clock. The policy outputs joint position targets tracked by a low-level PD loop and is optimized with PPO. A concise six-term reward balances contact quality, swing smoothness, foot placement, posture, and body stability while implicitly promoting energy saving. On the JVRC-1 humanoid in mc-mujoco, HuMam consistently improves learning efficiency, training stability, and overall task performance over a strong feedforward baseline, while reducing power consumption and torque peaks. To our knowledge, this is the first end-to-end humanoid RL controller that adopts Mamba as the fusion backbone, demonstrating tangible gains in efficiency, stability, and control economy.

Authors:Baoshan Song, Weisong Wen, Qi Zhang, Bing Xu, Li-Ta Hsu
Title: Certifiably Optimal Doppler Positioning using Opportunistic LEO Satellites
Abstract:
To provide backup and augmentation to global navigation satellite system (GNSS), Doppler shift from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites can be employed as signals of opportunity (SOP) for position, navigation and timing (PNT). Since the Doppler positioning problem is non-convex, local searching methods may produce two types of estimates: a global optimum without notice or a local optimum given an inexact initial estimate. As exact initialization is unavailable in some unknown environments, a guaranteed global optimization method in no need of initialization becomes necessary. To achieve this goal, we propose a certifiably optimal LEO Doppler positioning method by utilizing convex optimization. In this paper, the certifiable positioning method is implemented through a graduated weight approximation (GWA) algorithm and semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation. To guarantee the optimality, we derive the necessary conditions for optimality in ideal noiseless cases and sufficient noise bounds conditions in noisy cases. Simulation and real tests are conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method. Specially, the real test using Iridium-NEXT satellites shows that the proposed method estimates an certifiably optimal solution with an 3D positioning error of 140 m without initial estimates while Gauss-Newton and Dog-Leg are trapped in local optima when the initial point is equal or larger than 1000 km away from the ground truth. Moreover, the certifiable estimation can also be used as initialization in local searching methods to lower down the 3D positioning error to 130 m.

Authors:Yuzhen Qin, Alberto Maria Nobili, Danielle S. Bassett, Fabio Pasqualetti
Title: Vibrational Stabilization of Cluster Synchronization in Oscillator Networks
Abstract:
Cluster synchronization is of great importance for the normal functioning of numerous technological and natural systems. Deviations from normal cluster synchronization patterns are closely associated with various malfunctions, such as neurological disorders in the brain. Therefore, it is crucial to restore normal system functions by stabilizing the appropriate cluster synchronization patterns. Most existing studies focus on designing controllers based on state measurements to achieve system stabilization. However, in many real-world scenarios, measuring system states in real time, such as neuronal activity in the brain, poses significant challenges, rendering the stabilization of such systems difficult. To overcome this challenge, in this paper, we employ an open-loop control strategy, vibrational control, which does not require any state measurements. We establish some sufficient conditions under which vibrational inputs stabilize cluster synchronization. Further, we provide a tractable approach to design vibrational control. Finally, numerical experiments are conducted to demonstrate our theoretical findings.

Authors:Mohamed Sabry, Enrico Del Re, Walter Morales-Alvarez, Cristina Olaverri-Monreal
Title: A LiDAR-Driven Fallback Longitudinal Controller for Safer Following in Sudden Braking Scenarios
Abstract:
Adaptive Cruise Control has seen significant advancements, with Collaborative Adaptive Cruise Control leveraging Vehicle-to-Vehicle communication to enhance coordination and stability. However, the reliance on stable communication channels limits its reliability. Research on reducing information dependencies in Adaptive Cruise Control systems has remained limited, despite its critical role in mitigating collision risks during sudden braking scenarios. This study proposes a novel fallback longitudinal controller that relies solely on LiDAR-based distance measurements and the velocity of a follower vehicle. The controller is designed to be time-independent, ensuring operation in the presence of sensor delays or synchronization issues. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed controller enables vehicle-following from standstill and prevents collisions during emergency braking, even under minimal onboard information.

Authors:Jihun Kim, Javad Lavaei
Title: Bridging Batch and Streaming Estimations to System Identification under Adversarial Attacks
Abstract:
System identification in modern engineering systems faces emerging challenges from unanticipated adversarial attacks beyond existing detection mechanisms. In this work, we obtain a provably accurate estimate of the Markov parameter matrix of order $k$ to identify partially observed linear systems, in which the probability of having an attack at each time is $O(1/k)$. We show that given the batch data accumulated up to time $T^*$, the $\ell_2$-norm estimator achieves an error decaying exponentially as $k$ grows. We then propose a stochastic projected subgradient descent algorithm on streaming data that produces an estimate at each time $t
Authors:Lorenzo Poli, Paolo Rocca, Arianna Benoni, Andrea Massa
Title: Inverse Source Method for Constrained Phased Array Synthesis through Null-Space Exploitation
Abstract:
A versatile approach for the synthesis of phased array (PA) antennas able to fit user-defined power pattern masks, while fulfilling additional geometrical and/or electrical constraints on the geometry of the array aperture and/or on the array excitations is presented. Such a synthesis method is based on the inverse source (IS) formulation and exploits the null-space of the radiation operator that causes the non-uniqueness of the IS problem at hand. More in detail, the unknown element excitations of the PA are expressed as the linear combination of a minimum-norm or radiating (RA) term and a suitable non-radiating (NR) component. The former, computed via the truncated singular value decomposition (SVD) of the array radiation operator, is devoted to generate a far-field power pattern that fulfills user-defined pattern masks. The other one belongs to the null-space of the radiation operator and allows one to fit additional geometrical and/or electrical constraints on the geometry of the array aperture and/or on the beam-forming network (BFN) when determined with a customized global optimization strategy. A set of numerical examples, concerned with various array arrangements and additional design targets, is reported to prove the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Authors:Salim Oyinlola, Nitesh Subedi, Soumik Sarkar
Title: Reinforcement Learning for Autonomous Point-to-Point UAV Navigation
Abstract:
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly used in automated inspection, delivery, and navigation tasks that require reliable autonomy. This project develops a reinforcement learning (RL) approach to enable a single UAV to autonomously navigate between predefined points without manual intervention. The drone learns navigation policies through trial-and-error interaction, using a custom reward function that encourages goal-reaching efficiency while penalizing collisions and unsafe behavior. The control system integrates ROS with a Gym-compatible training environment, enabling flexible deployment and testing. After training, the learned policy is deployed on a real UAV platform and evaluated under practical conditions. Results show that the UAV can successfully perform autonomous navigation with minimal human oversight, demonstrating the viability of RL-based control for point-to-point drone operations in real-world scenarios.

Authors:Sheng Yu, Boli Chen, Imad M. Jaimoukha, Simos A. Evangelou
Title: A Game-Theoretic Predictive Control Framework with Statistical Collision Avoidance Constraints for Autonomous Vehicle Overtaking
Abstract:
This work develops a control framework for the autonomous overtaking of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) in a mixed traffic environment, where the overtaken vehicle is an unconnected but interactive human-driven vehicle. The proposed method, termed the Game-Theoretic, PRedictive Overtaking (GT-PRO) strategy, successfully decouples the longitudinal and lateral vehicle dynamics of the CAV and comprehensively coordinates these decoupled dynamics via innovative longitudinal and lateral model predictive (MPC) based controllers, respectively. To address the real-time interactive behavior of the human-driven overtaken vehicle, a dynamic Stackelberg game-based bilevel optimization is solved by the lateral controller to directly control the CAV lateral motion and predict the overtaken vehicle longitudinal responses that are subsequently shared with a stochastic MPC that governs the CAV longitudinal motion. The proposed strategy exploits a comprehensive real-world dataset, which captures human driver responses when being overtaken, to tune the game-theoretic lateral controller according to the most common human responses, and to statistically characterize human uncertainties and hence implement a collision avoidance chance constraint for the stochastic longitudinal controller. The simulation results for both polite and aggressive human response case studies of the overtaken vehicle demonstrate that the proposed GT-PRO can achieve for this range of human driver responsiveness, safer, more efficient, and more comfortable autonomous overtaking, as compared to existing autonomous overtaking approaches in the literature. Furthermore, the results suggest that the GT-PRO method is capable of real-time implementation.

Authors:Anders H. D. Christensen, Tobias K. S. Ritschel, Jan Lorenz Svensen, Steen Hørsholt, Jakob Kjøbsted Huusom, John Bagterp Jørgensen
Title: Comparing Model-based Control Strategies for a Quadruple Tank System: Decentralized PID, LMPC, and NMPC
Abstract:
This paper compares the performance of a decentralized proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, a linear model predictive controller (LMPC), and a nonlinear model predictive controller (NMPC) applied to a quadruple tank system (QTS). We present experimental data from a physical setup of the QTS as well as simulation results. The QTS is modeled as a stochastic nonlinear continuous-discrete-time system, with parameters estimated using a maximum-likelihood prediction-error-method (ML-PEM). The NMPC applies the stochastic nonlinear continuous-discrete-time model, while the LMPC uses a linearized version of the same model. We tune the decentralized PID controller using the simple internal model control (SIMC) rules. The SIMC rules require transfer functions of the process, and we obtain these from the linearized model. We compare the controller performances based on systematic tests using both the physical setup and the simulated QTS. We measure the performance in terms of tracking errors and rate of movement in the manipulated variables. The LMPC and the NMPC perform better than the decentralized PID control system for tracking pre-announced time-varying setpoints. For disturbance rejection, the MPCs perform only slightly better than the decentralized PID controller. The primary advantage of the MPCs is their ability to use the information of future setpoints. We demonstrate this by providing simulation results of the MPCs with and without such information. Finally, the NMPC achieves slightly improved tracking errors compared to the LMPC but at the expense of having a higher input rate of movement.

Authors:Nicola Cantisani, Jan Lorenz Svensen, Shanmugam Perumal, John Bagterp Jørgensen
Title: Dynamic modeling and simulation of an electric flash clay calcination plant for green cement production
Abstract:
We present a novel dynamic model of an electric flash clay calcination plant. Calcined kaolinite-rich clay has been identified as one of the most effective candidates for supplementary cementitious material (SCM), because of its large availability. Calcination of clay is achieved via the dehydroxylation reaction, which does not release CO2 (unlike limestone), but has a considerable energy requirement. The required high temperature can be met by electric resistive heating of the working gas in the plant, that can be powered by renewable energy. Therefore, CO2-free calcination of clay can be achieved. Up to 50\% of the limestone-based clinker can be substituted by calcined clay (CC), making the cement more sustainable. We consider a plant that consists of gas-material cyclones that pre-heat the clay, a calciner, and a gas-recirculation system with electric heating of the gas. The model is formulated as a system of differential-algebraic equations (DAE). The model consists of thermophysical properties, reaction kinetics and stoichiometry, transport, mass and energy balances, and algebraic constraints. The model can be used to perform dynamic simulations with changing inputs, process design, and optimization. Moreover, it can be used to develop model-based control, which is relevant for flexible operation of a clay calcination plant for green cement production.

Authors:Jingwei Dong, Kangkang Zhang, Anh Tung Nguyen, André M. H. Teixeira
Title: Fundamental limitations of sensitivity metrics for anomaly impact analysis in LTI systems
Abstract:
This study establishes a connection between the output-to-output gain (OOG), a sensitivity metric quantifying the impact of stealthy attacks, and a novel input-to-input gain (IIG) introduced to evaluate fault sensitivity under disturbances, and investigates their fundamental performance limitations arising from the transmission zeros of the underlying dynamical system. Inspired by the OOG, which characterizes the maximum performance loss caused by stealthy attacks, the IIG is proposed as a new measure of robust fault sensitivity, and is defined as the maximum energy of undetectable faults for a given disturbance intensity. Then, using right (for OOG) and left (for IIG) co-prime factorizations, both metrics are expressed as the~$\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ norm of a ratio of the numerator factors. This unified representation facilitates a systematic analysis of their fundamental limitations. Subsequently, by utilizing the Poisson integral relation, theoretical bounds for the IIG and OOG are derived, explicitly characterizing their fundamental limitations imposed by system \mbox{non-minimum} phase (NMP) zeros. Finally, a numerical example is employed to validate the results.

Authors:Aashi Shrinate, Twinkle Tripathy
Title: Opinion Clustering under the Friedkin-Johnsen Model: Agreement in Disagreement
Abstract:
The convergence of opinions in the Friedkin-Johnsen (FJ) framework is well studied, but the topological conditions leading to opinion clustering remain less explored. To bridge this gap, we examine the role of topology in the emergence of opinion clusters within the network. The key contribution of the paper lies in the introduction of the notion of topologically prominent agents, referred to as Locally Topologically Persuasive (LTP) agents. Interestingly, each LTP agent is associated with a unique set of (non-influential) agents in its vicinity. Using them, we present conditions to obtain opinion clusters in the FJ framework in any arbitrarily connected digraph. A key advantage of the proposed result is that the resulting opinion clusters are independent of the edge weights and the stubbornness of the agents. Finally, we demonstrate using simulation results that, by suitably placing LTP agents, one can design networks that achieve any desired opinion clustering.

Authors:Aashi Shrinate, Twinkle Tripathy
Title: A Signed Friedkin-Johnsen Model for Arbitrary Network Topologies
Abstract:
The paper presents an opposing rule-based signed Friedkin-Johnsen (SFJ) model for the evolution of opinions in arbitrary network topologies with signed interactions and stubborn agents. The primary objective of the paper is to analyse the emergent behaviours of the agents under the proposed rule and to identify the key agents which contribute to the final opinions, characterised as influential agents. We start by presenting some convergence results which show how the opinions of the agents evolve for a signed network with any arbitrary topology. Throughout the paper, we classify the agents as opinion leaders (sinks in the associated condensation graph) and followers (the rest). In general, it has been shown in the literature that opinion leaders and stubborn agents drive the opinions of the group. However, the addition of signed interactions reveals interesting behaviours wherein opinion leaders can now become non-influential or less influential. Further, while the stubborn agents always continue to remain influential, they might become less influential owing to signed interactions. Additionally, the signed interactions can drive the opinions of the agents outside of the convex hull of their initial opinions. Thereafter, we propose the absolute influence centrality measure, which allows us to quantify the overall influence of all the agents in the network and also identify the most influential agents. Unlike most of the existing measures, it is applicable to any network topology and considers the effect of both stubbornness and signed interactions. Finally, simulations are presented for the Bitcoin Alpha dataset to elaborate the proposed results.

Authors:Wenqi Cui, Yiheng Xie, Steven Low, Adam Wierman, Baosen Zhang
Title: Leveraging Predictions in Power System Voltage Control: An Adaptive Approach
Abstract:
High variability of solar PV and sudden changes in load (e.g., electric vehicles and storage) can lead to large voltage fluctuations in the distribution system. In recent years, a number of controllers have been designed to optimize voltage control. These controllers, however, almost always assume that the net load in the system remains constant over a sufficiently long time, such that the control actions converge before the load changes again. Given the intermittent and uncertain nature of renewable resources, it is becoming important to explicitly consider net load that is time-varying. This paper proposes an adaptive approach to voltage control in power systems with significant time-varying net load. We leverage advances in short-term load forecasting, where the net load in the system can be partially predicted using local measurements. We integrate these predictions into the design of adaptive controllers, and prove that the overall control architecture achieves input-to-state stability in a decentralized manner. We optimize the control policy through reinforcement learning. Case studies are conducted using time-varying load data from a real-world distribution system.

Authors:Sourav Garg, Dustin Craggs, Vineeth Bhat, Lachlan Mares, Stefan Podgorski, Madhava Krishna, Feras Dayoub, Ian Reid
Title: ObjectReact: Learning Object-Relative Control for Visual Navigation
Abstract:
Visual navigation using only a single camera and a topological map has recently become an appealing alternative to methods that require additional sensors and 3D maps. This is typically achieved through an "image-relative" approach to estimating control from a given pair of current observation and subgoal image. However, image-level representations of the world have limitations because images are strictly tied to the agent's pose and embodiment. In contrast, objects, being a property of the map, offer an embodiment- and trajectory-invariant world representation. In this work, we present a new paradigm of learning "object-relative" control that exhibits several desirable characteristics: a) new routes can be traversed without strictly requiring to imitate prior experience, b) the control prediction problem can be decoupled from solving the image matching problem, and c) high invariance can be achieved in cross-embodiment deployment for variations across both training-testing and mapping-execution settings. We propose a topometric map representation in the form of a "relative" 3D scene graph, which is used to obtain more informative object-level global path planning costs. We train a local controller, dubbed "ObjectReact", conditioned directly on a high-level "WayObject Costmap" representation that eliminates the need for an explicit RGB input. We demonstrate the advantages of learning object-relative control over its image-relative counterpart across sensor height variations and multiple navigation tasks that challenge the underlying spatial understanding capability, e.g., navigating a map trajectory in the reverse direction. We further show that our sim-only policy is able to generalize well to real-world indoor environments. Code and supplementary material are accessible via project page: https://object-react.github.io/

Authors:Mahsa Sajjadi, Kaiyang Huang, Kai Sun
Title: Efficient High-Order Participation Factor Computation via Batch-Structured Tensor Contraction
Abstract:
Participation factors (PFs) quantify the interaction between system modes and state variables, and they play a crucial role in various applications such as modal analysis, model reduction, and control design. With increasing system complexity, especially due to power electronic devices and renewable integration, the need for scalable and high-order nonlinear PF (NPF) computation has become more critical. This paper presents an efficient tensor-based method for calculating NPFs up to an arbitrary order. Traditional computation of PFs directly from normal form theory is computationally expensive -- even for second-order PFs -- and becomes infeasible for higher orders due to memory constraints. To address this, a tensor contraction-based approach is introduced that enables the calculation of high-order PFs using a batching strategy. The batch sizes are dynamically determined based on the available computational resources, allowing scalable and memory-efficient computation.

Authors:Tong Wu, Anna Scaglione, Sandy Miguel, Daniel Arnold
Title: Universal Graph Learning for Power System Reconfigurations: Transfer Across Topology Variations
Abstract:
This work addresses a fundamental challenge in applying deep learning to power systems: developing neural network models that transfer across significant system changes, including networks with entirely different topologies and dimensionalities, without requiring training data from unseen reconfigurations. Despite extensive research, most ML-based approaches remain system-specific, limiting real-world deployment. This limitation stems from a dual barrier. First, topology changes shift feature distributions and alter input dimensions due to power flow physics. Second, reconfigurations redefine output semantics and dimensionality, requiring models to handle configuration-specific outputs while maintaining transferable feature extraction. To overcome this challenge, we introduce a Universal Graph Convolutional Network (UGCN) that achieves transferability to any reconfiguration or variation of existing power systems without any prior knowledge of new grid topologies or retraining during implementation. Our approach applies to both transmission and distribution networks and demonstrates generalization capability to completely unseen system reconfigurations, such as network restructuring and major grid expansions. Experimental results across power system applications, including false data injection detection and state forecasting, show that UGCN significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods in cross-system zero-shot transferability of new reconfigurations.

Authors:Arianna Benoni, Marco Salucci, Baozhu Li, Andrea Massa
Title: A Planning Strategy for Building a Heterogeneous Smart EM Environment
Abstract:
This paper presents a planning strategy for the deployment of smart electromagnetic entities (SEEs) to enhance the wireless coverage and the Quality-of-Service (QoS) in large urban areas. The integration of different technological solutions such as integrated access-and-backhaul nodes (IABs), smart repeaters (SRs), and electromagnetic skins (EMSs) is here addressed to enable an effective and efficient implementation of the concept of Smart Electromagnetic Environment (SEME). By combining the features of such heterogeneous SEEs and optimizing their number, positions, orientations, and configuration, the electromagnetic (EM) coverage in a set of Regions-of-Interest (RoIs) of outdoor scenarios is recovered and/or enhanced subject to installation costs and energy consumption requirements. Numerical validations from real-world scenarios are reported to assess the effectiveness of the proposed planning scheme as well as to show the potentialities of an heterogeneous deployment of SEMEs.

Authors:Shima Poorgholam-Khanjari, Paniz Foshat, Mingqi Zhang, Valentino Seferai, Martin Weides, Kaveh Delfanazari
Title: On-chip microwave sensing of quasiparticles in tantalum superconducting circuits on silicon for scalable quantum technologies
Abstract:
The performance and scalability of superconducting quantum circuits are fundamentally constrained by non-equilibrium quasiparticles, which induce microwave losses that limit resonator quality factors and qubit coherence times. Understanding and mitigating these excitations is therefore central to advancing scalable quantum technologies. Here, we demonstrate on-chip microwave sensing of quasiparticles in high-Q α-tantalum coplanar waveguide resonators on silicon, operated in the single-photon regime. Temperature-dependent measurements reveal persistent non-equilibrium quasiparticles at millikelvin temperatures, producing a measurable suppression of the internal quality factor (Qi) relative to theoretical expectations. By benchmarking across materials, we find that the quasiparticle density in α-Ta is approximately one-third that of NbN at equivalent normalised temperatures (T/Tc), directly correlating with reduced microwave loss. Our methodology establishes a scalable platform for probing quasiparticle dynamics and points towards new routes for engineering superconducting circuits with improved coherence, with impact on qubit readout resonators, kinetic-inductance detectors, and emerging quantum processors and sensors.

Authors:Cesare Donati, Martina Mammarella, Giuseppe C. Calafiore, Fabrizio Dabbene, Constantino Lagoa, Carlo Novara
Title: A kernel-based approach to physics-informed nonlinear system identification
Abstract:
This paper presents a kernel-based framework for physics-informed nonlinear system identification. The key contribution is a structured methodology that extends kernel-based techniques to seamlessly integrate partially known physics-based models, improving parameter estimation and overall model accuracy. The proposed method enhances traditional modeling approaches by integrating a parametric model, which provides physical interpretability, with a kernel-based function, which accounts for unmodelled dynamics. The two model's components are identified from data simultaneously, minimizing a suitable cost that balances the relative importance of the physical and the black-box parts of the model. Additionally, nonlinear state smoothing is employed to address scenarios involving state-space models with not fully measurable states. Numerical simulations on an experimental benchmark system demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, with performance comparisons against state-of-the-art identification techniques.

Authors:Gavin Tao, Yinuo Wang, Jinzhao Zhou
Title: Can SSD-Mamba2 Unlock Reinforcement Learning for End-to-End Motion Control?
Abstract:
End-to-end reinforcement learning for motion control promises unified perception-action policies that scale across embodiments and tasks, yet most deployed controllers are either blind (proprioception-only) or rely on fusion backbones with unfavorable compute-memory trade-offs. Recurrent controllers struggle with long-horizon credit assignment, and Transformer-based fusion incurs quadratic cost in token length, limiting temporal and spatial context. We present a vision-driven cross-modal RL framework built on SSD-Mamba2, a selective state-space backbone that applies state-space duality (SSD) to enable both recurrent and convolutional scanning with hardware-aware streaming and near-linear scaling. Proprioceptive states and exteroceptive observations (e.g., depth tokens) are encoded into compact tokens and fused by stacked SSD-Mamba2 layers. The selective state-space updates retain long-range dependencies with markedly lower latency and memory use than quadratic self-attention, enabling longer look-ahead, higher token resolution, and stable training under limited compute. Policies are trained end-to-end under curricula that randomize terrain and appearance and progressively increase scene complexity. A compact, state-centric reward balances task progress, energy efficiency, and safety. Across diverse motion-control scenarios, our approach consistently surpasses strong state-of-the-art baselines in return, safety (collisions and falls), and sample efficiency, while converging faster at the same compute budget. These results suggest that SSD-Mamba2 provides a practical fusion backbone for scalable, foresightful, and efficient end-to-end motion control.

Authors:Guangyu Lei, Tianhao Liang, Yuqi Ping, Xinglin Chen, Longyu Zhou, Junwei Wu, Xiyuan Zhang, Huahao Ding, Xingjian Zhang, Weijie Yuan, Tingting Zhang, Qinyu Zhang
Title: Enhancing Low-Altitude Airspace Security: MLLM-Enabled UAV Intent Recognition
Abstract:
The rapid development of the low-altitude economy emphasizes the critical need for effective perception and intent recognition of non-cooperative unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The advanced generative reasoning capabilities of multimodal large language models (MLLMs) present a promising approach in such tasks. In this paper, we focus on the combination of UAV intent recognition and the MLLMs. Specifically, we first present an MLLM-enabled UAV intent recognition architecture, where the multimodal perception system is utilized to obtain real-time payload and motion information of UAVs, generating structured input information, and MLLM outputs intent recognition results by incorporating environmental information, prior knowledge, and tactical preferences. Subsequently, we review the related work and demonstrate their progress within the proposed architecture. Then, a use case for low-altitude confrontation is conducted to demonstrate the feasibility of our architecture and offer valuable insights for practical system design. Finally, the future challenges are discussed, followed by corresponding strategic recommendations for further applications.

Authors:Ali Zeynali, Mahsa Sahebdel, Qingsong Liu, Mohammad Hajiesmaili, Ramesh K. Sitaraman
Title: Smoothed Online Optimization for Target Tracking: Robust and Learning-Augmented Algorithms
Abstract:
We introduce the Smoothed Online Optimization for Target Tracking (SOOTT) problem, a new framework that integrates three key objectives in online decision-making under uncertainty: (1) tracking cost for following a dynamically moving target, (2) adversarial perturbation cost for withstanding unpredictable disturbances, and (3) switching cost for penalizing abrupt changes in decisions. This formulation captures real-world scenarios such as elastic and inelastic workload scheduling in AI clusters, where operators must balance long-term service-level agreements (e.g., LLM training) against sudden demand spikes (e.g., real-time inference). We first present BEST, a robust algorithm with provable competitive guarantees for SOOTT. To enhance practical performance, we introduce CoRT, a learning-augmented variant that incorporates untrusted black-box predictions (e.g., from ML models) into its decision process. Our theoretical analysis shows that CoRT strictly improves over BEST when predictions are accurate, while maintaining robustness under arbitrary prediction errors. We validate our approach through a case study on workload scheduling, demonstrating that both algorithms effectively balance trajectory tracking, decision smoothness, and resilience to external disturbances.

Authors:Aditya Gahlawat, Sambhu H. Karumanchi, Naira Hovakimyan
Title: $\mathcal{L}_1$-DRAC: Distributionally Robust Adaptive Control
Abstract:
Data-driven machine learning methodologies have attracted considerable attention for the control and estimation of dynamical systems. However, such implementations suffer from a lack of predictability and robustness. Thus, adoption of data-driven tools has been minimal for safety-aware applications despite their impressive empirical results. While classical tools like robust adaptive control can ensure predictable performance, their consolidation with data-driven methods remains a challenge and, when attempted, leads to conservative results. The difficulty of consolidation stems from the inherently different `spaces' that robust control and data-driven methods occupy. Data-driven methods suffer from the distribution-shift problem, which current robust adaptive controllers can only tackle if using over-simplified learning models and unverifiable assumptions. In this paper, we present $\mathcal{L}_1$ distributionally robust adaptive control ($\mathcal{L}_1$-DRAC): a control methodology for uncertain stochastic processes that guarantees robustness certificates in terms of uniform (finite-time) and maximal distributional deviation. We leverage the $\mathcal{L}_1$ adaptive control methodology to ensure the existence of Wasserstein ambiguity set around a nominal distribution, which is guaranteed to contain the true distribution. The uniform ambiguity set produces an ambiguity tube of distributions centered on the nominal temporally-varying nominal distribution. The designed controller generates the ambiguity tube in response to both epistemic (model uncertainties) and aleatoric (inherent randomness and disturbances) uncertainties.

Authors:Aditya Gahlawat, Vivek Khatana, Duo Wang, Sambhu H. Karumanchi, Naira Hovakimyan, Petros Voulgaris
Title: Wasserstein Distributionally Robust Adaptive Covariance Steering
Abstract:
We present a methodology for predictable and safe covariance steering control of uncertain nonlinear stochastic processes. The systems under consideration are subject to general uncertainties, which include unbounded random disturbances (aleatoric uncertainties) and incomplete model knowledge (state-dependent epistemic uncertainties). These general uncertainties lead to temporally evolving state distributions that are entirely unknown, can have arbitrary shapes, and may diverge unquantifiably from expected behaviors, leading to unpredictable and unsafe behaviors. Our method relies on an $\mathcal{L}_1$-adaptive control architecture that ensures robust control of uncertain stochastic processes while providing Wasserstein metric certificates in the space of probability measures. We show how these distributional certificates can be incorporated into the high-level covariance control steering to guarantee safe control. Unlike existing distributionally robust planning and control methodologies, our approach avoids difficult-to-verify requirements like the availability of finite samples from the true underlying distribution or an a priori knowledge of time-varying ambiguity sets to which the state distributions are assumed to belong.

Authors:Zacharia A. Rudge, Dominik Dold, Moritz Fieback, Dario Izzo, Said Hamdioui
Title: Memristor-Based Neural Network Accelerators for Space Applications: Enhancing Performance with Temporal Averaging and SIRENs
Abstract:
Memristors are an emerging technology that enables artificial intelligence (AI) accelerators with high energy efficiency and radiation robustness -- properties that are vital for the deployment of AI on-board spacecraft. However, space applications require reliable and precise computations, while memristive devices suffer from non-idealities, such as device variability, conductance drifts, and device faults. Thus, porting neural networks (NNs) to memristive devices often faces the challenge of severe performance degradation. In this work, we show in simulations that memristor-based NNs achieve competitive performance levels on on-board tasks, such as navigation \& control and geodesy of asteroids. Through bit-slicing, temporal averaging of NN layers, and periodic activation functions, we improve initial results from around $0.07$ to $0.01$ and $0.3$ to $0.007$ for both tasks using RRAM devices, coming close to state-of-the-art levels ($0.003-0.005$ and $0.003$, respectively). Our results demonstrate the potential of memristors for on-board space applications, and we are convinced that future technology and NN improvements will further close the performance gap to fully unlock the benefits of memristors.

Authors:Guangyu Lei, Yuqi Ping, Tianhao Liang, Huahao Ding, Tingting Zhang
Title: Relative Localization of UAV Swarms in GNSS-Denied Conditions
Abstract:
Relative localization of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms in global navigation satellite system (GNSS) denied environments is essential for emergency rescue and battlefield reconnaissance. Existing methods suffer from significant localization errors among UAVs due to packet loss and high computational complexity in large swarms. This paper proposes a clustering-based framework where the UAVs simultaneously use communication signals for channel estimation and ranging. Firstly, the spectral clustering is utilized to divide the UAV swarm into different sub-clusters, where matrix completion and multidimensional scaling yield high-precision relative coordinates. Subsequently, a global map is created by the inter-cluster anchor fusion. A case study of UAV integrated communication and sensing (ISAC) system is presented, where the Orthogonal Time Frequency Space (OTFS) is adopted for ranging and communication. Experimental results show that the proposed method reduces localization errors in large swarms and loss of range information. It also explores the impact of signal parameters on communication and localization, highlighting the interplay between communication and localization performance.

Authors:Rudi Coppola, Hovsep Touloujian, Pierfrancesco Ombrini, Manuel Mazo
Title: Reinforcement Learning for Robust Ageing-Aware Control of Li-ion Battery Systems with Data-Driven Formal Verification
Abstract:
Rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries are a ubiquitous element of modern technology. In the last decades, the production and design of such batteries and their adjacent embedded charging and safety protocols, denoted by Battery Management Systems (BMS), has taken central stage. A fundamental challenge to be addressed is the trade-off between the speed of charging and the ageing behavior, resulting in the loss of capacity in the battery cell. We rely on a high-fidelity physics-based battery model and propose an approach to data-driven charging and safety protocol design. Following a Counterexample-Guided Inductive Synthesis scheme, we combine Reinforcement Learning (RL) with recent developments in data-driven formal methods to obtain a hybrid control strategy: RL is used to synthesise the individual controllers, and a data-driven abstraction guides their partitioning into a switched structure, depending on the initial output measurements of the battery. The resulting discrete selection among RL-based controllers, coupled with the continuous battery dynamics, realises a hybrid system. When a design meets the desired criteria, the abstraction provides probabilistic guarantees on the closed-loop performance of the cell.

Authors:Raj Kiriti Velicheti, Subhonmesh Bose, Tamer Başar
Title: Harnessing Information in Incentive Design
Abstract:
Incentive design deals with interaction between a principal and an agent where the former can shape the latter's utility through a policy commitment. It is well known that the principal faces an information rent when dealing with an agent that has informational advantage. In this work, we embark on a systematic study of the effect of information asymmetry in incentive design games. Specifically, we first demonstrate that it is in principal's interest to decrease this information asymmetry. To mitigate this uncertainty, we let the principal gather information either by letting the agent shape her belief (aka Information Design), or by paying to acquire it. Providing solutions to all these cases we show that while introduction of uncertainty increases the principal's cost, letting the agent shape its belief can be advantageous. We study information asymmetry and information acquisition in both matrix games and quadratic Gaussian game setups.

Authors:Zacharia A. Rudge, Dario Izzo, Moritz Fieback, Anteneh Gebregiorgis, Said Hamdioui, Dominik Dold
Title: Guidance and Control Neural Network Acceleration using Memristors
Abstract:
In recent years, the space community has been exploring the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence (AI), specifically Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs), for a variety of on board applications. However, this development is limited by the restricted energy budget of smallsats and cubesats as well as radiation concerns plaguing modern chips. This necessitates research into neural network accelerators capable of meeting these requirements whilst satisfying the compute and performance needs of the application. This paper explores the use of Phase-Change Memory (PCM) and Resistive Random-Access Memory (RRAM) memristors for on-board in-memory computing AI acceleration in space applications. A guidance and control neural network (G\&CNET) accelerated using memristors is simulated in a variety of scenarios and with both device types to evaluate the performance of memristor-based accelerators, considering device non-idealities such as noise and conductance drift. We show that the memristive accelerator is able to learn the expert actions, though challenges remain with the impact of noise on accuracy. We also show that re-training after degradation is able to restore performance to nominal levels. This study provides a foundation for future research into memristor-based AI accelerators for space, highlighting their potential and the need for further investigation.

Authors:Jianing Zhao, Bowen Ye, Xinyi Yu, Rupak Majumdar, Xiang Yin
Title: Task and Motion Planning of Dynamic Systems using Hyperproperties for Signal Temporal Logics
Abstract:
We investigate the task and motion planning problem for dynamical systems under signal temporal logic (STL) specifications. Existing works on STL control synthesis mainly focus on generating plans that satisfy properties over a single executed trajectory. In this work, we consider the planning problem for hyperproperties evaluated over a set of possible trajectories, which naturally arise in information-flow control problems. Specifically, we study discrete-time dynamical systems and employ the recently developed temporal logic HyperSTL as the new objective for planning. To solve this problem, we propose a novel recursive counterexample-guided synthesis approach capable of effectively handling HyperSTL specifications with multiple alternating quantifiers. The proposed method is not only applicable to planning but also extends to HyperSTL model checking for discrete-time dynamical systems. Finally, we present case studies on security-preserving planning and ambiguity-free planning to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed HyperSTL planning framework.

Authors:Bingheng Wang, Yichao Gao, Tianchen Sun, Lin Zhao
Title: Learning to Coordinate: Distributed Meta-Trajectory Optimization Via Differentiable ADMM-DDP
Abstract:
Distributed trajectory optimization via ADMM-DDP is a powerful approach for coordinating multi-agent systems, but it requires extensive tuning of tightly coupled hyperparameters that jointly govern local task performance and global coordination. In this paper, we propose Learning to Coordinate (L2C), a general framework that meta-learns these hyperparameters, modeled by lightweight agent-wise neural networks, to adapt across diverse tasks and agent configurations. L2C differentiates end-to-end through the ADMM-DDP pipeline in a distributed manner. It also enables efficient meta-gradient computation by reusing DDP components such as Riccati recursions and feedback gains. These gradients correspond to the optimal solutions of distributed matrix-valued LQR problems, coordinated across agents via an auxiliary ADMM framework that becomes convex under mild assumptions. Training is further accelerated by truncating iterations and meta-learning ADMM penalty parameters optimized for rapid residual reduction, with provable Lipschitz-bounded gradient errors. On a challenging cooperative aerial transport task, L2C generates dynamically feasible trajectories in high-fidelity simulation using IsaacSIM, reconfigures quadrotor formations for safe 6-DoF load manipulation in tight spaces, and adapts robustly to varying team sizes and task conditions, while achieving up to $88\%$ faster gradient computation than state-of-the-art methods.

Authors:Siyu Xiao, Guohui Ren, Tianhao Mao, Yuqiao Chen, YiAn Liu, Junjie Wang, Kai Tang, Xindi Zhao, Zhijian Yu, Shuang Liu, Tupei Chen, Yang Liu
Title: Realization of Precise Perforating Using Dynamic Threshold and Physical Plausibility Algorithm for Self-Locating Perforating in Oil and Gas Wells
Abstract:
Accurate depth measurement is essential for optimizing oil and gas resource development, as it directly impacts production efficiency. However, achieving precise depth and perforating at the correct location remains a significant challenge due to field operational constraints and equipment limitations. In this work, we propose the Dynamic Threshold and Physical Plausibility Depth Measurement and Perforation Control (DTPPMP) system, a solution integrated into perforating guns that enables real-time, precise depth measurement and perforation at designated perforating intervals. The system autonomously samples, processes and identifies signals from a casing collar locator (CCL) in situ within oil and gas wells. Casing collar identification is achieved using a lightweight dynamic threshold and physical plausibility algorithm deployed on an embedded platform, which serves as the system's processor. Field tests conducted in an actual oil well in Sichuan, China, demonstrated the DTPPMP's ability to accurately identify casing collar signals, measure depths, and effectively perforate at designated perforating intervals in real-time. The system achieved a perforation variation of less than the length of a single perforating interval and a F1 score of 98.6% for casing collar identification. These results provide valuable recommendations for advancing automation and intelligence in future perforation operations.

Authors:Fangyuan Sun, Ruisheng Diao, Ruiyuan Zeng, Junjie Li, Wangqianyun Tang
Title: Improved PLL Design for Transient Stability Enhancement of Grid Following Converters Based on Lyapunov Method
Abstract:
Fluctuations in phase angle and frequency under large disturbances can lead to loss of synchronism (LOS) in grid-following (GFL) converters. The power angle and frequency of synchronous generators (SGs) correspond to rotor position and speed, whereas those of converters lack a direct physical counterpart in the real world and can thus be directly adjusted by control methods to prevent loss of synchronization. In this paper, an improved phase-locked loop (PLL) design with reset control for GFL converters is proposed to enhance transient stability. The stability domain (SD) of a GFL converter is first analyzed, and three forms of SD are identified under different short circuit ratios. Secondly, based on the characteristics of the three SD forms, two PLL-reset methods are proposed, including omega reset and omega&delta reset. Thirdly, to provide the triggering conditions for the PLL-reset control, the Lyapunov function of the GFL converter is constructed based on three methods: the approximation-based Lyapunov method, the Zubov method, and the analytical trajectory reversing method. All these methods are immune to the negative damping problem of PLL dynamics, which makes traditional energy-perspective Lyapunov functions invalid. Finally, the estimation accuracy of the three Lyapunov-based methods is analyzed, and the effectiveness of the PLL-reset control is verified in single-machine and multi-machine case studies.

Authors:Fangyuan Sun, Ruisheng Diao, Ruiyuan Zeng, Jing Zhang, Jianguo Qian
Title: A Novel Decoupled LVRT Control Strategy for Transient Voltage Stability Enhancement of IBRs Using Voltage-Angle Coupling Analysis
Abstract:
With the fast-increasing penetration of inverter-based resources (IBRs), the voltage support capability of the grid following (GFL) IBRs under low voltage ride through (LVRT) control significantly influences the transient voltage stability of the power system. The existing LVRT adjusts the q-axis current to regulate reactive power injection. However, under a large disturbance, the phase-locked loop (PLL) error invalidates the proportional relationship between the q-axis current and reactive power, consequently causing deviation in the actual reactive power injection of the IBR. Besides, the variation of IBR current, determined by the PLL phase and LVRT, also directly influences the transient voltage. To address this issue, the specific influence of PLL error on active and reactive power injection is first analyzed under LVRT control. In addition, by combining the LVRT and PLL dynamics, the mechanisms of three voltage problems caused by voltage angle coupling are revealed. overvoltage, low voltage, and DC-side overvoltage. The specific scenarios in which these voltage stability problems occur are also obtained by the voltage-vector-triangle graphic. Furthermore, a power angle decoupled LVRT control is proposed to eliminate the influence of voltage angle coupling. Finally, the mechanism analysis and effectiveness of the decoupled LVRT are verified in the case study.

Authors:Merlinda Andoni, Benoit Couraud, Valentin Robu, Jamie Blanche, Sonam Norbu, Si Chen, Satria Putra Kanugrahan, David Flynn
Title: Comparative Techno-economic Assessment of Wind-Powered Green Hydrogen Pathways
Abstract:
Amid global interest in resilient energy systems, green hydrogen is considered vital to the net-zero transition, yet its deployment remains limited by high production cost. The cost is determined by the its production pathway, system configuration, asset location, and interplay with electricity markets and regulatory frameworks. To compare different deployment strategies in the UK, we develop a comprehensive techno-economic framework based on the Levelised Cost of Hydrogen (LCOH) assessment. We apply this framework to 5 configurations of wind-electrolyser systems, identify the most cost-effective business cases, and conduct a sensitivity analysis of key economic parameters. Our results reveal that electricity cost is the dominant contributor to LCOH, followed by the electrolyser cost. Our work highlights the crucial role that location, market arrangements and control strategies among RES and hydrogen investors play in the economic feasibility of deploying green hydrogen systems. Policies that subsidise low-cost electricity access and optimise deployment can lower LCOH, enhancing the economic competitiveness of green hydrogen.

Authors:Poulomee Ghosh, Shubhendu Bhasin
Title: Model Reference Adaptive Control with Time-Varying State and Input Constraints
Abstract:
This paper presents a model reference adaptive control (MRAC) framework for uncertain linear time-invariant (LTI) systems subject to user-defined, time-varying state and input constraints. The proposed design seamlessly integrates a time-varying barrier Lyapunov function (TVBLF) to enforce state constraints with a time-varying saturation function to handle input limits. These time-varying constraints can be designed as performance functions to shape transient and steady-state behaviors for both state and input. A key contribution is the derivation of a verifiable, offline feasibility condition to check the existence of a valid control policy for a given set of constraints. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first adaptive control methodology to simultaneously handle both time-varying state and input constraints without resorting to online optimization. Simulation results validate the efficacy of the proposed constrained MRAC scheme.

Authors:Poulomee Ghosh, Shubhendu Bhasin
Title: State and Input Constrained Model Reference Adaptive Control with Robustness and Feasibility Analysis
Abstract:
We propose a model reference adaptive controller (MRAC) for uncertain linear time-invariant (LTI) plants with user-defined state and input constraints in the presence of unmatched bounded disturbances. Unlike popular optimization-based approaches for constrained control, such as model predictive control (MPC) and control barrier function (CBF) that solve a constrained optimization problem at each step using the system model, our approach is optimization-free and adaptive; it combines a saturated adaptive controller with a barrier Lyapunov function (BLF)-based design to ensure that the plant state and input always stay within pre-specified bounds despite the presence of unmatched disturbances. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first result that considers both state and input constraints for control of uncertain systems with disturbances and provides sufficient feasibility conditions to check for the existence of an admissible control policy. Simulation results, including a comparison with a robust MRAC, demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Authors:Daniel Engelsman, Itzik Klein
Title: AERO-LQG: Aerial-Enabled Robust Optimization for LQG-Based Quadrotor Flight Controller
Abstract:
Quadrotors are indispensable in civilian, industrial, and military domains, undertaking complex, high-precision tasks once reserved for specialized systems. Across all contexts, energy efficiency remains a critical constraint: quadrotors must reconcile the high power demands of agility with the minimal consumption required for extended endurance. Meeting this trade-off calls for mode-specific optimization frameworks that adapt to diverse mission profiles. At their core lie optimal control policies defining error functions whose minimization yields robust, mission-tailored performance. While solutions are straightforward for fixed weight matrices, selecting those weights is a far greater challenge-lacking analytical guidance and thus relying on exhaustive or stochastic search. This interdependence can be framed as a bi-level optimization problem, with the outer loop determining weights a priori. This work introduces an aerial-enabled robust optimization for LQG tuning (AERO-LQG), a framework employing evolutionary strategy to fine-tune LQG weighting parameters. Applied to the linearized hovering mode of quadrotor flight, AERO-LQG achieves performance gains of several tens of percent, underscoring its potential for enabling high-performance, energy-efficient quadrotor control. The project is available at GitHub.

Authors:Ruiyuan Zeng, Ruisheng Diao, Fangyuan Sun, Wangqianyun Tang, Junjie Li, Baorong Zhou
Title: Transient Stability Analysis of a Hybrid Grid-Forming and Grid-Following RES System Considering Multi-Mode Control Switching
Abstract:
The inherent control switching of renewable energy sources (RESs) during intricate transient processes introduces complexity to the dynamic behavior of modern power systems. This paper reveals the dynamic coupling between grid forming (GFM)/grid following (GFL)-based RES and dominant instability modes of the hybrid system. First, six control combinations are systematically investigated by pairing the two GFM-RES modes, normal control (NC) and current saturation (CS), with the three GFL-RES modes: normal control, low voltage ride-through (LVRT), and high voltage ride-through (HVRT). Based on switching system theory, the coupled power flow and dynamic motion models are developed considering multi-mode switching characteristics. It is revealed that the hybrid system exhibits two distinct instability modes when the GFM-RES and GFL-RES exceed their P-f and V-f desynchronization boundaries, respectively. The two-dimensional spatiotemporal damping characteristics of GFL-RES induced by GFM-RES are also uncovered for the first time. A novel criterion is proposed to quantify the impact of GFM-RES on GFL-RES dynamics, capturing both its stabilizing and destabilizing effects under different control combinations. High-fidelity electromagnetic transient simulations validate the correctness of the analysis framework.

Authors:Yinuo Wang, Gavin Tao
Title: QuadKAN: KAN-Enhanced Quadruped Motion Control via End-to-End Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
We address vision-guided quadruped motion control with reinforcement learning (RL) and highlight the necessity of combining proprioception with vision for robust control. We propose QuadKAN, a spline-parameterized cross-modal policy instantiated with Kolmogorov-Arnold Networks (KANs). The framework incorporates a spline encoder for proprioception and a spline fusion head for proprioception-vision inputs. This structured function class aligns the state-to-action mapping with the piecewise-smooth nature of gait, improving sample efficiency, reducing action jitter and energy consumption, and providing interpretable posture-action sensitivities. We adopt Multi-Modal Delay Randomization (MMDR) and perform end-to-end training with Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). Evaluations across diverse terrains, including both even and uneven surfaces and scenarios with static or dynamic obstacles, demonstrate that QuadKAN achieves consistently higher returns, greater distances, and fewer collisions than state-of-the-art (SOTA) baselines. These results show that spline-parameterized policies offer a simple, effective, and interpretable alternative for robust vision-guided locomotion. A repository will be made available upon acceptance.

Authors:Ryan Ghamandi, Yahya Hmaiti, Mykola Maslych, Ravi Kiran Kattoju, Joseph J. LaViola
Title: Towards Deeper Understanding of Natural User Interactions in Virtual Reality Based Assembly Tasks
Abstract:
We explore natural user interactions using a virtual reality simulation of a robot arm for assembly tasks. Using a Wizard-of-Oz study, participants completed collaborative LEGO and instructive PCB assembly tasks, with the robot responding under experimenter control. We collected voice, hand tracking, and gaze data from users. Statistical analyses revealed that instructive and collaborative scenarios elicit distinct behaviors and adopted strategies, particularly as tasks progress. Users tended to use put-that-there language in spatially ambiguous contexts and more descriptive instructions in spatially clear ones. Our contributions include the identification of natural interaction strategies through analyses of collected data, as well as the supporting dataset, to guide the understanding and design of natural multimodal user interfaces for instructive interaction with systems in virtual reality.

Authors:Benoit Couraud, Valentin Robu, Sonam Norbu, Merlinda Andoni, Yann Rozier, Si Chen, Erwin Franquet, Pierre-Jean Barre, Satria Putra Kanugrahan, Benjamin Berthou, David Flynn
Title: Fairness of Energy Distribution Mechanisms in Collective Self-Consumption Schemes
Abstract:
In several European countries, regulatory frameworks now allow households to form energy communities and trade energy locally via local energy markets (LEMs). While multiple mechanisms exist to allocate locally produced energy among members, their fairness remains insufficiently understood despite energy justice being a key concern for communities. This paper first provides a thorough description of the collective self-consumption process in France, offering a real world framework for researchers. We then review the main types of fairness relevant to LEMs and identify appropriate indicators for each, including a new scalable indicator to evaluate meritocratic fairness. Using simulations across 250 randomly generated residential communities of 20 households, we assess and compare fairness across different LEM distribution mechanisms. Results show that average financial savings reach 12% with 40% PV uptake. Among the four widely used LEM mechanisms assessed, glass-filling with prioritization yields the highest egalitarian and min max fairness. Double auction and pro rata schemes promote meritocracy, while standard glass filling offers a strong balance across fairness objectives.

Authors:Si Chen, Benoit Couraud, Sonam Norbu, Merlinda Andoni, Zafar Iqbal, Sasa Djokic, Desen Kirli, Satria Putra Kanugrahan, Paolo Cherubini, Susan Krumdieck, Valentin Robu, David Flynn
Title: Optimal Coordination of Local Flexibility from Electric Vehicles with Social Impact Consideration
Abstract:
The integration of renewable energy sources (RES) and the convergence of transport electrification, creates a significant challenge for distribution network management e.g. voltage and frequency violations, particularly in rural and remote areas. This paper investigates how smart charging of electric vehicles (EVs) can help reduce renewable energy curtailment and alleviate stress on local distribution networks. We implement a customised AC Optimal Power Flow (AC OPF) formulation which integrates into the optimisation an indicator reflecting the social impact of flexibility from EV users, based on the analysis of historical EV charging behaviours. The contribution of EV owners to reducing wind curtailment is optimised to enhance the acceptability of flexibility procurement, as the method targets EV users whose charging habits are most likely to align with flexibility requirements. Our method integrates social, technological, and economic perspectives with optimal flexibility coordination, and utilises clustering of EVs through a kmeans algorithm. To ensure scalability, we introduce a polar coordinate-based dimension reduction technique. The flexibility optimisation approach is demonstrated on the Orkney grid model, incorporating demand and wind farm generation data, as well as multi year charging data from 106 EVs. Results indicate that, by building upon the existing habits of EV users, curtailment can be reduced by 99.5% during a typical summer week the period when curtailment is most prevalent. This research demonstrates a foundational and transferable approach which is cognisant of socio techno economic factors towards accelerating decarbonisation and tackling the stochastic challenges of new demand and generation patterns on local distribution networks.

Authors:Jordan Peper, Yan Miao, Sayan Mitra, Ivan Ruchkin
Title: Towards Unified Probabilistic Verification and Validation of Vision-Based Autonomy
Abstract:
Precise and comprehensive situational awareness is a critical capability of modern autonomous systems. Deep neural networks that perceive task-critical details from rich sensory signals have become ubiquitous; however, their black-box behavior and sensitivity to environmental uncertainty and distribution shifts make them challenging to verify formally. Abstraction-based verification techniques for vision-based autonomy produce safety guarantees contingent on rigid assumptions, such as bounded errors or known unique distributions. Such overly restrictive and inflexible assumptions limit the validity of the guarantees, especially in diverse and uncertain test-time environments. We propose a methodology that unifies the verification models of perception with their offline validation. Our methodology leverages interval MDPs and provides a flexible end-to-end guarantee that adapts directly to the out-of-distribution test-time conditions. We evaluate our methodology on a synthetic perception Markov chain with well-defined state estimation distributions and a mountain car benchmark. Our findings reveal that we can guarantee tight yet rigorous bounds on overall system safety.

Authors:Fangyuan Sun, Ruisheng Diao, Ruiyuan Zeng, Zhanning Liu, Baorong Zhou, Junjie Li, Wangqianyun Tang
Title: Transient Stability Analysis for Grid Following Converters in Low-Inertia Power Systems by Direct Method
Abstract:
With the increased penetration of renewable energy and reduced proportion of synchronous generators, the low-inertia characteristics of todays power system become prominent, and the transient stability issue of grid following converter (GFLC) under low inertia system (LIS) condition becomes critical. There are two prominent problems in the transient stability analysis of GFLC-LIS. The angular dynamic of LIS increases the complexity of transient stability analysis, and the nonlinear, possibly negative damping of GFLC makes it difficult to guarantee the conservative of the traditional methods. These problems make the traditional methods inapplicable. In this paper, the transient stability analysis of GFLC LIS is investigated to provide an accurate estimation of the attraction boundary and critical clearance time (CCT). Firstly, a dynamic model of GFLC-LIS is constructed, considering the phase-locked loop (PLL)-based GFLC dynamics and swing equation-based LIS dynamics. The frequency mutation of PLL at fault occurrence and clearing time is also considered. Secondly, a Zubov based transient stability analysis method is proposed, which can construct the energy function in a way that is different from the traditional conservation of energy perspective and can address the negative damping issue. Moreover, the accuracy of the CCT estimation is analyzed, and the influences of LIS parameters on transient stability are illustrated. Finally, simulation experiments are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method

Authors:Sebastian Hirt, Lukas Theiner, Maik Pfefferkorn, Rolf Findeisen
Title: A Hierarchical Surrogate Model for Efficient Multi-Task Parameter Learning in Closed-Loop Control
Abstract:
Many control problems require repeated tuning and adaptation of controllers across distinct closed-loop tasks, where data efficiency and adaptability are critical. We propose a hierarchical Bayesian optimization (BO) framework that is tailored to efficient controller parameter learning in sequential decision-making and control scenarios for distinct tasks. Instead of treating the closed-loop cost as a black-box, our method exploits structural knowledge of the underlying problem, consisting of a dynamical system, a control law, and an associated closed-loop cost function. We construct a hierarchical surrogate model using Gaussian processes that capture the closed-loop state evolution under different parameterizations, while the task-specific weighting and accumulation into the closed-loop cost are computed exactly via known closed-form expressions. This allows knowledge transfer and enhanced data efficiency between different closed-loop tasks. The proposed framework retains sublinear regret guarantees on par with standard black-box BO, while enabling multi-task or transfer learning. Simulation experiments with model predictive control demonstrate substantial benefits in both sample efficiency and adaptability when compared to purely black-box BO approaches.

Authors:Yinuo Wang, Gavin Tao
Title: LocoMamba: Vision-Driven Locomotion via End-to-End Deep Reinforcement Learning with Mamba
Abstract:
We introduce LocoMamba, a vision-driven cross-modal DRL framework built on selective state-space models, specifically leveraging Mamba, that achieves near-linear-time sequence modeling, effectively captures long-range dependencies, and enables efficient training with longer sequences. First, we embed proprioceptive states with a multilayer perceptron and patchify depth images with a lightweight convolutional neural network, producing compact tokens that improve state representation. Second, stacked Mamba layers fuse these tokens via near-linear-time selective scanning, reducing latency and memory footprint, remaining robust to token length and image resolution, and providing an inductive bias that mitigates overfitting. Third, we train the policy end-to-end with Proximal Policy Optimization under terrain and appearance randomization and an obstacle-density curriculum, using a compact state-centric reward that balances progress, smoothness, and safety. We evaluate our method in challenging simulated environments with static and moving obstacles as well as uneven terrain. Compared with state-of-the-art baselines, our method achieves higher returns and success rates with fewer collisions, exhibits stronger generalization to unseen terrains and obstacle densities, and improves training efficiency by converging in fewer updates under the same compute budget.

Authors:Soumya Kundu, Kaustav Chatterjee, Ramij R. Hossain, Sai Pushpak Nandanoori, Veronica Adetola
Title: Managing Risks from Large Digital Loads Using Coordinated Grid-Forming Storage Network
Abstract:
Anticipated rapid growth of large digital load, driven by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, is poised to increase uncertainty and large fluctuations in consumption, threatening the stability, reliability, and security of the energy infrastructure. Conventional measures taken by grid planners and operators to ensure stable and reliable integration of new resources are either cost-prohibitive (e.g., transmission upgrades) or ill-equipped (e.g., generation control) to resolve the unique challenges brought on by AI Data Centers (e.g., extreme load transients). In this work, we explore the feasibility of coordinating and managing available flexibility in the grid, in terms of grid-forming storage units, to ensure stable and reliable integration of AI Data Centers without the need for costly grid upgrades. Recently developed bi-layered coordinated control strategies -- involving fast-acting, local, autonomous, control at the storage to maintain transient safety in voltage and frequency at the point-of-interconnection, and a slower, coordinated (consensus) control to restore normal operating condition in the grid -- are used in the case studies. A comparison is drawn between broadly two scenarios: a network of coordinated, smaller, distributed storage vs. larger storage installations collocated with large digital loads. IEEE 68-bus network is used for the case studies, with large digital load profiles drawn from the MIT Supercloud Dataset.

Authors:Metin Ozturk, Maryam Salamatmoghadasi, Halim Yanikomeroglu
Title: Integrating Terrestrial and Non-Terrestrial Networks for Sustainable 6G Operations: A Latency-Aware Multi-Tier Cell-Switching Approach
Abstract:
Sustainability is paramount in modern cellular networks, which face significant energy consumption challenges from rising mobile traffic and advancements in wireless technology. Cell-switching, well-established in literature as an effective solution, encounters limitations such as inadequate capacity and limited coverage when implemented through terrestrial networks (TN). This study enhances cell-switching by integrating non-terrestrial networks (NTN), including satellites (used for cell-switching for the first time), high altitude platform stations (HAPS), and uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) into TN. This integration significantly boosts energy savings by expanding capacity, enhancing coverage, and increasing operational flexibility. We introduce a multi-tier cell-switching approach that dynamically offloads users across network layers to manage energy effectively and minimize delays, accommodating diverse user demands with a context aware strategy. Additionally, we explore the role of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI, in optimizing network efficiency through data compression, handover optimization between different network layers, and enhancing device compatibility, further improving the adaptability and energy efficiency of cell-switching operations. A case study confirms substantial improvements in network power consumption and user satisfaction, demonstrating the potential of our approach for future networks.

Authors:Nicola Anselmi, Paolo Rocca, Giovanni Toso, Andrea Massa
Title: A Divide-and-Conquer Tiling Method for the Design of Large Aperiodic Phased Arrays
Abstract:
Due to the growing request from modern wireless applications of cost-affordable and high-gain scanning antenna solutions, the design of large phased arrays (PAs) with radiating elements organized into modular clusters with sub-array-only amplitude and phase control is a key topic. In this paper, an innovative irregular tiling method is proposed where, according to a divide-and-conquer strategy, the antenna aperture is subdivided into sub-areas that are locally domino-tiled by jointly fulfilling the full-coverage condition on the remaining untiled part of the PA support. Selected representative results, including comparisons with competitive state-of-the-art synthesis methods, are reported to prove the effectiveness and the computational efficiency of the proposed tiling approach. Use-cases of current relevance for low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communications are discussed, as well, to provide the antenna designers useful practical guidelines for handling large PAs.

Authors:Alexis M. H. Teter, Abhishek Halder, Michael D. Schneider, Alexx S. Perloff, Jane Pratt, Conor M. Artman, Maria Demireva
Title: Control-affine Schrödinger Bridge and Generalized Bohm Potential
Abstract:
The control-affine Schrödinger bridge concerns with a stochastic optimal control problem. Its solution is a controlled evolution of joint state probability density subject to a control-affine Itô diffusion with a given deadline connecting a given pair of initial and terminal densities. In this work, we recast the necessary conditions of optimality for the control-affine Schrödinger bridge problem as a two point boundary value problem for a quantum mechanical Schrödinger PDE with complex potential. This complex-valued potential is a generalization of the real-valued Bohm potential in quantum mechanics. Our derived potential is akin to the optical potential in nuclear physics where the real part of the potential encodes elastic scattering (transmission of wave function), and the imaginary part encodes inelastic scattering (absorption of wave function). The key takeaway is that the process noise that drives the evolution of probability densities induces an absorbing medium in the evolution of wave function. These results make new connections between control theory and non-equilibrium statistical mechanics through the lens of quantum mechanics.

Authors:Dennis Benders, Johannes Köhler, Robert Babuška, Javier Alonso-Mora, Laura Ferranti
Title: From Data to Safe Mobile Robot Navigation: An Efficient and Modular Robust MPC Design Pipeline
Abstract:
Model predictive control (MPC) is a powerful strategy for planning and control in autonomous mobile robot navigation. However, ensuring safety in real-world deployments remains challenging due to the presence of disturbances and measurement noise. Existing approaches often rely on idealized assumptions, neglect the impact of noisy measurements, and simply heuristically guess unrealistic bounds. In this work, we present an efficient and modular robust MPC design pipeline that systematically addresses these limitations. The pipeline consists of an iterative procedure that leverages closed-loop experimental data to estimate disturbance bounds and synthesize a robust output-feedback MPC scheme. We provide the pipeline in the form of deterministic and reproducible code to synthesize the robust output-feedback MPC from data. We empirically demonstrate robust constraint satisfaction and recursive feasibility in quadrotor simulations using Gazebo.

Authors:Alejandro Murillo-Gonzalez, Junhong Xu, Lantao Liu
Title: Learning Causal Structure Distributions for Robust Planning
Abstract:
Structural causal models describe how the components of a robotic system interact. They provide both structural and functional information about the relationships that are present in the system. The structural information outlines the variables among which there is interaction. The functional information describes how such interactions work, via equations or learned models. In this paper we find that learning the functional relationships while accounting for the uncertainty about the structural information leads to more robust dynamics models which improves downstream planning, while using significantly lower computational resources. This in contrast with common model-learning methods that ignore the causal structure and fail to leverage the sparsity of interactions in robotic systems. We achieve this by estimating a causal structure distribution that is used to sample causal graphs that inform the latent-space representations in an encoder-multidecoder probabilistic model. We show that our model can be used to learn the dynamics of a robot, which together with a sampling-based planner can be used to perform new tasks in novel environments, provided an objective function for the new requirement is available. We validate our method using manipulators and mobile robots in both simulation and the real-world. Additionally, we validate the learned dynamics' adaptability and increased robustness to corrupted inputs and changes in the environment, which is highly desirable in challenging real-world robotics scenarios. Video: https://youtu.be/X6k5t7OOnNc.

Authors:Yanlin Jiang, Xinliang Dai, Frederik Zahn, Yi Guo, Veit Hagenmeyer
Title: Error Accumulation using Linearized Models for Aggregating Flexibility in Distribution Systems
Abstract:
This paper investigates flexibility aggregation approaches based on linear models. We begin by examining the theoretical foundations of linear AC power flow, two variants of so-called DC power flow, and the LinDistFlow model, along with their underlying assumptions. The discussion covers key system details, including network topology, voltage constraints, and line losses. Simulations are conducted on the KIT Campus Nord network with real demand and solar data. Results show that, in the absence of negative losses, line losses are generally underestimated by linear models. Furthermore, line losses errors tend to accumulate both at the point of common coupling (PCC) and over extended time horizons.

Authors:Wenwen Wu, Shanying Zhu, Cailian Chen, Xinping Guan
Title: Distributed Constraint-coupled Resource Allocation: Anytime Feasibility and Violation Robustness
Abstract:
This paper considers distributed resource allocation problems (DRAPs) with a coupled constraint for real-time systems. Based on primal-dual methods, we adopt a control perspective for optimization algorithm design by synthesizing a safe feedback controller using control barrier functions to enforce constraint satisfaction. On this basis, a distributed anytime-feasible resource allocation (DanyRA) algorithm is proposed. It is shown that DanyRA algorithm converges to the exact optimal solution of DRAPs while ensuring feasibility of the coupled inequality constraint at all time steps. Considering constraint violation arises from potential external interferences, a virtual queue with minimum buffer is incorporated to restore the constraint satisfaction before the pre-defined deadlines. We characterize the trade-off between convergence accuracy and violation robustness for maintaining or recovering feasibility. DanyRA algorithm is further extended to address DRAPs with a coupled equality constraint, and its linear convergence rate is theoretically established. Finally, a numerical example is provided for verification.

Authors:Julian Lemmel, Manuel Kranzl, Adam Lamine, Philipp Neubauer, Radu Grosu, Sophie Neubauer
Title: Online Fine-Tuning of Carbon Emission Predictions using Real-Time Recurrent Learning for State Space Models
Abstract:
This paper introduces a new approach for fine-tuning the predictions of structured state space models (SSMs) at inference time using real-time recurrent learning. While SSMs are known for their efficiency and long-range modeling capabilities, they are typically trained offline and remain static during deployment. Our method enables online adaptation by continuously updating model parameters in response to incoming data. We evaluate our approach for linear-recurrent-unit SSMs using a small carbon emission dataset collected from embedded automotive hardware. Experimental results show that our method consistently reduces prediction error online during inference, demonstrating its potential for dynamic, resource-constrained environments.

Authors:Andrea Martin, Ian R. Manchester, Luca Furieri
Title: Learning to optimize with guarantees: a complete characterization of linearly convergent algorithms
Abstract:
In high-stakes engineering applications, optimization algorithms must come with provable worst-case guarantees over a mathematically defined class of problems. Designing for the worst case, however, inevitably sacrifices performance on the specific problem instances that often occur in practice. We address the problem of augmenting a given linearly convergent algorithm to improve its average-case performance on a restricted set of target problems - for example, tailoring an off-the-shelf solver for model predictive control (MPC) for an application to a specific dynamical system - while preserving its worst-case guarantees across the entire problem class. Toward this goal, we characterize the class of algorithms that achieve linear convergence for classes of nonsmooth composite optimization problems. In particular, starting from a baseline linearly convergent algorithm, we derive all - and only - the modifications to its update rule that maintain its convergence properties. Our results apply to augmenting legacy algorithms such as gradient descent for nonconvex, gradient-dominated functions; Nesterov's accelerated method for strongly convex functions; and projected methods for optimization over polyhedral feasibility sets. We showcase effectiveness of the approach on solving optimization problems with tight iteration budgets in application to ill-conditioned systems of linear equations and MPC for linear systems.

Authors:Jose Guadalupe Romero, Romeo Ortega, Leyan Fang, Alexey Bobtsov
Title: Adaptive Compensation of Nonlinear Friction in Mechanical Systems Without Velocity Measurement
Abstract:
Friction is an unavoidable phenomenon that exists in all mechanical systems incorporating parts with relative motion. It is well-known that friction is a serious impediment for precise servo control, hence the interest to devise a procedure to compensate for it -- a subject that has been studied by many researchers for many years. The vast majority of friction compensation schemes reported in the literature rely on the availability of velocity measurements, an information that is hard to obtain. A second limitation of the existing procedures is that they rely on mathematical models of friction that contain several unknown parameters, some of them entering nonlinearly in the dynamic equations. In this paper we propose a globally convergent tracking controller for a mechanical system perturbed by static and Coulomb friction, which is a reliable mathematical model of the friction phenomenon, that does not rely one measurement of velocity. The key component is an immersion and invariance-based adaptive speed observer, used for the friction compensation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first globally convergent solution to this challenging problem. We also present simulation results of the application of our observer for systems affected by friction, which is described by the more advanced LuGre model.

Authors:Shuhao Qi, Zhiqi Tang, Zhiyong Sun, Sofie Haesaert
Title: Integrating Opinion Dynamics into Safety Control for Decentralized Airplane Encounter Resolution
Abstract:
As the airspace becomes increasingly congested, decentralized conflict resolution methods for airplane encounters have become essential. While decentralized safety controllers can prevent dangerous midair collisions, they do not always ensure prompt conflict resolution. As a result, airplane progress may be blocked for extended periods in certain situations. To address this blocking phenomenon, this paper proposes integrating bio-inspired nonlinear opinion dynamics into the airplane safety control framework, thereby guaranteeing both safety and blocking-free resolution. In particular, opinion dynamics enable the safety controller to achieve collaborative decision-making for blocking resolution and facilitate rapid, safe coordination without relying on communication or preset rules. Extensive simulation results validate the improved flight efficiency and safety guarantees. This study provides practical insights into the design of autonomous controllers for airplanes.

Authors:Vivek Pandey, Nader Motee
Title: Distributionally Robust Cascading Risk Quantification in Multi-Agent Rendezvous: Effects of Time Delay and Network Connectivity
Abstract:
Achieving safety in autonomous multi-agent systems, particularly in time-critical tasks like rendezvous, is a critical challenge. In this paper, we propose a distributionally robust risk framework for analyzing cascading failures in multi-agent rendezvous. To capture the complex interactions between network connectivity, system dynamics, and communication delays, we use a time-delayed network model as a benchmark. We introduce a conditional distributionally robust functional to quantify cascading effects between agents, utilizing a bi-variate normal distribution. Our approach yields closed-form risk expressions that reveal the impact of time delay, noise statistics, communication topology, and failure modes on rendezvous risk. The insights derived inform the design of resilient networks that mitigate the risk of cascading failures. We validate our theoretical results through extensive simulations, demonstrating the effectiveness of our framework.

Authors:Wenqing Wang, Alexis M. H. Teter, Murat Arcak, Abhishek Halder
Title: Set Invariance with Probability One for Controlled Diffusion: Score-based Approach
Abstract:
Given a controlled diffusion and a connected, bounded, Lipschitz set, when is it possible to guarantee controlled set invariance with probability one? In this work, we answer this question by deriving the necessary and sufficient conditions for the same in terms of gradients of certain log-likelihoods -- a.k.a. score vector fields -- for two cases: given finite time horizon and infinite time horizon. The deduced conditions comprise a score-based test that provably certifies or falsifies the existence of Markovian controllers for given controlled set invariance problem data. Our results are constructive in the sense when the problem data passes the proposed test, we characterize all controllers guaranteeing the desired set invariance. When the problem data fails the proposed test, there does not exist a controller that can accomplish the desired set invariance with probability one. The computation in the proposed tests involve solving certain Dirichlet boundary value problems, and in the finite horizon case, can also account for additional constraint of hitting a target subset at the terminal time. We illustrate the results using several semi-analytical and numerical examples.

Authors:Xu Yang, Chenhui Lin, Yue Yang, Qi Wang, Haotian Liu, Haizhou Hua, Wenchuan Wu
Title: Large Language Model Powered Automated Modeling and Optimization of Active Distribution Network Dispatch Problems
Abstract:
The increasing penetration of distributed energy resources into active distribution networks (ADNs) has made effective ADN dispatch imperative. However, the numerous newly-integrated ADN operators, such as distribution system aggregators, virtual power plant managers, and end prosumers, often lack specialized expertise in power system operation, modeling, optimization, and programming. This knowledge gap renders reliance on human experts both costly and time-intensive. To address this challenge and enable intelligent, flexible ADN dispatch, this paper proposes a large language model (LLM) powered automated modeling and optimization approach. First, the ADN dispatch problems are decomposed into sequential stages, and a multi-LLM coordination architecture is designed. This framework comprises an Information Extractor, a Problem Formulator, and a Code Programmer, tasked with information retrieval, optimization problem formulation, and code implementation, respectively. Afterwards, tailored refinement techniques are developed for each LLM agent, greatly improving the accuracy and reliability of generated content. The proposed approach features a user-centric interface that enables ADN operators to derive dispatch strategies via simple natural language queries, eliminating technical barriers and increasing efficiency. Comprehensive comparisons and end-to-end demonstrations on various test cases validate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture and methods.

Authors:Rohail Asim, Ankit Bhardwaj, Lakshmi Suramanian, Yasir Zaki
Title: Towards Next Generation Immersive Applications in 5G Environments
Abstract:
The Multi-user Immersive Reality (MIR) landscape is evolving rapidly, with applications spanning virtual collaboration, entertainment, and training. However, wireless network limitations create a critical bottleneck, struggling to meet the high-bandwidth and ultra-low latency demands essential for next-generation MIR experiences. This paper presents Hera, a modular framework for next-generation immersive applications, comprising a high-level streaming and synchronization layer for AR/VR systems and a low-level delay-based QoE-aware rate control protocol optimized for dynamic wireless environments. The Hera framework integrates application-aware streaming logic with a QoE-centric rate control core, enabling adaptive video quality, multi-user fairness, and low-latency communication across challenging 5G network conditions. We demonstrate that Hera outperforms existing state-of-the-art rate control algorithms by maintaining up to 66% lower latencies with comparable throughput performance, higher visual quality with 50% average bitrate improvements in our analysis, and improved fairness. By bridging the gap between application-level responsiveness and network-level adaptability, Hera lays the foundation for more scalable, robust, and high-fidelity multi-user immersive experiences.

Authors:Haoze Dong, Meng Guo, Chengyi He, Zhongkui Li
Title: Homotopy-aware Multi-agent Navigation via Distributed Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
Multi-agent trajectory planning requires ensuring both safety and efficiency, yet deadlocks remain a significant challenge, especially in obstacle-dense environments. Such deadlocks frequently occur when multiple agents attempt to traverse the same long and narrow corridor simultaneously. To address this, we propose a novel distributed trajectory planning framework that bridges the gap between global path and local trajectory cooperation. At the global level, a homotopy-aware optimal path planning algorithm is proposed, which fully leverages the topological structure of the environment. A reference path is chosen from distinct homotopy classes by considering both its spatial and temporal properties, leading to improved coordination among agents globally. At the local level, a model predictive control-based trajectory optimization method is used to generate dynamically feasible and collision-free trajectories. Additionally, an online replanning strategy ensures its adaptability to dynamic environments. Simulations and experiments validate the effectiveness of our approach in mitigating deadlocks. Ablation studies demonstrate that by incorporating time-aware homotopic properties into the underlying global paths, our method can significantly reduce deadlocks and improve the average success rate from 4%-13% to over 90% in randomly generated dense scenarios.

Authors:Michał Hoffmann, Michał Bujak, Grzegorz Jamróz, Rafał Kucharski
Title: Wardropian Cycles make traffic assignment both optimal and fair by eliminating price-of-anarchy with Cyclical User Equilibrium for compliant connected autonomous vehicles
Abstract:
Connected and Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) open the possibility for centralised routing with full compliance, making System Optimal traffic assignment attainable. However, as System Optimum makes some drivers better off than others, voluntary acceptance seems dubious. To overcome this issue, we propose a new concept of Wardropian cycles, which, in contrast to previous utopian visions, makes the assignment fair on top of being optimal, which amounts to satisfaction of both Wardrop's principles. Such cycles, represented as sequences of permutations to the daily assignment matrices, always exist and equalise, after a limited number of days, average travel times among travellers (like in User Equilibrium) while preserving everyday optimality of path flows (like in System Optimum). We propose exact methods to compute such cycles and reduce their length and within-cycle inconvenience to the users. As identification of optimal cycles turns out to be NP-hard in many aspects, we introduce a greedy heuristic efficiently approximating the optimal solution. Finally, we introduce and discuss a new paradigm of Cyclical User Equilibrium, which ensures stability of optimal Wardropian Cycles under unilateral deviations. We complement our theoretical study with large-scale simulations. In Barcelona, 670 vehicle-hours of Price-of-Anarchy are eliminated using cycles with a median length of 11 days-though 5% of cycles exceed 90 days. However, in Berlin, just five days of applying the greedy assignment rule significantly reduces initial inequity. In Barcelona, Anaheim, and Sioux Falls, less than 7% of the initial inequity remains after 10 days, demonstrating the effectiveness of this approach in improving traffic performance with more ubiquitous social acceptability.

Authors:Xin Mao, Dan Wang, Wei Chen, Li Qiu
Title: Diversity and Interaction Quality of a Heterogeneous Multi-Agent System Applied to a Synchronization Problem
Abstract:
In this paper, scalable controller design to achieve output synchronization for a heterogeneous discrete-time nonlinear multi-agent system is considered. The agents are assumed to exhibit potentially nonlinear dynamics but share linear common oscillatory modes. In a distributed control architecture, scalability is ensured by designing a small number of distinguished controllers, significantly fewer than the number of agents, even when agent diversity is high. Our findings indicate that the number of controllers required can be effectively determined by the number of strongly connected components of the underlying graph. The study in this paper builds on the recently developed phase theory of matrices and systems. First, we employ the concept of matrix phase, specifically the phase alignability of a collection of matrices, to quantify agent diversity. Next, we use matrix phase, particularly the essential phase of the graph Laplacian, to evaluate the interaction quality among the agents. Based on these insights, we derive a sufficient condition for the solvability of the synchronization problem, framed as a trade-off between the agent diversity and the interaction quality. In the process, a controller design procedure based on Lyapunov analysis is provided, which produces low gain, component-wise synchronizing controllers when the solvability condition is satisfied. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design procedure. Furthermore, we consider cases where the component-wise controller design problem is unsolvable. We propose alternative strategies involving the design of a small inventory of controllers, which can still achieve synchronization effectively by employing certain clustering methods to manage heterogeneity.

Authors:Harry Holt, Sebastien Origer, Dario Izzo
Title: Comparing Behavioural Cloning and Reinforcement Learning for Spacecraft Guidance and Control Networks
Abstract:
Guidance & control networks (G&CNETs) provide a promising alternative to on-board guidance and control (G&C) architectures for spacecraft, offering a differentiable, end-to-end representation of the guidance and control architecture. When training G&CNETs, two predominant paradigms emerge: behavioural cloning (BC), which mimics optimal trajectories, and reinforcement learning (RL), which learns optimal behaviour through trials and errors. Although both approaches have been adopted in G&CNET related literature, direct comparisons are notably absent. To address this, we conduct a systematic evaluation of BC and RL specifically for training G&CNETs on continuous-thrust spacecraft trajectory optimisation tasks. We introduce a novel RL training framework tailored to G&CNETs, incorporating decoupled action and control frequencies alongside reward redistribution strategies to stabilise training and to provide a fair comparison. Our results show that BC-trained G&CNETs excel at closely replicating expert policy behaviour, and thus the optimal control structure of a deterministic environment, but can be negatively constrained by the quality and coverage of the training dataset. In contrast RL-trained G&CNETs, beyond demonstrating a superior adaptability to stochastic conditions, can also discover solutions that improve upon suboptimal expert demonstrations, sometimes revealing globally optimal strategies that eluded the generation of training samples.

Authors:Jiping Luo, Nikolaos Pappas
Title: On the Role of Age and Semantics of Information in Remote Estimation of Markov Sources
Abstract:
This paper investigates the semantics-aware remote estimation of a finite-state Markov chain. We employ the maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimator and aim to devise a transmission policy to optimize estimation performance subject to a transmission frequency constraint. We leverage two metrics, namely the Age of Consecutive Error (AoCE) and the Age of Information (AoI), to quantify, respectively, the significance of estimation error at the transmitter and the predictability of outdated information at the receiver. The optimal transmission problem is formulated as a constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) with unbounded costs. We show the existence of an optimal simple mixture policy, which randomly selects between two deterministic switching policies with a fixed probability. Notably, each switching policy triggers a transmission only when the AoCE exceeds a threshold value that depends on both the AoI and the instantaneous estimation error. We further derive sufficient conditions under which the switching policy reduces to a simple threshold policy; that is, it admits identical thresholds for all estimation errors. Leveraging these results, we develop an efficient structure-aware algorithm, Insec-SPI, that computes the optimal policy with reduced computation overhead. Our results demonstrate that incorporating both AoI and AoCE yields significantly improved estimation quality compared to using either metric alone.

Authors:Zhenyi Yuan, Jie Feng, Yuanyuan Shi, Jorge Cortés
Title: Stability Constrained Voltage Control in Distribution Grids with Arbitrary Communication Infrastructure
Abstract:
We consider the problem of designing learning-based reactive power controllers that perform voltage regulation in distribution grids while ensuring closed-loop system stability. In contrast to existing methods, where the provably stable controllers are restricted to be decentralized, we propose a unified design framework that enables the controllers to take advantage of an arbitrary communication infrastructure on top of the physical power network. This allows the controllers to incorporate information beyond their local bus, covering existing methods as a special case and leading to less conservative constraints on the controller design. We then provide a design procedure to construct input convex neural network (ICNN) based controllers that satisfy the identified stability constraints by design under arbitrary communication scenarios, and train these controllers using supervised learning. Simulation results on the the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) microgrid testbed illustrate the effectiveness of the framework and highlight the role of communication in improving control performance.

Authors:Xu Yang, Chenhui Lin, Haotian Liu, Qi Wang, Wenchuan Wu
Title: Large Language Model as An Operator: An Experience-Driven Solution for Distribution Network Voltage Control
Abstract:
With the advanced reasoning and information analysis capabilities, large language models (LLMs) can offer a novel approach for the autonomous generation of dispatch strategies in power systems. This letter proposes an LLM-based experience-driven voltage control solution for distribution networks, which enables the self-evolution of LLM-based voltage control strategies through the collaboration and interaction of multiple modules-specifically, experience storage, experience retrieval, experience generation, and experience modification. Comprehensive experimental results validate the effectiveness of the proposed method and highlight the applicability of LLM in addressing power system dispatch challenges.

Authors:Maryam Salamatmoghadasi, Metin Ozturk, Halim Yanikomeroglu
Title: Enhancing Sustainability in HAPS-Assisted 6G Networks: Load Estimation Aware Cell Switching
Abstract:
This study introduces and addresses the critical challenge of traffic load estimation in cell switching within vertical heterogeneous networks. The effectiveness of cell switching is significantly limited by the lack of accurate traffic load data for small base stations (SBSs) in sleep mode, making many load-dependent energy-saving approaches impractical, as they assume perfect knowledge of traffic loads, an assumption that is unrealistic when SBSs are inactive. In other words, when SBSs are in sleep mode, their traffic loads cannot be directly known and can only be estimated, inevitably with corresponding errors. Rather than proposing a new switching algorithm, we focus on eliminating this foundational barrier by exploring effective prediction techniques. A novel vertical heterogeneous network model is considered, integrating a high-altitude platform station (HAPS) as a super macro base station (SMBS). We investigate both spatial and temporal load estimation approaches, including three spatial interpolation schemes, random neighboring selection, distance based selection, and multi level clustering (MLC), alongside a temporal deep learning method based on long short-term memory (LSTM) networks. Using a real world dataset for empirical validation, our results show that both spatial and temporal methods significantly improve estimation accuracy, with the MLC and LSTM approaches demonstrating particularly strong performance.

Authors:Ansei Yonezawa, Heisei Yonezawa, Shuichi Yahagi, Itsuro Kajiwara, Shinya Kijimoto
Title: Fractional-order controller tuning via minimization of integral of time-weighted absolute error without multiple closed-loop tests
Abstract:
This study presents a non-iterative tuning technique for a linear fractional-order (FO) controller, based on the integral of the time-weighted absolute error (ITAE) criterion. Minimizing the ITAE is a traditional approach for tuning FO controllers. This technique reduces the over/undershoot and suppresses the steady-state error. In contrast to conventional approaches of ITAE-based controller tuning, the proposed approach does not require multiple closed-loop experiments or model-based simulations to evaluate the ITAE. The one-shot input/output data is collected from the controlled plant. A fictitious reference signal is defined on the basis of the collected input and output signal, which enables us to evaluate the closed-loop response provided by the arbitrary controller parameters. To avoid repeated experiments that are necessary in the conventional approach, we reformulate the ITAE minimization problem using the fictitious reference signal. The desired FO controller parameters minimizing the ITAE are obtained by solving the optimization problem that is based on the fictitious reference signal. The validity of the proposed approach is demonstrated by a numerical study. The avoidance of repeated experiments significantly reduces the development cost of linear FO controllers, thereby facilitating their practical application.

Authors:Mengbang Zou, Yun Tang, Adolfo Perrusquía, Weisi Guo
Title: Guaranteeing and Explaining Stability across Heterogeneous Load Balancing using Calculus Network Dynamics
Abstract:
Load balancing between base stations (BSs) allows BS capacity to be efficiently utilised and avoid outages. Currently, data-driven mechanisms strive to balance inter-BS load and reduce unnecessary handovers. The challenge is that over a large number of BSs, networks observe an oscillatory effect of load evolution that causes high inter-BS messaging. Without a calculus function that integrates network topology to describe the evolution of load states, current data-driven algorithms cannot explain the oscillation phenomenon observed in load states, nor can they provide theoretical guarantees on the stability of the ideal synchronised state. Whilst we know load state oscillation is coupled with the load balancing process algorithms and the topology structure of inter-BS boundary relations, we do not have a theoretical framework to prove this and a pathway to improving load balancing algorithms. Here, we abstract generic and heterogeneous data-driven algorithms into a calculus dynamics space, so that we can establish the synchronization conditions for networked load balancing dynamics with any network topology. By incorporating what is known as "non-conservative error" and the eigenvalue spectrum of the networked dynamics, we can adjust the inter-BS load balancing mechanisms to achieve high efficiency and convergence guarantee, or to mitigate the oscillation when the synchronisation condition cannot be satisfied.

Authors:Tianyi Wang, Yangyang Wang, Jie Pan, Junfeng Jiao, Christian Claudel
Title: HCOMC: A Hierarchical Cooperative On-Ramp Merging Control Framework in Mixed Traffic Environment on Two-Lane Highways
Abstract:
Highway on-ramp merging areas are common bottlenecks to traffic congestion and accidents. Currently, a cooperative control strategy based on connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) is a fundamental solution to this problem. While CAVs are not fully widespread, it is necessary to propose a hierarchical cooperative on-ramp merging control (HCOMC) framework for heterogeneous traffic flow on two-lane highways to address this gap. This paper extends longitudinal car-following models based on the intelligent driver model and lateral lane-changing models using the quintic polynomial curve to account for human-driven vehicles (HDVs) and CAVs, comprehensively considering human factors and cooperative adaptive cruise control. Besides, this paper proposes a HCOMC framework, consisting of a hierarchical cooperative planning model based on the modified virtual vehicle model, a discretionary lane-changing model based on game theory, and a multi-objective optimization model using the elitist non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm to ensure the safe, smooth, and efficient merging process. Then, the performance of our HCOMC is analyzed under different traffic densities and CAV penetration rates through simulation. The findings underscore our HCOMC's pronounced comprehensive advantages in enhancing the safety of group vehicles, stabilizing and expediting merging process, optimizing traffic efficiency, and economizing fuel consumption compared with benchmarks.

Authors:Jie Pan, Tianyi Wang, Yangyang Wang, Junfeng Jiao, Christian Claudel
Title: TGLD: A Trust-Aware Game-Theoretic Lane-Changing Decision Framework for Automated Vehicles in Heterogeneous Traffic
Abstract:
Automated vehicles (AVs) face a critical need to adopt socially compatible behaviors and cooperate effectively with human-driven vehicles (HVs) in heterogeneous traffic environment. However, most existing lane-changing frameworks overlook HVs' dynamic trust levels, limiting their ability to accurately predict human driver behaviors. To address this gap, this study proposes a trust-aware game-theoretic lane-changing decision (TGLD) framework. First, we formulate a multi-vehicle coalition game, incorporating fully cooperative interactions among AVs and partially cooperative behaviors from HVs informed by real-time trust evaluations. Second, we develop an online trust evaluation method to dynamically estimate HVs' trust levels during lane-changing interactions, guiding AVs to select context-appropriate cooperative maneuvers. Lastly, social compatibility objectives are considered by minimizing disruption to surrounding vehicles and enhancing the predictability of AV behaviors, thereby ensuring human-friendly and context-adaptive lane-changing strategies. A human-in-the-loop experiment conducted in a highway on-ramp merging scenario validates our TGLD approach. Results show that AVs can effectively adjust strategies according to different HVs' trust levels and driving styles. Moreover, incorporating a trust mechanism significantly improves lane-changing efficiency, maintains safety, and contributes to transparent and adaptive AV-HV interactions.

Authors:Huisheng Wang, H. Vicky Zhao
Title: Analyzing the Crowding-Out Effect of Investment Herding on Consumption: An Optimal Control Theory Approach
Abstract:
Investment herding, a phenomenon where households mimic the decisions of others rather than relying on their own analysis, has significant effects on financial markets and household behavior. Excessive investment herding may reduce investments and lead to a depletion of household consumption, which is called the crowding-out effect. While existing research has qualitatively examined the impact of investment herding on consumption, quantitative studies in this area remain limited. In this work, we investigate the optimal investment and consumption decisions of households under the impact of investment herding. We formulate an optimization problem to model how investment herding influences household decisions over time. Based on the optimal control theory, we solve for the analytical solutions of optimal investment and consumption decisions. We theoretically analyze the impact of investment herding on household consumption decisions and demonstrate the existence of the crowding-out effect. We further explore how parameters, such as interest rate, excess return rate, and volatility, influence the crowding-out effect. Finally, we conduct a real data test to validate our theoretical analysis of the crowding-out effect. This study is crucial to understanding the impact of investment herding on household consumption and offering valuable insights for policymakers seeking to stimulate consumption and mitigate the negative effects of investment herding on economic growth.

Authors:Subin Shin, Seongkyu Jung, Jinseok Choi, Jeonghun Park
Title: Efficient RF Chain Selection for MIMO Integrated Sensing and Communications: A Greedy Approach
Abstract:
In multiple-input multiple-output integrated sensing and communication (MIMO ISAC) systems, radio frequency chain (i.e., RF chain) selection plays a vital role in reducing hardware cost, power consumption, and computational complexity. However, designing an effective RF chain selection strategy is challenging due to the disparity in performance metrics between communication and sensing-mutual information (MI) versus beam-pattern mean-squared error (MSE) or the Cramér-Rao lower bound (CRLB). To overcome this, we propose a low-complexity greedy RF chain selection framework maximizing a unified MI-based performance metric applicable to both functions. By decomposing the total MI into individual contributions of each RF chain, we introduce two approaches: greedy eigen-based selection (GES) and greedy cofactor-based selection (GCS), which iteratively identify and remove the RF chains with the lowest contribution. We further extend our framework to beam selection for beamspace MIMO ISAC systems, introducing diagonal beam selection (DBS) as a simplified solution. Simulation results show that our proposed methods achieve near-optimal performance with significantly lower complexity than exhaustive search, demonstrating their practical effectiveness for MIMO ISAC systems.

Authors:Minjae Jeon, Lang Tong, Qing Zhao
Title: Joint Scheduling of Deferrable and Nondeferrable Demand with Colocated Stochastic Supply
Abstract:
We address the problem of optimal joint scheduling of deferrable and nondeferrable demand involving colocated stochastic supply. Deferrable demand can be delayed within its service deadline, whereas nondeferrable demand must be scheduled immediately. Under a finite-horizon stochastic dynamic programming formulation, we show that the optimal scheduling policy is a ``procrastination policy'' that delays scheduling as much as possible and is characterized by three procrastination parameters. Exploiting the low-dimensional parameterization of the optimal policy, we propose a Procrastination Threshold Reinforcement Learning algorithm. Numerical experiments based on real-world test data confirm that the threshold-learning algorithm closely approximates the optimal policy and outperforms standard benchmarks.

Authors:Amir Farakhor, Iman Askari, Di Wu, Huazhen Fang
Title: Optimal Power Management of Battery Energy Storage Systems via Ensemble Kalman Inversion
Abstract:
Optimal power management of battery energy storage systems (BESS) is crucial for their safe and efficient operation. Numerical optimization techniques are frequently utilized to solve the optimal power management problems. However, these techniques often fall short of delivering real-time solutions for large-scale BESS due to their computational complexity. To address this issue, this paper proposes a computationally efficient approach. We introduce a new set of decision variables called power-sharing ratios corresponding to each cell, indicating their allocated power share from the output power demand. We then formulate an optimal power management problem to minimize the system-wide power losses while ensuring compliance with safety, balancing, and power supply-demand match constraints. To efficiently solve this problem, a parameterized control policy is designed and leveraged to transform the optimal power management problem into a parameter estimation problem. We then implement the ensemble Kalman inversion to estimate the optimal parameter set. The proposed approach significantly reduces computational requirements due to 1) the much lower dimensionality of the decision parameters and 2) the estimation treatment of the optimal power management problem. Finally, we conduct extensive simulations to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results show promise in accuracy and computation time compared with explored numerical optimization techniques.

Authors:Daniel Engelsman, Itzik Klein
Title: C-ZUPT: Stationarity-Aided Aerial Hovering
Abstract:
Autonomous systems across diverse domains have underscored the need for drift-resilient state estimation. Although satellite-based positioning and cameras are widely used, they often suffer from limited availability in many environments. As a result, positioning must rely solely on inertial sensors, leading to rapid accuracy degradation over time due to sensor biases and noise. To counteract this, alternative update sources-referred to as information aiding-serve as anchors of certainty. Among these, the zero-velocity update (ZUPT) is particularly effective in providing accurate corrections during stationary intervals, though it is restricted to surface-bound platforms. This work introduces a controlled ZUPT (C-ZUPT) approach for aerial navigation and control, independent of surface contact. By defining an uncertainty threshold, C-ZUPT identifies quasi-static equilibria to deliver precise velocity updates to the estimation filter. Extensive validation confirms that these opportunistic, high-quality updates significantly reduce inertial drift and control effort. As a result, C-ZUPT mitigates filter divergence and enhances navigation stability, enabling more energy-efficient hovering and substantially extending sustained flight-key advantages for resource-constrained aerial systems.

Authors:Xiaokan Yang, Wei Chen, Li Qiu
Title: The Small Phase Condition is Necessary for Symmetric Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we show that the small phase condition is both sufficient and necessary to ensure the feedback stability when the interconnected systems are symmetric. Such symmetric systems arise in diverse applications. The key lies in that, for a complex symmetric and semi-sectorial matrix, the transformation matrix in its generalized sectorial decomposition can be taken to be real. Such a result fills the gap of phase based necessary condition for the feedback stability of symmetric systems, and serves as a counterpart of the necessity result for small gain condition. Moreover, we explore the necessity of small phase condition for general asymmetric systems. Some insightful results are presented, which help to clarify the main challenge in the general case.

Authors:Jiajun Shen, Hao Tu, Fengjun Li, Morteza Hashemi, Di Wu, Huazhen Fang
Title: Dual State-space Fidelity Blade (D-STAB): A Novel Stealthy Cyber-physical Attack Paradigm
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel cyber-physical attack paradigm, termed the Dual State-Space Fidelity Blade (D-STAB), which targets the firmware of core cyber-physical components as a new class of attack surfaces. The D-STAB attack exploits the information asymmetry caused by the fidelity gap between high-fidelity and low-fidelity physical models in cyber-physical systems. By designing precise adversarial constraints based on high-fidelity state-space information, the attack induces deviations in high-fidelity states that remain undetected by defenders relying on low-fidelity observations. The effectiveness of D-STAB is demonstrated through a case study in cyber-physical battery systems, specifically in an optimal charging task governed by a Battery Management System (BMS).

Authors:Qucheng Peng, Chen Bai, Guoxiang Zhang, Bo Xu, Xiaotong Liu, Xiaoyin Zheng, Chen Chen, Cheng Lu
Title: NavigScene: Bridging Local Perception and Global Navigation for Beyond-Visual-Range Autonomous Driving
Abstract:
Autonomous driving systems have made significant advances in Q&A, perception, prediction, and planning based on local visual information, yet they struggle to incorporate broader navigational context that human drivers routinely utilize. We address this critical gap between local sensor data and global navigation information by proposing NavigScene, an auxiliary navigation-guided natural language dataset that simulates a human-like driving environment within autonomous driving systems. Moreover, we develop three complementary paradigms to leverage NavigScene: (1) Navigation-guided Reasoning, which enhances vision-language models by incorporating navigation context into the prompting approach; (2) Navigation-guided Preference Optimization, a reinforcement learning method that extends Direct Preference Optimization to improve vision-language model responses by establishing preferences for navigation-relevant summarized information; and (3) Navigation-guided Vision-Language-Action model, which integrates navigation guidance and vision-language models with conventional driving models through feature fusion. Extensive experiments demonstrate that our approaches significantly improve performance across perception, prediction, planning, and question-answering tasks by enabling reasoning capabilities beyond visual range and improving generalization to diverse driving scenarios. This work represents a significant step toward more comprehensive autonomous driving systems capable of navigating complex, unfamiliar environments with greater reliability and safety.

Authors:Tudor Octavian Pocola, Valentin Robu, Jip Rietveld, Sonam Norbu, Benoit Couraud, Merlinda Andoni, David Flynn, H. Vincent Poor
Title: Optimal Sizing and Control of a Grid-Connected Battery in a Stacked Revenue Model Including an Energy Community
Abstract:
Recent years have seen rapid increases in intermittent renewable generation, requiring novel battery energy storage systems (BESS) solutions. One recent trend is the emergence of large grid-connected batteries, that can be controlled to provide multiple storage and flexibility services, using a stacked revenue model. Another emerging development is renewable energy communities (REC), in which prosumers invest in their own renewable generation capacity, but also requiring battery storage for flexibility. In this paper, we study settings in which energy communities rent battery capacity from a battery operator through a battery-as-a-service (BaaS) model. We present a methodology for determining the sizing and pricing of battery capacity that can be rented, such that it provides economic benefits to both the community and the battery operator that participates in the energy market. We examine how sizes and prices vary across a number of different scenarios for different types of tariffs (flat, dynamic) and competing energy market uses. Second, we conduct a systematic study of linear optimization models for battery control when deployed to provide flexibility to energy communities. We show that existing approaches for battery control with daily time windows have a number of important limitations in practical deployments, and we propose a number of regularization functions in the optimization to address them. Finally, we investigate the proposed method using real generation, demand, tariffs, and battery data, based on a practical case study from a large battery operator in the Netherlands. For the settings in our case study, we find that a community of 200 houses with a 330 kW wind turbine can save up to 12,874 euros per year by renting just 280 kWh of battery capacity (after subtracting battery rental costs), with the methodology applicable to a wide variety of settings and tariff types.

Authors:Anand Gokhale, Vaibhav Srivastava, Francesco Bullo
Title: LogicGuard: Improving Embodied LLM agents through Temporal Logic based Critics
Abstract:
Large language models (LLMs) have shown promise in zero-shot and single step reasoning and decision making problems, but in long horizon sequential planning tasks, their errors compound, often leading to unreliable or inefficient behavior. We introduce LogicGuard, a modular actor-critic architecture in which an LLM actor is guided by a trajectory level LLM critic that communicates through Linear Temporal Logic (LTL). Our setup combines the reasoning strengths of language models with the guarantees of formal logic. The actor selects high-level actions from natural language observations, while the critic analyzes full trajectories and proposes new LTL constraints that shield the actor from future unsafe or inefficient behavior. LogicGuard supports both fixed safety rules and adaptive, learned constraints, and is model-agnostic: any LLM-based planner can serve as the actor, with LogicGuard acting as a logic-generating wrapper. We formalize planning as graph traversal under symbolic constraints, allowing LogicGuard to analyze failed or suboptimal trajectories and generate new temporal logic rules that improve future behavior. To demonstrate generality, we evaluate LogicGuard across two distinct settings: short-horizon general tasks and long-horizon specialist tasks. On the Behavior benchmark of 100 household tasks, LogicGuard increases task completion rates by 25% over a baseline InnerMonologue planner. On the Minecraft diamond-mining task, which is long-horizon and requires multiple interdependent subgoals, LogicGuard improves both efficiency and safety compared to SayCan and InnerMonologue. These results show that enabling LLMs to supervise each other through temporal logic yields more reliable, efficient and safe decision-making for both embodied agents.

Authors:Samuel Filgueira da Silva, Mehmet Fatih Ozkan, Faissal El Idrissi, Marcello Canova
Title: Augmented Physics-Based Li-ion Battery Model via Adaptive Ensemble Sparse Learning and Conformal Prediction
Abstract:
Accurate electrochemical models are essential for the safe and efficient operation of lithium-ion batteries in real-world applications such as electrified vehicles and grid storage. Reduced-order models (ROM) offer a balance between fidelity and computational efficiency but often struggle to capture complex and nonlinear behaviors, such as the dynamics in the cell voltage response under high C-rate conditions. To address these limitations, this study proposes an Adaptive Ensemble Sparse Identification (AESI) framework that enhances the accuracy of reduced-order li-ion battery models by compensating for unpredictable dynamics. The approach integrates an Extended Single Particle Model (ESPM) with an evolutionary ensemble sparse learning strategy to construct a robust hybrid model. In addition, the AESI framework incorporates a conformal prediction method to provide theoretically guaranteed uncertainty quantification for voltage error dynamics, thereby improving the reliability of the model's predictions. Evaluation across diverse operating conditions shows that the hybrid model (ESPM + AESI) improves the voltage prediction accuracy, achieving mean squared error reductions of up to 46% on unseen data. Prediction reliability is further supported by conformal prediction, yielding statistically valid prediction intervals with coverage ratios of 96.85% and 97.41% for the ensemble models based on bagging and stability selection, respectively.

Authors:Farhad Mehdifar, Charalampos P. Bechlioulis, Dimos V. Dimarogonas
Title: Robust Closed-Form Control for MIMO Nonlinear Systems under Conflicting Time-Varying Hard and Soft Constraints
Abstract:
This paper introduces a novel robust closed-form control law to handle time-varying hard and soft constraints in uncertain high-relative-degree nonlinear MIMO systems. These constraints represent spatiotemporal specifications in mechanical systems' operational space, with hard constraints ensuring safety-critical requirements and soft constraints encoding performance or task objectives. Initially, all constraints are consolidated into two separate scalar time-varying hard and soft constraint functions, whose positive level sets define feasible regions. A closed-form control law is developed to enforce these constraints using appropriately designed reciprocal barriers and nonlinear transformation functions. When conflicts between hard and soft constraints arise, the control law prioritizes hard constraints by virtually relaxing soft constraints via a dynamic relaxation law. Notably, the proposed control law maintains low complexity by avoiding approximation schemes for coping with system uncertainties. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Authors:Ayush Rai, Shaoshuai Mou, Brian D. O. Anderson
Title: Performance Index Shaping for Closed-loop Optimal Control
Abstract:
The design of the performance index, also referred to as cost or reward shaping, is central to both optimal control and reinforcement learning, as it directly determines the behaviors, trade-offs, and objectives that the resulting control laws seek to achieve. A commonly used approach for this inference task in recent years is differentiable trajectory optimization, which allows gradients to be computed with respect to cost parameters by differentiating through an optimal control solver. However, this method often requires repeated solving of the underlying optimal control problem at every iteration, making the method computationally expensive. In this work, assuming known dynamics, we propose a novel framework that analytically links the performance index to the resulting closed-loop optimal control law, thereby transforming a typically bi-level inverse problem into a tractable single-level formulation. Our approach is motivated by the question: given a closed-loop control law that solves an infinite-horizon optimal control problem, how does this law change when the performance index is modified with additional terms? This formulation yields closed-form characterizations for broad classes of systems and performance indices, which not only facilitate interpretation and stability analysis, but also provide insight into the robust stability and input-to-state stable behavior of the resulting nonlinear closed-loop system. Moreover, this analytical perspective enables the generalization of our approach to diverse design objectives, yielding a unifying framework for performance index shaping. Given specific design objectives, we propose a systematic methodology to guide the shaping of the performance index and thereby design the resulting optimal control law.

Authors:Yutian Pang, Andrew Kendall, John-Paul Clarke
Title: Modeling the Impact of Communication and Human Uncertainties on Runway Capacity in Terminal Airspace
Abstract:
We investigate the potential impact of communication and human performance uncertainties on runway operations. Specifically, we consider these impacts within the context of an arrival scenario with two converging flows: a straight-in approach stream and a downwind stream merging into it. Both arrival stream are modeled using a modified Possion distribution that incorporate the separation minima as well as the runway occupancy time. Various system level uncertainties are addressed in this process, including communication link- and human-related uncertainties. In this research, we first build a Monte Carlo-based discrete-time simulation, where aircraft arrivals are generated by modified Poisson processes subject to minimum separation constraints, simulating various traffic operations. The merging logic incorporates standard bank angle continuous turn-to-final, pilot response delays, and dynamic gap availability in real time. Then, we investigate an automated final approach vectoring model (i.e., Auto-ATC), in which inverse optimal control is used to learn decision advisories from human expert records. By augmenting trajectories and incorporating the aforementioned uncertainties into the planning scenario, we create a setup analogous to the discrete event simulation. For both studies, runway capacity is measured by runway throughput, the fraction of downwind arrivals that merge immediately without holding, and the average delay (i.e., holding time/distance) experienced on the downwind leg. This research provides a method for runway capacity estimation in merging scenarios, and demonstrates that aeronautical communication link uncertainties significantly affect runway capacity in current voice-based operations, whereas the impact can be mitigated in autonomous operational settings.

Authors:Chongxiao Cai, Yan Zhu, Min Sheng, Jiandong Li, Yan Shi, Di Zhou, Ziwen Xie, Chen Zhang
Title: 3C Resources Joint Allocation for Time-Deterministic Remote Sensing Image Backhaul in the Space-Ground Integrated Network
Abstract:
Low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites assist observation satellites (OSs) to compress and backhaul more time-determined images (TDI) has become a new paradigm, which is used to enhance the timeout caused by the limited computing resources of OSs. However, how to capture the time-varying and dynamic characteristics of multi-dimensional resources is challenging for efficient collaborative scheduling. Motivated by this factor, we design a highly succinct multi-dimensional resource time-expanded graph (MDR-TEG) modell. Specifically, by employing a slots division mechanism and introducing an external virtual node, the time-varying communication, caching, and computing (3C) resources are depicted in low complexity by the link weights within, between, and outside the slots. Based on the MDR-TEG, the maximizing successful transmission ratio of TDI (MSTR-TDI) is modeled as a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) problem. Which further relaxed decomposed into two tractable sub-problems: maximizing the successful transmission rate of images (MSTRI) and ensuring the timeliness problem (ETP). Subsequently, an efficient subgradient of relaxation computing constraint (SRCC) algorithm is proposed. The upper and lower bounds of MSTR-TDI are obtained by solving the two subproblems and the dual problem (DP), and the direction of the next iteration is obtained by feedback. Furthermore, arranging the sending sequences of images to improve the quality of the solution. The approximate optimal solution of MSTR-TDI is eventually obtained through repeated iterations. The simulation results verify the superiority of the proposed MDR-TEG model and the effectiveness of the SRCC.

Authors:Mariat James Elizebeth, Shufeng Chen, Halima El Badaoui, Siddartha Khastgir, Paul Jennings
Title: Safety Analysis of eVTOL Operations based on STPA
Abstract:
Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft are expected to be quieter and more cost-effective than helicopters, offering major economic and social benefits through improved connectivity. Their adoption will require new ground infrastructure and airspace redesign, introducing risks involving multiple stakeholders (Regulators, eVTOL operators, Air navigation service providers, Vertiport operators, OEMs, Pilots, etc.). To assess these risks for the UK airspace, systems-thinking based System Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) was conducted. To manage the large number of Unsafe Control Actions (UCAs) and requirements generated due to the complexity of the analysis, a novel extension to STPA for the prioritization of results was applied. 317 UCAs were identified in total out of which 110 high-priority UCAs were analyzed (Step-4), resulting in 377 causal factors and 432 requirements. These were prioritized to produce a targeted list of 124 distinct high-priority requirements, 56 of which were identified as gaps in existing aviation regulations, policies, or procedures.. These highlight opportunities for regulatory updates in areas such as organizational performance, certification processes, training, collision avoidance, energy management, and automation. The findings provide regulators with safety considerations that could shape new or updated regulations, compliance methods, and guidance materials for the safe deployment of eVTOLs.

Authors:Rakesh Kumar Sahoo, Paridhi Choudhary, Manoranjan Sinha
Title: Satellite Navigation and Control using Physics-Informed Artificial Potential Field and Sliding Mode Controller
Abstract:
Increase in the number of space exploration missions has led to the accumulation of space debris, posing risk of collision with the operational satellites. Addressing this challenge is crucial for the sustainability of space operations. To plan a safe trajectory in the presence of moving space debris, an integrated approach of artificial potential field and sliding mode controller is proposed and implemented in this paper. The relative 6-DOF kinematics and dynamics of the spacecraft is modelled in the framework of geometric mechanics with the relative configuration expressed through exponential coordinates. Various collision avoidance guidance algorithms have been proposed in the literature but the Artificial Potential Field guidance algorithm is computationally efficient and enables real-time path adjustments to avoid collision with obstacles. However, it is prone to issues such as local minima. In literature, local minima issue is typically avoided by either redefining the potential function such as adding vorticity or by employing search techniques which are computationally expensive. To address these challenges, a physics-informed APF is proposed in this paper where Hamiltonian mechanics is used instead of the traditional Newtonian mechanics-based approach. In this approach, instead of relying on attractive and repulsive forces for path planning, the Hamiltonian approach uses the potential field to define a path of minimum potential. Additionally, to track the desired trajectory planned by the guidance algorithm within a fixed-time frame, a non-singular fixed-time sliding mode controller (FTSMC) is used. The proposed fixed-time sliding surface not only ensures fixed-time convergence of system states but also guarantees the global stability of the closed-loop system without singularity. The simulation results presented support the claims made.

Authors:Van Chien Le, Cedric Munger, Francesco P. Andriulli, Kristof Cools
Title: A Stable, Accurate and Well-Conditioned Time-Domain PMCHWT Formulation
Abstract:
This paper introduces a new boundary element formulation for transient electromagnetic scattering by homogeneous dielectric objects based on the time-domain PMCHWT equation. To address dense-mesh breakdown, a multiplicative Calderon preconditioner utilizing a modified static electric field integral operator is employed. Large-timestep breakdown and late-time instability are simultaneously resolved by rescaling the Helmholtz components leveraging the quasi-Helmholtz projectors and using temporal differentiation and integration as rescaling operators. This rescaling also balances the loop and star components at large timesteps, improving solution accuracy. The resulting discrete system is solved using a marching-on-in-time scheme and iterative solvers. Numerical experiments for simply- and multiply-connected dielectric scatterers, including highly non-smooth geometries, corroborate the accuracy, stability, and efficiency of the proposed approach.

Authors:Nikolaus Würkner, Yevhenii Kuriatnikov, Karthikeyan Kumaran, M Venkat Ramana, Jörg Schmiedmayer, Andreas Kugi, Maximilian Prüfer, Andreas Deutschmann-Olek
Title: Identification and optimal control strategies for the transversal splitting of ultra--cold Bose gases
Abstract:
Splitting a Bose--Einstein condensate (BEC) is a key operation in fundamental physics experiments and emerging quantum technologies, where precise preparation of well--defined initial states requires fast yet coherent control of the condensate's nonlinear dynamics. This work formulates the BEC splitting process as an optimal feedforward control problem based on a physically interpretable, reduced--order model identified from limited experimental data. We introduce a systematic calibration strategy that combines optimal experiment selection and constrained nonlinear parameter estimation, enabling accurate system identification with minimal experimental overhead. Using this calibrated model, we compute energy--optimal trajectories via indirect optimal control to realize shortcuts to adiabaticity (STAs), achieving rapid transitions to the ground state of a double--well potential while suppressing excitations. Experiments confirm that the proposed control framework yields high--fidelity state transfers across multiple configurations, demonstrating its robustness and scalability for quantum control applications.

Authors:Christopher Martin, Apurva Patil, Wei Li, Takashi Tanaka, Dongmei Chen
Title: Model Predictive Path Integral Control for Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing
Abstract:
Roll-to-roll (R2R) manufacturing is a continuous processing technology essential for scalable production of thin-film materials and printed electronics, but precise control remains challenging due to subsystem interactions, nonlinearities, and process disturbances. This paper proposes a Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI) control formulation for R2R systems, leveraging a GPU-based Monte-Carlo sampling approach to efficiently approximate optimal controls online. Crucially, MPPI easily handles non-differentiable cost functions, enabling the incorporation of complex performance criteria relevant to advanced manufacturing processes. A case study is presented that demonstrates that MPPI significantly improves tension regulation performance compared to conventional model predictive control (MPC), highlighting its suitability for real-time control in advanced manufacturing.

Authors:Taha Ondogan, Ran Jing, Andrew P. Sabelhaus, Roberto Tron
Title: Koopman Control Factorization: Data-Driven Convex Controller Design for a Class of Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
Although Koopman operators provide a global linearization for autonomous dynamical systems, nonautonomous systems are not globally linear in the inputs. State (or output) feedback controller design therefore remains nonconvex in typical formulations, even with approximations via bilinear control-affine terms. We address this gap by introducing the Koopman Control Factorization, a novel parameterization of control-affine dynamical systems combined with a feedback controller defined as a linear combination of nonlinear measurements. With this choice, the Koopman operator of the closed-loop system is a bilinear combination of the coefficients in two matrices: one representing the system, and the other the controller. We propose a set of sufficient conditions such that the factorization holds. Then, we present an algorithm that calculates the feedback matrix via semi-definite programming, producing a Lyapunov-stable closed-loop system with convex optimization. We evaluate the proposed controllers on two canonical examples of control-affine nonlinear systems (inverted pendulums), and show that our factorization and controller successfully stabilize both under properly-chosen basis functions. This manuscript introduces a broadly generalizable control synthesis method for stabilization of nonlinear systems that is quick-to-compute, verifiably stable, data-driven, and does not rely on approximations.

Authors:Vade Shah, Yohan John, Ethan Freifeld, Lily Y. Chen, Jason R. Marden
Title: Cooling Under Convexity: An Inventory Control Perspective on Industrial Refrigeration
Abstract:
Industrial refrigeration systems have substantial energy needs, but optimizing their operation remains challenging due to the tension between minimizing energy costs and meeting strict cooling requirements. Load shifting--strategic overcooling in anticipation of future demands--offers substantial efficiency gains. This work seeks to rigorously quantify these potential savings through the derivation of optimal load shifting policies. Our first contribution establishes a novel connection between industrial refrigeration and inventory control problems with convex ordering costs, where the convexity arises from the relationship between energy consumption and cooling capacity. Leveraging this formulation, we derive three main theoretical results: (1) an optimal algorithm for deterministic demand scenarios, along with proof that optimal trajectories are non-increasing (a valuable structural insight for practical control); (2) performance bounds that quantify the value of load shifting as a function of cost convexity, demand variability, and temporal patterns; (3) a computationally tractable load shifting heuristic with provable near-optimal performance under uncertainty. Numerical simulations validate our theoretical findings, and a case study using real industrial refrigeration data demonstrates an opportunity for improved load shifting.

Authors:Grace Ra Kim, Duncan Eddy, Vedant Srinivas, Mykel J. Kochenderfer
Title: Scalable Ground Station Selection for Large LEO Constellations
Abstract:
Effective ground station selection is critical for low Earth orbiting (LEO) satellite constellations to minimize operational costs, maximize data downlink volume, and reduce communication gaps between access windows. Traditional ground station selection typically begins by choosing from a fixed set of locations offered by Ground Station-as-a-Service (GSaaS) providers, which helps reduce the problem scope to optimizing locations over existing infrastructure. However, finding a globally optimal solution for stations using existing mixed-integer programming methods quickly becomes intractable at scale, especially when considering multiple providers and large satellite constellations. To address this issue, we introduce a scalable, hierarchical framework that decomposes the global selection problem into single-satellite, short time-window subproblems. Optimal station choices from each subproblem are clustered to identify consistently high-value locations across all decomposed cases. Cluster-level sets are then matched back to the closest GSaaS candidate sites to produce a globally feasible solution. This approach enables scalable coordination while maintaining near-optimal performance. We evaluate our method's performance on synthetic Walker-Star test cases (1-10 satellites, 1-10 stations), achieving solutions within 95% of the global IP optimum for all test cases. Real-world evaluations on Capella Space (5 satellites), ICEYE (40), and Planet's Flock (96) show that while exact IP solutions fail to scale, our framework continues to deliver high-quality site selections.

Authors:Tejaswini Sanjay Katale, Lu Gao, Yunpeng Zhang, Alaa Senouci
Title: A Bilevel Optimization Framework for Adversarial Control of Gas Pipeline Operations
Abstract:
Cyberattacks on pipeline operational technology systems pose growing risks to energy infrastructure. This study develops a physics-informed simulation and optimization framework for analyzing cyber-physical threats in petroleum pipeline networks. The model integrates networked hydraulic dynamics, SCADA-based state estimation, model predictive control (MPC), and a bi-level formulation for stealthy false-data injection (FDI) attacks. Pipeline flow and pressure dynamics are modeled on a directed graph using nodal pressure evolution and edge-based Weymouth-type relations, including control-aware equipment such as valves and compressors. An extended Kalman filter estimates the full network state from partial SCADA telemetry. The controller computes pressure-safe control inputs via MPC under actuator constraints and forecasted demands. Adversarial manipulation is formalized as a bi-level optimization problem where an attacker perturbs sensor data to degrade throughput while remaining undetected by bad-data detectors. This attack-control interaction is solved via Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) reformulation, which results in a tractable mixed-integer quadratic program. Test gas pipeline case studies demonstrate the covert reduction of service delivery under attack. Results show that undetectable attacks can cause sustained throughput loss with minimal instantaneous deviation. This reveals the need for integrated detection and control strategies in cyber-physical infrastructure.

Authors:Nicholas B. Andrews, Yanhao Yang, Sofya Akhetova, Kristi A. Morgansen, Ross L. Hatton
Title: Pose Estimation of a Thruster-Driven Bioinspired Multi-Link Robot
Abstract:
This work demonstrates pose (position and shape) estimation for a free-floating, bioinspired multi-link robot with unactuated joints, link-mounted thrusters for control, and a single gyroscope per link, resulting in an underactuated, minimally sensed platform. Through a proof-of-concept hardware experiment and offline Kalman filter analysis, we show that the robot's pose can be reliably estimated. State estimation is performed using an unscented Kalman filter augmented with Gaussian process residual learning to compensate for non-zero-mean, non-Gaussian noise. We further show that a filter trained on a multi-gait dataset (forward, backward, left, right, and turning) performs comparably to one trained on a larger forward-gait-only dataset when both are evaluated on the same forward-gait test trajectory. These results reveal overlap in the gait input space, which can be exploited to reduce training data requirements while enhancing the filter's generalizability across multiple gaits.

Authors:Vivek Khatana, Duo Wang, Petros Voulgaris, Nicola Elia, Naira Hovakimyan
Title: Networked Control and Mean Field Problems Under Diagonal Dominance: Decentralized and Social Optimality
Abstract:
In this article, we employ an input-output approach to expand the study of cooperative multi-agent control and optimization problems characterized by mean-field interactions that admit decentralized and selfish solutions. The setting involves $n$ independent agents that interact solely through a shared cost function, which penalizes deviations of each agent from the group's average collective behavior. Building on our earlier results established for homogeneous agents, we extend the framework to nonidentical agents and show that, under a diagonal dominant interaction of the collective dynamics, with bounded local open-loop dynamics, the optimal controller for $H_\infty$ and $H_2$ norm minimization remains decentralized and selfish in the limit as the number of agents $n$ grows to infinity.

Authors:Carl Philipp Hohl, Philipp Reis, Tobias Schürmann, Stefan Otten, Eric Sax
Title: Structuring Automotive Data for Systems Engineering: A Taxonomy-Based Approach
Abstract:
Vehicle data is essential for advancing data-driven development throughout the automotive lifecycle, including requirements engineering, design, verification, and validation, and post-deployment optimization. Developers currently collect data in a decentralized and fragmented manner across simulations, test benches, and real-world driving, resulting in data silos, inconsistent formats, and limited interoperability. This leads to redundant efforts, inefficient integration, and suboptimal use of data. This fragmentation results in data silos, inconsistent storage structures, and limited interoperability, leading to redundant data collection, inefficient integration, and suboptimal application. To address these challenges, this article presents a structured literature review and develops an inductive taxonomy for automotive data. This taxonomy categorizes data according to its sources and applications, improving data accessibility and utilization. The analysis reveals a growing emphasis on real-world driving and machine learning applications while highlighting a critical gap in data availability for requirements engineering. By providing a systematic framework for structuring automotive data, this research contributes to more efficient data management and improved decision-making in the automotive industry.

Authors:Yu Mei, Xinyu Zhou, Xiaobo Tan
Title: Modeling and Mixed-Integer Nonlinear MPC of Positive-Negative Pressure Pneumatic Systems
Abstract:
Positive-negative pressure regulation is critical to soft robotic actuators, enabling large motion ranges and versatile actuation modes. However, it remains challenging due to complex nonlinearities, oscillations, and direction-dependent, piecewise dynamics introduced by affordable pneumatic valves and the bidirectional architecture. We present a model-based control framework that couples a physics-grounded switched nonlinear plant model (inflation/deflation modes) with a mixed-integer nonlinear model predictive controller (MI-NMPC). The controller co-optimizes mode scheduling and PWM inputs to realize accurate reference tracking while enforcing input constraints and penalizing energy consumption and excessive switching. To make discrete mode decisions tractable, we employ a Combinatorial Integral Approximation that relaxes binary mode variables to continuous surrogates within the valve-scheduling layer. With parameters identified from the physical system, simulations with step and sinusoidal references validate the proposed MI-NMPC, showing a consistently favorable trade-off among accuracy, control effort, and switching, and outperforming conventional PID and NMPC with heuristic mode selection.

Authors:Wataru Hashimoto, Kazumune Hashimoto
Title: MM-LMPC: Multi-Modal Learning Model Predictive Control via Bandit-Based Mode Selection
Abstract:
Learning Model Predictive Control (LMPC) improves performance on iterative tasks by leveraging data from previous executions. At each iteration, LMPC constructs a sampled safe set from past trajectories and uses it as a terminal constraint, with a terminal cost given by the corresponding cost-to-go. While effective, LMPC heavily depends on the initial trajectories: states with high cost-to-go are rarely selected as terminal candidates in later iterations, leaving parts of the state space unexplored and potentially missing better solutions. For example, in a reach-avoid task with two possible routes, LMPC may keep refining the initially shorter path while neglecting the alternative path that could lead to a globally better solution. To overcome this limitation, we propose Multi-Modal LMPC (MM-LMPC), which clusters past trajectories into modes and maintains mode-specific terminal sets and value functions. A bandit-based meta-controller with a Lower Confidence Bound (LCB) policy balances exploration and exploitation across modes, enabling systematic refinement of all modes. This allows MM-LMPC to escape high-cost local optima and discover globally superior solutions. We establish recursive feasibility, closed-loop stability, asymptotic convergence to the best mode, and a logarithmic regret bound. Simulations on obstacle-avoidance tasks validate the performance improvements of the proposed method.

Authors:Yichen Zhao, Tyler Hanks, Hans Riess, Samuel Cohen, Matthew Hale, James Fairbanks
Title: Asynchronous Nonlinear Sheaf Diffusion for Multi-Agent Coordination
Abstract:
Cellular sheaves and sheaf Laplacians provide a far-reaching generalization of graphs and graph Laplacians, resulting in a wide array of applications ranging from machine learning to multi-agent control. In the context of multi-agent systems, so called coordination sheaves provide a unifying formalism that models heterogeneous agents and coordination goals over undirected communication topologies, and applying sheaf diffusion drives agents to achieve their coordination goals. Existing literature on sheaf diffusion assumes that agents can communicate and compute updates synchronously, which is an unrealistic assumption in many scenarios where communication delays or heterogeneous agents with different compute capabilities cause disagreement among agents. To address these challenges, we introduce asynchronous nonlinear sheaf diffusion. Specifically, we show that under mild assumptions on the coordination sheaf and bounded delays in communication and computation, nonlinear sheaf diffusion converges to a minimizer of the Dirichlet energy of the coordination sheaf at a linear rate proportional to the delay bound. We further show that this linear convergence is attained from arbitrary initial conditions and the analysis depends on the spectrum of the sheaf Laplacian in a manner that generalizes the standard graph Laplacian case. We provide several numerical simulations to validate our theoretical results.

Authors:Ethan Herron, Xian Yeow Lee, Gregory Sin, Teresa Gonzalez Diaz, Ahmed Farahat, Chetan Gupta
Title: A Hierarchical Agentic Framework for Autonomous Drone-Based Visual Inspection
Abstract:
Autonomous inspection systems are essential for ensuring the performance and longevity of industrial assets. Recently, agentic frameworks have demonstrated significant potential for automating inspection workflows but have been limited to digital tasks. Their application to physical assets in real-world environments, however, remains underexplored. In this work, our contributions are two-fold: first, we propose a hierarchical agentic framework for autonomous drone control, and second, a reasoning methodology for individual function executions which we refer to as ReActEval. Our framework focuses on visual inspection tasks in indoor industrial settings, such as interpreting industrial readouts or inspecting equipment. It employs a multi-agent system comprising a head agent and multiple worker agents, each controlling a single drone. The head agent performs high-level planning and evaluates outcomes, while worker agents implement ReActEval to reason over and execute low-level actions. Operating entirely in natural language, ReActEval follows a plan, reason, act, evaluate cycle, enabling drones to handle tasks ranging from simple navigation (e.g., flying forward 10 meters and land) to complex high-level tasks (e.g., locating and reading a pressure gauge). The evaluation phase serves as a feedback and/or replanning stage, ensuring actions align with user objectives while preventing undesirable outcomes. We evaluate the framework in a simulated environment with two worker agents, assessing performance qualitatively and quantitatively based on task completion across varying complexity levels and workflow efficiency. By leveraging natural language processing for agent communication, our approach offers a novel, flexible, and user-accessible alternative to traditional drone-based solutions, enabling autonomous problem-solving for industrial inspection without extensive user intervention.

Authors:Vaishnavi Jagabathula, Ahan Basu, Pushpak Jagtap
Title: Neural Network-based Co-design of Output-Feedback Control Barrier Function and Observer
Abstract:
Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) provide a powerful framework for ensuring safety in dynamical systems. However, their application typically relies on full state information, which is often violated in real-world scenarios due to the availability of partial state information. In this work, we propose a neural network-based framework for the co-design of a safety controller, observer, and CBF for partially observed continuous-time systems. By formulating barrier conditions over an augmented state space, our approach ensures safety without requiring bounded estimation errors or handcrafted barrier functions. All components are jointly trained by formulating appropriate loss functions, and we introduce a validity condition to provide formal safety guarantees beyond the training data. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach through several case studies.

Authors:Hui Wang, Nima Tashakor, Xiaoyang Tian, Hans D. Schotten, Stefan M. Goetz
Title: Fast Energy-Theft Attack on Frequency-Varying Wireless Power without Additional Sensors
Abstract:
With the popularity of wireless charging, energy access protection and cybersecurity are gaining importance, especially in public places. Currently, the most common energy encryption method uses frequency and associated impedance variation. However, we have proven that this method is not reliable, since a hacker can detect the changing frequency and adjust the compensation. However, the previously presented system needed time to follow the updated frequency, while encryption systems may vary the frequency faster to avoid energy theft. Furthermore, the previous system required an additional sensor coil. To solve these problems, we optimized the attack and the associated system, which can intrude and steal energy within 0.2 ms. The key is the elimination of the time-consuming maximum receiver current regulation. Also, we use the main receiving coil rather than any additional sensor antenna to detect the magnetic field. Thus, the new hardware is even simpler. A simulation model and experimental results demonstrate the fast response speed of the attack on encrypted wireless power and steal 65% of the power. Overall, the applicability of the attack is highly improved and leaves less room for hardening the encryption. The results demonstrate that energy access protection needs to be given great attention.

Authors:Paul-Erik Haacker, Remco I. Leine, Renu Chaudhary, Kai Diethelm, André Schmidt, Safoura Hashemishahraki
Title: Hill-Type Stability Analysis of Periodic Solutions of Fractional-Order Differential Equations
Abstract:
This paper explores stability properties of periodic solutions of (nonlinear) fractional-order differential equations (FODEs). As classical Caputo-type FODEs do not admit exactly periodic solutions, we propose a framework of Liouville-Weyl-type FODEs, which do admit exactly periodic solutions and are an extension of Caputo-type FODEs. Local linearization around a periodic solution results in perturbation dynamics governed by a linear time-periodic differential equation. In the classical integer-order case, the perturbation dynamics is therefore described by Floquet theory, i.e. the exponential growth or decay of perturbations is expressed by Floquet exponents which can be assessed using the Hill matrix approach. For fractional-order systems, however, a rigorous Floquet theory is lacking. Here, we explore the limitations when trying to extend Floquet theory and the Hill matrix method to linear time-periodic fractional-order differential equations (LTP-FODEs) as local linearization of nonlinear fractional-order systems. A key result of the paper is that such an extended Floquet theory can only assess exponentially growing solutions of LTP-FODEs. Moreover, we provide an analysis of linear time-invariant fractional-order systems (LTI-FODEs) with algebraically decaying solutions and show that the inaccessibility of decaying solutions through Floquet theory is already present in the time-invariant case.

Authors:Guoqi Ma, Prabhakar R. Pagilla, Swaroop Darbha
Title: Parasitic actuation delay limits the minimum employable time headway in connected and autonomous vehicles
Abstract:
Adaptive andcooperative adaptive cruise control (ACC and CACC) and next generation CACC (CACC+) systems usually employ a constant time headway policy (CTHP) for platooning of connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs). In ACC, the ego vehicle uses onboard sensors to measure the position and velocity of the predecessor vehicle to maintain a desired spacing. The CACC and CACC+systems use additional information, such as acceleration(s) communicated through vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication of the predecessor vehicle(s); these systems have been shown to result in improved spacing performance, throughput, and safety over ACC. Parasitic dynamics are generally difficult to model and the parasitic parameters (delay, lag, etc.) are difficult to obtain. Parasitic actuation delays can have deleterious effects and impose limits on the mobility and safety of CAVs. It is reasonable to assume that the bounds on parasitic actuation delays are known a priori. For CAVs, we need to address both internal stability and string stability in the presence of parasitic actuation delays. This requires robustness of string and internal stability for all values of parasitic actuation delays that are within the specified upper bound. In this paper, we provide the minimum employable time headway for ACC, CACC, and CACC+ (`r' predecessors look-ahead), respectively. The inclusion of the internal stability in the string stability condition is analyzed based on Pontryagin's interlacing theorem for time delay systems. We provide comparative numerical results to corroborate the achieved theoretical results.

Authors:Erfan Shakhesi, W. P. M. H. Heemels, Alexander Katriniok
Title: Verification and Synthesis of Discrete-Time Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Discrete-time Control Barrier Functions (DTCBFs) have recently attracted interest for guaranteeing safety and synthesizing safe controllers for discrete-time dynamical systems. This paper addresses the open challenges of verifying candidate DTCBFs and synthesizing DTCBFs for general nonlinear discrete-time systems with input constraints and arbitrary safe sets. In particular, we propose a branch-and-bound method, inspired by the $α$BB algorithm, for the verification of candidate DTCBFs in both cases, whether a corresponding control policy is known or unknown. We prove that this method, in a finite number of iterations, either verifies a given candidate function as a valid DTCBF or falsifies it by providing a counterexample (within predefined tolerances). As a second main contribution, we propose a novel bilevel optimization approach to synthesize a DTCBF and a corresponding control policy in finite time. This involves determining the unknown coefficients of a parameterized DTCBF and a parameterized control policy. Furthermore, we introduce various strategies to reduce the computational burden of the bilevel approach. We also demonstrate our methods using numerical case studies.

Authors:Haeyoon Han, Mahdi Taheri, Soon-Jo Chung, Fred Y. Hadaegh
Title: A Counterfactual Reasoning Framework for Fault Diagnosis in Robot Perception Systems
Abstract:
Perception systems provide a rich understanding of the environment for autonomous systems, shaping decisions in all downstream modules. Hence, accurate detection and isolation of faults in perception systems is important. Faults in perception systems pose particular challenges: faults are often tied to the perceptual context of the environment, and errors in their multi-stage pipelines can propagate across modules. To address this, we adopt a counterfactual reasoning approach to propose a framework for fault detection and isolation (FDI) in perception systems. As opposed to relying on physical redundancy (i.e., having extra sensors), our approach utilizes analytical redundancy with counterfactual reasoning to construct perception reliability tests as causal outcomes influenced by system states and fault scenarios. Counterfactual reasoning generates reliability test results under hypothesized faults to update the belief over fault hypotheses. We derive both passive and active FDI methods. While the passive FDI can be achieved by belief updates, the active FDI approach is defined as a causal bandit problem, where we utilize Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) with upper confidence bound (UCB) to find control inputs that maximize a detection and isolation metric, designated as Effective Information (EI). The mentioned metric quantifies the informativeness of control inputs for FDI. We demonstrate the approach in a robot exploration scenario, where a space robot performing vision-based navigation actively adjusts its attitude to increase EI and correctly isolate faults caused by sensor damage, dynamic scenes, and perceptual degradation.

Authors:Shishir Lamichhane, Anamika Dubey
Title: Stochastic Economic Dispatch with Battery Energy Storage considering Wind and Load Uncertainty
Abstract:
With the integration of renewable energy resources in power systems, managing operational flexibility and reliability while minimizing operational costs has become increasingly challenging. Battery energy storage system (BESS) offers a promising solution to address these issues. This paper presents a stochastic dynamic economic dispatch with storage (SDED-S) framework to assess the impact of BESS in managing uncertainty. The temporal correlation between wind and load uncertainties is captured, with scenarios generated using a method inspired by stratified and importance sampling. The proposed approach is demonstrated on a modified IEEE 39-bus system, where selected conventional generators are converted to wind power plants. Case studies show that strategic BESS deployment significantly improves system flexibility by reducing renewable curtailments and dispatch costs. Renewable energy curtailments decrease upon increasing BESS size and approach zero depending on wind penetration level. Higher wind penetrations result in greater curtailments without storage and yield larger cost savings when BESS is deployed, highlighting the growing need for flexibility as renewable energy penetrations increase.

Authors:Mahdi Taheri, Soon-Jo Chung, Fred Y. Hadaegh
Title: Closing the Loop Inside Neural Networks: Causality-Guided Layer Adaptation for Fault Recovery Control
Abstract:
This paper studies the problem of real-time fault recovery control for nonlinear control-affine systems subject to actuator loss of effectiveness faults and external disturbances. We derive a two-stage framework that combines causal inference with selective online adaptation to achieve an effective learning-based recovery control method. In the offline phase, we develop a causal layer attribution technique based on the average causal effect (ACE) to evaluate the relative importance of each layer in a pretrained deep neural network (DNN) controller compensating for faults. This methodology identifies a subset of high-impact layers responsible for robust fault compensation. In the online phase, we deploy a Lyapunov-based gradient update to adapt only the ACE-selected layer to circumvent the need for full-network or last-layer only updates. The proposed adaptive controller guarantees uniform ultimate boundedness (UUB) with exponential convergence of the closed-loop system in the presence of actuator faults and external disturbances. Compared to conventional adaptive DNN controllers with full-network adaptation, our methodology has a reduced computational overhead. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed methodology, a case study is provided on a 3-axis attitude control system of a spacecraft with four reaction wheels.

Authors:Heye Huang, Yibin Yang, Wang Chen, Tiantian Chen, Xiaopeng Li, Sikai Chen
Title: SMART: Scalable Multi-Agent Reasoning and Trajectory Planning in Dense Environments
Abstract:
Multi-vehicle trajectory planning is a non-convex problem that becomes increasingly difficult in dense environments due to the rapid growth of collision constraints. Efficient exploration of feasible behaviors and resolution of tight interactions are essential for real-time, large-scale coordination. This paper introduces SMART, Scalable Multi-Agent Reasoning and Trajectory Planning, a hierarchical framework that combines priority-based search with distributed optimization to achieve efficient and feasible multi-vehicle planning. The upper layer explores diverse interaction modes using reinforcement learning-based priority estimation and large-step hybrid A* search, while the lower layer refines solutions via parallelizable convex optimization. By partitioning space among neighboring vehicles and constructing robust feasible corridors, the method decouples the joint non-convex problem into convex subproblems solved efficiently in parallel. This design alleviates the step-size trade-off while ensuring kinematic feasibility and collision avoidance. Experiments show that SMART consistently outperforms baselines. On 50 m x 50 m maps, it sustains over 90% success within 1 s up to 25 vehicles, while baselines often drop below 50%. On 100 m x 100 m maps, SMART achieves above 95% success up to 50 vehicles and remains feasible up to 90 vehicles, with runtimes more than an order of magnitude faster than optimization-only approaches. Built on vehicle-to-everything communication, SMART incorporates vehicle-infrastructure cooperation through roadside sensing and agent coordination, improving scalability and safety. Real-world experiments further validate this design, achieving planning times as low as 0.014 s while preserving cooperative behaviors.

Authors:Van Chien Le, Viviana Giunzioni, Pierrick Cordel, Francesco P. Andriulli, Kristof Cools
Title: On the Late-Time Instability of MOT solution to the Time-Domain PMCHWT Equation
Abstract:
This paper investigates the late-time instability of marching-on-in-time solution to the time-domain PMCHWT equation. The stability analysis identifies the static solenoidal nullspace of the time-domain electric field integral operator as the primary cause of instability. Furthermore, it reveals that the instability mechanisms of the time-domain PMCHWT equation are fundamentally different from those of the time-domain electric field integral equation. In particular, the PMCHWT's instability is much more sensitive to numerical quadrature errors, and its spectral characteristics are strongly influenced by the topology and smoothness of the scatterer surface.

Authors:Giacomo Bastianel, Dirk Van Hertem, Hakan Ergun, Line Roald
Title: Day-Ahead Transmission Grid Topology Optimization Considering Renewable Energy Sources' Uncertainty
Abstract:
The increasing renewable penetration introduces significant uncertainty in power system operations. At the same time, the existing transmission grid is often already congested, and urgently needed reinforcements are frequently delayed due to several constraints. To address these challenges, adjusting the grid topology based on congestion patterns is considered a non-costly remedy to guarantee efficient power transmission. Based on this idea, this paper proposes a grid topology optimization model combining optimal transmission switching and busbar splitting for AC and hybrid AC/DC grids. The methodology incorporates RES forecast uncertainty through a scenario-based stochastic optimization approach, using real offshore wind data and K-means clustering to generate representative forecast error scenarios. The proposed model includes several formulations to be compared with a plain optimal power flow (OPF) model: hourly optimizing the topology, one topology for 24 hours, or a limited number of switching actions over a day. The grid topology optimization model is formulated as a Mixed-Integer Quadratic Convex Problem, optimized based on the day-ahead (D-1) RES forecast and validated for AC-feasibility via an AC-OPF formulation. Based on the generation setpoints of the feasibility check, a redispatch simulation based on the measured (D) RES realization is then computed. The methodology is tested on an AC 30-bus test case and a hybrid AC/DC 50-bus test case, for a 24-hours (30-bus) and a 14-days (both test cases) time series. The results highlight the economic benefits brought by grid topology optimization for congested test cases with high penetration of RES. In addition, the results demonstrate that accounting for RES uncertainty with at least 6 to 8 scenarios leads to lower or comparable total costs to deterministic day-ahead forecasts, even when limiting the frequency of topological actions.

Authors:Jiawei Wang, Haowei Sun, Xintao Yan, Shuo Feng, Jun Gao, Henry X. Liu
Title: TeraSim-World: Worldwide Safety-Critical Data Synthesis for End-to-End Autonomous Driving
Abstract:
Safe and scalable deployment of end-to-end (E2E) autonomous driving requires extensive and diverse data, particularly safety-critical events. Existing data are mostly generated from simulators with a significant sim-to-real gap or collected from on-road testing that is costly and unsafe. This paper presents TeraSim-World, an automated pipeline that synthesizes realistic and geographically diverse safety-critical data for E2E autonomous driving at anywhere in the world. Starting from an arbitrary location, TeraSim-World retrieves real-world maps and traffic demand from geospatial data sources. Then, it simulates agent behaviors from naturalistic driving datasets, and orchestrates diverse adversities to create corner cases. Informed by street views of the same location, it achieves photorealistic, geographically grounded sensor rendering via the frontier video generation model Cosmos-Drive. By bridging agent and sensor simulations, TeraSim-World provides a scalable and critical data synthesis framework for training and evaluation of E2E autonomous driving systems. Codes and videos are available at https://wjiawei.com/terasim-world-web/ .

Authors:Nicolas Chatzikiriakos, Kevin Jamieson, Andrea Iannelli
Title: High Effort, Low Gain: Fundamental Limits of Active Learning for Linear Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
In this work, we consider the problem of identifying an unknown linear dynamical system given a finite hypothesis class. In particular, we analyze the effect of the excitation input on the sample complexity of identifying the true system with high probability. To this end, we present sample complexity lower bounds that capture the choice of the selected excitation input. The sample complexity lower bound gives rise to a system theoretic condition to determine the potential benefit of experiment design. Informed by the analysis of the sample complexity lower bound, we propose a persistent excitation (PE) condition tailored to the considered setting, which we then use to establish sample complexity upper bounds. Notably, the \acs{PE} condition is weaker than in the case of an infinite hypothesis class and allows analyzing different excitation inputs modularly. Crucially, the lower and upper bounds share the same dependency on key problem parameters. Finally, we leverage these insights to propose an active learning algorithm that sequentially excites the system optimally with respect to the current estimate, and provide sample complexity guarantees for the presented algorithm. Concluding simulations showcase the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Authors:Navid Aftabi, Philip Samaha, Jin Ma, Long Cheng, Ramy Harik, Dan Li
Title: ViSTR-GP: Online Cyberattack Detection via Vision-to-State Tensor Regression and Gaussian Processes in Automated Robotic Operations
Abstract:
Industrial robotic systems are central to automating smart manufacturing operations. Connected and automated factories face growing cybersecurity risks that can potentially cause interruptions and damages to physical operations. Among these attacks, data-integrity attacks often involve sophisticated exploitation of vulnerabilities that enable an attacker to access and manipulate the operational data and are hence difficult to detect with only existing intrusion detection or model-based detection. This paper addresses the challenges in utilizing existing side-channels to detect data-integrity attacks in robotic manufacturing processes by developing an online detection framework, ViSTR-GP, that cross-checks encoder-reported measurements against a vision-based estimate from an overhead camera outside the controller's authority. In this framework, a one-time interactive segmentation initializes SAM-Track to generate per-frame masks. A low-rank tensor-regression surrogate maps each mask to measurements, while a matrix-variate Gaussian process models nominal residuals, capturing temporal structure and cross-joint correlations. A frame-wise test statistic derived from the predictive distribution provides an online detector with interpretable thresholds. We validate the framework on a real-world robotic testbed with synchronized video frame and encoder data, collecting multiple nominal cycles and constructing replay attack scenarios with graded end-effector deviations. Results on the testbed indicate that the proposed framework recovers joint angles accurately and detects data-integrity attacks earlier with more frequent alarms than all baselines. These improvements are most evident in the most subtle attacks. These results show that plants can detect data-integrity attacks by adding an independent physical channel, bypassing the controller's authority, without needing complex instrumentation.

Authors:Prakitr Srisuma, Richard D. Braatz
Title: Highly Efficient Optimal Control for Lyophilization via Simulation of Discrete/Continuous Mixed-index Differential-algebraic Equations
Abstract:
This article presents a highly efficient optimal control algorithm and policies for lyophilization (also known as freeze drying). The optimal solutions and control policies are derived using an extended version of the simulation-based algorithm, which reformulates the optimal control problem as a hybrid discrete/continuous system of mixed-index differential-algebraic equations and subsequently calculates the optimal control vector via simulation of the resulting DAEs. Our algorithm and control policies are demonstrated via a number of case studies that encompass various lyophilization and optimal control strategies. All the case studies can be solved within less than a second on a normal laptop, regardless of their complexity. The method is several orders of magnitude faster than the traditional optimization-based techniques while giving similar/better accuracy. The proposed algorithm offers an efficient and reliable framework for optimal control of lyophilization, which can also be extended to other similar systems with phase transitions.

Authors:Yinzhuang Yi, Jorge Cortés, Nikolay Atanasov
Title: Constrained Variational Inference via Safe Particle Flow
Abstract:
We propose a control barrier function (CBF) formulation for enforcing equality and inequality constraints in variational inference. The key idea is to define a barrier functional on the space of probability density functions that encode the desired constraints imposed on the variational density. By leveraging the Liouville equation, we establish a connection between the time derivative of the variational density and the particle drift, which enables the systematic construction of corresponding CBFs associated to the particle drift. Enforcing these CBFs gives rise to the safe particle flow and ensures that the variational density satisfies the original constraints imposed by the barrier functional. This formulation provides a principled and computationally tractable solution to constrained variational inference, with theoretical guarantees of constraint satisfaction. The effectiveness of the method is demonstrated through numerical simulations.

Authors:Xu Shang, Yang Zheng
Title: Regularization in Data-driven Predictive Control: A Convex Relaxation Perspective
Abstract:
This paper explores the role of regularization in data-driven predictive control (DDPC) through the lens of convex relaxation. Using a bi-level optimization framework, we model system identification as an inner problem and predictive control as an outer problem. Within this framework, we show that several regularized DDPC formulations, including l1-norm penalties, projection-based regularizers, and a newly introduced causality-based regularizer, can be viewed as convex relaxations of their respective bi-level problems. This perspective clarifies the conceptual links between direct and indirect data-driven control and highlights how regularization implicitly enforces system identification. We further propose an optimality-based variant, O-DDPC, which approximately solves the inner problem with all identification constraints via an iterative algorithm. Numerical experiments demonstrate that O-DDPC outperforms existing regularized DDPC by reducing both bias and variance errors. These results indicate that further benefits may be obtained by applying system identification techniques to pre-process the trajectory library in nonlinear settings. Overall, our analysis contributes to a unified convex relaxation view of regularization in DDPC and sheds light on its strong empirical performance beyond linear time-invariant systems.

Authors:Sooyeob Jung, Seongah Jeong, Jinkyu Kang
Title: Joint Optimization of Computation Offloading and Resource Allocation in ISAC-assisted SAGIN-based IoT
Abstract:
In this letters, an energy-efficient integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) for space-air-ground integrated network (SAGIN)-based Internet of Things (IoT) systems is proposed to facilitate wide coverage and real-time 6G services. For processing a sizable data collected at a IoT device, a hybrid edge computing scheme is applied with the cloudlets mounted at autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) and low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, where the AAV with multiple antennas performs uplink sensing of the nearby target. With the aim of minimizing the total AAV's energy consumption, we optimize the duration of training and data phase and the bit allocation coupled with the offloading ratio under the constraints for offloading and sensing. Via simulations, the superiority of the proposed algorithm is verified to be pronounced with the sufficient mission time and the high sensing performance constraint.

Authors:Ram Padmanabhan, Melkior Ornik
Title: Ignore Drift, Embrace Simplicity: Constrained Nonlinear Control through Driftless Approximation
Abstract:
We present a novel technique to drive a nonlinear system to reach a target state under input constraints. The proposed controller consists only of piecewise constant inputs, generated from a simple linear driftless approximation to the original nonlinear system. First, we construct this approximation using only the effect of the control input at the initial state. Next, we partition the time horizon into successively shorter intervals and show that optimal controllers for the linear driftless system result in a bounded error from a specified target state in the nonlinear system. We also derive conditions under which the input constraint is guaranteed to be satisfied. On applying the optimal control inputs, we show that the error monotonically converges to zero as the intervals become successively shorter, thus achieving arbitrary closeness to the target state with time. Using simulation examples on classical nonlinear systems, we illustrate how the presented technique is used to reach a target state while still satisfying input constraints. In particular, we show that our method completes the task even when assumptions of the underlying theory are violated or when classical linearization-based methods may fail.

Authors:Steve Chien, Itai Zilberstein, Alberto Candela, David Rijlaarsdam, Tom Hendrix, Aubrey Dunne, Aragon Oriol, Miquel Juan Puig
Title: Flight of Dynamic Targeting on the CogniSAT-6 Spacecraft
Abstract:
Dynamic targeting (DT) is a spacecraft autonomy concept in which sensor data is acquired and rapidly analyzed and used to drive subsequent observation. We describe the low Earth orbit application of this approach in which lookahead imagery is analyzed to detect clouds, thermal anomalies, or land use cases to drive higher quality near nadir imaging. Use cases for such a capability include: cloud avoidance, storm hunting, search for planetary boundary layer events, plume study, and beyond. The DT concept requires a lookahead sensor or agility to use a primary sensor in such a mode, edge computing to analyze images rapidly onboard, and a primary followup sensor. Additionally, an inter-satellite or low latency communications link can be leveraged for cross platform tasking. We describe implementation in progress to fly DT in early 2025 on the CogniSAT-6 (Ubotica/Open Cosmos) spacecraft that launched in March 2024 on the SpaceX Transporter-10 launch.

Authors:Ali Khanpour, Tianyi Wang, Afra Vahidi-Shams, Wim Ectors, Farzam Nakhaie, Amirhossein Taheri, Christian Claudel
Title: UAV-Based Intelligent Traffic Surveillance System: Real-Time Vehicle Detection, Classification, Tracking, and Behavioral Analysis
Abstract:
Traffic congestion and violations pose significant challenges for urban mobility and road safety. Traditional traffic monitoring systems, such as fixed cameras and sensor-based methods, are often constrained by limited coverage, low adaptability, and poor scalability. To address these challenges, this paper introduces an advanced unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based traffic surveillance system capable of accurate vehicle detection, classification, tracking, and behavioral analysis in real-world, unconstrained urban environments. The system leverages multi-scale and multi-angle template matching, Kalman filtering, and homography-based calibration to process aerial video data collected from altitudes of approximately 200 meters. A case study in urban area demonstrates robust performance, achieving a detection precision of 91.8%, an F1-score of 90.5%, and tracking metrics (MOTA/MOTP) of 92.1% and 93.7%, respectively. Beyond precise detection, the system classifies five vehicle types and automatically detects critical traffic violations, including unsafe lane changes, illegal double parking, and crosswalk obstructions, through the fusion of geofencing, motion filtering, and trajectory deviation analysis. The integrated analytics module supports origin-destination tracking, vehicle count visualization, inter-class correlation analysis, and heatmap-based congestion modeling. Additionally, the system enables entry-exit trajectory profiling, vehicle density estimation across road segments, and movement direction logging, supporting comprehensive multi-scale urban mobility analytics. Experimental results confirms the system's scalability, accuracy, and practical relevance, highlighting its potential as an enforcement-aware, infrastructure-independent traffic monitoring solution for next-generation smart cities.

Authors:Nicolas Chatzikiriakos, Bowen Song, Philipp Rank, Andrea Iannelli
Title: Hidden Convexity in Active Learning: A Convexified Online Input Design for ARX Systems
Abstract:
The goal of this work is to accelerate the identification of an unknown ARX system from trajectory data through online input design. Specifically, we present an active learning algorithm that sequentially selects the input to excite the system according to an experiment design criterion using the past measured data. The adopted criterion yields a non-convex optimization problem, but we provide an exact convex reformulation allowing to find the global optimizer in a computationally tractable way. Moreover, we give sample complexity bounds on the estimation error due to the stochastic noise. Numerical studies showcase the effectiveness of our algorithm and the benefits of the convex reformulation.

Authors:Taulant Kerci, Federico Milano
Title: A Comprehensive Approach to Evaluate Frequency Control Strength of Power Systems
Abstract:
This paper introduces the concept of "frequency control strength" as a novel approach to understand how different real-world power systems compare to each other in terms of effectiveness and performance of system-wide frequency control. It presents a comprehensive comparison, based on measurement data, of the frequency control strength of four real-world, renewable-based, synchronous islands power systems, namely Great Britain (GB), All-Island power system (AIPS) of Ireland, and Australia (AUS) mainland and Tasmania (TAS). The strength is evaluated by means of different frequency quality metrics. The common understanding is that the bigger the capacity of a power system, the bigger its robustness with respect to events and contingencies. Here we show that this is not always the case in the context of frequency control. In fact, our study shows that mainland AUS shows the highest frequency control strength during normal operating conditions, whereas the AIPS shows the highest relative frequency control strength for abnormal system conditions. The strength is, in particular, greatly influenced by different regulatory requirements and different system/ancillary services arrangements in each jurisdiction. The paper also provides possible mitigations to improve frequency control strength through grid codes and market rules.

Authors:Navid Aftabi, Abhishek Hanchate, Satish Bukkapatnam, Dan Li
Title: DynaMark: A Reinforcement Learning Framework for Dynamic Watermarking in Industrial Machine Tool Controllers
Abstract:
Industry 4.0's highly networked Machine Tool Controllers (MTCs) are prime targets for replay attacks that use outdated sensor data to manipulate actuators. Dynamic watermarking can reveal such tampering, but current schemes assume linear-Gaussian dynamics and use constant watermark statistics, making them vulnerable to the time-varying, partly proprietary behavior of MTCs. We close this gap with DynaMark, a reinforcement learning framework that models dynamic watermarking as a Markov decision process (MDP). It learns an adaptive policy online that dynamically adapts the covariance of a zero-mean Gaussian watermark using available measurements and detector feedback, without needing system knowledge. DynaMark maximizes a unique reward function balancing control performance, energy consumption, and detection confidence dynamically. We develop a Bayesian belief updating mechanism for real-time detection confidence in linear systems. This approach, independent of specific system assumptions, underpins the MDP for systems with linear dynamics. On a Siemens Sinumerik 828D controller digital twin, DynaMark achieves a reduction in watermark energy by 70% while preserving the nominal trajectory, compared to constant variance baselines. It also maintains an average detection delay equivalent to one sampling interval. A physical stepper-motor testbed validates these findings, rapidly triggering alarms with less control performance decline and exceeding existing benchmarks.

Authors:Christopher Martin, Edward Kim, Enrique Velasquez, Wei Li, Dongmei Chen
Title: $H_\infty$ Performance Analysis for Almost Periodic Piecewise Linear Systems with Application to Roll-to-Roll Manufacturing Control
Abstract:
An almost periodic piecewise linear system (APPLS) is a type of piecewise linear system where the system cyclically switches between different modes, each with an uncertain but bounded dwell-time. Process regulation, especially disturbance rejection, is critical to the performance of these advanced systems. However, a method to guarantee disturbance rejection has not been developed. The objective of this study is to develop an $H_\infty$ performance analysis method for APPLSs, building on which an algorithm to synthesize practical $H_\infty$ controllers is proposed. As an application, the developed methods are demonstrated with an advanced manufacturing system -- roll-to-roll (R2R) dry transfer of two-dimensional materials and printed flexible electronics. Experimental results show that the proposed method enables a less conservative and much better performing $H_\infty$ controller compared with a baseline $H_\infty$ controller that does not account for the uncertain system switching structure.

Authors:James Ragan, Fred Y. Hadaegh, Soon-Jo Chung
Title: Array-Based Monte Carlo Tree Search
Abstract:
Monte Carlo Tree Search is a popular method for solving decision making problems. Faster implementations allow for more simulations within the same wall clock time, directly improving search performance. To this end, we present an alternative array-based implementation of the classic Upper Confidence bounds applied to Trees algorithm. Our method preserves the logic of the original algorithm, but eliminates the need for branch prediction, enabling faster performance on pipelined processors, and up to a factor of 2.8 times better scaling with search depth in our numerical simulations.

Authors:Matthias Maiterth, Wesley H. Brewer, Jaya S. Kuruvella, Arunavo Dey, Tanzima Z. Islam, Kevin Menear, Dmitry Duplyakin, Rashadul Kabir, Tapasya Patki, Terry Jones, Feiyi Wang
Title: HPC Digital Twins for Evaluating Scheduling Policies, Incentive Structures and their Impact on Power and Cooling
Abstract:
Schedulers are critical for optimal resource utilization in high-performance computing. Traditional methods to evaluate schedulers are limited to post-deployment analysis, or simulators, which do not model associated infrastructure. In this work, we present the first-of-its-kind integration of scheduling and digital twins in HPC. This enables what-if studies to understand the impact of parameter configurations and scheduling decisions on the physical assets, even before deployment, or regarching changes not easily realizable in production. We (1) provide the first digital twin framework extended with scheduling capabilities, (2) integrate various top-tier HPC systems given their publicly available datasets, (3) implement extensions to integrate external scheduling simulators. Finally, we show how to (4) implement and evaluate incentive structures, as-well-as (5) evaluate machine learning based scheduling, in such novel digital-twin based meta-framework to prototype scheduling. Our work enables what-if scenarios of HPC systems to evaluate sustainability, and the impact on the simulated system.

Authors:Diogo Costa, Jose Martins, Sandro Pinto
Title: Beyond the Bermuda Triangle of Contention: IOMMU Interference in Mixed Criticality Systems
Abstract:
As Mixed Criticality Systems (MCSs) evolve, they increasingly integrate heterogeneous computing platforms, combining general-purpose processors with specialized accelerators such as AI engines, GPUs, and high-speed networking interfaces. This heterogeneity introduces challenges, as these accelerators and DMA-capable devices act as independent bus masters, directly accessing memory. Consequently, ensuring both security and timing predictability in such environments becomes critical. To address these concerns, the Input-Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU) plays a key role in mediating and regulating memory access, preventing unauthorized transactions while enforcing isolation and access control policies. While prior work has explored IOMMU-related side-channel vulnerabilities from a security standpoint, its role in performance interference remains largely unexplored. Moreover, many of the same architectural properties that enable side-channel leakage, such as shared TLBs, caching effects, and translation overheads, can also introduce timing unpredictability. In this work, we analyze the contention effects within IOMMU structures using the Xilinx UltraScale+ ZCU104 platform, demonstrating how their shared nature introduce unpredictable delays. Our findings reveal that IOMMU-induced interference primarily affects small memory transactions, where translation overheads significantly impact execution time. Additionally, we hypothesize that contention effects arising from IOTLBs exhibit similar behavior across architectures due to shared caching principles, such as prefetching and hierarchical TLB structures. Notably, our experiments show that IOMMU interference can delay DMA transactions by up to 1.79x for lower-size transfers on the Arm SMMUv2 implementation.

Authors:Junfeng Wang, Xiao Tang, Jinxin Liu, Zhi Zhai, Qinghe Du, Naijin Liu
Title: Multiple STAR-RISs-Empowered Multi-User Communications with Diversified QoS Provisioning
Abstract:
This paper proposes a quality-of-service (QoS)-aware multi-user communication framework facilitated by multiple simultaneously transmitting and reflecting reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (STAR-RISs). The user groups are established based on their QoS requirements specified by the minimum data rate, which is provisioned by the optimized transmission and reflection configurations of the STAR-RISs. Particularly, we formulate an optimization problem to maximize the aggregate link rate across all users, under group-specified rate requirements by jointly considering the transmit beamforming and STAR-RIS configurations. Then, we employ the Lagrangian duality with quadratic transformation to tackle the non-convexity of the objective. We decompose the problem within a block coordinate descent framework, and the subproblems are solved through convex approximation and iterated to approach the optimal solution. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in enhancing the system sum rate with guaranteed QoS performance for heterogeneous users, offering valuable insights for the deployment of STAR-RISs in future QoS-aware wireless networks.

Authors:Akhil B Krishna, Farshad Khorrami, Anthony Tzes
Title: A Consensus Algorithm for Second-Order Systems Evolving on Lie Groups
Abstract:
In this paper, a consensus algorithm is proposed for interacting multi-agents, which can be modeled as simple Mechanical Control Systems (MCS) evolving on a general Lie group. The standard Laplacian flow consensus algorithm for double integrator systems evolving on Euclidean spaces is extended to a general Lie group. A tracking error function is defined on a general smooth manifold for measuring the error between the configurations of two interacting agents. The stability of the desired consensus equilibrium is proved using a generalized version of Lyapunov theory and LaSalle's invariance principle applicable for systems evolving on a smooth manifold. The proposed consensus control input requires only the configuration information of the neighboring agents and does not require their velocities and inertia tensors. The design of tracking error function and consensus control inputs are demonstrated through an application of attitude consensus problem for multiple communicating rigid bodies. The consensus algorithm is numerically validated by demonstrating the attitude consensus problem.

Authors:Rahal Nanayakkara, Aaron D. Ames, Paulo Tabuada
Title: Safety Under State Uncertainty: Robustifying Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Safety-critical control is a crucial aspect of modern systems, and Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) have gained popularity as the framework of choice for ensuring safety. However, implementing a CBF requires exact knowledge of the true state, a requirement that is often violated in real-world applications where only noisy or estimated state information is available. This paper introduces the notion of Robust Control Barrier Functions (R-CBF) for ensuring safety under such state uncertainty without requiring prior knowledge of the magnitude of uncertainty. We formally characterize the class of robustifying terms that ensure robust closed-loop safety and show how a robustly safe controller can be constructed. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach through simulations and compare it to existing methods, highlighting the additional robustness and convergence guarantees it provides.

Authors:Jiaqing Lu, Qianwen Guo, Dian Sheng, Shumin Chen, Paul Schonfeld
Title: Dynamic Switching Models for Truck-only Delivery and Drone-assisted Truck Delivery under Demand Uncertainty
Abstract:
Integrating drones into truck delivery systems can improve customer accessibility, reduce operational costs, and increase delivery efficiency. However, drone deployment incurs costs, including procurement, maintenance, and energy consumption, and its benefits depend on service demand. In low-demand areas, drone-assisted trucks may underutilize resources due to high upfront costs. Accurately predicting demand is challenging due to uncertainties from unforeseen events or infrastructure disruptions. To address this, a market entry and exit real option approach is used to optimize switching between truck-only and drone-assisted delivery under stochastic demand. Results show that deploying multiple drones per truck offers significant cost advantages in high-demand regions. Using the proposed dynamic switching model, deterministic and stochastic approaches reduce costs by 17.4% and 31.3%, respectively, compared to immediate cost-saving switching. Sensitivity analysis reveals asymmetric effects of stochastic parameters on entry and exit timings. A stochastic multiple-options model is further developed to dynamically switch between truck-only and drone-assisted delivery with varying drone numbers. Applying these models to Miami-Dade County, we evaluate dynamic switching costs for three major logistics operators. This study highlights the potential benefits of dynamic delivery switching and provides insights for optimizing logistics operations.

Authors:Cong Bai, Salish Maharjan, Han Wang, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Stochastic Black Start Resource Allocation to Enable Dynamic Formation of Networked Microgrids and DER-aided Restoration
Abstract:
Extended outages in distributed systems (DSs) dominated by distributed energy resources (DERs) require innovative strategies to efficiently and securely deploy black start (BS) resources. To address the need, this paper proposes a two-stage stochastic resource allocation method within synchronizing dynamic microgrids (MGs) for black start (SDMG-BS), enabling risk-averse and adaptive restoration across various scenarios while ensuring frequency security. Virtual synchronous generator (VSG)-controlled grid-forming inverters (GFMIs) equipped with primary frequency governors (PFGs) are modeled as BS resources. Their frequency response is characterized by three transient indices, which are deployed as frequency dynamic constraints on load pick-up events to ensure frequency stability during the BS process. SDMG-BS framework facilitates location-independent synchronization among restored MGs and with the transmission grid (TG) with the help of smart switches (SSWs). The model incorporates scenario-based stochastic programming to address multi-source uncertainties, including season-dependent operational conditions and unpredictable TG outage durations, ensuring a resilient allocation plan. The proposed approach is validated on a modified IEEE 123-node feeder with three study cases designed across sixteen uncertainty scenarios.

Authors:Huynh Q. N. Vo, Md Tawsif Rahman Chowdhury, Paritosh Ramanan, Murat Yildirim, Gozde Tutuncuoglu
Title: Harnessing the Full Potential of RRAMs through Scalable and Distributed In-Memory Computing with Integrated Error Correction
Abstract:
Exponential growth in global computing demand is exacerbated due to the higher-energy requirements of conventional architectures, primarily due to energy-intensive data movement. In-memory computing with Resistive Random Access Memory (RRAM) addresses this by co-integrating memory and processing, but faces significant hurdles related to device-level non-idealities and poor scalability for large computing tasks. Here, we introduce MELISO+ (In-Memory Linear Solver), a full-stack, distributed framework for energy-efficient in-memory computing. MELISO+ proposes a novel two-tier error correction mechanism to mitigate device non-idealities and develops a distributed RRAM computing framework to enable matrix computations exceeding dimensions of $65,000\times65,000$. This approach reduces first- and second-order arithmetic errors due to device non-idealities by over $90\%$, enhances energy efficiency by three to five orders of magnitude, and decreases latency 100-fold. Hence, MELISO+ allows lower-precision RRAM devices to outperform high-precision device alternatives in accuracy, energy and latency metrics. By unifying algorithm-hardware co-design with scalable architecture, MELISO+ significantly advances sustainable, high-dimensional computing suitable for applications like large language models and generative AI.

Authors:Hongyi Li, Liming Liu, Yunyi Li, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Exploiting Convexity of Neural Networks in Dynamic Operating Envelope Optimization for Distributed Energy Resources
Abstract:
The increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) brings opportunities and challenges to the operation of distribution systems. To ensure network integrity, dynamic operating envelopes (DOEs) are issued by utilities to DERs as their time-varying export/import power limits. Due to the non-convex nature of power flow equations, the optimization of DOEs faces a dilemma of solution accuracy and computation efficiency. To bridge this gap, in this paper, we facilitate DOE optimization by exploiting the convexity of input convex neural networks (ICNNs). A DOE optimization model is first presented, comprehensively considering multiple operational constraints. We propose a constraint embedding method that allows us to replace the non-convex power flow constraints with trained ICNN models and convexify the problem. To further speed up DOE optimization, we propose a linear relaxation of the ICNN-based DOE optimization problem, for which the tightness is theoretically proven. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated with numerical case studies. Results show that the proposed ICNN-based method outperforms other benchmark methods in optimizing DOEs in terms of both solution quality and solution time.

Authors:Junyuan Zheng, Salish Maharjan, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Grid Edge Intelligence-Assisted Model Predictive Framework for Black Start of Distribution Systems with Inverter-Based Resources
Abstract:
The growing proliferation of distributed energy resources (DERs) is significantly enhancing the resilience and reliability of distribution systems. However, a substantial portion of behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs is often overlooked during black start (BS) and restoration processes. Existing BS strategies that utilize grid-forming (GFM) battery energy storage systems (BESS) frequently ignore critical frequency security and synchronization constraints. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a predictive framework for bottom-up BS that leverages the flexibility of BTM DERs through Grid Edge Intelligence (GEI). A predictive model is developed for GEI to estimate multi-period flexibility ranges and track dispatch signals from the utility. A frequency-constrained BS strategy is then introduced, explicitly incorporating constraints on frequency nadir, rate-of-change-of-frequency (RoCoF), and quasi-steady-state (QSS) frequency. The framework also includes synchronizing switches to enable faster and more secure load restoration. Notably, it requires GEI devices to communicate only their flexibility ranges and the utility to send dispatch signals without exchanging detailed asset information. The proposed framework is validated using a modified IEEE 123-bus test system, and the impact of GEI is demonstrated by comparing results across various GEI penetration scenarios.

Authors:Dingwei Wang, Salish Maharjan, Junyuan Zheng, Liming Liu, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Data-driven quantification and visualization of resilience metrics of power distribution system
Abstract:
This paper presents a data-driven approach for quantifying the resilience of distribution power grids to extreme weather events using two key metrics: (a) the number of outages and (b) restoration time. The method leverages historical outage records maintained by power utilities and weather measurements collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to evaluate resilience across a utility's service territory. The proposed framework consists of three stages. First, outage events are systematically extracted from the outage records by temporally and spatially aggregating coincident component outages. In the second stage, weather zones across the service territory are delineated using a Voronoi polygon approach, based on the locations of NOAA weather sensors. Finally, data-driven models for outage fragility and restoration time are developed for each weather zone. These models enable the quantification and visualization of resilience metrics under varying intensities of extreme weather events. The proposed method is demonstrated using real-world data from a US distribution utility, located in Indianapolis, focused on wind- and precipitation-related events. The dataset spans two decades and includes over 160,000 outage records.

Authors:Hamza Kheddar, Yassine Habchi, Mohamed Chahine Ghanem, Mustapha Hemis, Dusit Niyato
Title: Recent Advances in Transformer and Large Language Models for UAV Applications
Abstract:
The rapid advancement of Transformer-based models has reshaped the landscape of uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) systems by enhancing perception, decision-making, and autonomy. This review paper systematically categorizes and evaluates recent developments in Transformer architectures applied to UAVs, including attention mechanisms, CNN-Transformer hybrids, reinforcement learning Transformers, and large language models (LLMs). Unlike previous surveys, this work presents a unified taxonomy of Transformer-based UAV models, highlights emerging applications such as precision agriculture and autonomous navigation, and provides comparative analyses through structured tables and performance benchmarks. The paper also reviews key datasets, simulators, and evaluation metrics used in the field. Furthermore, it identifies existing gaps in the literature, outlines critical challenges in computational efficiency and real-time deployment, and offers future research directions. This comprehensive synthesis aims to guide researchers and practitioners in understanding and advancing Transformer-driven UAV technologies.

Authors:Muhammad Zakwan, Liang Xu, Giancarlo Ferrari-Trecate
Title: Robust Convolution Neural ODEs via Contractivity-promoting regularization
Abstract:
Neural networks can be fragile to input noise and adversarial attacks. In this work, we consider Convolutional Neural Ordinary Differential Equations (NODEs), a family of continuous-depth neural networks represented by dynamical systems, and propose to use contraction theory to improve their robustness. For a contractive dynamical system two trajectories starting from different initial conditions converge to each other exponentially fast. Contractive Convolutional NODEs can enjoy increased robustness as slight perturbations of the features do not cause a significant change in the output. Contractivity can be induced during training by using a regularization term involving the Jacobian of the system dynamics. To reduce the computational burden, we show that it can also be promoted using carefully selected weight regularization terms for a class of NODEs with slope-restricted activation functions. The performance of the proposed regularizers is illustrated through benchmark image classification tasks on MNIST and FashionMNIST datasets, where images are corrupted by different kinds of noise and attacks.

Authors:Vojtěch Mlynář, Salambô Dago, Jakob Rieser, Mario A. Ciampini, Markus Aspelmeyer, Nikolai Kiesel, Andreas Kugi, Andreas Deutschmann-Olek
Title: Feedback stabilization of a nanoparticle at the intensity minimum of an optical double-well potential
Abstract:
In this work, we develop and analyze adaptive feedback control strategies to stabilize and confine a nanoparticle at the unstable intensity minimum of an optical double-well potential. The resulting stochastic optimal control problem for a noise-driven mechanical particle in a nonlinear optical potential must account for unavoidable experimental imperfections such as measurement nonlinearities and slow drifts of the optical setup. To address these issues, we simplify the model in the vicinity of the unstable equilibrium and employ indirect adaptive control techniques to dynamically follow changes in the potential landscape. Our approach leads to a simple and efficient Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) controller that can be implemented on fast and cost-effective FPGAs, ensuring accessibility and reproducibility. We demonstrate that this strategy successfully tracks the intensity minimum and significantly reduces the nanoparticle's residual state variance, effectively lowering its center-of-mass temperature. While conventional optical traps rely on confining optical forces in the light field at the intensity maxima, trapping at intensity minima mitigates absorption heating, which is crucial for advanced quantum experiments. Since LQG control naturally extends into the quantum regime, our results provide a promising pathway for future experiments on quantum state preparation beyond the current absorption heating limitation, like matter-wave interference and tests of the quantum-gravity interface.

Authors:Huangbin Liang, Beatriz Moya, Francisco Chinesta, Eleni Chatzi
Title: Quantifying the Value of Seismic Structural Health Monitoring for post-earthquake recovery of electric power system in terms of resilience enhancement
Abstract:
Post-earthquake recovery of electric power networks (EPNs) is critical to community resilience. Traditional recovery processes often rely on prolonged and imprecise manual inspections for damage diagnosis, leading to suboptimal repair prioritization and extended service disruptions. Seismic Structural Health Monitoring (SSHM) offers the potential to expedite recovery by enabling more accurate and timely damage assessment. However, SSHM deployment incurs costs, and its system-level resilience benefit remains underexplored. This study proposes a probabilistic simulation framework to quantify the value of SSHM for enhancing EPN resilience. The framework includes seismic damage modeling based on network configuration, hazard intensity, fragility functions, and damage-functionality mappings, combined with recovery simulations incorporating resource constraints, repair and transfer durations. System functionality is evaluated using graph-based island detection and optimal power flow analysis. Resilience is quantified via the Lack of Resilience (LoR) metric derived from the functionality restoration curve. SSHM is incorporated by altering the quality of damage information used in repair scheduling. Different monitoring scenarios (e.g., no-SSHM baseline, partial SSHM, full SSHM with various accuracies) are modeled using confusion matrices to simulate damage misclassification. Results show that improved damage awareness via SSHM significantly accelerates recovery and reduces LoR by up to 21%. This work supports evidence-based decisions for SSHM deployment in critical infrastructure.

Authors:Chenguang Zhao, Huan Yu
Title: From Micro to Macro Flow Modeling: Characterizing Heterogeneity of Mixed-Autonomy Traffic
Abstract:
Most autonomous-vehicles (AVs) driving strategies are designed and analyzed at the vehicle level, yet their aggregate impact on macroscopic traffic flow is still not understood, particularly the flow heterogeneity that emerges when AVs interact with human-driven vehicles (HVs). Existing validation techniques for macroscopic flow models rely on high-resolution spatiotemporal data spanning entire road segments which are rarely available for mixed-autonomy traffic. AVs record detailed Lagrangian trajectories of the ego vehicle and surrounding traffic through onboard sensors. Leveraging these Lagrangian observations to validate mixed-autonomy flow models therefore remains an open research challenge. This paper closes the gap between microscopic Lagrangian data and macroscopic Euclidean traffic models by introducing a continuous traffic-heterogeneity attribute. We represent traffic flow with two coupled conservation laws with one for vehicle number and one for the traffic attribute. Reconstruction methods are designed to derive the traffic attribute from Lagrangian vehicle trajectories. When abundant trajectory data are available, we characterize traffic heterogeneity by extracting drivers' desired speed and local behavioral uncertainty from trajectories. In data-scarce mixed traffic, we design an end-to-end mapping that infers the traffic heterogeneity solely from trajectories in the current spatiotemporal region. Experiments across multiple traffic datasets show that the proposed model effectively captures traffic heterogeneity by clustering the fundamental diagram scatter into attribute-based groups. The calibration errors of traffic flow dynamics are also reduce by 20% relative to the Aw-Rascle-Zhang model benchmark. Detailed analyses further show that the model generalizes well, maintaining nearly the same accuracy when evaluated under a variety of previously unseen traffic conditions.

Authors:Huangbin Liang, Beatriz Moya, Francisco Chinesta, Eleni Chatzi
Title: A Multi-Model Probabilistic Framework for Seismic Risk Assessment and Retrofit Planning of Electric Power Networks
Abstract:
Electric power networks are critical lifelines, and their disruption during earthquakes can lead to severe cascading failures and significantly hinder post-disaster recovery. Enhancing their seismic resilience requires identifying and strengthening vulnerable components in a cost-effective and system-aware manner. However, existing studies often overlook the systemic behavior of power networks under seismic loading. Common limitations include isolated component analyses that neglect network-wide interdependencies, oversimplified damage models assuming binary states or damage independence, and the exclusion of electrical operational constraints. These simplifications can result in inaccurate risk estimates and inefficient retrofit decisions. This study proposes a multi-model probabilistic framework for seismic risk assessment and retrofit planning of electric power systems. The approach integrates: (1) regional seismic hazard characterization with ground motion prediction and spatial correlation models; (2) component-level damage analysis using fragility functions and multi-state damage-functionality mappings; (3) system-level cascading impact evaluation through graph-based island detection and constrained optimal power flow analysis; and (4) retrofit planning via heuristic optimization to minimize expected annual functionality loss (EAFL) under budget constraints. Uncertainty is propagated throughout the framework using Monte Carlo simulation. The methodology is demonstrated on the IEEE 24-bus Reliability Test System, showcasing its ability to capture cascading failures, identify critical components, and generate effective retrofit strategies. Results underscore the potential of the framework as a scalable, data-informed decision-support tool for enhancing the seismic resilience of power infrastructure.

Authors:Adeetya Uppal, Rakesh Kumar Sahoo, Manoranjan Sinha
Title: Collision-Free Trajectory Planning and control of Robotic Manipulator using Energy-Based Artificial Potential Field (E-APF)
Abstract:
Robotic trajectory planning in dynamic and cluttered environments remains a critical challenge, particularly when striving for both time efficiency and motion smoothness under actuation constraints. Traditional path planner, such as Artificial Potential Field (APF), offer computational efficiency but suffer from local minima issue due to position-based potential field functions and oscillatory motion near the obstacles due to Newtonian mechanics. To address this limitation, an Energy-based Artificial Potential Field (APF) framework is proposed in this paper that integrates position and velocity-dependent potential functions. E-APF ensures dynamic adaptability and mitigates local minima, enabling uninterrupted progression toward the goal. The proposed framework integrates E-APF with a hybrid trajectory optimizer that jointly minimizes jerk and execution time under velocity and acceleration constraints, ensuring geometric smoothness and time efficiency. The entire framework is validated in simulation using the 7-degree-of-freedom Kinova Gen3 robotic manipulator. The results demonstrate collision-free, smooth, time-efficient, and oscillation-free trajectory in the presence of obstacles, highlighting the efficacy of the combined trajectory optimization and real-time obstacle avoidance approach. This work lays the foundation for future integration with reactive control strategies and physical hardware deployment in real-world manipulation tasks.

Authors:Kiran Rokade, Adit Jain, Francesca Parise, Vikram Krishnamurthy, Eva Tardos
Title: Asymmetric Network Games: $α$-Potential Function and Learning
Abstract:
In a network game, players interact over a network and the utility of each player depends on his own action and on an aggregate of his neighbours' actions. Many real world networks of interest are asymmetric and involve a large number of heterogeneous players. This paper analyzes static network games using the framework of $α$-potential games. Under mild assumptions on the action sets (compact intervals) and the utility functions (twice continuously differentiable) of the players, we derive an expression for an inexact potential function of the game, called the $α$-potential function. Using such a function, we show that modified versions of the sequential best-response algorithm and the simultaneous gradient play algorithm achieve convergence of players' actions to a $2α$-Nash equilibrium. For linear-quadratic network games, we show that $α$ depends on the maximum asymmetry in the network and is well-behaved for a wide range of networks of practical interest. Further, we derive bounds on the social welfare of the $α$-Nash equilibrium corresponding to the maximum of the $α$-potential function, under suitable assumptions. We numerically illustrate the convergence of the proposed algorithms and properties of the learned $2α$-Nash equilibria.

Authors:Tuan A. Hoang, Chuyen T. Nguyen, Thanh V. Pham
Title: Design of Adaptive Hybrid Downlink NOMA-TDMA for Visible Light Communications Networks
Abstract:
This paper proposes an adaptive hybrid non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA)-time division multiple access (TDMA) scheme for multi-user visible light communication (VLC) networks, aiming to enhance users' sum-rate performance while maintaining low complexity. In the proposed scheme, users are divided into groups where each group is served in a different time slot using TDMA. Within each group, up to two users can be served simultaneously using NOMA. A central challenge lies in determining which users should be paired together for NOMA, as the effectiveness of successive interference cancellation (SIC) employed by NOMA depends on the difference between users' channel gains. To address this, for a pair of users, we determine the range of their channel gain ratio within which the pair benefits more from NOMA or TDMA. Identifying the lower and upper bounds of this range is formulated as two optimization problems which are solved efficiently using the Successive Convex Approximation (SCA) method. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme outperforms the conventional hybrid NOMA-TDMA method under different numbers of users and transmit LED powers.

Authors:Mingze Li, Lei Fan, Zhu Han
Title: Quantum Hamiltonian Descent based Augmented Lagrangian Method for Constrained Nonconvex Nonlinear Optimization
Abstract:
Nonlinear programming (NLP) plays a critical role in domains such as power energy systems, chemical engineering, communication networks, and financial engineering. However, solving large-scale, nonconvex NLP problems remains a significant challenge due to the complexity of the solution landscape and the presence of nonlinear nonconvex constraints. In this paper, we develop a Quantum Hamiltonian Descent based Augmented Lagrange Method (QHD-ALM) framework to address largescale, constrained nonconvex NLP problems. The augmented Lagrange method (ALM) can convert a constrained NLP to an unconstrained NLP, which can be solved by using Quantum Hamiltonian Descent (QHD). To run the QHD on a classical machine, we propose to use the Simulated Bifurcation algorithm as the engine to simulate the dynamic process. We apply our algorithm to a Power-to-Hydrogen System, and the simulation results verify the effectiveness of our algorithm.

Authors:Italo Napolitano, Stefano Covone, Andrea Lama, Francesco De Lellis, Mario di Bernardo
Title: Hierarchical Learning-Based Control for Multi-Agent Shepherding of Stochastic Autonomous Agents
Abstract:
Multi-agent shepherding represents a challenging distributed control problem where herder agents must coordinate to guide independently moving targets to desired spatial configurations. Most existing control strategies assume cohesive target behavior, which frequently fails in practical applications where targets exhibit stochastic autonomous behavior. This paper presents a hierarchical learning-based control architecture that decomposes the shepherding problem into a high-level decision-making module and a low-level motion control component. The proposed distributed control system synthesizes effective control policies directly from closed-loop experience without requiring explicit inter-agent communication or prior knowledge of target dynamics. The decentralized architecture achieves cooperative control behavior through emergent coordination without centralized supervision. Experimental validation demonstrates superior closed-loop performance compared to state-of-the-art heuristic control methods, achieving 100\% success rates with improved settling times and control efficiency. The control architecture scales beyond its design conditions, adapts to time-varying goal regions, and demonstrates practical implementation feasibility through real-time experiments on the Robotarium platform.

Authors:Zheng Wen, Doina Precup, Benjamin Van Roy, Satinder Singh
Title: Capacity-Constrained Continual Learning
Abstract:
Any agents we can possibly build are subject to capacity constraints, as memory and compute resources are inherently finite. However, comparatively little attention has been dedicated to understanding how agents with limited capacity should allocate their resources for optimal performance. The goal of this paper is to shed some light on this question by studying a simple yet relevant continual learning problem: the capacity-constrained linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) sequential prediction problem. We derive a solution to this problem under appropriate technical conditions. Moreover, for problems that can be decomposed into a set of sub-problems, we also demonstrate how to optimally allocate capacity across these sub-problems in the steady state. We view the results of this paper as a first step in the systematic theoretical study of learning under capacity constraints.

Authors:Mingjie Bi, Juan-Alberto Estrada-Garcia, Dawn M. Tilbury, Siqian Shen, Kira Barton
Title: Heterogeneous Risk Management Using a Multi-Agent Framework for Supply Chain Disruption Response
Abstract:
In the highly complex and stochastic global, supply chain environments, local enterprise agents seek distributed and dynamic strategies for agile responses to disruptions. Existing literature explores both centralized and distributed approaches, while most work neglects temporal dynamics and the heterogeneity of the risk management of individual agents. To address this gap, this letter presents a heterogeneous risk management mechanism to incorporate uncertainties and risk attitudes into agent communication and decision-making strategy. Hence, this approach empowers enterprises to handle disruptions in stochastic environments in a distributed way, and in particular in the context of multi-agent control and management. Through a simulated case study, we showcase the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed approach under stochastic settings and how the decision of disruption responses changes when agents hold various risk attitudes.

Authors:Mingjie Bi, Ilya Kovalenko, Dawn M. Tilbury, Kira Barton
Title: Dynamic distributed decision-making for resilient resource reallocation in disrupted manufacturing systems
Abstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic brings many unexpected disruptions, such as frequently shifting markets and limited human workforce, to manufacturers. To stay competitive, flexible and real-time manufacturing decision-making strategies are needed to deal with such highly dynamic manufacturing environments. One essential problem is dynamic resource allocation to complete production tasks, especially when a resource disruption (e.g., machine breakdown) occurs. Though multi-agent methods have been proposed to solve the problem in a flexible and agile manner, the agent internal decision-making process and resource uncertainties have rarely been studied. This work introduces a model-based resource agent (RA) architecture that enables effective agent coordination and dynamic agent decision-making. Based on the RA architecture, a rescheduling strategy that incorporates risk assessment via a clustering agent coordination strategy is also proposed. A simulation-based case study is implemented to demonstrate dynamic rescheduling using the proposed multi-agent framework. The results show that the proposed method reduces the computational efforts while losing some throughput optimality compared to the centralized method. Furthermore, the case study illustrates that incorporating risk assessment into rescheduling decision-making improves the throughput.

Authors:Mingjie Bi, Dawn M. Tilbury, Siqian Shen, Kira Barton
Title: A Distributed Approach for Agile Supply Chain Decision-Making Based on Network Attributes
Abstract:
In recent years, the frequent occurrence of disruptions has had a negative impact on global supply chains. To stay competitive, enterprises strive to remain agile through the implementation of efficient and effective decision-making strategies in reaction to disruptions. A significant effort has been made to develop these agile disruption mitigation approaches, leveraging both centralized and distributed decision-making strategies. Though trade-offs of centralized and distributed approaches have been analyzed in existing studies, no related work has been found on understanding supply chain performance based on the network attributes of the disrupted supply chain entities. In this paper, we characterize supply chains from a capability and network topological perspective and investigate the use of a distributed decision-making approach based on classical multi-agent frameworks. The performance of the distributed framework is evaluated through a comprehensive case study that investigates the performance of the supply chain as a function of the network structure and agent attributes within the network in the presence of a disruption. Comparison to a centralized decision-making approach highlights trade-offs between performance, computation time, and network communication based on the decision-making strategy and network architecture. Practitioners can use the outcomes of our studies to design response strategies based on agent capabilities, network attributes, and desired supply chain performance.

Authors:Hengzhi Yu, Bohan Ma, Mingshuai Chen, Jie An, Bin Gu, Naijun Zhan, Jianwei Yin
Title: Derivative-Agnostic Inference of Nonlinear Hybrid Systems
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of inferring a hybrid automaton from a set of input-output traces of a hybrid system exhibiting discrete mode switching between continuously evolving dynamics. Existing approaches mainly adopt a derivative-based method where (i) the occurrence of mode switching is determined by a drastic variation in derivatives and (ii) the clustering of trace segments relies on signal similarity -- both subject to user-supplied thresholds. We present a derivative-agnostic approach, named Dainarx, to infer nonlinear hybrid systems where the dynamics are captured by nonlinear autoregressive exogenous (NARX) models. Dainarx employs NARX models as a unified, threshold-free representation through the detection of mode switching and trace-segment clustering. We show that Dainarx suffices to learn models that closely approximate a general class of hybrid systems featuring high-order nonlinear dynamics with exogenous inputs, nonlinear guard conditions, and linear resets. Experimental results on a collection of benchmarks indicate that our approach can effectively and efficiently infer nontrivial hybrid automata with high-order dynamics yielding significantly more accurate approximations than state-of-the-art techniques.

Authors:Kim Hammar, Yuchao Li, Tansu Alpcan, Emil C. Lupu, Dimitri Bertsekas
Title: Adaptive Network Security Policies via Belief Aggregation and Rollout
Abstract:
Evolving security vulnerabilities and shifting operational conditions require frequent updates to network security policies. These updates include adjustments to incident response procedures and modifications to access controls, among others. Reinforcement learning methods have been proposed for automating such policy adaptations, but most of the methods in the research literature lack performance guarantees and adapt slowly to changes. In this paper, we address these limitations and present a method for computing security policies that is scalable, offers theoretical guarantees, and adapts quickly to changes. It assumes a model or simulator of the system and comprises three components: belief estimation through particle filtering, offline policy computation through aggregation, and online policy adaptation through rollout. Central to our method is a new feature-based aggregation technique, which improves scalability and flexibility. We analyze the approximation error of aggregation and show that rollout efficiently adapts policies to changes under certain conditions. Simulations and testbed results demonstrate that our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods on several benchmarks, including CAGE-2.

Authors:Jin Lu, Linhan Fang, Fan Jiang, Xingpeng Li
Title: A Black Start Strategy for Hydrogen-integrated Renewable Grids with Energy Storage Systems
Abstract:
With the increasing integration of renewable energy, the reliability and resilience of modern power systems are of vital significance. However, large-scale blackouts caused by natural disasters or equipment failures remain a significant threat, necessitating effective restoration strategies. This study proposes novel black start models for modern power systems that integrate fuel cells and battery storage, recognizing their distinct characteristics and contributions to grid resilience. These models specifically address the restoration of electrical grids, including the energization paths and time of the transmission network, while accounting for the unique power output traits of fuel cells and the energy storage capacity of batteries as black start resources. Black start simulations, comparing the generator startup sequence (GSUS) with fuel cell versus battery systems, are performed on the IEEE 39-bus system. We conduct sensitivity analyses on fuel cell capacity, battery storage capacity, initial state of charge (SOC), and resource locations to identify optimal scenarios for black start operations.

Authors:Max L. Gardenswartz, Brandon C. Fallin, Cristian F. Nino, Warren E. Dixon
Title: Collaborative Indirect Influencing and Control on Graphs using Graph Neural Networks
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel approach to solving the indirect influence problem in networked systems, in which cooperative nodes must regulate a target node with uncertain dynamics to follow a desired trajectory. We leverage the message-passing structure of a graph neural network (GNN), allowing nodes to collectively learn the unknown target dynamics in real time. We develop a novel GNN-based backstepping control strategy with formal stability guarantees derived from a Lyapunov-based analysis. Numerical simulations are included to demonstrate the performance of the developed controller.

Authors:Wataru Hashimoto, Kazumune Hashimoto, Masako Kishida, Shigemasa Takai
Title: Reference-Free Iterative Learning Model Predictive Control with Neural Certificates
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a novel reference-free iterative learning model predictive control (MPC). In the proposed method, a certificate function based on the concept of Control Lyapunov Barrier Function (CLBF) is learned using data collected from past control executions and used to define the terminal set and cost in the MPC optimization problem at the current iteration. This scheme enables the progressive refinement of the MPC's terminal components over successive iterations. Unlike existing methods that rely on mixed-integer programming and suffer from numerical difficulties, the proposed approach formulates the MPC optimization problem as a standard nonlinear program, enabling more efficient online computation. The proposed method satisfies key MPC properties, including recursive feasibility and asymptotic stability. Additionally, we demonstrate that the performance cost is non-increasing with respect to the number of iterations, under certain assumptions. Numerical experiments including the simulation with PyBullet confirm that our control scheme iteratively enhances control performance and significantly improves online computational efficiency compared to the existing methods.

Authors:Cong Bai, Salish Maharjan, Zhaoyu Wang
Title: Model Predictive Black Start for Dynamic Formation of DER-Led Microgrids with Inrush Current Impacts
Abstract:
Black start (BS) of the distribution system (DS) with high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) requires advanced control frameworks to ensure secure and efficient restoration. This paper proposes a model predictive black start (MPBS) framework incorporating an inrush current feasibility module to dynamically generate real-time feasible and optimal restoration sequences. Short-term forecasts of DER output and transmission grid (TG) availability are utilized to construct adaptive cranking paths. The inrush current feasibility module analytically estimates the transient inrush current caused by energizing no-load distribution transformers (DTs). To mitigate excessive inrush current and avoid potential misoperations of protection devices, an emergency operation-inspired voltage control strategy and a switch blocking mechanism are developed. The proposed inrush model is validated against electromagnetic transient (EMT) simulations in PowerFactory with estimation accuracies exceeding 90 %. Case studies on a modified IEEE 123-node feeder demonstrate that the MPBS framework prevents misoperations of fuses and reclosers, reduces unnecessary DER energy consumption, and enhances load restoration efficiency during DER-led BS processes.

Authors:Nikolaos Louloudakis, Ajitha Rajan
Title: Selective Quantization Tuning for ONNX Models
Abstract:
Quantization is a process that reduces the precision of deep neural network models to lower model size and computational demands, often at the cost of accuracy. However, fully quantized models may exhibit sub-optimal performance below acceptable levels and face deployment challenges on low-end hardware accelerators due to practical constraints. To address these issues, quantization can be selectively applied to only a subset of layers, but selecting which layers to exclude is non-trivial. To this direction, we propose TuneQn, a suite enabling selective quantization, deployment and execution of ONNX models across various CPU and GPU devices, combined with profiling and multi-objective optimization. TuneQn generates selectively quantized ONNX models, deploys them on different hardware, measures performance on metrics like accuracy and size, performs Pareto Front minimization to identify the best model candidate and visualizes the results. To demonstrate the effectiveness of TuneQn, we evaluated TuneQn on four ONNX models with two quantization settings across CPU and GPU devices. As a result, we demonstrated that our utility effectively performs selective quantization and tuning, selecting ONNX model candidates with up to a $54.14$% reduction in accuracy loss compared to the fully quantized model, and up to a $72.9$% model size reduction compared to the original model.

Authors:Ding Lin, Jianhui Wang, Tianqiao Zhao, Meng Yue
Title: A Deep Reinforcement Learning Method for Multi-objective Transmission Switching
Abstract:
Transmission switching is a well-established approach primarily applied to minimize operational costs through strategic network reconfiguration. However, exclusive focus on cost reduction can compromise system reliability. While multi-objective transmission switching can balance cost savings with reliability improvements, feasible solutions become exceedingly difficult to obtain as system scale grows, due to the inherent nonlinearity and high computational demands involved. This paper proposes a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) method for multi-objective transmission switching. The method incorporates a dueling-based actor-critic framework to evaluate the relative impact of each line switching decision within the action space, which improves decision quality and enhances both system reliability and cost efficiency. Numerical studies on the IEEE 118-bus system verify the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed approach compared to two benchmark DRL algorithms.

Authors:Mohamad Al Ahdab, John Leth, Zheng-Hua Tan
Title: Optimal Sensor Scheduling and Selection for Continuous-Discrete Kalman Filtering with Auxiliary Dynamics
Abstract:
We study the Continuous-Discrete Kalman Filter (CD-KF) for State-Space Models (SSMs) where continuous-time dynamics are observed via multiple sensors with discrete, irregularly timed measurements. Our focus extends to scenarios in which the measurement process is coupled with the states of an auxiliary SSM. For instance, higher measurement rates may increase energy consumption or heat generation, while a sensor's accuracy can depend on its own spatial trajectory or that of the measured target. Each sensor thus carries distinct costs and constraints associated with its measurement rate and additional constraints and costs on the auxiliary state. We model measurement occurrences as independent Poisson processes with sensor-specific rates and derive an upper bound on the mean posterior covariance matrix of the CD-KF along the mean auxiliary state. The bound is continuously differentiable with respect to the measurement rates, which enables efficient gradient-based optimization. Exploiting this bound, we propose a finite-horizon optimal control framework to optimize measurement rates and auxiliary-state dynamics jointly. We further introduce a deterministic method for scheduling measurement times from the optimized rates. Empirical results in state-space filtering and dynamic temporal Gaussian process regression demonstrate that our approach achieves improved trade-offs between resource usage and estimation accuracy.

Authors:Pau de las Heras Molins, Eric Roy-Almonacid, Dong Ho Lee, Lasse Peters, David Fridovich-Keil, Georgios Bakirtzis
Title: Approximate solutions to games of ordered preference
Abstract:
Autonomous vehicles must balance ranked objectives, such as minimizing travel time, ensuring safety, and coordinating with traffic. Games of ordered preference effectively model these interactions but become computationally intractable as the time horizon, number of players, or number of preference levels increase. While receding horizon frameworks mitigate long-horizon intractability by solving sequential shorter games, often warm-started, they do not resolve the complexity growth inherent in existing methods for solving games of ordered preference. This paper introduces a solution strategy that avoids excessive complexity growth by approximating solutions using lexicographic iterated best response (IBR) in receding horizon, termed "lexicographic IBR over time." Lexicographic IBR over time uses past information to accelerate convergence. We demonstrate through simulated traffic scenarios that lexicographic IBR over time efficiently computes approximate-optimal solutions for receding horizon games of ordered preference, converging towards generalized Nash equilibria.

Authors:Jiaming Cheng, Duong Tung Nguyen
Title: Green-LLM: Optimal Workload Allocation for Environmentally-Aware Distributed Inference
Abstract:
This letter investigates the optimal allocation of large language model (LLM) inference workloads across heterogeneous edge data centers (DCs) over time. Each DC features on-site renewable generation and faces dynamic electricity prices and spatiotemporal variability in renewable availability. The central question is: how can inference workloads be optimally distributed to the DCs to minimize energy consumption, carbon emissions, and water usage while enhancing user experience? This letter proposes a novel optimization model for LLM service providers to reduce operational costs and environmental impacts. Numerical results validate the efficacy of the proposed approach.

Authors:Matteo Cederle, Marco Fabris, Gian Antonio Susto
Title: A Fairness-Oriented Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning approach for Autonomous Intersection Management
Abstract:
This study introduces a novel multi-objective reinforcement learning (MORL) approach for autonomous intersection management, aiming to balance traffic efficiency and environmental sustainability across electric and internal combustion vehicles. The proposed method utilizes MORL to identify Pareto-optimal policies, with a post-hoc fairness criterion guiding the selection of the final policy. Simulation results in a complex intersection scenario demonstrate the approach's effectiveness in optimizing traffic efficiency and emissions reduction while ensuring fairness across vehicle categories. We believe that this criterion can lay the foundation for ensuring equitable service, while fostering safe, efficient, and sustainable practices in smart urban mobility.

Authors:Xuan He, Yuxin Pan, Yize Chen, Danny H. K. Tsang
Title: Vertex-Guided Redundant Constraints Identification for Unit Commitment
Abstract:
Power systems Unit Commitment (UC) problem determines the generator commitment schedule and dispatch decisions to realize the reliable and economic operation of power networks. The growing penetration of stochastic renewables and demand behaviors makes it necessary to solve the UC problem timely. It is possible to derive lightweight, faster-to-solve UC models via constraint screening to eliminate redundant constraints. However, the screening process remains computationally cumbersome due to the need of solving numerous linear programming (LP) problems. To reduce the number of LPs to solve, we introduce a novel perspective on such classic LP-based screening. Our key insights lie in the principle that redundant constraints will be satisfied by all vertices of the screened feasible region. Using the UC decision variables' bounds tightened by solving much fewer LPs, we build an outer approximation for the UC feasible region as the screened region. A matrix operation is then designed and applied to the outer approximation's vertices to identify all redundant constraints on-the-fly. Adjustments for the outer approximation are further explored to improve screening efficiency by considering the load operating range and cutting planes derived from UC cost and discrete unit status prediction. Extensive simulations are performed on a set of testbeds up to 2,383 buses to substantiate the effectiveness of the proposed schemes. Compared to classic LP-based screening, our schemes can achieve up to 8.8x acceleration while finding the same redundant constraints.

Authors:Ruohong Liu, Jack Umenberger, Yize Chen
Title: BEAVER: Building Environments with Assessable Variation for Evaluating Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Recent years have seen significant advancements in designing reinforcement learning (RL)-based agents for building energy management. While individual success is observed in simulated or controlled environments, the scalability of RL approaches in terms of efficiency and generalization across building dynamics and operational scenarios remains an open question. In this work, we formally characterize the generalization space for the cross-environment, multi-objective building energy management task, and formulate the multi-objective contextual RL problem. Such a formulation helps understand the challenges of transferring learned policies across varied operational contexts such as climate and heat convection dynamics under multiple control objectives such as comfort level and energy consumption. We provide a principled way to parameterize such contextual information in realistic building RL environments, and construct a novel benchmark to facilitate the evaluation of generalizable RL algorithms in practical building control tasks. Our results show that existing multi-objective RL methods are capable of achieving reasonable trade-offs between conflicting objectives. However, their performance degrades under certain environment variations, underscoring the importance of incorporating dynamics-dependent contextual information into the policy learning process.

Authors:Ricardo Vega, Cameron Nowzari
Title: Classifying Emergence in Robot Swarms: An Observer-Dependent Approach
Abstract:
Emergence and swarms are widely discussed topics, yet no consensus exists on their formal definitions. This lack of agreement makes it difficult not only for new researchers to grasp these concepts, but also for experts who may use the same terms to mean different things. Many attempts have been made to objectively define 'swarm' or 'emergence,' with recent work highlighting the role of the external observer. Still, several researchers argue that once an observer's vantage point (e.g., scope, resolution, context) is established, the terms can be made objective or measured quantitatively. In this note, we propose a framework to discuss these ideas rigorously by separating externally observable states from latent, unobservable ones. This allows us to compare and contrast existing definitions of swarms and emergence on common ground. We argue that these concepts are ultimately subjective-shaped less by the system itself than by the perception and tacit knowledge of the observer. Specifically, we suggest that a 'swarm' is not defined by its group behavior alone, but by the process generating that behavior. Our broader goal is to support the design and deployment of robotic swarm systems, highlighting the critical distinction between multi-robot systems and true swarms.

Authors:Jared Miller, Mattia Bianchi, Florian Dörfler
Title: Convergence and Robustness Bounds for Distributed Asynchronous Shortest-Path
Abstract:
This work analyzes convergence times and robustness bounds for asynchronous distributed shortest-path computation. We focus on the Adaptive Bellman--Ford algorithm, a self-stabilizing method in which each agent updates its shortest-path estimate based only on the estimates of its neighbors and forgetting its previous estimate. In the asynchronous framework considered in this paper, agents are allowed to idle or encounter race conditions during their execution of the Adaptive Bellman--Ford algorithm. We build on Lyapunov-based results that develop finite-time convergence and robustness bounds for the synchronous shortest-path setting, in order to produce finite-time convergence and robustness bounds for the asynchronous setting. We also explore robustness against interval-bounded noise processes and establish convergence and robustness guarantees for asynchronous most-probable-path algorithms.

Authors:Yuchao Li, Kim Hammar, Dimitri Bertsekas
Title: Feature-Based Belief Aggregation for Partially Observable Markov Decision Problems
Abstract:
We consider a finite-state partially observable Markov decision problem (POMDP) with an infinite horizon and a discounted cost, and we propose a new method for computing a cost function approximation that is based on features and aggregation. In particular, using the classical belief-space formulation, we construct a related Markov decision problem (MDP) by first aggregating the unobservable states into feature states, and then introducing representative beliefs over these feature states. This two-stage aggregation approach facilitates the use of dynamic programming methods for solving the aggregate problem and provides additional design flexibility. The optimal cost function of the aggregate problem can in turn be used within an on-line approximation in value space scheme for the original POMDP. We derive a new bound on the approximation error of our scheme. In addition, we establish conditions under which the cost function approximation provides a lower bound for the optimal cost. Finally, we present a biased aggregation approach, which leverages an optimal cost function estimate to improve the quality of the approximation error of the aggregate problem.

Authors:Yuchao Li, Dimitri Bertsekas
Title: An Error Bound for Aggregation in Approximate Dynamic Programming
Abstract:
We consider a general aggregation framework for discounted finite-state infinite horizon dynamic programming (DP) problems. It defines an aggregate problem whose optimal cost function can be obtained off-line by exact DP and then used as a terminal cost approximation for an on-line reinforcement learning (RL) scheme. We derive a bound on the error between the optimal cost functions of the aggregate problem and the original problem. This bound was first derived by Tsitsiklis and van Roy [TvR96] for the special case of hard aggregation. Our bound is similar but applies far more broadly, including to soft aggregation and feature-based aggregation schemes.

Authors:Filippos N. Tzortzoglou, Andreas A. Malikopoulos
Title: Teaching Cars to Drive: Spotlight on Connected and Automated Vehicles
Abstract:
In recent decades, society has witnessed significant advancements in emerging mobility systems. These systems refer to transportation solutions that incorporate digital technologies, automation, connectivity, and sustainability to create safer, more efficient, and user-centered mobility. Examples include connected and automated vehicles (CAVs), shared mobility services (car-pooling), electric vehicles, and mobility-as-a-service platforms. These innovations have the potential to greatly impact areas such as safety, pollution, comfort, travel time, and fairness. In this article, we explore the current landscape of CAVs. We discuss their role in daily life and their future potential, while also addressing the challenges they may introduce. Following, we also examine the practical difficulties in research associated with CAVs especially simulating and testing CAV-related algorithms in real-world settings. We present existing solutions that aim to overcome these limitations. Finally, we provide an accessible introduction to modeling CAVs using basic kinematic principles and offer an open-source tutorial to help interested students begin exploring the field.

Authors:Robert Mahony, Jonathan Kelly, Stephan Weiss
Title: Galilean Symmetry in Robotics
Abstract:
Galilean symmetry is the natural symmetry of inertial motion that underpins Newtonian physics. Although rigid-body symmetry is one of the most established and fundamental tools in robotics, there appears to be no comparable treatment of Galilean symmetry for a robotics audience. In this paper, we present a robotics-tailored exposition of Galilean symmetry that leverages the community's familiarity with and understanding of rigid-body transformations and pose representations. Our approach contrasts with common treatments in the physics literature that introduce Galilean symmetry as a stepping stone to Einstein's relativity. A key insight is that the Galilean matrix Lie group can be used to describe two different pose representations, Galilean frames, that use inertial velocity in the state definition, and extended poses, that use coordinate velocity. We provide three examples where applying the Galilean matrix Lie-group algebra to robotics problems is straightforward and yields significant insights: inertial navigation above the rotating Earth, manipulator kinematics, and sensor data fusion under temporal uncertainty. We believe that the time is right for the robotics community to benefit from rediscovering and extending this classical material and applying it to modern problems.

Authors:Jiayu Ding, Xulin Chen, Garrett E. Katz, Zhenyu Gan
Title: Towards Dynamic Quadrupedal Gaits: A Symmetry-Guided RL Hierarchy Enables Free Gait Transitions at Varying Speeds
Abstract:
Quadrupedal robots exhibit a wide range of viable gaits, but generating specific footfall sequences often requires laborious expert tuning of numerous variables, such as touch-down and lift-off events and holonomic constraints for each leg. This paper presents a unified reinforcement learning framework for generating versatile quadrupedal gaits by leveraging the intrinsic symmetries and velocity-period relationship of dynamic legged systems. We propose a symmetry-guided reward function design that incorporates temporal, morphological, and time-reversal symmetries. By focusing on preserved symmetries and natural dynamics, our approach eliminates the need for predefined trajectories, enabling smooth transitions between diverse locomotion patterns such as trotting, bounding, half-bounding, and galloping. Implemented on the Unitree Go2 robot, our method demonstrates robust performance across a range of speeds in both simulations and hardware tests, significantly improving gait adaptability without extensive reward tuning or explicit foot placement control. This work provides insights into dynamic locomotion strategies and underscores the crucial role of symmetries in robotic gait design.

Authors:P Sangeerth, David Smith Sundarsingh, Bhabani Shankar Dey, Pushpak Jagtap
Title: Controller for Incremental Input-to-State Practical Stabilization of Partially Unknown systems with Invariance Guarantees
Abstract:
Incremental stability is a property of dynamical systems that ensures the convergence of trajectories with respect to each other rather than a fixed equilibrium point or a fixed trajectory. In this paper, we introduce a related stability notion called incremental input-to-state practical stability (δ-ISpS), ensuring safety guarantees. We also present a feedback linearization based control design scheme that renders a partially unknown system incrementally input-to-state practically stable and safe with formal guarantees. To deal with the unknown dynamics, we utilize Gaussian process regression to approximate the model. Finally, we implement the controller synthesized by the proposed scheme on a manipulator example

Authors:Max Sokolich, Yanda Yang, Subrahmanyam Cherukumilli, Fatma Ceren Kirmizitas, Sambeeta Das
Title: MicroRoboScope: A Portable and Integrated Mechatronic Platform for Magnetic and Acoustic Microrobotic Experimentation
Abstract:
This paper presents MicroRoboScope, a portable, compact, and versatile microrobotic experimentation platform designed for real-time, closed-loop control of both magnetic and acoustic microrobots. The system integrates an embedded computer, microscope, power supplies, and control circuitry into a single, low-cost and fully integrated apparatus. Custom control software developed in Python and Arduino C++ handles live video acquisition, microrobot tracking, and generation of control signals for electromagnetic coils and acoustic transducers. The platform's multi-modal actuation, accessibility, and portability make it suitable not only for specialized research laboratories but also for educational and outreach settings. By lowering the barrier to entry for microrobotic experimentation, this system enables new opportunities for research, education, and translational applications in biomedicine, tissue engineering, and robotics.

Authors:James Usevitch, Juan Augusto Paredes Salazar, Ankit Goel
Title: Computing Safe Control Inputs using Discrete-Time Matrix Control Barrier Functions via Convex Optimization
Abstract:
Control barrier functions (CBFs) have seen widespread success in providing forward invariance and safety guarantees for dynamical control systems. A crucial limitation of discrete-time formulations is that CBFs that are nonconcave in their argument require the solution of nonconvex optimization problems to compute safety-preserving control inputs, which inhibits real-time computation of control inputs guaranteeing forward invariance. This paper presents a novel method for computing safety-preserving control inputs for discrete-time systems with nonconvex safety sets, utilizing convex optimization and the recently developed class of matrix control barrier function techniques. The efficacy of our methods is demonstrated through numerical simulations on a bicopter system.

Authors:Emre Adabag, Marcus Greiff, John Subosits, Thomas Lew
Title: Differentiable Model Predictive Control on the GPU
Abstract:
Differentiable model predictive control (MPC) offers a powerful framework for combining learning and control. However, its adoption has been limited by the inherently sequential nature of traditional optimization algorithms, which are challenging to parallelize on modern computing hardware like GPUs. In this work, we tackle this bottleneck by introducing a GPU-accelerated differentiable optimization tool for MPC. This solver leverages sequential quadratic programming and a custom preconditioned conjugate gradient (PCG) routine with tridiagonal preconditioning to exploit the problem's structure and enable efficient parallelization. We demonstrate substantial speedups over CPU- and GPU-based baselines, significantly improving upon state-of-the-art training times on benchmark reinforcement learning and imitation learning tasks. Finally, we showcase the method on the challenging task of reinforcement learning for driving at the limits of handling, where it enables robust drifting of a Toyota Supra through water puddles.

Authors:Andreas Christou, Andreas Sochopoulos, Elliot Lister, Sethu Vijayakumar
Title: Human-in-the-loop Optimisation in Robot-assisted Gait Training
Abstract:
Wearable robots offer a promising solution for quantitatively monitoring gait and providing systematic, adaptive assistance to promote patient independence and improve gait. However, due to significant interpersonal and intrapersonal variability in walking patterns, it is important to design robot controllers that can adapt to the unique characteristics of each individual. This paper investigates the potential of human-in-the-loop optimisation (HILO) to deliver personalised assistance in gait training. The Covariance Matrix Adaptation Evolution Strategy (CMA-ES) was employed to continuously optimise an assist-as-needed controller of a lower-limb exoskeleton. Six healthy individuals participated over a two-day experiment. Our results suggest that while the CMA-ES appears to converge to a unique set of stiffnesses for each individual, no measurable impact on the subjects' performance was observed during the validation trials. These findings highlight the impact of human-robot co-adaptation and human behaviour variability, whose effect may be greater than potential benefits of personalising rule-based assistive controllers. Our work contributes to understanding the limitations of current personalisation approaches in exoskeleton-assisted gait rehabilitation and identifies key challenges for effective implementation of human-in-the-loop optimisation in this domain.

Authors:Yao Zhang, Yuchen Song, Shengnan Li, Yan Shi, Shikui Shen, Xiongyan Tang, Min Zhang, Danshi Wang
Title: Generative AI-Driven Hierarchical Multi-Agent Framework for Zero-Touch Optical Networks
Abstract:
The rapid development of Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) has catalyzed a transformative technological revolution across all walks of life. As the backbone of wideband communication, optical networks are expecting high-level autonomous operation and zero-touch management to accommodate their expanding network scales and escalating transmission bandwidth. The integration of GenAI is deemed as the pivotal solution for realizing zero-touch optical networks. However, the lifecycle management of optical networks involves a multitude of tasks and necessitates seamless collaboration across multiple layers, which poses significant challenges to the existing single-agent GenAI systems. In this paper, we propose a GenAI-driven hierarchical multi-agent framework designed to streamline multi-task autonomous execution for zero-touch optical networks. We present the architecture, implementation, and applications of this framework. A field-deployed mesh network is utilized to demonstrate three typical scenarios throughout the lifecycle of optical network: quality of transmission estimation in the planning stage, dynamic channel adding/dropping in the operation stage, and system capacity increase in the upgrade stage. The case studies, illustrate the capabilities of multi-agent framework in multi-task allocation, coordination, execution, evaluation, and summarization. This work provides a promising approach for the future development of intelligent, efficient, and collaborative network management solutions, paving the way for more specialized and adaptive zero-touch optical networks.

Authors:Mingyu Kim, Pronoy Sarker, Seungmo Kim, Daniel J. Stilwell, Jorge Jimenez
Title: Robust Sensor Placement for Poisson Arrivals with False Alarm Aware Spatiotemporal Sensing
Abstract:
This paper studies sensor placement when detection performance varies stochastically due to environmental factors over space and time and false alarms are present, but a filter is used to attenuate the effect. We introduce a unified model that couples detection and false alarms through an availability function, which captures how false alarms reduce effective sensing and filtering responses to the disturbance. Building on this model, we give a sufficient condition under which filtering improves detection. In addition, we derive a coverage-based lower bound on the void probability. Furthermore, we prove robustness guarantees showing that performance remains stable when detection probabilities are learned from limited data. We validate the approach with numerical studies using AIS vessel-traffic data and synthetic maritime scenarios. Together, these results provide theory and practical guidance for deploying sensors in dynamic, uncertain environments.

Authors:Isabelle Krauss, Victor G. Lopez, Matthias A. Müller
Title: Robust stability of event-triggered nonlinear moving horizon estimation
Abstract:
In this work, we propose an event-triggered moving horizon estimation (ET-MHE) scheme for the remote state estimation of general nonlinear systems. In the presented method, whenever an event is triggered, a single measurement is transmitted and the nonlinear MHE optimization problem is subsequently solved. If no event is triggered, the current state estimate is updated using an open-loop prediction based on the system dynamics. Moreover, we introduce a novel event-triggering rule under which we demonstrate robust global exponential stability of the ET-MHE scheme, assuming a suitable detectability condition is met. In addition, we show that with the adoption of a varying horizon length, a tighter bound on the estimation error can be achieved. Finally, we validate the effectiveness of the proposed method through two illustrative examples.

Authors:Apurva Badithela, David Snyder, Lihan Zha, Joseph Mikhail, Matthew O'Kelly, Anushri Dixit, Anirudha Majumdar
Title: Reliable and Scalable Robot Policy Evaluation with Imperfect Simulators
Abstract:
Rapid progress in imitation learning, foundation models, and large-scale datasets has led to robot manipulation policies that generalize to a wide-range of tasks and environments. However, rigorous evaluation of these policies remains a challenge. Typically in practice, robot policies are often evaluated on a small number of hardware trials without any statistical assurances. We present SureSim, a framework to augment large-scale simulation with relatively small-scale real-world testing to provide reliable inferences on the real-world performance of a policy. Our key idea is to formalize the problem of combining real and simulation evaluations as a prediction-powered inference problem, in which a small number of paired real and simulation evaluations are used to rectify bias in large-scale simulation. We then leverage non-asymptotic mean estimation algorithms to provide confidence intervals on mean policy performance. Using physics-based simulation, we evaluate both diffusion policy and multi-task fine-tuned \(π_0\) on a joint distribution of objects and initial conditions, and find that our approach saves over \(20-25\%\) of hardware evaluation effort to achieve similar bounds on policy performance.

Authors:Kartik Pandit, Sourav Ganguly, Arnesh Banerjee, Shaahin Angizi, Arnob Ghosh
Title: Certifiable Safe RLHF: Fixed-Penalty Constraint Optimization for Safer Language Models
Abstract:
Ensuring safety is a foundational requirement for large language models (LLMs). Achieving an appropriate balance between enhancing the utility of model outputs and mitigating their potential for harm is a complex and persistent challenge. Contemporary approaches frequently formalize this problem within the framework of Constrained Markov Decision Processes (CMDPs) and employ established CMDP optimization techniques. However, these methods exhibit two notable limitations. First, their reliance on reward and cost functions renders performance highly sensitive to the underlying scoring mechanism, which must capture semantic meaning rather than being triggered by superficial keywords. Second, CMDP-based training entails tuning dual-variable, a process that is both computationally expensive and does not provide any provable safety guarantee for a fixed dual variable that can be exploitable through adversarial jailbreaks. To overcome these limitations, we introduce Certifiable Safe-RLHF (CS-RLHF) that introduces a cost model trained on a large-scale corpus to assign semantically grounded safety scores. In contrast to the lagrangian-based approach, CS-RLHF adopts a rectified penalty-based formulation. This design draws on the theory of exact penalty functions in constrained optimization, wherein constraint satisfaction is enforced directly through a suitably chosen penalty term. With an appropriately scaled penalty, feasibility of the safety constraints can be guaranteed at the optimizer, eliminating the need for dual-variable updates. Empirical evaluation demonstrates that CS-RLHF outperforms state-of-the-art LLM model responses rendering at-least 5 times efficient against nominal and jail-breaking prompts

Authors:Ethan Foss, Simone D'Amico
Title: Efficient Input-Constrained Impulsive Optimal Control of Linear Systems with Application to Spacecraft Relative Motion
Abstract:
This work presents a novel algorithm for impulsive optimal control of linear time-varying systems with the inclusion of input magnitude constraints. Impulsive optimal control problems, where the optimal input solution is a sum of delta functions, are typically formulated as an optimization over a normed function space subject to integral equality constraints and can be efficiently solved for linear time-varying systems in their dual formulation. In this dual setting, the problem takes the form of a semi-infinite program which is readily solvable in online scenarios for constructing maneuver plans. This work augments the approach with the inclusion of magnitude constraints on the input over time windows of interest, which is shown to preserve the impulsive nature of the optimal solution and enable efficient solution procedures via semi-infinite programming. The resulting algorithm is demonstrated on the highly relevant problem of relative motion control of spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and compared to several other proposed solutions from the literature.

Authors:Andreas Bouterakos, Georgios Tzounas
Title: Eigenvalue Tracking of Large-Scale Systems Impacted by Time Delays
Abstract:
The paper focuses on tracking eigenvalue trajectories in power system models with time delays. We formulate a continuation-based approach that employs numerical integration to follow eigenvalues as system parameters vary, in the presence of one or multiple delayed variables. The formulation preserves the sparsity of the delay differential-algebraic equation (DDAE) system model and allows treating the delay magnitude itself as a varying parameter with implementation aspects discussed in detail. Accuracy is demonstrated on a modified IEEE 39-bus system with distributed energy resources. Scalability is discussed using a realistic dynamic model of the Irish transmission network.

Authors:Andreas Christou, Elliot Lister, Georgia Andreopoulou, Don Mahad, Sethu Vijayakumar
Title: Assist-as-needed Control for FES in Foot Drop Management
Abstract:
Foot drop is commonly managed using Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES), typically delivered via open-loop controllers with fixed stimulation intensities. While users may manually adjust the intensity through external controls, this approach risks overstimulation, leading to muscle fatigue and discomfort, or understimulation, which compromises dorsiflexion and increases fall risk. In this study, we propose a novel closed-loop FES controller that dynamically adjusts the stimulation intensity based on real-time toe clearance, providing "assistance as needed". We evaluate this system by inducing foot drop in healthy participants and comparing the effects of the closed-loop controller with a traditional open-loop controller across various walking conditions, including different speeds and surface inclinations. Kinematic data reveal that our closed-loop controller maintains adequate toe clearance without significantly affecting the joint angles of the hips, the knees, and the ankles, and while using significantly lower stimulation intensities compared to the open-loop controller. These findings suggest that the proposed method not only matches the effectiveness of existing systems but also offers the potential for reduced muscle fatigue and improved long-term user comfort and adherence.

Authors:Shaifalee Saxena, Alan Williams, Rafael Fierro, Alexander Scheinker
Title: Improved Robustness of Deep Reinforcement Learning for Control of Time-Varying Systems by Bounded Extremum Seeking
Abstract:
In this paper, we study the use of robust model independent bounded extremum seeking (ES) feedback control to improve the robustness of deep reinforcement learning (DRL) controllers for a class of nonlinear time-varying systems. DRL has the potential to learn from large datasets to quickly control or optimize the outputs of many-parameter systems, but its performance degrades catastrophically when the system model changes rapidly over time. Bounded ES can handle time-varying systems with unknown control directions, but its convergence speed slows down as the number of tuned parameters increases and, like all local adaptive methods, it can get stuck in local minima. We demonstrate that together, DRL and bounded ES result in a hybrid controller whose performance exceeds the sum of its parts with DRL taking advantage of historical data to learn how to quickly control a many-parameter system to a desired setpoint while bounded ES ensures its robustness to time variations. We present a numerical study of a general time-varying system and a combined ES-DRL controller for automatic tuning of the Low Energy Beam Transport section at the Los Alamos Neutron Science Center linear particle accelerator.

Authors:Sara Strakosova, Petr Novak, Petr Kadera
Title: Product Digital Twin Supporting End-of-life Phase of Electric Vehicle Batteries Utilizing Product-Process-Resource Asset Network
Abstract:
In the context of the circular economy, products in their end-of-life phase should be either remanufactured or recycled. Both of these processes are crucial for sustainability and environmental conservation. However, manufacturers often do not support these processes enough by not sharing relevant data. This paper proposes use of a digital twin technology, which is capable to help optimizing the disassembly processes to reduce ecological impact and enhance sustainability. The proposed approach is demonstrated through a disassembly use-case of the product digital twin of an electric vehicle battery. By utilizing product digital twins, challenges associated with the disassembly of electric vehicle batteries can be solved flexibly and efficiently for various battery types. As a backbone for the product digital twin representation, the paper uses the paradigm of product-process-resource asset networks (PAN). Such networks enable to model relevant relationships across products, production resources, manufacturing processes, and specific production operations that have to be done in the manufacturing phase of a product. This paper introduces a Bi-Flow Product-Process-Resource Asset Network (Bi-PAN) representation, which extends the PAN paradigm to cover not only the manufacturing, but also the remanufacturing/recycling phase.

Authors:Moh Kamalul Wafi, Arthur Castello B. de Oliveira, Eduardo D. Sontag
Title: On the (almost) Global Exponential Convergence of the Overparameterized Policy Optimization for the LQR Problem
Abstract:
In this work we study the convergence of gradient methods for nonconvex optimization problems -- specifically the effect of the problem formulation to the convergence behavior of the solution of a gradient flow. We show through a simple example that, surprisingly, the gradient flow solution can be exponentially or asymptotically convergent, depending on how the problem is formulated. We then deepen the analysis and show that a policy optimization strategy for the continuous-time linear quadratic regulator (LQR) (which is known to present only asymptotic convergence globally) presents almost global exponential convergence if the problem is overparameterized through a linear feed-forward neural network (LFFNN). We prove this qualitative improvement always happens for a simplified version of the LQR problem and derive explicit convergence rates for the gradient flow. Finally, we show that both the qualitative improvement and the quantitative rate gains persist in the general LQR through numerical simulations.

Authors:Renukanandan Tumu, Cristian Ioan Vasile, Victor Preciado, Rahul Mangharam
Title: Adversarial Social Influence: Modeling Persuasion in Contested Social Networks
Abstract:
We present the Social Influence Game (SIG), a framework for modeling adversarial persuasion in social networks with an arbitrary number of competing players. Our goal is to provide a tractable and interpretable model of contested influence that scales to large systems while capturing the structural leverage points of networks. Each player allocates influence from a fixed budget to steer opinions that evolve under DeGroot dynamics, and we prove that the resulting optimization problem is a difference-of-convex program. To enable scalability, we develop an Iterated Linear (IL) solver that approximates player objectives with linear programs. In experiments on random and archetypical networks, IL achieves solutions within 7% of nonlinear solvers while being over 10x faster, scaling to large social networks. This paper lays a foundation for asymptotic analysis of contested influence in complex networks.

Authors:Ozan Baris Mulayim, Elias N. Pergantis, Levi D. Reyes Premer, Bingqing Chen, Guannan Qu, Kevin J. Kircher, Mario Bergés
Title: Comparative Field Deployment of Reinforcement Learning and Model Predictive Control for Residential HVAC
Abstract:
Advanced control strategies like Model Predictive Control (MPC) offer significant energy savings for HVAC systems but often require substantial engineering effort, limiting scalability. Reinforcement Learning (RL) promises greater automation and adaptability, yet its practical application in real-world residential settings remains largely undemonstrated, facing challenges related to safety, interpretability, and sample efficiency. To investigate these practical issues, we performed a direct comparison of an MPC and a model-based RL controller, with each controller deployed for a one-month period in an occupied house with a heat pump system in West Lafayette, Indiana. This investigation aimed to explore scalability of the chosen RL and MPC implementations while ensuring safety and comparability. The advanced controllers were evaluated against each other and against the existing controller. RL achieved substantial energy savings (22\% relative to the existing controller), slightly exceeding MPC's savings (20\%), albeit with modestly higher occupant discomfort. However, when energy savings were normalized for the level of comfort provided, MPC demonstrated superior performance. This study's empirical results show that while RL reduces engineering overhead, it introduces practical trade-offs in model accuracy and operational robustness. The key lessons learned concern the difficulties of safe controller initialization, navigating the mismatch between control actions and their practical implementation, and maintaining the integrity of online learning in a live environment. These insights pinpoint the essential research directions needed to advance RL from a promising concept to a truly scalable HVAC control solution.

Authors:Jonathan Gornet, Yilin Mo, Bruno Sinopoli
Title: A Control Theory inspired Exploration Method for a Linear Bandit driven by a Linear Gaussian Dynamical System
Abstract:
The paper introduces a linear bandit environment where the reward is the output of a known Linear Gaussian Dynamical System (LGDS). In this environment, we address the fundamental challenge of balancing exploration -- gathering information about the environment -- and exploitation -- selecting to the action with the highest predicted reward. We propose two algorithms, Kalman filter Upper Confidence Bound (Kalman-UCB) and Information filter Directed Exploration Action-selection (IDEA). Kalman-UCB uses the principle of optimism in the face of uncertainty. IDEA selects actions that maximize the combination of the predicted reward and a term that quantifies how much an action minimizes the error of the Kalman filter state prediction, which depends on the LGDS property called observability. IDEA is motivated by applications such as hyperparameter optimization in machine learning. A major problem encountered in hyperparameter optimization is the large action spaces, which hinder the performance of methods inspired by principle of optimism in the face of uncertainty as they need to explore each action to lower reward prediction uncertainty. To predict if either Kalman-UCB or IDEA will perform better, a metric based on the LGDS properties is provided. This metric is validated with numerical results across a variety of randomly generated environments.

Authors:Juan Augusto Paredes Salazar, James Usevitch, Ankit Goel
Title: Predictive Control Barrier Functions for Discrete-Time Linear Systems with Unmodeled Delays
Abstract:
This paper introduces a predictive control barrier function (PCBF) framework for enforcing state constraints in discrete-time systems with unknown relative degree, which can be caused by input delays or unmodeled input dynamics. Existing discrete-time CBF formulations typically require the construction of auxiliary barrier functions when the relative degree is greater than one, which complicates implementation and may yield conservative safe sets. The proposed PCBF framework addresses this challenge by extending the prediction horizon to construct a CBF for an associated system with relative degree one. As a result, the superlevel set of the PCBF coincides with the safe set, simplifying constraint enforcement and eliminating the need for auxiliary functions. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on a discrete-time double integrator with input delay and a bicopter system with position constraints.

Authors:Sara Strakosova, Petr Novak, Petr Kadera
Title: Product-oriented Product-Process-Resource Asset Network and its Representation in AutomationML for Asset Administration Shell
Abstract:
Current products, especially in the automotive sector, pose complex technical systems having a multi-disciplinary mechatronic nature. Industrial standards supporting system engineering and production typically (i) address the production phase only, but do not cover the complete product life cycle, and (ii) focus on production processes and resources rather than the products themselves. The presented approach is motivated by incorporating the impacts of the end-of-life phase of the product life cycle into the engineering phase. This paper proposes a modeling approach coming up from the Product-Process-Resource (PPR) modeling paradigm. It combines requirements on (i) respecting the product structure as a basis for the model, and (ii) incorporates repairing, remanufacturing, or upcycling within cyber-physical production systems. The proposed model called PoPAN should accompany the product during the entire life cycle as a digital shadow encapsulated within the Asset Administration Shell of a product. To facilitate the adoption of the proposed paradigm, the paper also proposes serialization of the model in the AutomationML data format. The model is demonstrated on a use-case for disassembling electric vehicle batteries to support their remanufacturing for stationary battery applications.

Authors:Julie Rousseau, Hanmin Cai, Philipp Heer, Kristina Orehounig, Gabriela Hug
Title: Uncertainty-Aware Flexibility of Buildings: From Quantification to Provision
Abstract:
Buildings represent a promising flexibility source to support the integration of renewable energy sources, as they may shift their heating energy consumption over time without impacting users' comfort. However, a building's predicted flexibility potential is based on uncertain ambient weather forecasts and a typically inaccurate building thermal model. Hence, this paper presents an uncertainty-aware flexibility quantifier using a chance-constrained formulation. Because such a quantifier may be conservative, we additionally model real-time feedback in the quantification, in the form of affine feedback policies. Such adaptation can take the form of intra-day trades or rebound around the flexibility provision period. To assess the flexibility quantification formulations, we further assume that flexible buildings participate in secondary frequency control markets. The results show some increase in flexibility and revenues when introducing affine feedback policies. Additionally, it is demonstrated that accounting for uncertainties in the flexibility quantification is necessary, especially when intra-day trades are not available. Even though an uncertainty-ignorant potential may seem financially profitable in secondary frequency control markets, it comes at the cost of significant thermal discomfort for inhabitants. Hence, we suggest a comfort-preserving approach, aiming to truly reflect thermal discomfort on the economic flexibility revenue, to obtain a fairer comparison.

Authors:Shengzhi Wang, Niels Dehio, Xuanqi Zeng, Xian Yang, Lingwei Zhang, Yun-Hui Liu, K. W. Samuel Au
Title: Shared Object Manipulation with a Team of Collaborative Quadrupeds
Abstract:
Utilizing teams of multiple robots is advantageous for handling bulky objects. Many related works focus on multi-manipulator systems, which are limited by workspace constraints. In this paper, we extend a classical hybrid motion-force controller to a team of legged manipulator systems, enabling collaborative loco-manipulation of rigid objects with a force-closed grasp. Our novel approach allows the robots to flexibly coordinate their movements, achieving efficient and stable object co-manipulation and transport, validated through extensive simulations and real-world experiments.

Authors:Dipankar Shakya, Theodore S. Rappaport, Ethan Shieh, Michael E. Knox, Hamed Rahmani, Davood Shahrjerdi, Mingjun Ying, Kimberley Fan, Matt Lu, Andrej Rumiantsev, Vince Mallette, Gavin Fisher, Giancarlo De Chirico, Pratik Ghate, Shean McMahon
Title: Four-Port Probe Stations and SOLR Calibration Standard Design up to 125 GHz on 28 nm CMOS
Abstract:
This paper presents two innovative four-port probe stations developed by FormFactor Incorporated (FFI) and MPI Corporation (MPI), and a four-port calibration standard design up to 125 GHz for the probe stations. True four-port probing at mmWave and beyond does not yet exist, but is anticipated for future multi-band wireless devices using several antennas and RF chains. The four-port probe stations are housed in the THz measurement facility at NYU and allow simultaneous probing from East, West, North, and South orientations, which presents challenges for calibration. An on-chip Short-Open-Load-Reciprocal (SOLR) calibration (cal) standard is designed leveraging UMC's 28 nm CMOS process. S/O/L standard S-parameters are extracted using a virtual multiline Thru-Reflect-Line (mTRL) cal and used to validate SOLR cal performance via simulations up to 125 GHz. The novel probing solutions from MPI and FFI, along with the SOLR cal, open up considerable opportunities for precise RF characterization across wide frequency ranges.

Authors:Carlo Bosio, Matteo Guarrera, Alberto Sangiovanni-Vincentelli, Mark W. Mueller
Title: Combining Large Language Models and Gradient-Free Optimization for Automatic Control Policy Synthesis
Abstract:
Large Language models (LLMs) have shown promise as generators of symbolic control policies, producing interpretable program-like representations through iterative search. However, these models are not capable of separating the functional structure of a policy from the numerical values it is parametrized by, thus making the search process slow and inefficient. We propose a hybrid approach that decouples structural synthesis from parameter optimization by introducing an additional optimization layer for local parameter search. In our method, the numerical parameters of LLM-generated programs are extracted and optimized numerically to maximize task performance. With this integration, an LLM iterates over the functional structure of programs, while a separate optimization loop is used to find a locally optimal set of parameters accompanying candidate programs. We evaluate our method on a set of control tasks, showing that it achieves higher returns and improved sample efficiency compared to purely LLM-guided search. We show that combining symbolic program synthesis with numerical optimization yields interpretable yet high-performing policies, bridging the gap between language-model-guided design and classical control tuning. Our code is available at https://sites.google.com/berkeley.edu/colmo.

Authors:Kyung-bin Kwon, Lintao Ye, Vijay Gupta, Hao Zhu
Title: Communication-aware Wide-Area Damping Control using Risk-Constrained Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Non-ideal communication links, especially delays, critically affect fast networked controls in power systems, such as the wide-area damping control (WADC). Traditionally, a delay estimation and compensation approach is adopted to address this cyber-physical coupling, but it demands very high accuracy for the fast WADC and cannot handle other cyber concerns like link failures or {cyber perturbations}. Hence, we propose a new risk-constrained framework that can target the communication delays, yet amenable to general uncertainty under the cyber-physical couplings. Our WADC model includes the synchronous generators (SGs), and also voltage source converters (VSCs) for additional damping capabilities. To mitigate uncertainty, a mean-variance risk constraint is introduced to the classical optimal control cost of the linear quadratic regulator (LQR). Unlike estimating delays, our approach can effectively mitigate large communication delays by improving the worst-case performance. A reinforcement learning (RL)-based algorithm, namely, stochastic gradient-descent with max-oracle (SGDmax), is developed to solve the risk-constrained problem. We further show its guaranteed convergence to stationarity at a high probability, even using the simple zero-order policy gradient (ZOPG). Numerical tests on the IEEE 68-bus system not only verify SGDmax's convergence and VSCs' damping capabilities, but also demonstrate that our approach outperforms conventional delay compensator-based methods under estimation error. While focusing on performance improvement under large delays, our proposed risk-constrained design can effectively mitigate the worst-case oscillations, making it equally effective for addressing other communication issues and cyber perturbations.

Authors:Hongyi Zhou, Jingwei Li, Jingzhao Zhang
Title: Finite Sample Analyses for Continuous-time Linear Systems: System Identification and Online Control
Abstract:
Real world evolves in continuous time but computations are done from finite samples. Therefore, we study algorithms using finite observations in continuous-time linear dynamical systems. We first study the system identification problem, and propose a first non-asymptotic error analysis with finite observations. Our algorithm identifies system parameters without needing integrated observations over certain time intervals, making it more practical for real-world applications. Further we propose a lower bound result that shows our estimator is provably optimal up to constant factors. Moreover, we apply the above algorithm to online control regret analysis for continuous-time linear system. Our system identification method allows us to explore more efficiently, enabling the swift detection of ineffective policies. We achieve a regret of $\mathcal{O}(\sqrt{T})$ over a single $T$-time horizon in a controllable system, requiring only $\mathcal{O}(T)$ observations of the system.

Authors:Jan Olucak, Arthur Castello B. de Oliveira, Torbjørn Cunis
Title: Safe-by-Design: Approximate Nonlinear Model Predictive Control with Real Time Feasibility
Abstract:
This paper establishes relationships between continuous-time, receding horizon, nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) and control Lyapunov and control barrier functions (CLF/CBF). We show that, if the cost function "behaves well" for points in the terminal set, then the optimal value function and the feasible set, respectively, define a compatible CLF/CBF pair on the MPC's region of attraction. We then proceed to prove that any approximation of the value function and the feasible set also define a CLF/CBF pair, as long as those approximations satisfy the same "well behavedness" condition; and that a feasible state feedback can be computed by solving an infinitesimal version of the MPC problem. This methodology permits the formulation of continuous-time small-sized quadratic programs for feedback and enables approximate solutions of the nonlinear model predictive controller with theoretical safety and convergence guarantee. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach when compared to other constrained control techniques through numerical experiments for nonlinear constrained spacecraft control.

Authors:Qingyang Liu, Tianlong Fan, Liming Pan, Linyuan Lv
Title: Revealing Chaotic Dependence and Degree-Structure Mechanisms in Optimal Pinning Control of Complex Networks
Abstract:
Identifying an optimal set of driver nodes to achieve synchronization via pinning control is a fundamental challenge in complex network science, limited by computational intractability and the lack of general theory. Here, leveraging a degree-based mean-field (annealed) approximation from statistical physics, we analytically reveal how the structural degree distribution systematically governs synchronization performance, and derive an analytic characterization of the globally optimal pinning set and constructive algorithms with linear complexity (dominated by degree sorting, O(N+M). The optimal configuration exhibits a chaotic dependence--a discontinuous sensitivity--on its cardinality, whereby adding a single node can trigger abrupt changes in node composition and control effectiveness. This structural transition fundamentally challenges traditional heuristics that assume monotonic performance gains with budget. Systematic experiments on synthetic and empirical networks confirm that the proposed approach consistently outperforms degree-, betweenness-, and other centrality-based baselines. Furthermore, we quantify how key degree-distribution features--low-degree saturation, high-degree cutoff, and the power-law exponent--govern achievable synchronizability and shape the form of optimal sets. These results offer a systematic understanding of how degree heterogeneity shapes the network controllability. Our work establishes a unified link between degree heterogeneity and spectral controllability, offering both mechanistic insights and practical design rules for optimal driver-node selection in diverse complex systems.

Authors:Hadi Nemati, Pedro Sánchez-Martín, Álvaro Ortega, Lukas Sigrist, Luis Rouco
Title: Integration of Concentrated Solar Power Plants in Renewable-Only VPP with Electrical and Thermal Demands: A Two-Stage Robust Bidding Approach
Abstract:
This paper proposes the integration of Concentrated Solar Power Plant (CSP) in the Renewable-only virtual power plant (RVPP) for bidding in the electricity day-ahead and secondary reserve markets, as well as trading thermal energy through a heat purchase agreement. A reformulated two-stage robust optimization approach is introduced to account for multiple uncertainties, including electricity prices, non-dispatchable renewable energy sources electrical production, CSP thermal production, and uncertainties in electrical and thermal demand consumption. The provision of energy and reserve by the thermal storage of CSP is modeled using an adjustable approach, which allocates a share of energy for up and down reserves based on the profitability of the RVPP. Simulations are conducted for several case studies to demonstrate the effectiveness and computational efficiency of the proposed approach under different RVPP operator decisions against uncertain parameters and various trading strategies for electricity and thermal energy. The simulation results show that integrating CSP into RVPP enhances RVPP flexibility for both electrical and thermal trading. Furthermore, the results indicate that the profitability of the RVPP increases when all trading options are considered, across different levels of conservatism adopted by the RVPP operator in response to uncertain parameters.

Authors:Kaizer Rahaman, Simran Kumari, Ashish R. Hota
Title: Distributionally Robust Safe Motion Planning with Contextual Information
Abstract:
We present a distributionally robust approach for collision avoidance by incorporating contextual information. Specifically, we embed the conditional distribution of future trajectory of the obstacle conditioned on the motion of the ego agent in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) via the conditional kernel mean embedding operator. Then, we define an ambiguity set containing all distributions whose embedding in the RKHS is within a certain distance from the empirical estimate of conditional mean embedding learnt from past data. Consequently, a distributionally robust collision avoidance constraint is formulated, and included in the receding horizon based motion planning formulation of the ego agent. Simulation results show that the proposed approach is more successful in avoiding collision compared to approaches that do not include contextual information and/or distributional robustness in their formulation in several challenging scenarios.

Authors:Shuaiting Huang, Haodong Jiang, Chengcheng Zhao, Peng Cheng, Junfeng Wu
Title: Fully Distributed State Estimation for Multi-agent Systems and its Application in Cooperative Localization
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate the distributed state estimation problem for a continuous-time linear multi-agent system (MAS) composed of $\mathit{m}$ agents and monitored by the agents themselves. To address this problem, we propose a distributed observer that enables each agent to reconstruct the state of the MAS. The main idea is to let each agent $\mathit{i}$ recover the state of agent $\mathit{j}$ by using leader-follower consensus rules to track agent $\mathit{j}$'s state estimate, which is generated by agent $\mathit{j}$ itself using a Luenberger-like estimation rule. Under the assumptions of node-level observability and topological ordering consistency, we show that the estimation error dynamics are stabilizable if and only if the communication graph is strongly connected. Moreover, we discuss the fully distributed design of the proposed observer, assuming that the agents only know basic MAS configuration information, such as the homogeneity and the maximum number of allowable agents. This design ensures that the proposed observer functions correctly when agents are added or removed. Building on this, we consider cooperative localization as a distributed estimation problem and develop two fully distributed localization algorithms that allow agents to track their own and other agents' positions (and velocities) within the MAS. Finally, we conduct simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed theoretical results.

Authors:Saman Mehrnia, Hui Song, Nameer Al Khafaf, Mahdi Jalili, Lasantha Meegahapola, Brendan McGrath
Title: Coordinated Battery Electric Vehicle Charging Scheduling across Multiple Charging Stations
Abstract:
The uptake of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) is increasing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. The rapid adoption of BEVs depends significantly on the coordinated charging/discharging infrastructure. Without it, uncontrolled and erratic charging patterns could lead to increased power losses and voltage fluctuations beyond acceptable thresholds. BEV charge scheduling presents a multi-objective optimization (MOO) challenge, demanding a balance between minimizing network impact and maximizing the benefits for electric vehicle charging station (EVCS) operators and BEV owners. In this paper, we develop an MOO framework incorporating a carbon emission program and a dynamic economic dispatch problem, allowing BEV users to respond by charging and discharging through grid-to-vehicle (G2V) and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technologies according to the optimal electricity price and compensation. Furthermore, we integrate dynamic economic dispatch with time-of-use tariffs to obtain optimal market electricity prices and reduce total costs over 24 hours. Our experimental results on a sample network show that the proposed scheduling increases participation in V2G services by over 10%, increases EVCS benefits by over 20%, and reduces network losses. Furthermore, increased rates of charging/discharging, coupled with more significant carbon revenue benefits for BEV users and EVCS, contribute to better offsetting battery degradation costs.

Authors:Andrea Vaiuso, Gabriele Immordino, Ludovica Onofri, Giuliano Coppotelli, Marcello Righi
Title: Methods for Multi-objective Optimization PID Controller for quadrotor UAVs
Abstract:
Integrating unmanned aerial vehicles into daily use requires controllers that ensure stable flight, efficient energy use, and reduced noise. Proportional integral derivative controllers remain standard but are highly sensitive to gain selection, with manual tuning often yielding suboptimal trade-offs. This paper studies different optimization techniques for the automated tuning of quadrotor proportional integral derivative gains under a unified simulation that couples a blade element momentum based aerodynamic model with a fast deep neural network surrogate, six degrees of freedom rigid body dynamics, turbulence, and a data driven acoustic surrogate model that predicts third octave spectra and propagates them to ground receivers. We compare three families of gradient-free optimizers: metaheuristics, Bayesian optimization, and deep reinforcement learning. Candidate controllers are evaluated using a composite cost function that incorporates multiple metrics, such as noise footprint and power consumption, simultaneously. Metaheuristics improve performance consistently, with Grey Wolf Optimization producing optimal results. Bayesian optimization is sample efficient but carries higher per iteration overhead and depends on the design domain. The reinforcement learning agents do not surpass the baseline in the current setup, suggesting the problem formulation requires further refinement. On unseen missions the best tuned controller maintains accurate tracking while reducing oscillations, power demand, and acoustic emissions. These results show that noise aware proportional integral derivative tuning through black box search can deliver quieter and more efficient flight without hardware changes.

Authors:Alireza Naderi Akhormeh, Amr Hegazy, Amr Alanwar
Title: Online Data-Driven Reachability Analysis using Zonotopic Recursive Least Squares
Abstract:
Reachability analysis is a key formal verification technique for ensuring the safety of modern cyber physical systems subject to uncertainties in measurements, system models (parameters), and inputs. Classical model-based approaches rely on accurate prior knowledge of system dynamics, which may not always be available or reliable. To address this, we present a data-driven reachability analysis framework that computes over-approximations of reachable sets directly from online state measurements. The method estimates time-varying unknown models using an Exponentially Forgetting Zonotopic Recursive Least Squares (EF ZRLS) method, which processes data corrupted by bounded noise. Specifically, a time-varying set of models that contains the true model of the system is estimated recursively, and then used to compute the forward reachable sets under process noise and uncertain inputs. Our approach applies to both discrete-time Linear Time Varying (LTV) and nonlinear Lipschitz systems. Compared to existing techniques, it produces less conservative reachable set over approximations, remains robust under slowly varying dynamics, and operates solely on real-time data without requiring any pre-recorded offline experiments. Numerical simulations and real-world experiments validate the effectiveness and practical applicability of the proposed algorithms.

Authors:Dylan James-Kavanaugh, Patrick McNamee, Qixu Wang, Zahra Nili Ahmadabadi
Title: Servos for Local Map Exploration Onboard Nonholonomic Vehicles for Extremum Seeking
Abstract:
Extremum seeking control (ESC) often employs perturbation-based estimates of derivatives for some sensor field or cost function. These estimates are generally obtained by simply multiplying the output of a single-unit sensor by some time-varying function. Previous work has focused on sinusoidal perturbations to generate derivative estimates with results for arbitrary order derivatives of scalar maps or higher up to third-order derivatives of multivariable maps. This work extends the perturbations from sinusoidal to bounded periodic or almost periodic functions and considers multivariable maps. A necessary and sufficient condition is given for determining if time-varying functions exist for estimating arbitrary order derivatives of multivariable maps for any given bounded periodic or almost periodic dither signal. These results are then used in a source seeking controller for a nonholonomic vehicle with a sensor actuated by servo. The conducted simulation and real-world experiments demonstrate that by distributing the local map exploration to a servo, the nonholonomic vehicle was able to achieve a faster convergence to the source.

Authors:Karan Mukhi, Alessandro Abate
Title: Polymatroidal Representations of Aggregate EV Flexibility Considering Network Constraints
Abstract:
The increasing penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) introduces significant flexibility potential to power systems. However, uncoordinated or synchronous charging can lead to overloading of distribution networks. Extending recent approaches that utilize generalized polymatroids, a family of polytopes, to represent the aggregate flexibility of EV populations, we show how to integrate network constraints into this representation to obtain network-constrained aggregate flexibility sets. Furthermore, we demonstrate how to optimize over these network-constrained aggregate flexibility sets, and propose a disaggregation procedure that maps an aggregate load profile to individual EV dispatch instructions, while respecting both device-level and network constraints.

Authors:Huiling Liu, Junshan Luo, Shilian Wang, Fanggang Wang, Theodoros A. Tsiftsis, Symeon Chatzinotas
Title: Secure Short-Packet Communications for RIS-Assisted AAV Networks
Abstract:
Advancements toward 6G have intensified demands for ultra-reliable low-latency communication, positioning shortpacket communications as a critical technology for autonomous aerial vehicle (AAV) networks. However, the open broadcast nature introduces significant security vulnerabilities. Although physical-layer security offers a low-complexity solution by exploiting wireless channel randomness, the AAV communication performance severely degrades in weak-coverage or non-line-of sight scenarios. To overcome these limitations, this paper proposes a short-packet communications framework for AAV networks that leverages reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) with the aim of extending coverage and enhancing secrecy capabilities. Analytical frameworks are developed to evaluate the average secrecy throughput (AST) in finite blocklength constraints for both external and internal avesdropping scenarios, which incorporates non-orthogonal multiple access with imperfect successive interference cancellation. Asymptotic approximations of AST are derived as transmit power approaches infinity. Furthermore, we formulate a blocklength optimization problem to maximize the AST, effectively resolving the trade-offs among delay, reliability, and secrecy. Extensive simulations validate the analytical frameworks, which reveal that large-scale RIS deployment significantly boosts AST, and the power allocation coefficient exhibits dual effects in the internal eavesdropping scenario. These observations provide useful insights for designing reliable and secure lowlatency AAV communications systems.

Authors:Ali Baheri, David Millard, Alireza Vahid
Title: Geometry-Aware Decentralized Sinkhorn for Wasserstein Barycenters
Abstract:
Distributed systems require fusing heterogeneous local probability distributions into a global summary over sparse and unreliable communication networks. Traditional consensus algorithms, which average distributions in Euclidean space, ignore their inherent geometric structure, leading to misleading results. Wasserstein barycenters offer a geometry-aware alternative by minimizing optimal transport costs, but their entropic approximations via the Sinkhorn algorithm typically require centralized coordination. This paper proposes a fully decentralized Sinkhorn algorithm that reformulates the centralized geometric mean as an arithmetic average in the log-domain, enabling approximation through local gossip protocols. Agents exchange log-messages with neighbors, interleaving consensus phases with local updates to mimic centralized iterations without a coordinator. To optimize bandwidth, we integrate event-triggered transmissions and b-bit quantization, providing tunable trade-offs between accuracy and communication while accommodating asynchrony and packet loss. Under mild assumptions, we prove convergence to a neighborhood of the centralized entropic barycenter, with bias linearly dependent on consensus tolerance, trigger threshold, and quantization error. Complexity scales near-linearly with network size. Simulations confirm near-centralized accuracy with significantly fewer messages, across various topologies and conditions.

Authors:Kamal Fenza, Moussa Labbadi, Mohamed Ouzahra
Title: On Finite- and Fixed-Time Stabilization of Abstract Nonlinear Systems with Well-Posedness Guarantees
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of stabilization for infinite-dimensional systems. In particular, we design nonlinear stabilizers for both linear and nonlinear abstract systems. We focus on two classes of systems: the first class comprises linear abstract systems subject to matched perturbations, while the second class encompasses fully nonlinear abstract systems. Our main objective is to synthesize state-feedback controllers that guarantee finite- or fixed-time stability of the closed-loop system, along with possible estimation of the settling time. For the first class, the presence of persistent perturbations introduces significant challenges in the well-posedness analysis, particularly due to the discontinuous nature of the control law. To address this, we employ maximal monotone operator theory to rigorously establish the existence and uniqueness of solutions, extending classical results from continuous abstract systems. For the second class, which includes nonlinearities, we further show that the proposed feedback law ensures fixed-time stability and well-posedness of the closed-loop system, again using maximal monotone theory. The results provide a unified framework for robust, finite /fixed-time stabilization in the presence of discontinuities and nonlinearities in infinite-dimensional settings.

Authors:Praveen Verma, Di Shi, Yanzhu Ye, Fengyu Wang, Ying Zhang
Title: Impact of Solar Integration on Grid Security: Unveiling Vulnerabilities in Load Redistribution Attacks
Abstract:
Load redistribution (LR) attacks represent a practical and sophisticated form of false data injection (FDI) attacks, where the attacker manipulates grid data to influence economic operations of the grid through misleading security constrained economic dispatch (SCED) decisions. Traditionally, LR attack models operate under the assumption that generator measurements are secure and immune to tampering. However, the increasing integration of solar generation into power grids challenges this assumption, exposing new vulnerabilities. This paper proposes an enhanced load redistribution attack model, addressing new vulnerabilities introduced by the increasing integration of solar generation in power grids. The study demonstrates that manipulating solar generation data significantly disrupts grid economics, with peak impacts during periods of high solar generation.

Authors:Xinan Wang, Di Shi, Fengyu Wang
Title: Real-Time Detection and Tracking of Foreign Object Intrusions in Power Systems via Feature-Based Edge Intelligence
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel three-stage framework for real-time foreign object intrusion (FOI) detection and tracking in power transmission systems. The framework integrates: (1) a YOLOv7 segmentation model for fast and robust object localization, (2) a ConvNeXt-based feature extractor trained with triplet loss to generate discriminative embeddings, and (3) a feature-assisted IoU tracker that ensures resilient multi-object tracking under occlusion and motion. To enable scalable field deployment, the pipeline is optimized for deployment on low-cost edge hardware using mixed-precision inference. The system supports incremental updates by adding embeddings from previously unseen objects into a reference database without requiring model retraining. Extensive experiments on real-world surveillance and drone video datasets demonstrate the framework's high accuracy and robustness across diverse FOI scenarios. In addition, hardware benchmarks on NVIDIA Jetson devices confirm the framework's practicality and scalability for real-world edge applications.

Authors:Sriram S. K. S. Narayanan, Sajad Ahmadi, Javad Mohammadpour Velni, Umesh Vaidya
Title: Safety Critical Model Predictive Control Using Discrete-Time Control Density Functions
Abstract:
This paper presents MPC-CDF, a new approach integrating control density functions (CDFs) within a model predictive control (MPC) framework to ensure safety-critical control in nonlinear dynamical systems. By using the dual formulation of the navigation problem, we incorporate CDFs into the MPC framework, ensuring both convergence and safety in a discrete-time setting. These density functions are endowed with a physical interpretation, where the associated measure signifies the occupancy of system trajectories. Leveraging this occupancy-based perspective, we synthesize safety-critical controllers using the proposed MPC-CDF framework. We illustrate the safety properties of this framework using a unicycle model and compare it with a control barrier function-based method. The efficacy of this approach is demonstrated in the autonomous safe navigation of an underwater vehicle, which avoids complex and arbitrary obstacles while achieving the desired level of safety.

Authors:Dimitri Jacquemont, Carlo Bosio, Teaya Yang, Ruiqi Zhang, Ozgur Orun, Shuai Li, Reza Alam, Thomas M. Schutzius, Simo A. Makiharju, Mark W. Mueller
Title: Autonomous Close-Proximity Photovoltaic Panel Coating Using a Quadcopter
Abstract:
Photovoltaic (PV) panels are becoming increasingly widespread in the domain of renewable energy, and thus, small efficiency gains can have massive effects. Anti-reflective and self-cleaning coatings enhance panel performance but degrade over time, requiring periodic reapplication. Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer a flexible and autonomous way to apply protective coatings more often and at lower cost compared to traditional manual coating methods. In this letter, we propose a quadcopter-based system, equipped with a liquid dispersion mechanism, designed to automate such tasks. The localization stack only uses onboard sensors, relying on visual-inertial odometry and the relative position of the PV panel detected with respect to the quadcopter. The control relies on a model-based controller that accounts for the ground effect and the mass decrease of the quadcopter during liquid dispersion. We validate the autonomy capabilities of our system through extensive indoor and outdoor experiments.

Authors:Seungyeop Han, Zachary Grieser, Shoji Yoshikawa, Takumi Noro, Takumi Suda, Koki Ho
Title: Analysis and Design of Spare Strategy for Large-Scale Satellite Constellation Using Direct Insertion under (r,q) Policy
Abstract:
This paper introduces a Markov chain-based approach for the analysis and optimization of spare-management policies in large-scale satellite constellations. Focusing on the direct strategy, we model spare replenishment as a periodic-review reorder-point/order-quantity policy, where spares are deployed directly to constellation planes. The stochastic behavior of satellite failures and launch vehicle lead times is captured through Markov representations of both failure and replenishment dynamics. Based on this efficient and accurate framework, we construct and solve an optimization problem aimed at minimizing operational costs. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through a case study using a real-world mega-constellation.

Authors:Muhammad M. Roomi, Suhail S. M. Hussain, Daisuke Mashima
Title: SG-ML: Smart Grid Cyber Range Modelling Language
Abstract:
This work provides a detailed specification of the Smart Grid Modelling Language (SG-ML), which is designed for the automated generation of smart grid cyber ranges. SG-ML is defined as a set of XML schemas that describe a smart grid's configuration in both machine-readable and human-friendly ways, thereby bridging the gap between system modelling and automated deployment. Unlike prior ad-hoc approaches to cyber range design, SG-ML provides a unified methodology that integrates both power system and cyber network representations. The SG-ML model can be customized by users to meet specific requirements, such as emulating physical or cyber topologies and configuring network devices. An SG-ML Processor then parses this configured model to instantiate the cyber range environment. The modelling language leverages established standards like the IEC 61850 Substation Configuration Language (SCL) and IEC 61131 PLCopen XML to define power system topology, cyber network topology, and device configurations. This approach allows for the reuse of existing assets, reducing the effort needed to create the SG-ML model. To address gaps not covered by these standards such as attack injection parameters, scenario-specific metadata, and additional network constraints, SG-ML introduces proprietary schemas that complement standard models. Overall, SG-ML enables reproducible, scalable, and automated generation of realistic smart grid cyber ranges for research, training, and security assessment.

Authors:Oluwaseyi Giwa, Michael Adewole, Tobi Awodumila, Pelumi Aderinto
Title: The LLM as a Network Operator: A Vision for Generative AI in the 6G Radio Access Network
Abstract:
The management of future AI-native Next-Generation (NextG) Radio Access Networks (RANs), including 6G and beyond, presents a challenge of immense complexity that exceeds the capabilities of traditional automation. In response, we introduce the concept of the LLM-RAN Operator. In this paradigm, a Large Language Model (LLM) is embedded into the RAN control loop to translate high-level human intents into optimal network actions. Unlike prior empirical studies, we present a formal framework for an LLM-RAN operator that builds on earlier work by making guarantees checkable through an adapter aligned with the Open RAN (O-RAN) standard, separating strategic LLM-driven guidance in the Non-Real-Time (RT) RAN intelligent controller (RIC) from reactive execution in the Near-RT RIC, including a proposition on policy expressiveness and a theorem on convergence to stable fixed points. By framing the problem with mathematical rigor, our work provides the analytical tools to reason about the feasibility and stability of AI-native RAN control. It identifies critical research challenges in safety, real-time performance, and physical-world grounding. This paper aims to bridge the gap between AI theory and wireless systems engineering in the NextG era, aligning with the AI4NextG vision to develop knowledgeable, intent-driven wireless networks that integrate generative AI into the heart of the RAN.

Authors:Peng Zhou, Jiaming Qi, Hongmin Wu, Chen Wang, Yizhou Chen, Zeqing Zhang
Title: BagIt! An Adaptive Dual-Arm Manipulation of Fabric Bags for Object Bagging
Abstract:
Bagging tasks, commonly found in industrial scenarios, are challenging considering deformable bags' complicated and unpredictable nature. This paper presents an automated bagging system from the proposed adaptive Structure-of-Interest (SOI) manipulation strategy for dual robot arms. The system dynamically adjusts its actions based on real-time visual feedback, removing the need for pre-existing knowledge of bag properties. Our framework incorporates Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM) for estimating SOI states, optimization techniques for SOI generation, motion planning via Constrained Bidirectional Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (CBiRRT), and dual-arm coordination using Model Predictive Control (MPC). Extensive experiments validate the capability of our system to perform precise and robust bagging across various objects, showcasing its adaptability. This work offers a new solution for robotic deformable object manipulation (DOM), particularly in automated bagging tasks. Video of this work is available at https://youtu.be/6JWjCOeTGiQ.

Authors:Maryam Ansarifard, Mostafa Rahmani, Mohit K. Sharma, Kishor C. Joshi, George Exarchakos, Alister Burr
Title: CSI Compression Beyond Latents: End-to-End Hybrid Attention-CNN Networks with Entropy Regularization
Abstract:
Massive MIMO systems rely on accurate Channel State Information (CSI) feedback to enable high-gain beam-forming. However, the feedback overhead scales linearly with the number of antennas, presenting a major bottleneck. While recent deep learning methods have improved CSI compression, most overlook the impact of quantization and entropy coding, limiting their practical deployability. In this work, we propose an end-to-end CSI compression framework that integrates a Spatial Correlation-Guided Attention Mechanism with quantization and entropy-aware training. Our model effectively exploits the spatial correlation among the antennas, thereby learning compact, entropy-optimized latent representations for efficient coding. This reduces the required feedback bitrates without sacrificing reconstruction accuracy, thereby yielding a superior rate-distortion trade-off. Experiments show that our method surpasses existing end-to-end CSI compression schemes, exceeding benchmark performance by an average of 21.5% on indoor datasets and 18.9% on outdoor datasets. The proposed framework results in a practical and efficient CSI feedback scheme.

Authors:Jiaqin He, Max Malyi, Jonathan Shek
Title: Analysis and Control of Acoustic Emissions from Marine Energy Converters
Abstract:
This study investigates the mitigation of acoustic emissions from tidal current converters (TCCs) through optimized control strategies to enhance power generation efficiency while minimizing environmental impacts on marine life. A MATLAB/Simulink-based model of a Tidal Current Conversion System (TCCS) was developed to simulate the effects of variable control parameters, including switching frequencies, maximum power point tracking (MPPT) coefficients, and the elimination of the gearbox, on underwater noise levels. Acoustic emissions were quantified in terms of sound pressure levels (SPLs), and their potential impacts on marine mammals and fish were evaluated against species-specific auditory thresholds for temporary and permanent hearing threshold shifts. The results indicate that adjusting control parameters can significantly reduce SPLs, with the removal of the gearbox yielding the greatest noise reduction. The study identifies operational conditions under which marine species are at risk of auditory damage and proposes control strategies to mitigate these risks without compromising energy output. These findings contribute to the understanding of how control system modifications can balance the efficiency of marine energy systems with ecological considerations, offering guidance for the design and operation of environmentally compliant TCCs.

Authors:Nirabhra Mandal, Aamodh Suresh, Carlos Nieto-Granda, Sonia Martínez
Title: Behaviorally Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Exploration Using Distributed Task Allocation
Abstract:
We study a problem of multi-agent exploration with behaviorally heterogeneous robots. Each robot maps its surroundings using SLAM and identifies a set of areas of interest (AoIs) or frontiers that are the most informative to explore next. The robots assess the utility of going to a frontier using Behavioral Entropy (BE) and then determine which frontier to go to via a distributed task assignment scheme. We convert the task assignment problem into a non-cooperative game and use a distributed algorithm (d-PBRAG) to converge to the Nash equilibrium (which we show is the optimal task allocation solution). For unknown utility cases, we provide robust bounds using approximate rewards. We test our algorithm (which has less communication cost and fast convergence) in simulation, where we explore the effect of sensing radii, sensing accuracy, and heterogeneity among robotic teams with respect to the time taken to complete exploration and path traveled. We observe that having a team of agents with heterogeneous behaviors is beneficial.

Authors:Ruijie Du, Ruoyu Lin, Yanning Shen, Magnus Egerstedt
Title: Online Learning and Coverage of Unknown Fields Using Random-Feature Gaussian Processes
Abstract:
This paper proposes a framework for multi-robot systems to perform simultaneous learning and coverage of the domain of interest characterized by an unknown and potentially time-varying density function. To overcome the limitations of Gaussian Process (GP) regression, we employ Random Feature GP (RFGP) and its online variant (O-RFGP) that enables online and incremental inference. By integrating these with Voronoi-based coverage control and Upper Confidence Bound (UCB) sampling strategy, a team of robots can adaptively focus on important regions while refining the learned spatial field for efficient coverage. Under mild assumptions, we provide theoretical guarantees and evaluate the framework through simulations in time-invariant scenarios. Furthermore, its effectiveness in time-varying settings is demonstrated through additional simulations and a physical experiment.

Authors:Angel L. Cedeño, Rodrigo A. González, Boris I. Godoy, Juan C. Agüero
Title: Filtering in Multivariate Systems with Quantized Measurements using a Gaussian Mixture-Based Indicator Approximation
Abstract:
This work addresses the problem of state estimation in multivariable dynamic systems with quantized outputs, a common scenario in applications involving low-resolution sensors or communication constraints. A novel method is proposed to explicitly construct the probability mass function associated with the quantized measurements by approximating the indicator function of each region defined by the quantizer using Gaussian mixture models. Unlike previous approaches, this technique generalizes to any number of quantized outputs without requiring case-specific numerical solutions, making it a scalable and efficient solution. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed filter achieves high accuracy in state estimation, both in terms of fidelity of the filtering distributions and mean squared error, while maintaining significantly reduced computational cost.

Authors:Alexander Dorsey, Parham Oveissi, Jeffrey D. Barton, Ankit Goel
Title: Swarm-optimized Adaptive Augmentation of Missile Autopilot
Abstract:
This paper considers the problem of optimizing a missile autopilot. In particular, the paper investigates the application of an online learning technique to learn and optimize the gains of a three-loop topology autopilot for a planar missile modeled with nonlinear dynamics and nonlinear aerodynamics forces and moments. The classical autopilot for a missile is based on a three-loop topology, where each loop consists of tunable proportional gains. An adaptive three-loop autopilot is constructed by augmenting the classical autopilot's fixed-gain controllers with a learning-based controller, which is recursively optimized using retrospective cost optimization. Numerical simulations show that online learning improves the tracking performance of the classical autopilot in both nominal and off-nominal interception scenarios.

Authors:Yuezhu Xu, S. Sivaranjani, Vijay Gupta
Title: Learning Neural Koopman Operators with Dissipativity Guarantees
Abstract:
We address the problem of learning a neural Koopman operator model that provides dissipativity guarantees for an unknown nonlinear dynamical system that is known to be dissipative. We propose a two-stage approach. First, we learn an unconstrained neural Koopman model that closely approximates the system dynamics. Then, we minimally perturb the parameters to enforce strict dissipativity. Crucially, we establish theoretical guarantees that extend the dissipativity properties of the learned model back to the original nonlinear system. We realize this by deriving an exact relationship between the dissipativity of the learned model and the true system through careful characterization of the identification errors from the noisy data, Koopman operator truncation, and generalization to unseen data. We demonstrate our approach through simulation on a Duffing oscillator model.

Authors:Sajad Ahmadi, Hossein Nejatbakhsh Esfahani, Javad Mohammadpour Velni
Title: Safe Robust Predictive Control-based Motion Planning of Automated Surface Vessels in Inland Waterways
Abstract:
Deploying self-navigating surface vessels in inland waterways offers a sustainable alternative to reduce road traffic congestion and emissions. However, navigating confined waterways presents unique challenges, including narrow channels, higher traffic density, and hydrodynamic disturbances. Existing methods for autonomous vessel navigation often lack the robustness or precision required for such environments. This paper presents a new motion planning approach for Automated Surface Vessels (ASVs) using Robust Model Predictive Control (RMPC) combined with Control Barrier Functions (CBFs). By incorporating channel borders and obstacles as safety constraints within the control design framework, the proposed method ensures both collision avoidance and robust navigation on complex waterways. Simulation results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed method in safely guiding ASVs under realistic conditions, highlighting its improved safety and adaptability compared to the state-of-the-art.

Authors:Sajad Ahmadi, Mohammadreza Davoodi, Javad Mohammadpour Velni
Title: An Adaptive Coverage Control Approach for Multiple Autonomous Off-road Vehicles in Dynamic Agricultural Fields
Abstract:
This paper presents an adaptive coverage control method for a fleet of off-road and Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs) operating in dynamic (time-varying) agricultural environments. Traditional coverage control approaches often assume static conditions, making them unsuitable for real-world farming scenarios where obstacles, such as moving machinery and uneven terrains, create continuous challenges. To address this, we propose a real-time path planning framework that integrates Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for obstacle detection and terrain assessment, allowing UGVs to dynamically adjust their coverage paths. The environment is modeled as a weighted directed graph, where the edge weights are continuously updated based on the UAV observations to reflect obstacle motion and terrain variations. The proposed approach incorporates Voronoi-based partitioning, adaptive edge weight assignment, and cost-based path optimization to enhance navigation efficiency. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in improving path planning, reducing traversal costs, and maintaining robust coverage in the presence of dynamic obstacles and muddy terrains.

Authors:Yuyan Wu, Jiale Zhang, Moon Lee, Cherrelle Smith, Xinyi Li, Ankur Senapati, Pei Zhang, Hae Young Noh
Title: Human Body Weight Estimation Through Music-Induced Bed Vibrations
Abstract:
Rapid and accurate body weight estimation is critical in emergency medical care, as it directly influences treatment decisions, such as drug dosing, defibrillation energy selection, and fluid resuscitation. Traditional methods such as stand-on scales, length-based tapes, or transfer-based weighing scales are often impractical for immobilized patients, inaccurate, or labor-intensive and time-consuming. This paper introduces MelodyBedScale, a non-intrusive and rapid on-bed weight estimation system that leverages bed vibration induced by music. The core insight is that body weight affects the vibration transfer function of the bed-body system, which is captured using vibration sensors placed on opposite sides of the bed. First, we identify weight-sensitive frequency bands and compose clinically acceptable soft, natural music with high signal energy in these frequency bands. This music is then played through a speaker mounted on the bed to induce bed vibrations. Additionally, to efficiently capture the complex weight-vibration relationship with limited data and enhance generalizability to unseen individuals and weights, we theoretically analyze the weight-vibration relationship and integrate the results into the activation functions of the neural network for physics-informed weight regression. We evaluated MelodyBedScale on both wooden and steel beds across 11 participants, achieving a mean absolute error of up to 1.55 kg.

Authors:Arturo Flores Alvarez, Fatemeh Zargarbashi, Havel Liu, Shiqi Wang, Liam Edwards, Jessica Anz, Alex Xu, Fan Shi, Stelian Coros, Dennis W. Hong
Title: Learning to Walk in Costume: Adversarial Motion Priors for Aesthetically Constrained Humanoids
Abstract:
We present a Reinforcement Learning (RL)-based locomotion system for Cosmo, a custom-built humanoid robot designed for entertainment applications. Unlike traditional humanoids, entertainment robots present unique challenges due to aesthetic-driven design choices. Cosmo embodies these with a disproportionately large head (16% of total mass), limited sensing, and protective shells that considerably restrict movement. To address these challenges, we apply Adversarial Motion Priors (AMP) to enable the robot to learn natural-looking movements while maintaining physical stability. We develop tailored domain randomization techniques and specialized reward structures to ensure safe sim-to-real, protecting valuable hardware components during deployment. Our experiments demonstrate that AMP generates stable standing and walking behaviors despite Cosmo's extreme mass distribution and movement constraints. These results establish a promising direction for robots that balance aesthetic appeal with functional performance, suggesting that learning-based methods can effectively adapt to aesthetic-driven design constraints.

Authors:Han Zhang, Bingxin Zhang, Yizhe Zhao, Kun Yang, Guopeng Zhang
Title: Performance Analysis of Pinching-Antenna-Enabled Internet of Things Systems
Abstract:
The pinching-antenna systems (PASS), which activate small dielectric particles along a dielectric waveguide, has recently emerged as a promising paradigm for flexible antenna deployment in next-generation wireless communication networks. While most existing studies assume rectangular indoor layouts with full coverage waveguide, practical deployments may involve geometric constraints, partial coverage, and non-negligible waveguide attenuation. This paper presents the first analytical investigation of PASS in a circular indoor environment, encompassing both full coverage and partial coverage waveguide configurations with/without propagation loss. A unified geometric-propagation framework is developed that jointly captures pinching-antenna placement, Internet of Things (IoT) device location distribution, and waveguide attenuation. Closed-form expressions for the outage probability and average achievable rate are derived for four scenarios, with accuracy validated via extensive Monte-Carlo simulations. The analysis reveals that, under the partial coverage waveguide scenario with propagation loss, the system performance demonstrates a non-monotonic trend with respect to the waveguide length, and the optimal length decreases as the attenuation coefficient increases. Numerical results further quantify the interplay between deployment strategy, waveguide propagation loss, and coverage geometry, offering practical guidelines for performance-oriented PASS design.

Authors:Petar Mlinarić, Serkan Gugercin, Zoran Tomljanović
Title: Optimal Damping for the 1D Wave Equation Using a Single Damper
Abstract:
Vibrational structures are susceptible to catastrophic failures or structural damages when external forces induce resonances or repeated unwanted oscillations. One common mitigation strategy is to use dampers to suppress these disturbances. This leads to the problem of finding optimal damper viscosities and positions for a given vibrational structure. Although extensive research exists for the case of finite-dimensional systems, optimizing damper positions remains challenging due to its discrete nature. To overcome this, we introduce a novel model for the damped wave equation (at the PDE level) with a damper of viscosity $\mathfrak{g}$ at position $\mathfrak{p}$ and develop a system-theoretic input/output-based analysis in the frequency domain. In this system-theoretic formulation, while we consider average displacement as the output, for input (forcing), we analyze two separate cases, namely, the uniform and boundary forcing. For both cases, explicit formulas are derived for the corresponding transfer functions, parametrized by $\mathfrak{p}$ and $\mathfrak{g}$. This explicit parametrization by $\mathfrak{p}$ and $\mathfrak{g}$ facilitates analyzing the optimal damping problem (at the PDE level) using norms such as the $\mathcal{H}_2$ and $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ norms. We also examine limiting cases, such as when the viscosity is very large or when no external damping is present. To illustrate our approach, we present numerical examples, compare different optimization criteria, and discuss the impact of damping parameters on the damped wave equation.

Authors:Zhihao Zhang, Chengyang Peng, Ekim Yurtsever, Keith A. Redmill
Title: Bootstrapping Reinforcement Learning with Sub-optimal Policies for Autonomous Driving
Abstract:
Automated vehicle control using reinforcement learning (RL) has attracted significant attention due to its potential to learn driving policies through environment interaction. However, RL agents often face training challenges in sample efficiency and effective exploration, making it difficult to discover an optimal driving strategy. To address these issues, we propose guiding the RL driving agent with a demonstration policy that need not be a highly optimized or expert-level controller. Specifically, we integrate a rule-based lane change controller with the Soft Actor Critic (SAC) algorithm to enhance exploration and learning efficiency. Our approach demonstrates improved driving performance and can be extended to other driving scenarios that can similarly benefit from demonstration-based guidance.

Authors:Gaia Giubilei, Farah Ben Ayed, Yvonne Sautriot, Aurelio Venditti, Kun Zhang, Sila Deniz Calisgan, Pietro Simeoni, Zhenyun Qian, Matteo Rinaldi
Title: Palladium-Coated Laterally Vibrating Resonators (LVRs) for Hydrogen Sensing
Abstract:
This work presents a novel hydrogen sensor based on 30% scandium-doped aluminum nitride (ScAlN) laterally vibrating resonators (LVRs) functionalized with a palladium (Pd) thin film. The micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) device operates by detecting shifts in resonant frequency resulting from hydrogen absorption in the Pd layer. The sensor demonstrates a high mechanical quality factor (Qm) of 820, an electromechanical coupling coefficient (kt2) of 3.18%, and an enhanced responsivity of 26 Hz/ppm in the low-parts per million (ppm) range, making it highly suitable for hydrogen leak detection. Compared to existing MHz-range technologies, the sensor achieves up to 50x higher sensitivity, while also offering multi-frequency definition in a single lithographic step, minimal footprint, and the highest quality factor among comparable miniaturized platforms.

Authors:Regulo E. Avila-Martinez, Xavier Guillaud, Javier Renedo, Luis Rouco, Aurelio Garcia-Cerrada, Lukas Sigrist
Title: Impact on transient stability of self-synchronisation control strategies in grid-forming VSC-based generators
Abstract:
Grid-forming voltage source converters (GFM-VSCs) are emerging as a solution for integrating renewable energy resources (RERs) into power systems. GFM-VSCs need a self-synchronisation strategy to ensure that all converters and generators in the power system are in synchronism and they reach the same frequency in steady state. The self-synchronisation strategy in GFM-VSCs that has received most attention in previous research is virtual synchronous machine (VSM) control. However, no systematic study of the effects on transient stability of different variants of this strategy has been carried out in previous work. This paper analyses and compares transient stability of four self-synchronisation strategies for GFM-VSCs: VSM without phase-locked loop (PLL), VSM with PLL, VSM without PLL using wash-out filter and integral-proportional (IP) controller. The paper also analyses two different methods that can \color{black} be applied to GFM-VSC self-synchronisation strategies to improve transient stability: the concept of virtual unsaturated active-power controller (VAPC), proposed in previous work, and an algorithm for frequency limitation in the GFM-VSC (FLC), which is proposed in this paper.

Authors:Hesam Mosalli, Amir G. Aghdam
Title: A Distributed Gradient-Based Deployment Strategy for a Network of Sensors with a Probabilistic Sensing Model
Abstract:
This paper presents a distributed gradient-based deployment strategy to maximize coverage in hybrid wireless sensor networks (WSNs) with probabilistic sensing. Leveraging Voronoi partitioning, the overall coverage is reformulated as a sum of local contributions, enabling mobile sensors to optimize their positions using only local information. The strategy adopts the Elfes model to capture detection uncertainty and introduces a dynamic step size based on the gradient of the local coverage, ensuring movements adaptive to regional importance. Obstacle awareness is integrated via visibility constraints, projecting sensor positions to unobstructed paths. A threshold-based decision rule ensures movement occurs only for sufficiently large coverage gains, with convergence achieved when all sensors and their neighbors stop at a local maximum configuration. Simulations demonstrate improved coverage over static deployments, highlighting scalability and practicality for real-world applications.

Authors:Mayur Sawant, Abdelhamid Tayebi
Title: Constrained Stabilization on the n-Sphere with Conic and Star-shaped Constraints
Abstract:
The problem of constrained stabilization on the n-sphere under star-shaped constraints is considered. We propose a control strategy that allows to almost globally steer the state to a desired location while avoiding star-shaped constraints on the n-sphere. Depending on the state's proximity to the unsafe regions, the state is either guided towards the target location along the geodesic connecting the target to the state or steered towards the antipode of a predefined point lying in the interior of the nearest unsafe region. We prove that the target location is almost globally asymptotically stable under the proposed continuous, time-invariant feedback control law. Nontrivial simulation results on the 2-sphere and the 3-sphere demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Authors:Kamal Fenza, Moussa Labbadi, Mohamed Ouzahra
Title: Finite-Time Stabilization of a Class of Nonlinear Systems in Hilbert Space
Abstract:
This paper deals with the finite-time stabilization of a class of nonlinear infinite-dimensional systems. First, we consider a bounded matched perturbation in its linear form. It is shown that by using a set-valued function, both the convergence objective (finite-time) and the rejection of perturbations are achieved. Second, we consider a class of nonlinear systems and design a feedback control that ensures the closed-loop system is finite-time stable. All proofs presented in this paper regarding convergence are based on Lyapunov theory. The existence of solutions to the closed-loop system and its well-posedness are established using maximal monotone theory. To illustrate the applicability of the theoretical results, a heat equation is considered as an application of the main results.

Authors:L. L. T. C. Jansen, E. Petri, M. van Berkel, W. P. M. H. Heemels
Title: Nuclear fusion plasma fuelling with ice pellets using a neuromorphic controller
Abstract:
In reactor-grade tokamaks, pellet injection is the best candidate for core plasma fuelling. However, density control schemes that can handle the hybrid nature of this type of fuelling, i.e., the discrete impact of the pellets on the continuously evolving plasma density, are lacking. This paper proposes a neuromorphic controller, inspired by the integrate-and-fire neuronal model, to address this problem. The overall system is modelled as a hybrid system, and we analyse the proposed controller in closed loop with a single-input single-output linear time-invariant plasma model. The controller generates spikes, representing pellet launches, when the neuron variable reaches a certain threshold. Between the control actions, or spikes, the system evolves in open loop. We establish conditions on the controller variables and minimum actuator speed, depending on the reference value for the desired density, the pellet size and the time-constant of the plasma density, that guarantee a practical stability property for the closed-loop system. The results are illustrated in a numerical example.

Authors:Chao Duan, Adilson E. Motter
Title: Grid congestion stymies climate benefit from U.S. vehicle electrification
Abstract:
Averting catastrophic global warming requires decisive action to decarbonize key sectors. Vehicle electrification, alongside renewable energy integration, is a long-term strategy toward zero carbon emissions. However, transitioning to fully renewable electricity may take decades -- during which electric vehicles may still rely on carbon-intensive electricity. We analyze the critical role of the transmission network in enabling or constraining emissions reduction from U.S. vehicle electrification. Our models reveal that the available transmission capacity severely limits potential CO2 emissions reduction. With adequate transmission, full electrification could nearly eliminate vehicle operational CO2 emissions once renewable generation reaches the existing nonrenewable capacity. In contrast, the current grid would support only a fraction of that benefit. Achieving the full emissions reduction potential of vehicle electrification during this transition will require a moderate but targeted increase in transmission capacity. Our findings underscore the pressing need to enhance transmission infrastructure to unlock the climate benefits of large-scale electrification and renewable integration.

Authors:J. M. Rosito, E. Petri, E. Steur, W. P. M. H. Heemels
Title: Design, Modelling and Analysis of a Bio-inspired Spiking Temperature Regulator
Abstract:
In biology, homeostasis is the process of maintaining a stable internal environment, which is crucial for optimal functioning of organisms. One of the key homeostatic mechanisms is thermoregulation that allows the organism to maintain its core temperature within tight bounds despite being exposed to a wide range of varying external temperatures. Instrumental in thermoregulation is the presence of thermosensitive neurons at multiple places throughout the body, including muscles, the spinal cord, and the brain, which provide spiking sensory signals for the core temperature. In response to these signals, thermoeffectors are activated, creating a negative spiking feedback loop. Additionally, a feedforward signal is provided by warmth and cold-sensitive neurons in the skin, offering a measure for the external temperature. This paper presents an electronic circuit-based architecture design to replicate the biological process of thermoregulation, combined with a formal mathematical analysis. The considered architecture consists of four temperature sensitive neurons and a single actuator, configured in a negative feedback loop with feedforward control. To model the overall system mathematically, hybrid dynamical system descriptions are proposed that are used to analyze and simulate the performance of the design. The analysis and numerical case study illustrate the crucial role of feedforward control in reducing the dependency on the external temperature.

Authors:Pan-Yang Su, Yi Ju, Scott Moura, Shankar Sastry
Title: Two-Stage Mechanism Design for Electric Vehicle Charging with Day-Ahead Reservations
Abstract:
We propose a general two-period model where electrical vehicles (EVs) can reserve charging sessions in the day-ahead market and swap them in the real-time market. Under the model, we explore several candidate mechanisms for running the two markets, compared using several normative properties such as incentive compatibility, efficiency, reservation awareness, and budget balance. Specifically, reservation awareness is the only property coupling the two markets and dictates that an EV will not get a lower utility by joining the real-time market. Focusing on the real-time market, we show that two variants of the classical Vickrey-Clarke-Groves (VCG) mechanism do not satisfy all the proposed properties; specifically, one is not reservation-aware, while the other is not budget-balanced. Moreover, we show that no mechanism satisfies some combinations of the properties. Then, we propose to use a posted-price mechanism to resolve the issue, which turns out to be the dynamic pricing mechanism adopted in many real-world systems. The proposed mechanism has no efficiency guarantee but satisfies all the other properties. To improve efficiency, we propose to use a VCG auction in the day-ahead market that guides the reserve prices in the real-time market. When EVs' valuations in the two markets are highly correlated, the proposed approach results in highly efficient outcomes.

Authors:Ning Yang, Yibo Liu, Shuo Chen, Meng Zhang, Haijun Zhang
Title: Minimizing AoI in Mobile Edge Computing: Nested Index Policy with Preemptive and Non-preemptive Structure
Abstract:
Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) leverages computational heterogeneity between mobile devices and edge nodes to enable real-time applications requiring high information freshness. The Age-of-Information (AoI) metric serves as a crucial evaluator of information timeliness in such systems. Addressing AoI minimization in multi-user MEC environments presents significant challenges due to stochastic computing times. In this paper, we consider multiple users offloading tasks to heterogeneous edge servers in an MEC system, focusing on preemptive and non-preemptive task scheduling mechanisms. The problem is first reformulated as a Restless Multi-Arm Bandit (RMAB) problem, with a multi-layer Markov Decision Process (MDP) framework established to characterize AoI dynamics in the MEC system. Based on the multi-layer MDP, we propose a nested index framework and design a nested index policy with provably asymptotic optimality. This establishes a theoretical framework adaptable to various scheduling mechanisms, achieving efficient optimization through state stratification and index design in both preemptive and non-preemptive modes. Finally, the closed-form of the nested index is derived, facilitating performance trade-offs between computational complexity and accuracy while ensuring the universal applicability of the nested index policy across both scheduling modes. The experimental results show that in non-preemptive scheduling, compared with the benchmark method, the optimality gap is reduced by 25.43%, while in preemptive scheduling, the gap has reduced by 61.84%. As the system scale increases, it asymptotically converges in two scheduling modes and especially provides near-optimal performance in non-preemptive structure.

Authors:Kazi Sifatul Islam, Anandi Dutta, Shivani Mruthyunjaya
Title: Hybrid ML-RL Approach for Smart Grid Stability Prediction and Optimized Control Strategy
Abstract:
Electrical grids are now much more complex due to the rapid integration of distributed generation and alternative energy sources, which makes forecasting grid stability with optimized control a crucial task for operators. Traditional statistical, physics-based, and ML models can learn the pattern of the grid features, but have limitations in optimal strategy control with instability prediction. This work proposes a hybrid ML-RL framework that leverages ML for rapid stability prediction and RL for dynamic control and optimization. The first stage of this study created a baseline that explored the potential of various ML models for stability prediction. Out of them, the stacking classifiers of several fundamental models show a significant performance in classifying the instability, leading to the second stage, where reinforcement learning algorithms (PPO, A2C, and DQN) optimize power control actions. Experimental results demonstrate that the hybrid ML-RL model effectively stabilizes the grid, achieves rapid convergence, and significantly reduces training time. The integration of ML-based stability classification with RL-based dynamic control enhances decision-making efficiency while lowering computational complexity, making it well-suited for real-time smart grid applications.

Authors:Hong-Ye Hu, Abigail McClain Gomez, Liyuan Chen, Aaron Trowbridge, Andy J. Goldschmidt, Zachary Manchester, Frederic T. Chong, Arthur Jaffe, Susanne F. Yelin
Title: Universal Dynamics with Globally Controlled Analog Quantum Simulators
Abstract:
Analog quantum simulators with global control fields have emerged as powerful platforms for exploring complex quantum phenomena. Recent breakthroughs, such as the coherent control of thousands of atoms, highlight the growing potential for quantum applications at scale. Despite these advances, a fundamental theoretical question remains unresolved: to what extent can such systems realize universal quantum dynamics under global control? Here we establish a necessary and sufficient condition for universal quantum computation using only global pulse control, proving that a broad class of analog quantum simulators is, in fact, universal. We further extend this framework to fermionic and bosonic systems, including modern platforms such as ultracold atoms in optical superlattices. Crucially, to connect the theoretical possibility with experimental reality, we introduce a new control technique into the experiment - direct quantum optimal control. This method enables the synthesis of complex effective Hamiltonians and allows us to incorporate realistic hardware constraints. To show its practical power, we experimentally engineer three-body interactions outside the blockade regime and demonstrate topological dynamics on a Rydberg atom array. Using the new control framework, we overcome key experimental challenges, including hardware limitations and atom position fluctuations in the non-blockade regime, by identifying smooth, short-duration pulses that achieve high-fidelity dynamics. Experimental measurements reveal dynamical signatures of symmetry-protected-topological edge modes, confirming both the expressivity and feasibility of our approach. Our work opens a new avenue for quantum simulation beyond native hardware Hamiltonians, enabling the engineering of effective multi-body interactions and advancing the frontier of quantum information processing with globally-controlled analog platforms.

Authors:Marc Seidel, Richard Pates, Frank Allgöwer
Title: Performance analysis for cone-preserving switched systems with constrained switching
Abstract:
This paper studies cone-preserving linear discrete-time switched systems whose switching is governed by an automaton. For this general system class, we present performance analysis conditions for a broadly usable performance measure. In doing so, we generalize several known results for performance and stability analysis for switched and positive switched systems, providing a unifying perspective. We also arrive at novel $\ell_1$-performance analysis conditions for positive switched systems with constrained switching, for which we present an application-motivated numerical example. Further, the cone-preserving perspective provides insights into appropriate Lyapunov function selection.

Authors:Omkar Tupe, Max Hartman, Lav R. Varshney, Saurav Prakash
Title: Federated Nonlinear System Identification
Abstract:
We consider federated learning of linearly-parameterized nonlinear systems. We establish theoretical guarantees on the effectiveness of federated nonlinear system identification compared to centralized approaches, demonstrating that the convergence rate improves as the number of clients increases. Although the convergence rates in the linear and nonlinear cases differ only by a constant, this constant depends on the feature map $ϕ$, which can be carefully chosen in the nonlinear setting to increase excitation and improve performance. We experimentally validate our theory in physical settings where client devices are driven by i.i.d. control inputs and control policies exhibiting i.i.d. random perturbations, ensuring non-active exploration. Experiments use trajectories from nonlinear dynamical systems characterized by real-analytic feature functions, including polynomial and trigonometric components, representative of physical systems including pendulum and quadrotor dynamics. We analyze the convergence behavior of the proposed method under varying noise levels and data distributions. Results show that federated learning consistently improves convergence of any individual client as the number of participating clients increases.

Authors:Abdullah Tokmak, Thomas B. Schön, Dominik Baumann
Title: Towards safe control parameter tuning in distributed multi-agent systems
Abstract:
Many safety-critical real-world problems, such as autonomous driving and collaborative robots, are of a distributed multi-agent nature. To optimize the performance of these systems while ensuring safety, we can cast them as distributed optimization problems, where each agent aims to optimize their parameters to maximize a coupled reward function subject to coupled constraints. Prior work either studies a centralized setting, does not consider safety, or struggles with sample efficiency. Since we require sample efficiency and work with unknown and nonconvex rewards and constraints, we solve this optimization problem using safe Bayesian optimization with Gaussian process regression. Moreover, we consider nearest-neighbor communication between the agents. To capture the behavior of non-neighboring agents, we reformulate the static global optimization problem as a time-varying local optimization problem for each agent, essentially introducing time as a latent variable. To this end, we propose a custom spatio-temporal kernel to integrate prior knowledge. We show the successful deployment of our algorithm in simulations.

Authors:Thomas Krug, Fabian Raisch, Dominik Aimer, Markus Wirnsberger, Ferdinand Sigg, Benjamin Schäfer, Benjamin Tischler
Title: BUILDA: A Thermal Building Data Generation Framework for Transfer Learning
Abstract:
Transfer learning (TL) can improve data-driven modeling of building thermal dynamics. Therefore, many new TL research areas emerge in the field, such as selecting the right source model for TL. However, these research directions require massive amounts of thermal building data which is lacking presently. Neither public datasets nor existing data generators meet the needs of TL research in terms of data quality and quantity. Moreover, existing data generation approaches typically require expert knowledge in building simulation. We present BuilDa, a thermal building data generation framework for producing synthetic data of adequate quality and quantity for TL research. The framework does not require profound building simulation knowledge to generate large volumes of data. BuilDa uses a single-zone Modelica model that is exported as a Functional Mock-up Unit (FMU) and simulated in Python. We demonstrate BuilDa by generating data and utilizing it for pretraining and fine-tuning TL models.

Authors:Zachery Dahm, Vasileios Theos, Konstantinos Vasili, William Richards, Konstantinos Gkouliaras, Stylianos Chatzidakis
Title: A One-Class Explainable AI Framework for Identification of Non-Stationary Concurrent False Data Injections in Nuclear Reactor Signals
Abstract:
The transition of next generation advanced nuclear reactor systems from analog to fully digital instrumentation and control will necessitate robust mechanisms to safeguard against potential data integrity threats. One challenge is the real-time characterization of false data injections, which can mask sensor signals and potentially disrupt reactor control systems. While significant progress has been made in anomaly detection within reactor systems, potential false data injections have been shown to bypass conventional linear time-invariant state estimators and failure detectors based on statistical thresholds. The dynamic, nonlinear, multi-variate nature of sensor signals, combined with inherent noise and limited availability of real-world training data, makes the characterization of such threats and more importantly their differentiation from anticipated process anomalies particularly challenging. In this paper, we present an eXplainable AI (XAI) framework for identifying non-stationary concurrent replay attacks in nuclear reactor signals with minimal training data. The proposed framework leverages progress on recurrent neural networks and residual analysis coupled with a modified SHAP algorithm and rule-based correlations. The recurrent neural networks are trained only on normal operational data while for residual analysis we introduce an adaptive windowing technique to improve detection accuracy. We successfully benchmarked this framework on a real-world dataset from Purdue's nuclear reactor (PUR-1). We were able to detect false data injections with accuracy higher than 0.93 and less than 0.01 false positives, differentiate from expected process anomalies, and to identify the origin of the falsified signals.

Authors:Alireza Nadali, Ashutosh Trivedi, Majid Zamani, Saber Jafarpour
Title: Monotone Neural Control Barrier Certificates
Abstract:
This work presents a neurosymbolic framework for synthesizing and verifying safety controllers in high-dimensional monotone dynamical systems using only linear sample complexity, without requiring explicit models or conservative Lipschitz bounds. The approach combines the expressiveness of neural networks with the rigor of symbolic reasoning via barrier certificates, functional analogs of inductive invariants that formally guarantee safety. Prior data-driven methods often treat dynamics as black-box models, relying on dense state-space discretization or Lipschitz overapproximations, leading to exponential sample complexity. In contrast, monotonicity -- a pervasive structural property in many real-world systems -- provides a symbolic scaffold that simplifies both learning and verification. Exploiting order preservation reduces verification to localized boundary checks, transforming a high-dimensional problem into a tractable, low-dimensional one. Barrier certificates are synthesized using monotone neural networks -- architectures with embedded monotonicity constraints -- trained via gradient-based optimization guided by barrier conditions. This enables scalable, formally sound verification directly from simulation data, bridging black-box learning and formal guarantees within a unified neurosymbolic framework. Empirical results on three large-scale benchmarks -- a 1,000-dimensional freeway traffic model, a 50-dimensional urban traffic network, and a 13,000-dimensional power grid -- demonstrate the scalability and effectiveness of the approach in real-world, safety-critical systems.

Authors:Vishnu Vijay, Kartik A. Pant, Minhyun Cho, Inseok Hwang
Title: A Dynamically Weighted ADMM Framework for Byzantine Resilience
Abstract:
The alternating direction of multipliers method (ADMM) is a popular method to solve distributed consensus optimization utilizing efficient communication among various nodes in the network. However, in the presence of faulty or attacked nodes, even a small perturbation (or sharing false data) during the communication can lead to divergence of the solution. To address this issue, in this work we consider ADMM under the effect of Byzantine threat, where an unknown subset of nodes is subject to Byzantine attacks or faults. We propose Dynamically Weighted ADMM (DW-ADMM), a novel variant of ADMM that uses dynamic weights on the edges of the network, thus promoting resilient distributed optimization. We establish that the proposed method (i) produces a nearly identical solution to conventional ADMM in the error-free case, and (ii) guarantees a bounded solution with respect to the global minimizer, even under Byzantine threat. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm using an illustrative numerical simulation.

Authors:Yizhi Zhou, Jie Xu, Jiawei Xia, Zechen Hu, Weizi Li, Xuan Wang
Title: Robust Online Calibration for UWB-Aided Visual-Inertial Navigation with Bias Correction
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel robust online calibration framework for Ultra-Wideband (UWB) anchors in UWB-aided Visual-Inertial Navigation Systems (VINS). Accurate anchor positioning, a process known as calibration, is crucial for integrating UWB ranging measurements into state estimation. While several prior works have demonstrated satisfactory results by using robot-aided systems to autonomously calibrate UWB systems, there are still some limitations: 1) these approaches assume accurate robot localization during the initialization step, ignoring localization errors that can compromise calibration robustness, and 2) the calibration results are highly sensitive to the initial guess of the UWB anchors' positions, reducing the practical applicability of these methods in real-world scenarios. Our approach addresses these challenges by explicitly incorporating the impact of robot localization uncertainties into the calibration process, ensuring robust initialization. To further enhance the robustness of the calibration results against initialization errors, we propose a tightly-coupled Schmidt Kalman Filter (SKF)-based online refinement method, making the system suitable for practical applications. Simulations and real-world experiments validate the improved accuracy and robustness of our approach.

Authors:Jiawei Zhang, Yifei Zhang, Baozhao Yi, Yao Ren, Qi Jiao, Hanyu Bai, Weiran Jiang, Ziyou Song
Title: Discovery Learning accelerates battery design evaluation
Abstract:
Fast and reliable validation of novel designs in complex physical systems such as batteries is critical to accelerating technological innovation. However, battery research and development remain bottlenecked by the prohibitively high time and energy costs required to evaluate numerous new design candidates, particularly in battery prototyping and life testing. Despite recent progress in data-driven battery lifetime prediction, existing methods require labeled data of target designs to improve accuracy and cannot make reliable predictions until after prototyping, thus falling far short of the efficiency needed to enable rapid feedback for battery design. Here, we introduce Discovery Learning (DL), a scientific machine-learning paradigm that integrates active learning, physics-guided learning, and zero-shot learning into a human-like reasoning loop, drawing inspiration from learning theories in educational psychology. DL can learn from historical battery designs and actively reduce the need for prototyping, thus enabling rapid lifetime evaluation for unobserved material-design combinations without requiring additional data labeling. To test DL, we present 123 industrial-grade large-format lithium-ion pouch cells, spanning eight material-design combinations and diverse cycling protocols. Trained solely on public datasets of small-capacity cylindrical cells, DL achieves 7.2% test error in predicting the average cycle life under unknown device variability. This results in savings of 98% in time and 95% in energy compared to industrial practices. This work highlights the potential of uncovering insights from historical designs to inform and accelerate the development of next-generation battery technologies. DL represents a key advance toward efficient data-driven modeling and helps realize the promise of machine learning for accelerating scientific discovery and engineering innovation.

Authors:Samuel Talkington, Aditya Rangarajan, Pedro A. de Alcântara, Line Roald, Daniel K. Molzahn, Daniel R. Fuhrmann
Title: Error Bounds for Radial Network Topology Learning from Quantized Measurements
Abstract:
We probabilistically bound the error of a solution to a radial network topology learning problem where both connectivity and line parameters are estimated. In our model, data errors are introduced by the precision of the sensors, i.e., quantization. This produces a nonlinear measurement model that embeds the operation of the sensor communication network into the learning problem, expanding beyond the additive noise models typically seen in power system estimation algorithms. We show that the error of a learned radial network topology is proportional to the quantization bin width and grows sublinearly in the number of nodes, provided that the number of samples per node is logarithmic in the number of nodes.

Authors:David Atienza, Kai Zhu, Darong Huang, Luis Costero
Title: A 20-Year Retrospective on Power and Thermal Modeling and Management
Abstract:
As processor performance advances, increasing power densities and complex thermal behaviors threaten both energy efficiency and system reliability. This survey covers more than two decades of research on power and thermal modeling and management in modern processors. We start by comparing analytical, regression-based, and neural network-based techniques for power estimation, then review thermal modeling methods, including finite element, finite difference, and data-driven approaches. Next, we categorize dynamic runtime management strategies that balance performance, power consumption, and reliability. Finally, we conclude with a discussion of emerging challenges and promising research directions.

Authors:Haojie Bai, Jiping Luo, Huafu Li, Xiongwei Zhao, Yang Wang
Title: A Robust Cooperative Vehicle Coordination Framework for Intersection Crossing
Abstract:
Cooperative vehicle coordination at unsignalized intersections has garnered significant interest from both academia and industry in recent years, highlighting its notable advantages in improving traffic throughput and fuel efficiency. However, most existing studies oversimplify the coordination system, assuming accurate vehicle state information and ideal state update process. The oversights pose driving risks in the presence of state uncertainty and communication constraint. To address this gap, we propose a robust and comprehensive intersection coordination framework consisting of a robust cooperative trajectory planner and a context-aware status update scheduler. The trajectory planner directly controls the evolution of the trajectory distributions during frequent vehicle interactions, thereby offering probabilistic safety guarantees. To further align with coordination safety in practical bandwidth-limited conditions, we propose a context-aware status update scheduler that dynamically prioritizes the state updating order of vehicles based on their driving urgency. Simulation results validate the robustness and effectiveness of the proposed coordination framework, showing that the collision probability can be significantly reduced while maintaining comparable coordination efficiency to state-of-theart strategies. Moreover, our proposed framework demonstrates superior effectiveness in utilizing wireless resources in practical uncertain and bandwidth-limited conditions.

Authors:Colby Fronk, Linda Petzold
Title: The Vanishing Gradient Problem for Stiff Neural Differential Equations
Abstract:
Gradient-based optimization of neural differential equations and other parameterized dynamical systems fundamentally relies on the ability to differentiate numerical solutions with respect to model parameters. In stiff systems, it has been observed that sensitivities to parameters controlling fast-decaying modes become vanishingly small during training, leading to optimization difficulties. In this paper, we show that this vanishing gradient phenomenon is not an artifact of any particular method, but a universal feature of all A-stable and L-stable stiff numerical integration schemes. We analyze the rational stability function for general stiff integration schemes and demonstrate that the relevant parameter sensitivities, governed by the derivative of the stability function, decay to zero for large stiffness. Explicit formulas for common stiff integration schemes are provided, which illustrate the mechanism in detail. Finally, we rigorously prove that the slowest possible rate of decay for the derivative of the stability function is $O(|z|^{-1})$, revealing a fundamental limitation: all A-stable time-stepping methods inevitably suppress parameter gradients in stiff regimes, posing a significant barrier for training and parameter identification in stiff neural ODEs.

Authors:Young-ho Cho, Hao Zhu, Duehee Lee, Ross Baldick
Title: Wind Power Scenario Generation based on the Generalized Dynamic Factor Model and Generative Adversarial Network
Abstract:
For conducting resource adequacy studies, we synthesize multiple long-term wind power scenarios of distributed wind farms simultaneously by using the spatio-temporal features: spatial and temporal correlation, waveforms, marginal and ramp rates distributions of waveform, power spectral densities, and statistical characteristics. Generating the spatial correlation in scenarios requires the design of common factors for neighboring wind farms and antithetical factors for distant wind farms. The generalized dynamic factor model (GDFM) can extract the common factors through cross spectral density analysis, but it cannot closely imitate waveforms. The GAN can synthesize plausible samples representing the temporal correlation by verifying samples through a fake sample discriminator. To combine the advantages of GDFM and GAN, we use the GAN to provide a filter that extracts dynamic factors with temporal information from the observation data, and we then apply this filter in the GDFM to represent both spatial and frequency correlations of plausible waveforms. Numerical tests on the combination of GDFM and GAN have demonstrated performance improvements over competing alternatives in synthesizing wind power scenarios from Australia, better realizing plausible statistical characteristics of actual wind power compared to alternatives such as the GDFM with a filter synthesized from distributions of actual dynamic filters and the GAN with direct synthesis without dynamic factors.

Authors:Hong-Cheng Liang, Man-Wai Mak, Kong Aik Lee
Title: Subband Architecture Aided Selective Fixed-Filter Active Noise Control
Abstract:
The feedforward selective fixed-filter method selects the most suitable pre-trained control filter based on the spectral features of the detected reference signal, effectively avoiding slow convergence in conventional adaptive algorithms. However, it can only handle limited types of noises, and the performance degrades when the input noise exhibits non-uniform power spectral density. To address these limitations, this paper devises a novel selective fixed-filter scheme based on a delayless subband structure. In the off-line training stage, subband control filters are pre-trained for different frequency ranges and stored in a dedicated sub-filter database. During the on-line control stage, the incoming noise is decomposed using a polyphase FFT filter bank, and a frequency-band-matching mechanism assigns each subband signal the most appropriate control filter. Subsequently, a weight stacking technique is employed to combine all subband weights into a fullband filter, enabling real-time noise suppression. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed scheme provides fast convergence, effective noise reduction, and strong robustness in handling more complicated noisy environments.

Authors:Samuel Teuber, Debasmita Lohar, Bernhard Beckert
Title: Of Good Demons and Bad Angels: Guaranteeing Safe Control under Finite Precision
Abstract:
As neural networks (NNs) become increasingly prevalent in safety-critical neural network-controlled cyber-physical systems (NNCSs), formally guaranteeing their safety becomes crucial. For these systems, safety must be ensured throughout their entire operation, necessitating infinite-time horizon verification. To verify the infinite-time horizon safety of NNCSs, recent approaches leverage Differential Dynamic Logic (dL). However, these dL-based guarantees rely on idealized, real-valued NN semantics and fail to account for roundoff errors introduced by finite-precision implementations. This paper bridges the gap between theoretical guarantees and real-world implementations by incorporating robustness under finite-precision perturbations -- in sensing, actuation, and computation -- into the safety verification. We model the problem as a hybrid game between a good Demon, responsible for control actions, and a bad Angel, introducing perturbations. This formulation enables formal proofs of robustness w.r.t. a given (bounded) perturbation. Leveraging this bound, we employ state-of-the-art mixed-precision fixed-point tuners to synthesize sound and efficient implementations, thus providing a complete end-to-end solution. We evaluate our approach on case studies from the automotive and aeronautics domains, producing efficient NN implementations with rigorous infinite-time horizon safety guarantees.

Authors:Mushuang Liu, Yan Wan, Frank Lewis, Subramanya Nageshrao, H. Eric Tseng, Dimitar Filev
Title: Hierarchical Game-Based Multi-Agent Decision-Making for Autonomous Vehicles
Abstract:
This paper develops a game-theoretic decision-making framework for autonomous driving in multi-agent scenarios. A novel hierarchical game-based decision framework is developed for the ego vehicle. This framework features an interaction graph, which characterizes the interaction relationships between the ego and its surrounding traffic agents (including AVs, human driven vehicles, pedestrians, and bicycles, and others), and enables the ego to smartly select a limited number of agents as its game players. Compared to the standard multi-player games, where all surrounding agents are considered as game players, the hierarchical game significantly reduces the computational complexity. In addition, compared to pairwise games, the most popular approach in the literature, the hierarchical game promises more efficient decisions for the ego (in terms of less unnecessary waiting and yielding). To further reduce the computational cost, we then propose an improved hierarchical game, which decomposes the hierarchical game into a set of sub-games. Decision safety and efficiency are analyzed in both hierarchical games. Comprehensive simulation studies are conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed frameworks, with an intersection-crossing scenario as a case study.

Authors:Shiva Raja, Cansu Demirkiran, Aakash Sarkar, Milos Popovic, Ajay Joshi
Title: Systolic Array-based Accelerator for Structured State-Space Models
Abstract:
Sequence modeling is crucial for AI to understand temporal data and detect complex time-dependent patterns. While recurrent neural networks (RNNs), convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and Transformers have advanced in capturing long-range dependencies, they struggle with achieving high accuracy with very long sequences due to limited memory retention (fixed context window). State-Space Models (SSMs) leverage exponentially decaying memory enabling lengthy context window and so they process very long data sequences more efficiently than recurrent and Transformer-based models. Unlike traditional neural models like CNNs and RNNs, SSM-based models require solving differential equations through continuous integration, making training and inference both compute- and memory-intensive on conventional CPUs and GPUs. In this paper we introduce a specialized hardware accelerator, EpochCore, for accelerating SSMs. EpochCore is based on systolic arrays (SAs) and is designed to enhance the energy efficiency and throughput of inference of SSM-based models for long-range sequence tasks. Within the SA, we propose a versatile processing element (PE) called LIMA-PE to perform traditional and specialized MAC operations to support traditional DNNs and SSMs. To complement the EpochCore microarchitecture, we propose a novel dataflow, ProDF, which enables highly efficient execution of SSM-based models. By leveraging the LIMA-PE microarchitecture and ProDF, EpochCore achieves on average 2000x improvement in performance on LRA datasets compared to a GPU and 250x gains in performance and 45x improvement in energy efficiency, over traditional SA-based accelerators (TPU).

Authors:Samuel Talkington, Daniel K. Molzahn
Title: VArsity: Can Large Language Models Keep Power Engineering Students in Phase?
Abstract:
This paper provides an educational case study regarding our experience in deploying ChatGPT Large Language Models (LLMs) in the Spring 2025 and Fall 2023 offerings of ECE 4320: Power System Analysis and Control at Georgia Tech. As part of course assessments, students were tasked with identifying, explaining, and correcting errors in the ChatGPT outputs corresponding to power factor correction problems. While most students successfully identified the errors in the outputs from the GPT-4 version of ChatGPT used in Fall 2023, students found the errors from the ChatGPT o1 version much more difficult to identify in Spring 2025. As shown in this case study, the role of LLMs in pedagogy, assessment, and learning in power engineering classrooms is an important topic deserving further investigation.

Authors:Arash Bahari Kordabad, Rupak Majumdar, Harshit Jitendra Motwani, Sadegh Soudjani
Title: On Certificates for Almost Sure Reachability in Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
Almost sure reachability refers to the property of a stochastic system whereby, from any initial condition, the system state reaches a given target set with probability one. In this paper, we study the problem of certifying almost sure reachability in discrete-time stochastic systems using drift and variant conditions. While these conditions are both necessary and sufficient in theory, computational approaches often rely on restricting the search to fixed templates, such as polynomial or quadratic functions. We show that this restriction compromises completeness: there exists a polynomial system for which a given target set is almost surely reachable but admits no polynomial certificate, and a linear system for which a neighborhood of the origin is almost surely reachable but admits no quadratic certificate. We then provide a complete characterization of reachability certificates for linear systems with additive noise. Our analysis yields conditions on the system matrices under which valid certificates exist, and shows how the structure and dimension of the system determine the need for non-quadratic templates. Our results generalize the classical random walk behavior to a broader class of stochastic dynamical systems.

Authors:Ethan Foss, Yuji Takubo, Simone D'Amico
Title: Long-Duration Station-Keeping Strategy for Cislunar Spacecraft Formations
Abstract:
This paper demonstrates a novel guidance and control strategy for cislunar near-rectilinear halo orbit formation-keeping applied to high-fidelity dynamics. Bounded relative motion is constructed about long-duration ephemeris trajectories with osculating invariant circles to form quasi-periodic relative orbits. State-of-the-art absolute control strategies are paired with a simple and effective relative control feedback law. Finally, a control barrier function is implemented to ensure recursively passively-safe bounded relative motion under feedback in the presence of possible missed maneuver events for the duration of the formation flight. The strategy is verified in high-fidelity simulation environments through Monte Carlo trials.

Authors:Emir Cem Gezer, Roger Skjetne
Title: Maneuvering-based Dynamic Thrust Allocation for Fully-Actuated Vessels
Abstract:
This paper introduces a new approach to solving the thrust allocation problem using the maneuvering problem in the maritime domain for fully actuated vessels. The method uses a control Lyapunov function to create a nonlinear reference filter for the thruster forces. The filter ensures dynamic tracking of the optimal thrust allocation solution with rate limitation in the output thruster references. It further uses control barrier functions to ensure that the thruster force saturation limits are respected. The approach aims for simplicity and effectiveness, as well as smooth and dynamic thruster reference signals, in the implementation of thrust allocation for marine vessels.

Authors:Muhammad M. Roomi, S. M. Suhail Hussain, Ee-Chien Chang, David M. Nicol, Daisuke Mashima
Title: Auto-SGCR: Automated Generation of Smart Grid Cyber Range Using IEC 61850 Standard Models
Abstract:
Digitalization of power grids have made them increasingly susceptible to cyber-attacks in the past decade. Iterative cybersecurity testing is indispensable to counter emerging attack vectors and to ensure dependability of critical infrastructure. Furthermore, these can be used to evaluate cybersecurity configuration, effectiveness of the cybersecurity measures against various attack vectors, as well as to train smart grid cybersecurity experts defending the system. Enabling extensive experiments narrows the gap between academic research and production environment. A high-fidelity cyber range is vital as it is often infeasible to conduct such experiments and training using production environment. However, the design and implementation of cyber range requires extensive domain knowledge of physical and cyber aspect of the infrastructure. Furthermore, costs incurred for setup and maintenance of cyber range are significant. Moreover, most existing smart grid cyber ranges are designed as a one-off, proprietary system, and are limited in terms of configurability, accessibility, portability, and reproducibility. To address these challenges, an automated Smart grid Cyber Range generation framework is presented in this paper. Initially a human-/machine-friendly, XML-based modeling language called Smart Grid Modeling Language was defined, which incorporates IEC 61850 System Configuration Language files. Subsequently, a toolchain to parse SG-ML model files and automatically instantiate a functional smart grid cyber range was developed. The developed SG-ML models can be easily shared and/or modified to reproduce or customize for any cyber range. The application of Auto-SGCR is demonstrated through case studies with large-scale substation models. The toolchain along with example SG-ML models have been open-sourced.

Authors:Jiayu Ding, Benjamin Seleb, Heather J. Huson, Saad Bhamla, Zhenyu Gan
Title: Gait Transitions in Load-Pulling Quadrupeds: Insights from Sled Dogs and a Minimal SLIP Model
Abstract:
Quadrupedal animals employ diverse galloping strategies to optimize speed, stability, and energy efficiency. However, the biomechanical mechanisms that enable adaptive gait transitions during high-speed locomotion under load remain poorly understood. In this study, we present new empirical and modeling insights into the biomechanics of load-pulling quadrupeds, using sprint sled dogs as a model system. High-speed video and force recordings reveal that sled dogs often switch between rotary and transverse galloping gaits within just a few strides and without any observable changes in speed, stride duration, or terrain, providing clear evidence of locomotor multistability during high-speed load-pulling. To investigate the mechanical basis of these transitions, a physics-based quadrupedal Spring-Loaded Inverted Pendulum model with hybrid dynamics and prescribed footfall sequences to reproduce the asymmetric galloping patterns observed in racing sled dogs. Through trajectory optimization, we replicate experimentally observed gait sequences and identify swing-leg stiffness modulation as a key control mechanism for inducing transitions. This work provides a much-needed biomechanical perspective on high-speed animal draft and establishes a modeling framework for studying locomotion in pulling quadrupeds, with implications for both biological understanding and the design of adaptive legged systems.

Authors:Ole Hans, Benedikt Walter
Title: Remote Assistance or Remote Driving: The Impact of Operational Design Domains on ADS-Supporting Systems Selection
Abstract:
High level Automated Driving Systems (ADS) can handle many situations, but they still encounter situations where human intervention is required. In systems where a physical driver is present in the vehicle, typically SAE Level 3 systems, this intervention is relatively straightforward and is handled by the in-vehicle driver. However, the complexity increases for Level 4 systems, where, in most cases, no physical driver remains in the vehicle. The two common industry solutions for this challenge are the integration of a remote support system, such as a Remote Driving System (RDS) or Remote Assistance System (RAS). While it is clear that ADS will require one of these systems, it is less clear how the suitability of either system for a particular ADS application should be evaluated. Currently, the selection process often focuses on system architecture as well as its design and integration challenges. Furthermore, since many ADS developers choose to develop remote system solutions in-house, it is advantageous to select the simpler approach to streamline development and integration efforts. While these decision points are certainly relevant, this approach overlooks the most critical factors: the use cases and the complementarity of the ADS and the remote support system within the context of the Operational Design Design Domain (ODD). This paper proposes a structured approach for selecting between RDS and RAS as an ADS support system, based on the defined ODD and use case analysis. To achieve this, the paper applies the PEGASUS framework to systematically describe and analyze the ODD. A structured framework is introduced to evaluate and select the most suitable remote support system for an ADS based on clearly defined criteria.

Authors:Xu Zhang, Zhenyuan Yuan, Minghui Zhu
Title: Byzantine-resilient federated online learning for Gaussian process regression
Abstract:
In this paper, we study Byzantine-resilient federated online learning for Gaussian process regression (GPR). We develop a Byzantine-resilient federated GPR algorithm that allows a cloud and a group of agents to collaboratively learn a latent function and improve the learning performances where some agents exhibit Byzantine failures, i.e., arbitrary and potentially adversarial behavior. Each agent-based local GPR sends potentially compromised local predictions to the cloud, and the cloud-based aggregated GPR computes a global model by a Byzantine-resilient product of experts aggregation rule. Then the cloud broadcasts the current global model to all the agents. Agent-based fused GPR refines local predictions by fusing the received global model with that of the agent-based local GPR. Moreover, we quantify the learning accuracy improvements of the agent-based fused GPR over the agent-based local GPR. Experiments on a toy example and two medium-scale real-world datasets are conducted to demonstrate the performances of the proposed algorithm.

Authors:Hang Zhou, Tao Meng, Kun Wang, Chengrui Shi, Renhao Mao, Weijia Wang, Jiakun Lei
Title: Spacecraft Safe Robust Control Using Implicit Neural Representation for Geometrically Complex Targets in Proximity Operations
Abstract:
This study addresses the challenge of ensuring safe spacecraft proximity operations, focusing on collision avoidance between a chaser spacecraft and a complex-geometry target spacecraft under disturbances. To ensure safety in such scenarios, a safe robust control framework is proposed that leverages implicit neural representations. To handle arbitrary target geometries without explicit modeling, a neural signed distance function (SDF) is learned from point cloud data via a enhanced implicit geometric regularization method, which incorporates an over-apporximation strategy to create a conservative, safety-prioritized boundary. The target's surface is implicitly defined by the zero-level set of the learned neural SDF, while the values and gradients provide critical information for safety controller design. This neural SDF representation underpins a two-layer hierarchcial safe robust control framework: a safe velocity generation layer and a safe robust controller layer. In the first layer, a second-order cone program is formulated to generate safety-guaranteed reference velocity by explicitly incorporating the under-approximation error bound. Furthermore, a circulation inequality is introduced to mitigate the local minimum issues commonly encountered in control barrier function (CBF) methods. The second layer features an integrated disturbance observer and a smooth safety filter explicitly compensating for estimation error, bolstering robustness to external disturbances. Extensive numerical simulations and Monte Carlo analysis validate the proposed framework, demonstrating significantly improved safety margins and avoidance of local minima compared to conventional CBF approaches.

Authors:Riadul Islam, Dhandeep Challagundla
Title: PGR-DRC: Pre-Global Routing DRC Violation Prediction Using Unsupervised Learning
Abstract:
Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI)-driven electronic design and automation (EDA) tools, high-performance computing, and parallelized algorithms are essential for next-generation microprocessor innovation, ensuring continued progress in computing, AI, and semiconductor technology. Machine learning-based design rule checking (DRC) and lithography hotspot detection can improve first-pass silicon success. However, conventional ML and neural network (NN)-based models use supervised learning and require a large balanced dataset (in terms of positive and negative classes) and training time. This research addresses those key challenges by proposing the first-ever unsupervised DRC violation prediction methodology. The proposed model can be built using any unbalanced dataset using only one class and set a threshold for it, then fitting any new data querying if they are within the boundary of the model for classification. This research verified the proposed model by implementing different computational cores using CMOS 28 nm technology and Synopsys Design Compiler and IC Compiler II tools. Then, layouts were divided into virtual grids to collect about 60k data for analysis and verification. The proposed method has 99.95% prediction test accuracy, while the existing support vector machine (SVM) and neural network (NN) models have 85.44\% and 98.74\% accuracy, respectively. In addition, the proposed methodology has about 26.3x and up to 6003x lower training times compared to SVM and NN-models, respectively.

Authors:Kamal Fenza, Moussa Labbadi, Mohamed Ouzahra
Title: Boundary Feedback and Observer Synthesis for a Class of Nonlinear Parabolic--Elliptic PDE Systems
Abstract:
This paper investigates the stabilization of a coupled system comprising a parabolic PDE and an elliptic PDE with nonlinear terms. A rigorous backstepping design provides an explicit boundary control law and exponentially convergent observers from partial boundary measurements. Several theorems ensure exponential stability and well-posedness of the nonlinear closed-loop system.

Authors:James A. Preiss, Fengze Xie, Yiheng Lin, Adam Wierman, Yisong Yue
Title: Fast Non-Episodic Adaptive Tuning of Robot Controllers with Online Policy Optimization
Abstract:
We study online algorithms to tune the parameters of a robot controller in a setting where the dynamics, policy class, and optimality objective are all time-varying. The system follows a single trajectory without episodes or state resets, and the time-varying information is not known in advance. Focusing on nonlinear geometric quadrotor controllers as a test case, we propose a practical implementation of a single-trajectory model-based online policy optimization algorithm, M-GAPS,along with reparameterizations of the quadrotor state space and policy class to improve the optimization landscape. In hardware experiments,we compare to model-based and model-free baselines that impose artificial episodes. We show that M-GAPS finds near-optimal parameters more quickly, especially when the episode length is not favorable. We also show that M-GAPS rapidly adapts to heavy unmodeled wind and payload disturbances, and achieves similar strong improvement on a 1:6-scale Ackermann-steered car. Our results demonstrate the hardware practicality of this emerging class of online policy optimization that offers significantly more flexibility than classic adaptive control, while being more stable and data-efficient than model-free reinforcement learning.

Authors:Thomas T. Zhang, Daniel Pfrommer, Nikolai Matni, Max Simchowitz
Title: Imitation Learning in Continuous Action Spaces: Mitigating Compounding Error without Interaction
Abstract:
We study the problem of imitating an expert demonstrator in a continuous state-and-action dynamical system. While imitation learning in discrete settings such as autoregressive language modeling has seen immense success and popularity in recent years, imitation in physical settings such as autonomous driving and robot learning has proven comparably more complex due to the compounding errors problem, often requiring elaborate set-ups to perform stably. Recent work has demonstrated that even in benign settings, exponential compounding errors are unavoidable when learning solely from expert-controlled trajectories, suggesting the need for more advanced policy parameterizations or data augmentation. To this end, we present minimal interventions that provably mitigate compounding errors in continuous state-and-action imitation learning. When the system is open-loop stable, we prescribe "action chunking," i.e., predicting and playing sequences of actions in open-loop; when the system is possibly unstable, we prescribe "noise injection," i.e., adding noise during expert demonstrations. These interventions align with popular choices in modern robot learning, though the benefits we derive are distinct from the effects they were designed to target. Our results draw insights and tools from both control theory and reinforcement learning; however, our analysis reveals novel considerations that do not naturally arise when either literature is considered in isolation.

Authors:Andrew Wagenmaker, Zhiyuan Zhou, Sergey Levine
Title: Behavioral Exploration: Learning to Explore via In-Context Adaptation
Abstract:
Developing autonomous agents that quickly explore an environment and adapt their behavior online is a canonical challenge in robotics and machine learning. While humans are able to achieve such fast online exploration and adaptation, often acquiring new information and skills in only a handful of interactions, existing algorithmic approaches tend to rely on random exploration and slow, gradient-based behavior updates. How can we endow autonomous agents with such capabilities on par with humans? Taking inspiration from recent progress on both in-context learning and large-scale behavioral cloning, in this work we propose behavioral exploration: training agents to internalize what it means to explore and adapt in-context over the space of ``expert'' behaviors. To achieve this, given access to a dataset of expert demonstrations, we train a long-context generative model to predict expert actions conditioned on a context of past observations and a measure of how ``exploratory'' the expert's behaviors are relative to this context. This enables the model to not only mimic the behavior of an expert, but also, by feeding its past history of interactions into its context, to select different expert behaviors than what have been previously selected, thereby allowing for fast online adaptation and targeted, ``expert-like'' exploration. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method in both simulated locomotion and manipulation settings, as well as on real-world robotic manipulation tasks, illustrating its ability to learn adaptive, exploratory behavior.

Authors:Siying Li, Lang Tong, Timothy D. Mount
Title: Energy Management for Renewable-Colocated Artificial Intelligence Data Centers
Abstract:
We develop an energy management system (EMS) for artificial intelligence (AI) data centers with colocated renewable generation. Under a cost-minimizing framework, the EMS of renewable-colocated data center (RCDC) co-optimizes AI workload scheduling, on-site renewable utilization, and electricity market participation. Within both wholesale and retail market participation models, the economic benefit of the RCDC operation is maximized. Empirical evaluations using real-world traces of electricity prices, data center power consumption, and renewable generation demonstrate significant electricity cost reduction from renewable and AI data center colocations.

Authors:Mohammad Reza Fasihi, Brian L. Mark
Title: Device-to-Device Communication in 5G/6G: Architectural Foundations and Convergence with Enabling Technologies
Abstract:
Device-to-Device (D2D) communication is a promising solution to meet the growing demands of 5G and future 6G networks by enabling direct communication between user devices. It enhances spectral efficiency (SE) and energy efficiency (EE), reduces latency, and supports proximity-based services. As wireless systems evolve toward 5G and 6G paradigms, the integration of D2D with advanced cellular technologies introduces new opportunities and challenges. This survey paper reviews the architectural foundations of D2D communication and explores its integration with key 5G/6G enabling technologies. We review standardization efforts, analyze core challenges, and highlight future research directions to unlock the full potential of D2D in next-generation wireless networks.

Authors:Shan Shen, Dingcheng Yang, Yuyang Xie, Chunyan Pei, Wenjian Yu, Bei Yu
Title: Deep-Learning-Based Pre-Layout Parasitic Capacitance Prediction on SRAM Designs
Abstract:
To achieve higher system energy efficiency, SRAM in SoCs is often customized. The parasitic effects cause notable discrepancies between pre-layout and post-layout circuit simulations, leading to difficulty in converging design parameters and excessive design iterations. Is it possible to well predict the parasitics based on the pre-layout circuit, so as to perform parasitic-aware pre-layout simulation? In this work, we propose a deep-learning-based 2-stage model to accurately predict these parasitics in pre-layout stages. The model combines a Graph Neural Network (GNN) classifier and Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) regressors, effectively managing class imbalance of the net parasitics in SRAM circuits. We also employ Focal Loss to mitigate the impact of abundant internal net samples and integrate subcircuit information into the graph to abstract the hierarchical structure of schematics. Experiments on 4 real SRAM designs show that our approach not only surpasses the state-of-the-art model in parasitic prediction by a maximum of 19X reduction of error but also significantly boosts the simulation process by up to 598X speedup.

Authors:Shan Shen, Yibin Zhang, Hector Rodriguez Rodriguez, Wenjian Yu
Title: Few-shot Learning on AMS Circuits and Its Application to Parasitic Capacitance Prediction
Abstract:
Graph representation learning is a powerful method to extract features from graph-structured data, such as analog/mixed-signal (AMS) circuits. However, training deep learning models for AMS designs is severely limited by the scarcity of integrated circuit design data. In this work, we present CircuitGPS, a few-shot learning method for parasitic effect prediction in AMS circuits. The circuit netlist is represented as a heterogeneous graph, with the coupling capacitance modeled as a link. CircuitGPS is pre-trained on link prediction and fine-tuned on edge regression. The proposed method starts with a small-hop sampling technique that converts a link or a node into a subgraph. Then, the subgraph embeddings are learned with a hybrid graph Transformer. Additionally, CircuitGPS integrates a low-cost positional encoding that summarizes the positional and structural information of the sampled subgraph. CircuitGPS improves the accuracy of coupling existence by at least 20\% and reduces the MAE of capacitance estimation by at least 0.067 compared to existing methods. Our method demonstrates strong inherent scalability, enabling direct application to diverse AMS circuit designs through zero-shot learning. Furthermore, the ablation studies provide valuable insights into graph models for representation learning.

Authors:Liang Wu, Richard D. Braatz
Title: A Quadratic Programming Algorithm with $O(n^3)$ Time Complexity
Abstract:
Solving linear systems and quadratic programming (QP) problems are both ubiquitous tasks in the engineering and computing fields. Direct methods for solving systems, such as Cholesky, LU, and QR factorizations, exhibit data-independent time complexity of $O(n^3)$. This raises a natural question: could there exist algorithms for solving QPs that also achieve \textit{data-independent} time complexity of $O(n^3)$? This raises a natural question: could there exist algorithms for solving QPs that also achieve data-independent time complexity of $O(n^3)$? This is critical for offering an execution time certificate for real-time optimization-based applications such as model predictive control. This article first demonstrates that solving real-time strictly convex QPs, Lasso problems, and support vector machine problems can be turned into solving box-constrained QPs (Box-QPs), which support a cost-free initialization strategy for feasible interior-point methods (IPMs). Next, focusing on solving Box-QPs, this article replaces the exact Newton step with an approximated Newton step (substituting the matrix-inversion operation with multiple rank-1 updates) within feasible IPMs. For the first time, this article proposes an implementable feasible IPM algorithm with $O(n^3)$ time complexity, by proving the number of iterations is exact $O(\sqrt{n})$ and the number of rank-1 updates is bounded by $O(n)$. Numerical validations/applications and codes are provided.

Authors:Dianyong Hou, Chengrui Zhu, Zhen Zhang, Zhibin Li, Chuang Guo, Yong Liu
Title: Efficient Learning of A Unified Policy For Whole-body Manipulation and Locomotion Skills
Abstract:
Equipping quadruped robots with manipulators provides unique loco-manipulation capabilities, enabling diverse practical applications. This integration creates a more complex system that has increased difficulties in modeling and control. Reinforcement learning (RL) offers a promising solution to address these challenges by learning optimal control policies through interaction. Nevertheless, RL methods often struggle with local optima when exploring large solution spaces for motion and manipulation tasks. To overcome these limitations, we propose a novel approach that integrates an explicit kinematic model of the manipulator into the RL framework. This integration provides feedback on the mapping of the body postures to the manipulator's workspace, guiding the RL exploration process and effectively mitigating the local optima issue. Our algorithm has been successfully deployed on a DeepRobotics X20 quadruped robot equipped with a Unitree Z1 manipulator, and extensive experimental results demonstrate the superior performance of this approach.

Authors:Jialin Zheng, Haoyu Wang, Yangbin Zeng, Han Xu, Di Mou, Hong Li, Sergio Vazquez, Leopoldo G. Franquelo
Title: Neural Substitute Solver for Efficient Edge Inference of Power Electronic Hybrid Dynamics
Abstract:
Advancing the dynamics inference of power electronic systems (PES) to the real-time edge-side holds transform-ative potential for testing, control, and monitoring. How-ever, efficiently inferring the inherent hybrid continu-ous-discrete dynamics on resource-constrained edge hardware remains a significant challenge. This letter pro-poses a neural substitute solver (NSS) approach, which is a neural-network-based framework aimed at rapid accurate inference with significantly reduced computational costs. Specifically, NSS leverages lightweight neural networks to substitute time-consuming matrix operation and high-order numerical integration steps in traditional solvers, which transforms sequential bottlenecks into highly parallel operation suitable for edge hardware. Experimental vali-dation on a multi-stage DC-DC converter demonstrates that NSS achieves 23x speedup and 60% hardware resource reduction compared to traditional solvers, paving the way for deploying edge inference of high-fidelity PES dynamics.

Authors:Javier Penuela, Sahar Moghimian Hoosh, Ilia Kamyshev, Aldo Bischi, Henni Ouerdane
Title: Indoor thermal comfort management: A Bayesian machine-learning approach to data denoising and dynamics prediction of HVAC systems
Abstract:
The optimal management of a building's microclimate to satisfy the occupants' needs and objectives in terms of comfort, energy efficiency, and costs is particularly challenging. This complexity arises from the non-linear, time-dependent interactions among all the variables of the control problem and the changing internal and external constraints. Focusing on the accurate modeling of the indoor temperature, we propose a data-driven approach to address this challenge. We account for thermal inertia, non-linear effects, small perturbations of the indoor climate dynamics caused by ventilation and weather variations, as well as for the stochastic nature of the control system due to the observed noise in the input signal. Since the prohibitive cost of quality data acquisition and processing limits the implementation of data-driven approaches for real-life problems, we applied a method that merges several Bayesian machine learning and deep learning architectures that are suitable for predicting complex system dynamics, while relaxing the dataset quality requirements. Our framework includes a built-in deep Kalman filter, which makes it deployable even with low-accuracy temperature sensors. It achieves state-of-the-art performance, best performing with a 150-minute prediction horizon with an RMSE of 0.2455, an MAE of 0.162, and an $R^2$ of 0.926. The model's performance remains consistent even when exposed to highly noisy data. Finally, we show how our approach can be extended to other applications including demand response event duration prediction and equipment failure detection.

Authors:Farooq Aslam, Hafiz Zeeshan Iqbal Khan, Muhammad Farooq Haydar, Suhail Akhtar, Jamshed Riaz
Title: Geometrization of Higher-Order Linear Control Laws for Attitude Control on $\mathsf{SO(3)}$
Abstract:
This paper presents a theoretical framework for analyzing the stability of higher-order geometric nonlinear control laws for attitude control on the Special Orthogonal Group $\mathrm{SO(3)}$. In particular, the paper extends existing results on the analysis of PID-type geometric nonlinear control laws to more general higher-order dynamic state-feedback compensators on $\mathrm{SO(3)}$. The candidate Lyapunov function is motivated by quadratic Lyapunov functions of the form $V(x)=x^{\top}Px$ typically considered in the analysis of linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. The stability analysis is carried out in two steps. In the first step, a sufficient condition is obtained for the positive definiteness of the candidate Lyapunov function, and a necessary and sufficient condition for the negative definiteness of the corresponding Lyapunov rate. These conditions ensure that the desired equilibrium is almost globally asymptotically stable (AGAS). In the second step, a convex relaxation of the proposed conditions is used to obtain sufficient conditions in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Overall, the approach is motivated by the widespread use of LMI-based analysis and design tools for LTI systems. To reduce conservatism, matrix gains are considered for the controller gains as well as the Lyapunov function coefficients. The applicability of the approach to practical problems is illustrated by designing and analyzing a 21-state geometric nonlinear attitude control law for a multicopter.

Authors:Daniel Pfrommer, Max Simchowitz, Ali Jadbabaie
Title: A Test-Function Approach to Incremental Stability
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel framework for analyzing Incremental-Input-to-State Stability ($δ$ISS) based on the idea of using rewards as "test functions." Whereas control theory traditionally deals with Lyapunov functions that satisfy a time-decrease condition, reinforcement learning (RL) value functions are constructed by exponentially decaying a Lipschitz reward function that may be non-smooth and unbounded on both sides. Thus, these RL-style value functions cannot be directly understood as Lyapunov certificates. We develop a new equivalence between a variant of incremental input-to-state stability of a closed-loop system under given a policy, and the regularity of RL-style value functions under adversarial selection of a Hölder-continuous reward function. This result highlights that the regularity of value functions, and their connection to incremental stability, can be understood in a way that is distinct from the traditional Lyapunov-based approach to certifying stability in control theory.

Authors:Shanthan Kumar Padisala, Bharatkumar Hegde, Ibrahim Haskara, Satadru Dey
Title: A Physics-Informed Reinforcement Learning Approach for Degradation-Aware Long-Term Charging Optimization in Batteries
Abstract:
Batteries degrade with usage and continuous cycling. This aging is typically reflected through the resistance growth and the capacity fade of battery cells. Over the years, various charging methods have been presented in the literature that proposed current profiles in order to enable optimal, fast, and/or health-conscious charging. However, very few works have attempted to make the ubiquitous Constant Current Constant Voltage (CCCV) charging protocol adaptive to the changing battery health as it cycles. This work aims to address this gap and proposes a framework that optimizes the constant current part of the CCCV protocol adapting to long-term battery degradation. Specifically, a physics-informed Reinforcement Learning (RL) approach has been used that not only estimates a key battery degradation mechanism, namely, Loss of Active Material (LAM), but also adjusts the current magnitude of CCCV as a result of this particular degradation. The proposed framework has been implemented by combining PyBamm, an open-source battery modeling tool, and Stable-baselines where the RL agent was trained using a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) network. Simulation results show the potential of the proposed framework for enhancing the widely used CCCV protocol by embedding physics information in RL algorithm. A comparative study of this proposed agent has also been discussed with 2 other charging protocols generated by a non-physics-based RL agent and a constant CCCV for all the cycles.

Authors:Nan Gu, Ge Chen, Junjie Qin
Title: The Role of Flexible Connection in Accelerating Load Interconnection in Distribution Networks
Abstract:
This paper investigates the role of flexible connection in accelerating the interconnection of large loads amid rising electricity demand from data centers and electrification. Flexible connection allows new loads to defer or curtail consumption during rare, grid-constrained periods, enabling faster access without major infrastructure upgrades. To quantify how flexible connection unlocks load hosting capacity, we formulate a flexibility-aware hosting capacity analysis problem that explicitly limits the number of utility-controlled interventions per year, ensuring infrequent disruption. Efficient solution methods are developed for this nonconvex problem and applied to real load data and test feeders. Empirical results reveal that modest flexibility, i.e., few interventions with small curtailments or delays, can unlock substantial hosting capacity. Theoretical analysis further explains and generalizes these findings, highlighting the broad potential of flexible connection.

Authors:Fabio Ancona, Mohamed Bentaibi, Francesco Rossi
Title: Exponential convergence of multiagent systems with lack of connection
Abstract:
Finding conditions ensuring consensus, i.e. convergence to a common value, for a networked system is of crucial interest, both for theoretical reasons and applications. This goal is harder to achieve when connections between agents are temporarily lost. Here, we prove that known conditions (introduced by Moreau) ensure an exponential convergence to consensus, with explicit rate of convergence. The key result is related to the length of the graph (i.e. the number of connections to reach a common agent): if this is large, then convergence is slow. This general result also provides conditions for convergence of second-order cooperative systems with lack of connections.

Authors:Tamme Emunds, Paul Brunzema, Sebastian Trimpe, Nils Nießen
Title: Utilizing Bayesian Optimization for Timetable-Independent Railway Junction Performance Determination
Abstract:
The efficiency of railway infrastructure is significantly influenced by the mix of trains that utilize it, as different service types have competing operational requirements. While freight services might require extended service times, passenger services demand more predictable schedules. Traditional methods for addressing long-term traffic assignment problems often rely on fixed-value capacity limitations, determined based on specific assumptions about traffic composition. This paper introduces a methodology for determining timetable-independent capacity within the traffic rate assignment problem, enabling the calculation of junction capacities under dynamic traffic distributions. We solve the underlying non-linear constrained optimization problem maximizing the traffic throughput using Bayesian optimization (BO). This setting combines a known objective function with expensive- to-compute capacity constraints, motivating an adaption of standard BO problems, where objective functions are usually unknown. We tailor the acquisition process in BO to this specific setting and increase performance by incorporating prior knowledge about the shape of the constraint functions into the Gaussian process surrogate model. Our derived approaches are benchmarked on a railway junction near Paris, significantly outperforming fixed traffic composition models and highlighting the benefits of dynamic capacity allocation.

Authors:Daniel A. Williams, Airlie Chapman, Daniel R. Little, Chris Manzie
Title: Trust Modeling and Estimation in Human-Autonomy Interactions
Abstract:
Advances in the control of autonomous systems have accompanied an expansion in the potential applications for autonomous robotic systems. The success of applications involving humans depends on the quality of interaction between the autonomous system and the human supervisor, which is particularly affected by the degree of trust that the supervisor places in the autonomous system. Absent from the literature are models of supervisor trust dynamics that can accommodate asymmetric responses to autonomous system performance and the intermittent nature of supervisor-autonomous system communication. This paper focuses on formulating an estimated model of supervisor trust that incorporates both of these features by employing a switched linear system structure with event-triggered sampling of the model input and output. Trust response data collected in a user study with 51 participants were then used identify parameters for a switched linear model-based observer of supervisor trust.

Authors:Omer Gokalp Serbetci, Lei Chu, Andreas F. Molisch
Title: Cognitive Radio for Asymmetric Cellular Downlink with Multi-User MIMO
Abstract:
Cognitive radio (CR) is an important technique for improving spectral efficiency, letting a secondary system operate in a wireless spectrum when the primary system does not make use of it. While it has been widely explored over the past 25 years, many common assumptions are not aligned with the realities of 5G networks. In this paper, we consider the CR problem for the following setup: (i) infrastructure-based systems, where downlink transmissions might occur to receivers whose positions are not, or not exactly, known; (ii) multi-beam antennas at both primary and secondary base stations. We formulate a detailed protocol to determine when secondary transmissions into different beam directions can interfere with primary users at potential locations and create probability-based interference rules. We then analyze the "catastrophic interference" probability and the "missed transmission opportunity" probability, as well as the achievable throughput, as a function of the transmit powers of the primary and secondary base stations and the sensing window of the secondary base station. Results can serve to more realistically assess the spectral efficiency gains in 5G infrastructure-based cognitive systems.

Authors:Asaad Abdul-Hamid, Brycen D. Pearl, Hang Woon Lee, Hao Chen
Title: Space Logistics Analysis and Incentive Design for Commercialization of Orbital Debris Remediation
Abstract:
As orbital debris continues to become a higher priority for the space industry, there is a need to explore how partnerships between the public and private space sector may aid in addressing this issue. This research develops a space logistics framework for planning orbital debris remediation missions, providing a quantitative basis for partnerships that are mutually beneficial between space operators and debris remediators. By integrating network-based space logistics and game theory, we illuminate the high-level costs of remediating orbital debris, and the surplus that stands to be shared as a result. These findings indicate significant progress toward the continued development of a safe, sustainable, and profitable space economy.

Authors:Shilong Zong, Alex Bierly, Almuatazbellah Boker, Hoda Eldardiry
Title: Accuracy, Memory Efficiency and Generalization: A Comparative Study on Liquid Neural Networks and Recurrent Neural Networks
Abstract:
This review aims to conduct a comparative analysis of liquid neural networks (LNNs) and traditional recurrent neural networks (RNNs) and their variants, such as long short-term memory networks (LSTMs) and gated recurrent units (GRUs). The core dimensions of the analysis include model accuracy, memory efficiency, and generalization ability. By systematically reviewing existing research, this paper explores the basic principles, mathematical models, key characteristics, and inherent challenges of these neural network architectures in processing sequential data. Research findings reveal that LNN, as an emerging, biologically inspired, continuous-time dynamic neural network, demonstrates significant potential in handling noisy, non-stationary data, and achieving out-of-distribution (OOD) generalization. Additionally, some LNN variants outperform traditional RNN in terms of parameter efficiency and computational speed. However, RNN remains a cornerstone in sequence modeling due to its mature ecosystem and successful applications across various tasks. This review identifies the commonalities and differences between LNNs and RNNs, summarizes their respective shortcomings and challenges, and points out valuable directions for future research, particularly emphasizing the importance of improving the scalability of LNNs to promote their application in broader and more complex scenarios.

Authors:Jhon Manuel Portella Delgado, Ankit Goel
Title: Stability Preserving Safe Control of a Bicopter
Abstract:
This paper presents a control law for stabilization and trajectory tracking of a multicopter subject to safety constraints. The proposed approach guarantees forward invariance of a prescribed safety set while ensuring smooth tracking performance. Unlike conventional control barrier function methods, the constrained control problem is transformed into an unconstrained one using state-dependent mappings together with carefully constructed Lyapunov functions. This approach enables explicit synthesis of the control law, instead of requiring a solution of constrained optimization at each step. The transformation also enables the controller to enforce safety without sacrificing stability or performance. Simulation results for a polytopic reference trajectory confined within a designated safe region demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Authors:Bart van der Holst, Thomas Swarts, Phuong Nguyen, Johan Morren, Koen Kok
Title: Mitigating Increase-Decrease Gaming with Alternative Connection Agreements: A Defender-Attacker-Defender Game
Abstract:
Redispatch markets are widely used by system operators to manage network congestion. A well-known drawback, however, is that Flexibility Service Providers (FSPs) may strategically adjust their baselines in anticipation of redispatch actions, thereby aggravating congestion and raising system costs. To address this increase-decrease gaming, Distribution System Operators (DSOs) could use Alternative Connection Agreements (ACAs) to conditionally limit the available connection capacity of market participants in the day-ahead stage. In this paper, we present a novel Defender-Attacker-Defender game to investigate the potential of this approach in distribution networks under load and price uncertainty. We solve the resulting trilevel optimization model using a custom branch-and-bound algorithm, and we demonstrate that it efficiently solves the problem without exploring many nodes in the branch-and-bound search tree for most simulated scenarios. The case study demonstrates that applying ACAs can substantially lower redispatch costs (e.g. by 25%) for the DSO with only a limited impact on FSP profits. The effectiveness of the approach critically depends on how often the DSO can invoke ACAs and on the extent to which the DSO can anticipate strategic bidding behavior of the FSP.

Authors:Jim Dai, Manxi Wu, Zhanhao Zhang
Title: Optimal Batched Scheduling of Stochastic Processing Networks Using Atomic Action Decomposition
Abstract:
Stochastic processing networks (SPNs) have broad applications in healthcare, transportation, and communication networks. The control of SPN is to dynamically assign servers in batches under uncertainty to optimize long-run performance. This problem is challenging as the policy dimension grows exponentially with the number of servers, making standard reinforcement learning and policy optimization methods intractable at scale. We propose an atomic action decomposition framework that addresses this scalability challenge by breaking joint assignments into sequential single-server assignments. This yields policies with constant dimension, independent of the number of servers. We study two classes of atomic policies, the step-dependent and step-independent atomic policies, and prove that both achieve the same optimal long-run average reward as the original joint policies. These results establish that computing the optimal SPN control can be made scalable without loss of optimality using the atomic framework. Our results offer theoretical justification for the strong empirical success of the atomic framework in large-scale applications reported in previous articles.

Authors:Nick Janßen, Melanie Schaller, Bodo Rosenhahn
Title: Benchmarking M-LTSF: Frequency and Noise-Based Evaluation of Multivariate Long Time Series Forecasting Models
Abstract:
Understanding the robustness of deep learning models for multivariate long-term time series forecasting (M-LTSF) remains challenging, as evaluations typically rely on real-world datasets with unknown noise properties. We propose a simulation-based evaluation framework that generates parameterizable synthetic datasets, where each dataset instance corresponds to a different configuration of signal components, noise types, signal-to-noise ratios, and frequency characteristics. These configurable components aim to model real-world multivariate time series data without the ambiguity of unknown noise. This framework enables fine-grained, systematic evaluation of M-LTSF models under controlled and diverse scenarios. We benchmark four representative architectures S-Mamba (state-space), iTransformer (transformer-based), R-Linear (linear), and Autoformer (decomposition-based). Our analysis reveals that all models degrade severely when lookback windows cannot capture complete periods of seasonal patters in the data. S-Mamba and Autoformer perform best on sawtooth patterns, while R-Linear and iTransformer favor sinusoidal signals. White and Brownian noise universally degrade performance with lower signal-to-noise ratio while S-Mamba shows specific trend-noise and iTransformer shows seasonal-noise vulnerability. Further spectral analysis shows that S-Mamba and iTransformer achieve superior frequency reconstruction. This controlled approach, based on our synthetic and principle-driven testbed, offers deeper insights into model-specific strengths and limitations through the aggregation of MSE scores and provides concrete guidance for model selection based on signal characteristics and noise conditions.

Authors:Alex Rose, Naman Aggarwal, Christopher Jewison, Jonathan P. How
Title: Efficient Probabilistic Planning with Maximum-Coverage Distributionally Robust Backward Reachable Trees
Abstract:
This paper presents a new multi-query motion planning algorithm for linear Gaussian systems with the goal of reaching a Euclidean ball with high probability. We develop a new formulation for ball-shaped ambiguity sets of Gaussian distributions and leverage it to develop a distributionally robust belief roadmap construction algorithm. This algorithm synthe- sizes robust controllers which are certified to be safe for maximal size ball-shaped ambiguity sets of Gaussian distributions. Our algorithm achieves better coverage than the maximal coverage algorithm for planning over Gaussian distributions [1], and we identify mild conditions under which our algorithm achieves strictly better coverage. For the special case of no process noise or state constraints, we formally prove that our algorithm achieves maximal coverage. In addition, we present a second multi-query motion planning algorithm for linear Gaussian systems with the goal of reaching a region parameterized by the Minkowski sum of an ellipsoid and a Euclidean ball with high probability. This algorithm plans over ellipsoidal sets of maximal size ball-shaped ambiguity sets of Gaussian distributions, and provably achieves equal or better coverage than the best-known algorithm for planning over ellipsoidal ambiguity sets of Gaussian distributions [2]. We demonstrate the efficacy of both methods in a wide range of conditions via extensive simulation experiments.

Authors:Christopher A. Orrico, Hari Prasad Varadarajan, Matthijs van Berkel, Lennard Ceelen, Thomas O. S. J. Bosman, W. P. M. H. Heemels, Dinesh Krishnamoorthy
Title: MPC strategies for density profile control with pellet fueling in nuclear fusion tokamaks under uncertainty
Abstract:
Control of the density profile based on pellet fueling for the ITER nuclear fusion tokamak involves a multi-rate nonlinear system with safety-critical constraints, input delays, and discrete actuators with parametric uncertainty. To address this challenging problem, we propose a multi-stage MPC (msMPC) approach to handle uncertainty in the presence of mixed-integer inputs. While the scenario tree of msMPC accounts for uncertainty, it also adds complexity to an already computationally intensive mixed-integer MPC (MI-MPC) problem. To achieve real-time density profile controller with discrete pellets and uncertainty handling, we systematically reduce the problem complexity by (1) reducing the identified prediction model size through dynamic mode decomposition with control, (2) applying principal component analysis to reduce the number of scenarios needed to capture the parametric uncertainty in msMPC, and (3) utilizing the penalty term homotopy for MPC (PTH-MPC) algorithm to reduce the computational burden caused by the presence of mixed-integer inputs. We compare the performance and safety of the msMPC strategy against a nominal MI-MPC in plant simulations, demonstrating the first predictive density control strategy with uncertainty handling, viable for real-time pellet fueling in ITER.

Authors:Jushan Chen, Santiago Paternain
Title: PAD-TRO: Projection-Augmented Diffusion for Direct Trajectory Optimization
Abstract:
Recently, diffusion models have gained popularity and attention in trajectory optimization due to their capability of modeling multi-modal probability distributions. However, addressing nonlinear equality constraints, i.e, dynamic feasi- bility, remains a great challenge in diffusion-based trajectory optimization. Recent diffusion-based trajectory optimization frameworks rely on a single-shooting style approach where the denoised control sequence is applied to forward propagate the dynamical system, which cannot explicitly enforce constraints on the states and frequently leads to sub-optimal solutions. In this work, we propose a novel direct trajectory optimization approach via model-based diffusion, which directly generates a sequence of states. To ensure dynamic feasibility, we propose a gradient-free projection mechanism that is incorporated into the reverse diffusion process. Our results show that, compared to a recent state-of-the-art baseline, our approach leads to zero dynamic feasibility error and approximately 4x higher success rate in a quadrotor waypoint navigation scenario involving dense static obstacles.

Authors:Viet Hoang Pham, Hyo-Sung Ahn
Title: Distributed MPC-based Coordination of Traffic Perimeter and Signal Control: A Lexicographic Optimization Approach
Abstract:
This paper introduces a comprehensive strategy that integrates traffic perimeter control with traffic signal control to alleviate congestion in an urban traffic network (UTN). The strategy is formulated as a lexicographic multi-objective optimization problem, starting with the regulation of traffic inflows at boundary junctions to maximize the capacity while ensuring a smooth operation of the UTN. Following this, the signal timings at internal junctions are collaboratively optimized to enhance overall traffic conditions under the regulated inflows. The use of a model predictive control (MPC) approach ensures that the control solution adheres to safety and capacity constraints within the network. To address the computational complexity of the problem, the UTN is divided into subnetworks, each managed by a local agent. A distributed solution method based on the alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm is employed, allowing each agent to determine its optimal control decisions using local information from its subnetwork and neighboring agents. Numerical simulations using VISSIM and MATLAB demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed traffic control strategy.

Authors:Khang Vo Huynh, David Parker, Lu Feng
Title: Robust Permissive Controller Synthesis for Interval MDPs
Abstract:
We address the problem of robust permissive controller synthesis for robots operating under uncertain dynamics, modeled as Interval Markov Decision Processes (IMDPs). IMDPs generalize standard MDPs by allowing transition probabilities to vary within intervals, capturing epistemic uncertainty from sensing noise, actuation imprecision, and coarse system abstractions-common in robotics. Traditional controller synthesis typically yields a single deterministic strategy, limiting adaptability. In contrast, permissive controllers (multi-strategies) allow multiple actions per state, enabling runtime flexibility and resilience. However, prior work on permissive controller synthesis generally assumes exact transition probabilities, which is unrealistic in many robotic applications. We present the first framework for robust permissive controller synthesis on IMDPs, guaranteeing that all strategies compliant with the synthesized multi-strategy satisfy reachability or reward-based specifications under all admissible transitions. We formulate the problem as mixed-integer linear programs (MILPs) and propose two encodings: a baseline vertex-enumeration method and a scalable duality-based method that avoids explicit enumeration. Experiments on four benchmark domains show that both methods synthesize robust, maximally permissive controllers and scale to large IMDPs with up to hundreds of thousands of states.

Authors:Reginald Juan M. Mercado, Muhammad Kabeer, Haider Al-Obaidy, Rosdiadee Nordin
Title: Corrosion Risk Estimation for Heritage Preservation: An Internet of Things and Machine Learning Approach Using Temperature and Humidity
Abstract:
Proactive preservation of steel structures at culturally significant heritage sites like the San Sebastian Basilica in the Philippines requires accurate corrosion forecasting. This study developed an Internet of Things hardware system connected with LoRa wireless communications to monitor heritage buildings with steel structures. From a three year dataset generated by the IoT system, we built a machine learning framework for predicting atmospheric corrosion rates using only temperature and relative humidity data. Deployed via a Streamlit dashboard with ngrok tunneling for public access, the framework provides real-time corrosion monitoring and actionable preservation recommendations. This minimal-data approach is scalable and cost effective for heritage sites with limited monitoring resources, showing that advanced regression can extract accurate corrosion predictions from basic meteorological data enabling proactive preservation of culturally significant structures worldwide without requiring extensive sensor networks

Authors:Chidre Shravista Kashyap, Karnan A, Pushpak Jagtap, Jishnu Keshavan
Title: Periodic Event-Triggered Prescribed Time Control of Euler-Lagrange Systems under State and Input Constraints
Abstract:
This article proposes a periodic event-triggered adaptive barrier control policy for the trajectory tracking problem of perturbed Euler-Lagrangian systems with state, input, and temporal (SIT) constraints. In particular, an approximation-free adaptive-barrier control architecture is designed to ensure prescribed-time convergence of the tracking error to a prescribed bound while rejecting exogenous disturbances. In contrast to existing approaches that necessitate continuous real-time control action, the proposed controller generates event-based updates through periodic evaluation of the triggering condition. Additionally, we derive an upper bound on the monitoring period by analysing the performance degradation of the filtered tracking error to facilitate periodic evaluation of the event-triggered strategy. To this end, a time-varying threshold function is considered in the triggering mechanism to reduce the number of triggers during the transient phase of system behaviour. Notably, the proposed design avoids Zeno behaviour and precludes the need for continuous monitoring of the triggering condition. A simulation and experimental study is undertaken to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed control scheme.

Authors:Jannik Graebner, Ryne Beeson
Title: Self-supervised diffusion model fine-tuning for costate initialization using Markov chain Monte Carlo
Abstract:
Global search and optimization of long-duration, low-thrust spacecraft trajectories with the indirect method is challenging due to a complex solution space and the difficulty of generating good initial guesses for the costate variables. This is particularly true in multibody environments. Given data that reveals a partial Pareto optimal front, it is desirable to find a flexible manner in which the Pareto front can be completed and fronts for related trajectory problems can be found. In this work we use conditional diffusion models to represent the distribution of candidate optimal trajectory solutions. We then introduce into this framework the novel approach of using Markov Chain Monte Carlo algorithms with self-supervised fine-tuning to achieve the aforementioned goals. Specifically, a random walk Metropolis algorithm is employed to propose new data that can be used to fine-tune the diffusion model using a reward-weighted training based on efficient evaluations of constraint violations and missions objective functions. The framework removes the need for separate focused and often tedious data generation phases. Numerical experiments are presented for two problems demonstrating the ability to improve sample quality and explicitly target Pareto optimality based on the theory of Markov chains. The first problem does so for a transfer in the Jupiter-Europa circular restricted three-body problem, where the MCMC approach completes a partial Pareto front. The second problem demonstrates how a dense and superior Pareto front can be generated by the MCMC self-supervised fine-tuning method for a Saturn-Titan transfer starting from the Jupiter-Europa case versus a separate dedicated global search.

Authors:Mohammad Reza Abedi, Zahra Rashidi, Nader Mokari, Hamid Saeedi, Nizar Zorba
Title: Precise HDV Positioning through Safety-Aware Integrated Sensing and Communication in a Value-of-Information-Driven 6G V2X System
Abstract:
Recent advancements in Integrated Sensing and Communications (ISAC) have unlocked new potential for addressing the dual demands of high-resolution positioning and reliable communication in 6G Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) networks. These capabilities are vital for transmitting safety-critical data from Connected Autonomous Vehicles (CAVs) to improve metrics such as Time to Collision (TTC) and reduce the Collision Risk (CR) ratio. However, limited radio resources and interference remain major obstacles to achieving both precision and capacity simultaneously. The challenge intensifies in mixedtraffic scenarios involving Human-Driven Vehicles (HDVs), which lack connectivity and cannot share their status or positioning. Additionally, CAV sensors are limited in range and accuracy, making detection of HDVs unreliable. ISAC plays a pivotal role here by enabling the sensing of HDV positions via shared communication infrastructure, improving environmental awareness. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a novel Value of Information (VoI) metric that prioritizes the transmission of safety-critical data. The joint sensing-communication-control problem is modeled as a two-time-scale sequential decision process and solved using a Multi-Agent Distributed Deterministic Policy Gradient (MADDPG) algorithm. By focusing on high- VoI data, the framework reduces complexity and optimizes network and traffic resource usage. Simulations show that the proposed approach significantly reduces the CR ratio by at least 33% and improves the TTC by up to 66%, demonstrating its effectiveness in enhancing safety and efficiency in mixedautonomy environments.

Authors:Takumi Shinohara, Karl H. Johansson, Henrik Sandberg
Title: Detection and Identification of Sensor Attacks Using Data
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate data-driven attack detection and identification in a model-free setting. Unlike existing studies, we consider the case where the available output data include malicious false-data injections. We aim to detect and identify such attacks solely from the compromised data. We address this problem in two scenarios: (1) when the system operator is aware of the system's sparse observability condition, and (2) when the data are partially clean (i.e., attack-free). In both scenarios, we derive conditions and algorithms for detecting and identifying attacks using only the compromised data. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework via numerical simulations on a three-inertia system.

Authors:Eric Tönges, Martin Braun, Philipp Härtel
Title: Vulnerability Analysis Evaluating Bilevel Optimal Power Flow Approaches for Multiple Load Cases
Abstract:
This work presents two methodologies to enhance vulnerability assessment in power systems using bilevel attacker-defender network interdiction models. First, we introduce a systematic evaluation procedure for comparing different optimal power flow formulations in the lower-level problem. We demonstrate the procedure for a comparison of the widely used DC approximation and a linearized AC optimal power flow model. Second, we propose a novel scoring methodology to identify and prioritize critical attack vectors across diverse load and generation scenarios. Both methodologies go beyond traditional worst-case analysis. Case studies on a SimBench high-voltage test grid show that the DC approach fails to detect a significant portion of critical vulnerabilities. The scoring methodology further demonstrates the dependency of vulnerabilities on the considered load case and time step, highlighting the importance of assessing multiple scenarios and going beyond worst-case solutions. The proposed methodologies enhance power system vulnerability assessment and can support the effective development of robust defense strategies for future power systems.

Authors:Jinfeng Chen, Zhiqiang Gao, Qin Lin
Title: A Model-Based Extended State Observer for Discrete-Time Linear Multivariable Systems
Abstract:
A model-based extended state observer (MB-ESO) and its variant are proposed for discrete-time linear multivariable systems, where multiple disturbances are defined as an extended state vector in the same manner as in the original formulation of ESO. The variant MB-ESO extends the MB-ESO to address cases where the disturbance gain matrix is non-diagonal. Leveraging the connection between the variant MB-ESO and the well-known unknown input observer (UIO), the condition for the existence of a MB-ESO and its variant in multivariable systems is established, for the first time, i.e., no invariant zeros exist between the disturbances and the plant outputs. It is shown that, with the observer eigenvalues all placed at the origin and the subsystems decoupled, the variant MB-ESO produces the identical disturbance estimation as that of UIO. Moreover, the error characteristics of MB-ESO and its variant are analyzed and the transfer functions associated with the disturbance estimation errors are derived. It is demonstrated both mathematically and in simulations that the disturbance estimation error of MB-ESO decreases monotonically with respect to both the observer eigenvalues and time.

Authors:Jared Jonas, Bassam Bamieh
Title: An Interpolation-based Scheme for Rapid Frequency-Domain System Identification
Abstract:
We present a frequency-domain system identification scheme based on barycentric interpolation and weight optimization. The scheme is related to the Adaptive Antoulas-Anderson (AAA) algorithm for model reduction, but uses an adaptive algorithm for selection of frequency points for interrogating the system response, as would be required in identification versus model reduction. The scheme is particularly suited for systems in which any one sinusoidal response run is long or expensive, and thus there is an incentive to reduce the total number of such runs. Two key features of our algorithm are the use of transient data in sinusoidal runs to both optimize the barycentric weights, and automated next-frequency selection on an adaptive grid. Both are done with error criteria that are proxies for a system's $H^2$ and $H^\infty$ norms respectively. Furthermore, the optimization problem we formulate is convex, and can optionally guarantee stability of the identified system. Computational results on a high-order, lightly damped structural system highlights the efficacy of this scheme.

Authors:Pasindu Ranasinghe, Dibyayan Patra, Bikram Banerjee, Simit Raval
Title: LiDAR Point Cloud Colourisation Using Multi-Camera Fusion and Low-Light Image Enhancement
Abstract:
In recent years, the fusion of camera data with LiDAR measurements has emerged as a powerful approach to enhance spatial understanding. This study introduces a novel, hardware-agnostic methodology that generates colourised point clouds from mechanical LiDAR using multiple camera inputs, providing complete 360-degree coverage. The primary innovation lies in its robustness under low-light conditions, achieved through the integration of a low-light image enhancement module within the fusion pipeline. The system requires initial calibration to determine intrinsic camera parameters, followed by automatic computation of the geometric transformation between the LiDAR and cameras, removing the need for specialised calibration targets and streamlining the setup. The data processing framework uses colour correction to ensure uniformity across camera feeds before fusion. The algorithm was tested using a Velodyne Puck Hi-Res LiDAR and a four-camera configuration. The optimised software achieved real-time performance and reliable colourisation even under very low illumination, successfully recovering scene details that would otherwise remain undetectable.

Authors:Suyu Lv, Meng Li, Qi Li, Yuanwei Liu
Title: Pinching-Antenna Systems (PASS)-Enabled UAV Delivery
Abstract:
A pinching-antenna systems (PASS)-enabled unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) delivery framework is proposed, which exploits the capability of PASS to establish a strong line-of-sight link and reduce free-space pathloss.Aiming at minimizing the communication energy consumption in one cycle, a double-layer optimization (DLO) algorithm is developed by jointly optimizing the UAV delivery sequence and the pinching antenna (PA) activation vector. More specifically, at the outer layer, a hierarchical alternating optimization (HAO) scheme is proposed to tackle the NP-hard problem of delivery sequence planning, where a genetic algorithm performs global exploration to generate candidate solutions at the top-level, while a dynamic programming performs local refinement to obtain elite solutions at the lower-level. With determined UAV trajectory, at the inner layer, focus is placed on addressing the highly coupled mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem of PA activation vector optimization, where a pair of algorithms are proposed: 1) Branch-and-Bound (BnB) algorithm for finding global optimum; 2) incremental search and local refinement (ISLR) algorithm for reducing computational complexity. Simulation results indicate that: i) The proposed HAO-based delivery sequence planning scheme can effectively reduce the total flight distance, thereby decreasing flight time and communication energy consumption; ii) Both the proposed BnB and ISLR algorithms can achieve energy-efficient PA activation, with the former exhibiting better performance and the latter having lower complexity; iii) PASS outperforms the conventional multi-antenna systems, especially with higher communication rate requirements.

Authors:Valdemar Farré, David Vega, Juan Estrada, Juan A. Vásquez Peralvo, Symeon Chatzinotas
Title: From Legacy to Leadership Intelligent Radio Network Planning Framework for Cell-Free Massive MIMO in B5G6G Era
Abstract:
The proliferation of cell-free Massive MIMO represents a transformative shift in wireless network architecture, addressing critical limitations of conventional distributed Massive MIMO systems. This paper presents an intelligent radio network planning framework that bridges legacy 5G infrastructures with future B5G/6G networks through cell-free architectures. By leveraging operational insights from existing 5G deployments, we systematically address coverage optimization, and capacity enhancement. Our scalable framework enables seamless evolution from legacy designs to next-generation cell-free systems. Through extensive simulations in dense urban environments, we demonstrate substantial improvements: 45% spectral efficiency gains, 30% interference reduction, and significantly enhanced uniform coverage. The proposed framework provides network operators with a practical roadmap for transitioning from traditional cellular architectures to demanding B5G/6G requirements while maximizing existing infrastructure investments.

Authors:Wouter M. Kouw, Tim N. Nisslbeck, Wouter L. N. Nuijten
Title: Message passing-based inference in an autoregressive active inference agent
Abstract:
We present the design of an autoregressive active inference agent in the form of message passing on a factor graph. Expected free energy is derived and distributed across a planning graph. The proposed agent is validated on a robot navigation task, demonstrating exploration and exploitation in a continuous-valued observation space with bounded continuous-valued actions. Compared to a classical optimal controller, the agent modulates action based on predictive uncertainty, arriving later but with a better model of the robot's dynamics.

Authors:Huaiyuan Rao, Calvin Hawkins, Alexander Benvenuti, Matthew Hale
Title: Generating Differentially Private Networks with a Modified Erdős-Rényi Model
Abstract:
Differential privacy has been used to privately calculate numerous network properties, but existing approaches often require the development of a new privacy mechanism for each property of interest. Therefore, we present a framework for generating entire networks in a differentially private way. Differential privacy is immune to post-processing, which allows for any network property to be computed and analyzed for a private output network, without weakening its protections. We consider undirected networks and develop a differential privacy mechanism that takes in a sensitive network and outputs a private network by randomizing its edge set. We prove that this mechanism does provide differential privacy to a network's edge set, though it induces a complex distribution over the space of output graphs. We then develop an equivalent privacy implementation using a modified Erdős-Rényi model that constructs an output graph edge by edge, and it is efficient and easily implementable, even on large complex networks. Experiments implement $\varepsilon$-differential privacy with $\varepsilon=2.5$ when computing graph Laplacian spectra, and these results show the proposed mechanism incurs $49.34\%$ less error than the current state of the art.

Authors:Takumi Shinohara, Karl Henrik Johansson, Henrik Sandberg
Title: Data-Driven Resilience Assessment against Sparse Sensor Attacks
Abstract:
We present a data-driven framework for assessing the attack resilience of linear time-invariant systems against malicious false data injection sensor attacks. Based on the concept of sparse observability, data-driven resilience metrics are proposed. First, we derive a data-driven necessary and sufficient condition for assessing the system's resilience against sensor attacks, using data collected without any attacks. If we obtain attack-free data that satisfy a specific rank condition, we can exactly evaluate the attack resilience level even in a model-free setting. We then extend this analysis to a scenario where only poisoned data are available. Given the poisoned data, we can only conservatively assess the system's resilience. In both scenarios, we also provide polynomial-time algorithms to assess the system resilience under specific conditions. Finally, numerical examples illustrate the efficacy and limitations of the proposed framework.

Authors:Leilei Cui, Zhong-Ping Jiang, Eduardo D. Sontag
Title: Small-Covariance Noise-to-State Stability of Stochastic Systems and Its Applications to Stochastic Gradient Dynamics
Abstract:
This paper studies gradient dynamics subject to additive random noise, which may arise from sources such as stochastic gradient estimation, measurement noise, or stochastic sampling errors. To analyze the robustness of such stochastic gradient systems, the concept of small-covariance noise-to-state stability (NSS) is introduced, along with a Lyapunov-based characterization. Furthermore, the classical Polyak-Lojasiewicz (PL) condition on the objective function is generalized to the $\mathcal{K}$-PL condition via comparison functions, thereby extending its applicability to a broader class of optimization problems. It is shown that the stochastic gradient dynamics exhibit small-covariance NSS if the objective function satisfies the $\mathcal{K}$-PL condition and possesses a globally Lipschitz continuous gradient. This result implies that the trajectories of stochastic gradient dynamics converge to a neighborhood of the optimum with high probability, with the size of the neighborhood determined by the noise covariance. Moreover, if the $\mathcal{K}$-PL condition is strengthened to a $\mathcal{K}_\infty$-PL condition, the dynamics are NSS; whereas if it is weakened to a general positive-definite-PL condition, the dynamics exhibit integral NSS. The results further extend to objectives without globally Lipschitz gradients through appropriate step-size tuning. The proposed framework is further applied to the robustness analysis of policy optimization for the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) and logistic regression.

Authors:Dennis Gramlich, Shuhao Yan, Carsten W. Scherer, Christian Ebenbauer%
Title: Distributionally robust LMI synthesis for LTI systems
Abstract:
This article shows that distributionally robust controller synthesis as investigated in \cite{taskesen2024distributionally} can be formulated as a convex linear matrix inequality (LMI) synthesis problem. To this end, we rely on well-established convexification techniques from robust control. The LMI synthesis problem we propose has the advantage that it can be solved efficiently using off-the-shelf semi-definite programming (SDP) solvers. In addition, our formulation exposes the studied distributionally robust controller synthesis problem as an instance of robust $H_2$ synthesis.

Authors:Jiayin Liu, Yulong Yang, Vineet Bansal, Christine Allen-Blanchette
Title: Physically Plausible Multi-System Trajectory Generation and Symmetry Discovery
Abstract:
From metronomes to celestial bodies, mechanics underpins how the world evolves in time and space. With consideration of this, a number of recent neural network models leverage inductive biases from classical mechanics to encourage model interpretability and ensure forecasted states are physical. However, in general, these models are designed to capture the dynamics of a single system with fixed physical parameters, from state-space measurements of a known configuration space. In this paper we introduce Symplectic Phase Space GAN (SPS-GAN) which can capture the dynamics of multiple systems, and generalize to unseen physical parameters from. Moreover, SPS-GAN does not require prior knowledge of the system configuration space. In fact, SPS-GAN can discover the configuration space structure of the system from arbitrary measurement types (e.g., state-space measurements, video frames). To achieve physically plausible generation, we introduce a novel architecture which embeds a Hamiltonian neural network recurrent module in a conditional GAN backbone. To discover the structure of the configuration space, we optimize the conditional time-series GAN objective with an additional physically motivated term to encourages a sparse representation of the configuration space. We demonstrate the utility of SPS-GAN for trajectory prediction, video generation and symmetry discovery. Our approach captures multiple systems and achieves performance on par with supervised models designed for single systems.

Authors:Aubida A. Al-Hameed, Mohammed M. H. Qazzaz, Maryam Hafeez, Syed A. Zaidi
Title: Semantic-Aware Edge Intelligence for UAV Handover in 6G Networks
Abstract:
6G wireless networks aim to exploit semantic awareness to optimize radio resources. By optimizing the transmission through the lens of the desired goal, the energy consumption of transmissions can also be reduced, and the latency can be improved. To that end, this paper investigates a paradigm in which the capabilities of generative AI (GenAI) on the edge are harnessed for network optimization. In particular, we investigate an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) handover framework that takes advantage of GenAI and semantic communication to maintain reliable connectivity. To that end, we propose a framework in which a lightweight MobileBERT language model, fine-tuned using Low-Rank Adaptation (LoRA), is deployed on the UAV. This model processes multi-attribute flight and radio measurements and performs multi-label classification to determine appropriate handover action. Concurrently, the model identifies an appropriate set of contextual "Reason Tags" that elucidate the decision's rationale. Our model, evaluated on a rule-based synthetic dataset of UAV handover scenarios, demonstrates the model's high efficacy in learning these rules, achieving high accuracy in predicting the primary handover decision. The model also shows strong performance in identifying supporting reasons, with an F1 micro-score of approximately 0.9 for reason tags.

Authors:Yifan Dong, Ge Chen, Junjie Qin
Title: Federated Aggregation of Demand Flexibility
Abstract:
This paper proposes a federated framework for demand flexibility aggregation to support grid operations. Unlike existing geometric methods that rely on a static, pre-defined base set as the geometric template for aggregation, our framework establishes a true federated process by enabling the collaborative optimization of this base set without requiring the participants sharing sensitive data with the aggregator. Specifically, we first formulate the base set optimization problem as a bilevel program. Using optimal solution functions, we then reformulate the bilevel program into a single-level, unconstrained learning task. By exploiting the decomposable structure of the overall gradient, we further design a decentralized gradient-based algorithm to solve this learning task. The entire framework, encompassing base set optimization, aggregation, and disaggregation, operates by design without exchanging raw user data. Numerical results demonstrate that our proposed framework unlocks substantially more flexibility than the approaches with static base sets, thus providing a promising framework for efficient and privacy-enhanced approaches to coordinate demand flexibility at scale.

Authors:Maxwell M. Varley, Timothy L. Molloy, Girish N. Nair
Title: An Extended Kalman Filter for Systems with Infinite-Dimensional Measurements
Abstract:
This article examines state estimation in discrete-time nonlinear stochastic systems with finite-dimensional states and infinite-dimensional measurements, motivated by real-world applications such as vision-based localization and tracking. We develop an extended Kalman filter (EKF) for real-time state estimation, with the measurement noise modeled as an infinite-dimensional random field. When applied to vision-based state estimation, the measurement Jacobians required to implement the EKF are shown to correspond to image gradients. This result provides a novel system-theoretic justification for the use of image gradients as features for vision-based state estimation, contrasting with their (often heuristic) introduction in many computer-vision pipelines. We demonstrate the practical utility of the EKF on a public real-world dataset involving the localization of an aerial drone using video from a downward-facing monocular camera. The EKF is shown to outperform VINS-MONO, an established visual-inertial odometry algorithm, in some cases achieving mean squared error reductions of up to an order of magnitude.

Authors:Théotime Héraud, Vinith Lakshmanan, Antonio Sciarretta
Title: Developing a Dynamic Mobility Model for Backcasting Applications: A Case Study with Shared Autonomous Vehicles
Abstract:
This study proposes the application of a backcasting approach to a mobility model with the aim of defining an optimal decarbonization roadmap. The selected decision variable is the introduction of a fleet of shared autonomous vehicles. The mobility model developed is composed of six interconnected sub-models. After presenting each of these models in detail, a method is introduced to analyze the direct and indirect effects of the measure, and a necessary condition for the occurrence of an undesirable effect is identified. Simulations in both forecasting and backcasting frameworks are then conducted, demonstrating the relevance of backcasting: it enables a 10% reduction in operator costs compared to forecasting results, while maintaining the same level of emissions.

Authors:Inkyu Jang, Jonghae Park, Chams E. Mballo, Sihyun Cho, Claire J. Tomlin, H. Jin Kim
Title: EigenSafe: A Spectral Framework for Learning-Based Stochastic Safety Filtering
Abstract:
We present EigenSafe, an operator-theoretic framework for learning-enabled safety-critical control for stochastic systems. In many robotic systems where dynamics are best modeled as stochastic systems due to factors such as sensing noise and environmental disturbances, it is challenging for conventional methods such as Hamilton-Jacobi reachability and control barrier functions to provide a holistic measure of safety. We derive a linear operator governing the dynamic programming principle for safety probability, and find that its dominant eigenpair provides information about safety for both individual states and the overall closed-loop system. The proposed learning framework, called EigenSafe, jointly learns this dominant eigenpair and a safe backup policy in an offline manner. The learned eigenfunction is then used to construct a safety filter that detects potentially unsafe situations and falls back to the backup policy. The framework is validated in three simulated stochastic safety-critical control tasks.

Authors:Rajpal Singh, Aditya Singh, Chidre Shravista Kashyap, Jishnu Keshavan
Title: Generalized Momenta-Based Koopman Formalism for Robust Control of Euler-Lagrangian Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel Koopman operator formulation for Euler Lagrangian dynamics that employs an implicit generalized momentum-based state space representation, which decouples a known linear actuation channel from state dependent dynamics and makes the system more amenable to linear Koopman modeling. By leveraging this structural separation, the proposed formulation only requires to learn the unactuated dynamics rather than the complete actuation dependent system, thereby significantly reducing the number of learnable parameters, improving data efficiency, and lowering overall model complexity. In contrast, conventional explicit formulations inherently couple inputs with the state dependent terms in a nonlinear manner, making them more suitable for bilinear Koopman models, which are more computationally expensive to train and deploy. Notably, the proposed scheme enables the formulation of linear models that achieve superior prediction performance compared to conventional bilinear models while remaining substantially more efficient. To realize this framework, we present two neural network architectures that construct Koopman embeddings from actuated or unactuated data, enabling flexible and efficient modeling across different tasks. Robustness is ensured through the integration of a linear Generalized Extended State Observer (GESO), which explicitly estimates disturbances and compensates for them in real time. The combined momentum-based Koopman and GESO framework is validated through comprehensive trajectory tracking simulations and experiments on robotic manipulators, demonstrating superior accuracy, robustness, and learning efficiency relative to state of the art alternatives.

Authors:Shuyu Zhan, Chih-Yuan Chiu, Antoine P. Leeman, Glen Chou
Title: Robustly Constrained Dynamic Games for Uncertain Nonlinear Dynamics
Abstract:
We propose a novel framework for robust dynamic games with nonlinear dynamics corrupted by state-dependent additive noise, and nonlinear agent-specific and shared constraints. Leveraging system-level synthesis (SLS), each agent designs a nominal trajectory and a causal affine error feedback law to minimize their own cost while ensuring that its own constraints and the shared constraints are satisfied, even under worst-case noise realizations. Building on these nonlinear safety certificates, we define the novel notion of a robustly constrained Nash equilibrium (RCNE). We then present an Iterative Best Response (IBR)-based algorithm that iteratively refines the optimal trajectory and controller for each agent until approximate convergence to the RCNE. We evaluated our method on simulations and hardware experiments involving large numbers of robots with high-dimensional nonlinear dynamics, as well as state-dependent dynamics noise. Across all experiment settings, our method generated trajectory rollouts which robustly avoid collisions, while a baseline game-theoretic algorithm for producing open-loop motion plans failed to generate trajectories that satisfy constraints.

Authors:João Sousa-Pinto, Dominique Orban
Title: A Regularized Riccati Recursion for Interior-Point Optimal Control
Abstract:
We derive a closed-form extension of Riccati's recursion for solving regularized LQR problems. We also show how this can be used to solve general constrained, non-convex, discrete-time optimal control problems via a regularized interior point method, while guaranteeing that each step is a descent direction of an Augmented Barrier-Lagrangian merit function. We also provide MIT-licensed implementations of our method in C++ and JAX.

Authors:Christopher H. Fok, Liangjie Sun, Tatsuya Akutsu, Wai-Ki Ching
Title: On the Number of Control Nodes of Threshold and XOR Boolean Networks
Abstract:
Boolean networks (BNs) are important models for gene regulatory networks and many other biological systems. In this paper, we study the minimal controllability problem of threshold and XOR BNs with degree constraints. Firstly, we derive lower-bound-related inequalities and some upper bounds for the number of control nodes of several classes of controllable majority-type threshold BNs. Secondly, we construct controllable majority-type BNs and BNs involving Boolean threshold functions with both positive and negative coefficients such that these BNs are associated with a small number of control nodes. Thirdly, we derive a linear-algebraic necessary and sufficient condition for the controllability of general XOR-BNs, whose update rules are based on the XOR logical operator, and construct polynomial-time algorithms for computing control-node sets and control signals for general XOR-BNs. Lastly, we use ring theory and linear algebra to establish a few best-case upper bounds for a type of degree-constrainted XOR-BNs called $k$-$k$-XOR-BNs. In particular, we show that for any positive integer $m \geq 2$ and any odd integer $k \in [3, 2^{m} - 1]$, there exists a $2^{m}$-node controllable $k$-$k$-XOR-BN with 1 control node. Our results offer theoretical insights into minimal interventions in networked systems such as gene regulatory networks.

Authors:Peter Amorese, Morteza Lahijanian
Title: Universal Learning of Stochastic Dynamics for Exact Belief Propagation using Bernstein Normalizing Flows
Abstract:
Predicting the distribution of future states in a stochastic system, known as belief propagation, is fundamental to reasoning under uncertainty. However, nonlinear dynamics often make analytical belief propagation intractable, requiring approximate methods. When the system model is unknown and must be learned from data, a key question arises: can we learn a model that (i) universally approximates general nonlinear stochastic dynamics, and (ii) supports analytical belief propagation? This paper establishes the theoretical foundations for a class of models that satisfy both properties. The proposed approach combines the expressiveness of normalizing flows for density estimation with the analytical tractability of Bernstein polynomials. Empirical results show the efficacy of our learned model over state-of-the-art data-driven methods for belief propagation, especially for highly non-linear systems with non-additive, non-Gaussian noise.

Authors:Bart van der Holst, Phuong Nguyen, Johan Morren, Koen Kok
Title: Risk-Aware Congestion Management with Capacity Limitation Contracts and Redispatch
Abstract:
This paper presents the coordination of two congestion management instruments - capacity limitation contracts (CLCs) and redispatch contracts (RCs) - as a risk-aware resource allocation problem. We propose that the advantages and drawbacks of these instruments can be represented as operational risk profiles and can be balanced through coordination. To this end, we develop a chance-constrained two-stage stochastic mixed-integer program for a system operator procuring flexibility from an aggregator managing a fleet of electric vehicles (EVs). The model captures uncertainty in EV charging and redispatch market conditions, using real order book data from the Dutch redispatch market (GOPACS). Results indicate that combining CLCs and RCs is generally the most cost-effective approach to mitigate risks associated with each instrument, but the optimal mix depends on fleet size and RC activation timing. Large uncertainty about EV loading increases RC activation intraday to correct for forecasting errors at the earlier CLC stage. For large fleet sizes (e.g. 25.000) the optimal policy limits redispatch due to market liquidity risks in the immature redispatch market. This risk increases for later redispatch activation due to shrinking trading windows for redispatch products. These findings highlight how various sources of uncertainty can impact the optimal trade-off between congestion management instruments.

Authors:Chih-Yuan Chiu, Zhouyu Zhang, Glen Chou
Title: Learning Constraints from Stochastic Partially-Observed Closed-Loop Demonstrations
Abstract:
We present an algorithm for learning unknown parametric constraints from locally-optimal input-output trajectory data. We assume that the given data is generated by demonstrators with stochastic nonlinear dynamics who execute a state or output feedback law to robustly satisfy the constraints despite worst-case dynamics and output noise. We encode the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions of this robust optimal output feedback control problem within a feasibility problem to recover constraints consistent with the local optimality of the demonstrations. We prove that our constraint learning method (i) accurately recovers the demonstrator's state or output feedback policy, and (ii) conservatively estimates the set of all state or output feedback policies that ensure constraint satisfaction despite worst-case noise realizations. Moreover, we perform sensitivity analysis, proving that when demonstrations are corrupted by transmission error, the inaccuracy in the learned state or output feedback law scales linearly in the error magnitude. Our method accurately recovers unknown constraints from simulated noisy, closed-loop demonstrations generated using dynamics, both linear and nonlinear, (e.g., unicycle and quadrotor) and a range of state and output feedback mechanisms.

Authors:Ihab Tabbara, Yuxuan Yang, Ahmad Hamzeh, Maxwell Astafyev, Hussein Sibai
Title: Designing Latent Safety Filters using Pre-Trained Vision Models
Abstract:
Ensuring safety of vision-based control systems remains a major challenge hindering their deployment in critical settings. Safety filters have gained increased interest as effective tools for ensuring the safety of classical control systems, but their applications in vision-based control settings have so far been limited. Pre-trained vision models (PVRs) have been shown to be effective perception backbones for control in various robotics domains. In this paper, we are interested in examining their effectiveness when used for designing vision-based safety filters. We use them as backbones for classifiers defining failure sets, for Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) reachability-based safety filters, and for latent world models. We discuss the trade-offs between training from scratch, fine-tuning, and freezing the PVRs when training the models they are backbones for. We also evaluate whether one of the PVRs is superior across all tasks, evaluate whether learned world models or Q-functions are better for switching decisions to safe policies, and discuss practical considerations for deploying these PVRs on resource-constrained devices.

Authors:Niusha Sabri Kadijani, Yoga Suhas Kuruba Manjunath, Xiaodan Bi, Lian Zhao
Title: QLook:Quantum-Driven Viewport Prediction for Virtual Reality
Abstract:
We propose QLook, a quantum-driven predictive framework to improve viewport prediction accuracy in immersive virtual reality (VR) environments. The framework utilizes quantum neural networks (QNNs) to model the user movement data, which has multiple interdependent dimensions and is collected in six-degree-of-freedom (6DoF) VR settings. QNN leverages superposition and entanglement to encode and process complex correlations among high-dimensional user positional data. The proposed solution features a cascaded hybrid architecture that integrates classical neural networks with variational quantum circuits (VQCs)-enhanced quantum long short-term memory (QLSTM) networks. We utilize identity block initialization to mitigate training challenges commonly associated with VQCs, particularly those encountered as barren plateaus. Empirical evaluation of QLook demonstrates a 37.4% reduction in mean squared error (MSE) compared to state-of-the-art (SoTA), showcasing superior viewport prediction.

Authors:Felix Wieberneit, Emanuele Crisostomi, Wynita Griggs, Robert Shorten
Title: Momentum-Based Access and Speed Control for Improved Safety in Heterogeneous Road Networks
Abstract:
The increasing variety of means of transportation, including light vehicles like e-scooters and e-bikes, together with the increasing weight of conventional vehicles due to electrification and consumer preferences for SUVs, are raising serious concerns regarding the safety of road networks. In this paper we design a two-level control algorithm to improve the safety of heterogeneous networks: first, an access control strategy decreases the heterogeneity of the network depending on actual traffic conditions; then, a speed control strategy mitigates the probability of serious injuries in potential collisions. Both control strategies are designed based on momentum considerations, as this is regarded as the most influential variable to assess injury risk. The road network mobility simulator SUMO is adopted to implement and validate our proposed control strategies.

Authors:Bowen Ye, Junyue Huang, Yang Liu, Xiaozhen Qiao, Xiang Yin
Title: Bridging Perception and Planning: Towards End-to-End Planning for Signal Temporal Logic Tasks
Abstract:
We investigate the task and motion planning problem for Signal Temporal Logic (STL) specifications in robotics. Existing STL methods rely on pre-defined maps or mobility representations, which are ineffective in unstructured real-world environments. We propose the \emph{Structured-MoE STL Planner} (\textbf{S-MSP}), a differentiable framework that maps synchronized multi-view camera observations and an STL specification directly to a feasible trajectory. S-MSP integrates STL constraints within a unified pipeline, trained with a composite loss that combines trajectory reconstruction and STL robustness. A \emph{structure-aware} Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) model enables horizon-aware specialization by projecting sub-tasks into temporally anchored embeddings. We evaluate S-MSP using a high-fidelity simulation of factory-logistics scenarios with temporally constrained tasks. Experiments show that S-MSP outperforms single-expert baselines in STL satisfaction and trajectory feasibility. A rule-based \emph{safety filter} at inference improves physical executability without compromising logical correctness, showcasing the practicality of the approach.

Authors:Defeng He, Weiliang Xiong, Shiqiang He, Haiping Du
Title: Convergence Filters for Efficient Economic MPC of Non-dissipative Systems
Abstract:
This note presents a novel, efficient economic model predictive control (EMPC) scheme for non-dissipative systems subject to state and input constraints. A new conception of convergence filters is defined to address the stability issue of EMPC for constrained non-dissipative systems. Three convergence filters are designed accordingly to be imposed into the receding horizon optimization problem of EMPC. To improve online computational efficiency, the variable horizon idea without terminal constraints is adopted to compromise the convergence speed, economic performance, and computational burden of EMPC. Moreover, sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the recursive feasibility and stability of the EMPC. The advantages of the proposed EMPC are validated by a classical non-dissipative continuous stirred-tank reactor.

Authors:Weiliang Xiong, Defeng He, Haiping Du, Jianbin Mu
Title: Varying Horizon Learning Economic MPC With Unknown Costs of Disturbed Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel varying horizon economic model predictive control (EMPC) scheme without terminal constraints for constrained nonlinear systems with additive disturbances and unknown economic costs. The general regression learning framework with mixed kernels is first used to reconstruct the unknown cost. Then an online iterative procedure is developed to adjust the horizon adaptively. Again, an elegant horizon-dependent contraction constraint is designed to ensure the convergence of the closed-loop system to a neighborhood of the desired steady state. Moreover, sufficient conditions ensuring recursive feasibility and input-to-state stability are established for the system in closed-loop with the EMPC. The merits of the proposed scheme are verified by the simulations of a continuous stirred tank reactor and a four-tank system in terms of robustness, economic performance and online computational burden.

Authors:Mostafa Eslami, Maryam Babazadeh
Title: Tensor Invariant Data-Assisted Control and Dynamic Decomposition of Multibody Systems
Abstract:
The control of robotic systems in complex, shared collaborative workspaces presents significant challenges in achieving robust performance and safety when learning from experienced or simulated data is employed in the pipeline. A primary bottleneck is the reliance on coordinate-dependent models, which leads to profound data inefficiency by failing to generalize physical interactions across different frames of reference. This forces learning algorithms to rediscover fundamental physical principles in every new orientation, artificially inflating the complexity of the learning task. This paper introduces a novel framework that synergizes a coordinate-free, unreduced multibody dynamics and kinematics model based on tensor mechanics with a Data-Assisted Control (DAC) architecture. A non-recursive, closed-form Newton-Euler model in an augmented matrix form is derived that is optimized for tensor-based control design. This structure enables a principled decomposition of the system into a structurally certain, physically grounded part and an uncertain, empirical, and interaction-focused part, mediated by a virtual port variable. Then, a complete, end-to-end tensor-invariant pipeline for modeling, control, and learning is proposed. The coordinate-free control laws for the structurally certain part provide a stable and abstract command interface, proven via Lyapunov analysis. Eventually, the model and closed-loop system are validated through simulations. This work provides a naturally ideal input for data-efficient, frame-invariant learning algorithms, such as equivariant learning, designed to learn the uncertain interaction. The synergy directly addresses the data-inefficiency problem, increases explainability and interpretability, and paves the way for more robust and generalizable robotic control in interactive environments.

Authors:Youssef Shaker, Jun Wen Law, Audun Botterud, Dharik Mallapragada
Title: Multi-sectoral Impacts of H2 and Synthetic Fuels Adoption for Heavy-duty Transportation Decarbonization
Abstract:
Policies focused on deep decarbonization of regional economies emphasize electricity sector decarbonization alongside electrification of end-uses. There is growing interest in utilizing hydrogen (H2) produced via electricity to displace fossil fuels in difficult-to-electrify sectors. One such case is heavy-duty vehicles (HDV), which represent a substantial and growing share of transport emissions as light-duty vehicles electrify. Here, we assess the bulk energy system impact of decarbonizing the HDV segment via either H2, or drop-in synthetic liquid fuels produced from H2 and CO2. Our analysis soft-links two modeling approaches: (a) a bottom-up transport demand model producing a variety of final energy demand scenarios for the same service demand and (b) a multi-sectoral capacity expansion model that co-optimizes power, H2 and CO2 supply chains under technological and policy constraints to meet exogenous final energy demands. Through a case study of Western Europe in 2040 under deep decarbonization constraints, we quantify the energy system implications of different levels of H2 and synthetic fuels adoption in the HDV sector under scenarios with and without CO2 sequestration. In the absence of CO2 storage, substitution of liquid fossil fuels in HDVs is essential to meet the deep decarbonization constraint across the modeled power, H2 and transport sectors. Additionally, utilizing H2 HDVs reduces decarbonization costs and fossil liquids demand, but could increase natural gas consumption. While H2 HDV adoption reduces the need for direct air capture (DAC), synthetic fuel adoption increases DAC investments and total system costs. The study highlights the trade-offs across transport decarbonization pathways, and underscores the importance of multi-sectoral consideration in decarbonization studies.

Authors:Akshay Sreekumar, Anthony Degleris, Ram Rajagopal
Title: Large-Scale Network Utility Maximization via GPU-Accelerated Proximal Message Passing
Abstract:
We present a GPU-accelerated proximal message passing algorithm for large-scale network utility maximization (NUM). NUM is a fundamental problem in resource allocation, where resources are allocated across various streams in a network to maximize total utility while respecting link capacity constraints. Our method, a variant of ADMM, requires only sparse matrix-vector multiplies with the link-route matrix and element-wise proximal operator evaluations, enabling fully parallel updates across streams and links. It also supports heterogeneous utility types, including logarithmic utilities common in NUM, and does not assume strict concavity. We implement our method in PyTorch and demonstrate its performance on problems with tens of millions of variables and constraints, achieving 4x to 20x speedups over existing CPU and GPU solvers and solving problem sizes that exhaust the memory of baseline methods. Additionally, we show that our algorithm is robust to congestion and link-capacity degradation. Finally, using a time-expanded transit seat allocation case study, we illustrate how our approach yields interpretable allocations in realistic networks.

Authors:Johannes van Randenborgh, Moritz Schulze Darup
Title: MPC for Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage Systems Using ARX Models
Abstract:
An aquifer thermal energy storage (ATES) can mitigate CO2 emissions of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for buildings. In application, an ATES keeps large quantities of thermal energy in groundwater-saturated aquifers. Normally, an ATES system comprises two (one for heat and one for cold) storages and supports the heating and cooling efforts of simultaneously present HVAC system components. This way, the operation and emissions of installed and, usually, fossil fuel-based components are reduced. The control of ATES systems is challenging, and various control schemes, including model predictive control (MPC), have been proposed. In this context, we present a lightweight input-output-data-based autoregressive with exogenous input (ARX) model of the hybrid ATES system dynamics. The ARX model allows the design of an output-based MPC scheme, resulting in an easy-to-solve quadratic program and avoiding challenging state estimations of ground temperatures. A numerical study discusses the accuracy of the ARX predictor and controller performance.

Authors:Mostafa Eslami, Maryam Babazadeh
Title: Learning-Based Data-Assisted Port-Hamiltonian Control for Free-Floating Space Manipulators
Abstract:
A generic data-assisted control architecture within the port-Hamiltonian framework is proposed, introducing a physically meaningful observable that links conservative dynamics to all actuation, dissipation, and disturbance channels. A robust, model-based controller combined with a high-gain decentralized integrator establishes large robustness margins and strict time-scale separation, ensuring that subsequent learning cannot destabilize the primary dynamics. Learning, selected for its generalizability, is then applied to capture complex, unmodeled effects, despite inherent delay and transient error during adaptation. Formal Lyapunov analysis with explicit stability bounds guarantees convergence under bounded learning errors. The structured design confines learning to the simplest part of the dynamics, enhancing data efficiency while preserving physical interpretability. The approach is generic, with a free-floating space manipulator orientation control task, including integrated null-space collision avoidance, serving as a case study to demonstrate robust tracking performance and applicability to broader robotic domains.

Authors:Julian Berberich, Tobias Fellner, Robert L. Kosut, Christian Holm
Title: Robustness of quantum algorithms: Worst-case fidelity bounds and implications for design
Abstract:
Errors occurring on noisy hardware pose a key challenge to reliable quantum computing. Existing techniques such as error correction, mitigation, or suppression typically separate the error handling from the algorithm analysis and design. In this paper, we develop an alternative, algorithm-centered framework for understanding and improving the robustness against errors. For a given quantum algorithm and error model, we derive worst-case fidelity bounds which can be explicitly computed to certify the robustness. We consider general error models including coherent and (Markovian) incoherent errors and allowing for set-based error descriptions to address uncertainty or time-dependence in the errors. Our results give rise to guidelines for robust algorithm design and compilation by optimizing our theoretical robustness measure. Numerical results on algorithm analysis and robust optimization demonstrate the practicality of the framework.

Authors:Zixin Zhang, James Avtges, Todd D. Murphey
Title: Sample-Efficient Online Control Policy Learning with Real-Time Recursive Model Updates
Abstract:
Data-driven control methods need to be sample-efficient and lightweight, especially when data acquisition and computational resources are limited -- such as during learning on hardware. Most modern data-driven methods require large datasets and struggle with real-time updates of models, limiting their performance in dynamic environments. Koopman theory formally represents nonlinear systems as linear models over observables, and Koopman representations can be determined from data in an optimization-friendly setting with potentially rapid model updates. In this paper, we present a highly sample-efficient, Koopman-based learning pipeline: Recursive Koopman Learning (RKL). We identify sufficient conditions for model convergence and provide formal algorithmic analysis supporting our claim that RKL is lightweight and fast, with complexity independent of dataset size. We validate our method on a simulated planar two-link arm and a hybrid nonlinear hardware system with soft actuators, showing that real-time recursive Koopman model updates improve the sample efficiency and stability of data-driven controller synthesis -- requiring only <10% of the data compared to benchmarks. The high-performance C++ codebase is open-sourced. Website: https://www.zixinatom990.com/home/robotics/corl-2025-recursive-koopman-learning.

Authors:Aakash Khandelwal, Ranjan Mukherjee
Title: Planar Juggling of a Devil-Stick using Discrete VHCs
Abstract:
Planar juggling of a devil-stick using impulsive inputs is addressed using the concept of discrete virtual holonomic constraints (DVHC). The location of the center-of-mass of the devil-stick is specified in terms of its orientation at the discrete instants when impulsive control inputs are applied. The discrete zero dynamics (DZD) resulting from the choice of DVHC provides conditions for stable juggling. A control design that enforces the DVHC and an orbit stabilizing controller are presented. The approach is validated in simulation.

Authors:Prashil Wankhede, Nirabhra Mandal, Sonia Martínez, Pavankumar Tallapragada
Title: Multi-Topic Projected Opinion Dynamics for Resource Allocation
Abstract:
We propose a model of opinion formation on resource allocation among multiple topics by multiple agents, who are subject to hard budget constraints. We define a utility function for each agent and then derive a projected dynamical system model of opinion evolution assuming that each agent myopically seeks to maximize its utility subject to its constraints. Inter-agent coupling arises from an undirected social network, while inter-topic coupling arises from resource constraints. We show that opinions always converge to the equilibrium set. For special networks with very weak antagonistic relations, the opinions converge to a unique equilibrium point. We further show that the underlying opinion formation game is a potential game. We relate the equilibria of the dynamics and the Nash equilibria of the game and characterize the unique Nash equilibrium for networks with no antagonistic relations. Finally, simulations illustrate our findings.

Authors:Xin Chen, Xiaoyang Wang, Ana Colacelli, Matt Lee, Le Xie
Title: Electricity Demand and Grid Impacts of AI Data Centers: Challenges and Prospects
Abstract:
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI) is driving an unprecedented increase in the electricity demand of AI data centers, raising emerging challenges for electric power grids. Understanding the characteristics of AI data center loads and their interactions with the grid is therefore critical for ensuring both reliable power system operation and sustainable AI development. This paper provides a comprehensive review and vision of this evolving landscape. Specifically, this paper (i) presents an overview of AI data center infrastructure and its key components, (ii) examines the key characteristics and patterns of electricity demand across the stages of model preparation, training, fine-tuning, and inference, (iii) analyzes the critical challenges that AI data center loads pose to power systems across three interrelated timescales, including long-term planning and interconnection, short-term operation and electricity markets, and real-time dynamics and stability, and (iv) discusses potential solutions from the perspectives of the grid, AI data centers, and AI end-users to address these challenges. By synthesizing current knowledge and outlining future directions, this review aims to guide research and development in support of the joint advancement of AI data centers and power systems toward reliable, efficient, and sustainable operation.

Authors:Prajakta Surve, Shaunak D. Bopardikar, Alexander Von Moll, Isaac Weintraub, David W. Casbeer
Title: Mutual Support by Sensor-Attacker Team for a Passive Target
Abstract:
We introduce a pursuit game played between a team of a sensor and an attacker and a mobile target in the unbounded Euclidean plane. The target is faster than the sensor, but slower than the attacker. The sensor's objective is to keep the target within a sensing radius so that the attacker can capture the target, whereas the target seeks to escape by reaching beyond the sensing radius from the sensor without getting captured by the attacker. We assume that as long as the target is within the sensing radius from the sensor, the sensor-attacker team is able to measure the target's instantaneous position and velocity. We pose and solve this problem as a \emph{game of kind} in which the target uses an open-loop strategy (passive target). Aside from the novel formulation, our contributions are four-fold. First, we present optimal strategies for both the sensor and the attacker, according to their respective objectives. Specifically, we design a sensor strategy that maximizes the duration for which the target remains within its sensing range, while the attacker uses proportional navigation to capture the target. Second, we characterize the \emph{sensable region} -- the region in the plane in which the target remains within the sensing radius of the sensor during the game -- and show that capture is guaranteed {if and only if} the Apollonius circle between the attacker and the target is fully contained within this region. Third, we {derive a lower bound} on the target's speed below which capture is guaranteed, and an upper bound on the target speed above which there exists an escape strategy for the target, from an arbitrary initial orientation between the agents. Fourth, for a given initial orientation between the agents, we present a sharper upper bound on the target speed above which there exists an escape strategy for the target.

Authors:Chun-Wei Kong, Jay McMahon, Morteza Lahijanian
Title: Bayesian Diagnosability and Active Fault Identification
Abstract:
We study fault identification in discrete-time nonlinear systems subject to additive Gaussian white noise. We introduce a Bayesian framework that explicitly accounts for unmodeled faults under reasonable assumptions. Our approach hinges on a new quantitative diagnosability definition, revealing when passive fault identification (FID) is fundamentally limited by the given control sequence. To overcome such limitations, we propose an active FID strategy that designs control inputs for better fault identification. Numerical studies on a two-water tank system and a Mars satellite with complex and discontinuous dynamics demonstrate that our method significantly reduces failure rates with shorter identification delays compared to purely passive techniques.

Authors:Farshad Amani, Faezeh Ardali, Amin Kargarian
Title: Learning Optimal Crew Dispatch for Grid Restoration Following an Earthquake
Abstract:
Post-disaster crew dispatch is a critical but computationally intensive task. Traditional mixed-integer linear programming methods often require minutes to several hours to compute solutions, leading to delays that hinder timely decision-making in highly dynamic restoration environments. To address this challenge, we propose a novel learning-based framework that integrates transformer architectures with deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to deliver near real-time decision support without compromising solution quality. Crew dispatch is formulated as a sequential decision-making problem under uncertainty, where transformers capture high-dimensional system states and temporal dependencies, while DRL enables adaptive and scalable decision-making. Earthquake-induced distribution network damage is first characterized using established seismic standards, followed by a scenario generation and reduction pipeline that aggregates probable outcomes into a single geospatial impact map. Conditioned on this map, the proposed framework generates second-level dispatch strategies, trained offline on simulated and historical events and deployed online for rapid response. In addition to substantial runtime improvements, the proposed method enhances system resilience by enabling faster and more effective recovery and restoration. Case studies, particularly on the 2869-bus European gas and power network, demonstrate that the method substantially accelerates restoration while maintaining high-quality solutions, underscoring its potential for practical deployment in large-scale disaster response.

Authors:Daisuke Inoue, Tadayoshi Matsumori, Gouhei Tanaka, Yuji Ito
Title: Reservoir Predictive Path Integral Control for Unknown Nonlinear Dynamics
Abstract:
Neural networks capable of approximating complex nonlinearities have found extensive application in data-driven control of nonlinear dynamical systems. However, fast online identification and control of unknown dynamics remain central challenges. This paper integrates echo-state networks (ESNs) -- reservoir computing models implemented with recurrent neural networks -- and model predictive path integral (MPPI) control -- sampling-based variants of model predictive control -- to meet these challenges. The proposed reservoir predictive path integral (RPPI) enables fast learning of nonlinear dynamics with ESN and exploits the learned nonlinearities directly in parallelized MPPI control computation without linearization approximations. The framework is further extended to uncertainty-aware RPPI (URPPI), which leverages ESN uncertainty to balance exploration and exploitation: exploratory inputs dominate during early learning, while exploitative inputs prevail as model confidence grows. Experiments on controlling the Duffing oscillator and four-tank systems demonstrate that URPPI improves control performance, reducing control costs by up to 60% compared to traditional quadratic programming-based model predictive control methods.

Authors:Leon Greiser, Christian Rathgeber, Vladislav Nenchev, Sören Hohmann
Title: Parameter Tuning Under Uncertain Road Perception in Driver Assistance Systems
Abstract:
Advanced driver assistance systems have improved comfort, safety, and efficiency of modern vehicles. However, sensor limitations lead to noisy lane estimates that pose a significant challenge in developing performant control architectures. Lateral trajectory planning often employs an optimal control formulation to maintain lane position and minimize steering effort. The parameters are often tuned manually, which is a time-intensive procedure. This paper presents an automatic parameter tuning method for lateral planning in lane-keeping scenarios based on recorded data, while taking into account noisy road estimates. By simulating the lateral vehicle behavior along a reference curve, our approach efficiently optimizes planner parameters for automated driving and demonstrates improved performance on previously unseen test data.

Authors:Thinh Viet Le, Md Obaidur Rahman, Vassilis Kekatos
Title: Learning AC Power Flow Solutions using a Data-Dependent Variational Quantum Circuit
Abstract:
Interconnection studies require solving numerous instances of the AC load or power flow (AC PF) problem to simulate diverse scenarios as power systems navigate the ongoing energy transition. To expedite such studies, this work leverages recent advances in quantum computing to find or predict AC PF solutions using a variational quantum circuit (VQC). VQCs are trainable models that run on modern-day noisy intermediate-scale quantum (NISQ) hardware to accomplish elaborate optimization and machine learning (ML) tasks. Our first contribution is to pose a single instance of the AC PF as a nonlinear least-squares fit over the VQC trainable parameters (weights) and solve it using a hybrid classical/quantum computing approach. The second contribution is to feed PF specifications as features into a data-embedded VQC and train the resultant quantum ML (QML) model to predict general PF solutions. The third contribution is to develop a novel protocol to efficiently measure AC-PF quantum observables by exploiting the graph structure of a power network. Preliminary numerical tests indicate that the proposed VQC models attain enhanced prediction performance over a deep neural network despite using much fewer weights. The proposed quantum AC-PF framework sets the foundations for addressing more elaborate grid tasks via quantum computing.

Authors:Tarek Bazizi, Mohamed Maghenem, Paolo Frasca, Antonio Lorìa, Elena Panteley
Title: On the Perturbed Projection-Based Distributed Gradient-Descent Algorithm: A Fully-Distributed Adaptive Redesign
Abstract:
In this work, we revisit a classical distributed gradient-descent algorithm, introducing an interesting class of perturbed multi-agent systems. The state of each subsystem represents a local estimate of a solution to the global optimization problem. Thereby, the network is required to minimize local cost functions, while gathering the local estimates around a common value. Such a complex task suggests the interplay of consensus-based dynamics with gradient-descent dynamics. The latter descent dynamics involves the projection operator, which is assumed to provide corrupted projections of a specific form, reminiscent of existing (fast) projection algorithms. Hence, for the resulting class of perturbed networks, we are able to adaptively tune some gains in a fully distributed fashion, to approach the optimal consensus set up to arbitrary-desired precision.

Authors:Tianhua Gao, Kohji Tomita, Akiya Kamimura
Title: Robustness Enhancement for Multi-Quadrotor Centralized Transportation System via Online Tuning and Learning
Abstract:
This paper introduces an adaptive-neuro geometric control for a centralized multi-quadrotor cooperative transportation system, which enhances both adaptivity and disturbance rejection. Our strategy is to coactively tune the model parameters and learn the external disturbances in real-time. To realize this, we augmented the existing geometric control with multiple neural networks and adaptive laws, where the estimated model parameters and the weights of the neural networks are simultaneously tuned and adjusted online. The Lyapunov-based adaptation guarantees bounded estimation errors without requiring either pre-training or the persistent excitation (PE) condition. The proposed control system has been proven to be stable in the sense of Lyapunov under certain preconditions, and its enhanced robustness under scenarios of disturbed environment and model-unmatched plant was demonstrated by numerical simulations.

Authors:Tianhua Gao, Kohji Tomita, Akiya Kamimura
Title: Online Identification using Adaptive Laws and Neural Networks for Multi-Quadrotor Centralized Transportation System
Abstract:
This paper introduces an adaptive-neuro identification method that enhances the robustness of a centralized multi-quadrotor transportation system. This method leverages online tuning and learning on decomposed error subspaces, enabling efficient real-time compensation to time-varying disturbances and model uncertainties acting on the payload. The strategy is to decompose the high-dimensional error space into a set of low-dimensional subspaces. In this way, the identification problem for unseen features is naturally transformed into submappings (``slices'') addressed by multiple adaptive laws and shallow neural networks, which are updated online via Lyapunov-based adaptation without requiring persistent excitation (PE) and offline training. Due to the model-free nature of neural networks, this approach can be well adapted to highly coupled and nonlinear centralized transportation systems. It serves as a feedforward compensator for the payload controller without explicitly relying on the dynamics coupled with the payload, such as cables and quadrotors. The proposed control system has been proven to be stable in the sense of Lyapunov, and its enhanced robustness under time-varying disturbances and model uncertainties was demonstrated by numerical simulations.

Authors:Yongkang Su, Sei Zhen Khong, Lanlan Su
Title: Passivity Compensation: A Distributed Approach for Consensus Analysis in Heterogeneous Networks
Abstract:
This paper investigates a passivity-based approach to output consensus analysis in heterogeneous networks composed of non-identical agents coupled via nonlinear interactions, in the presence of measurement and/or communication noise. Focusing on agents that are input-feedforward passive (IFP), we first examine whether a shortage of passivity in some agents can be compensated by a passivity surplus in others, in the sense of preserving the passivity of the transformed open-loop system defined by the agent dynamics and network topology. We show that such compensation is only feasible when at most one agent lacks passivity, and we characterise how this deficit can be offset using the excess passivity within the group of agents. For general networks, we then investigate passivity compensation within the feedback interconnection by leveraging the passivity surplus in the coupling links to locally compensate for the lack of passivity in the adjacent agents. In particular, a distributed condition, expressed in terms of passivity indices and coupling gains, is derived to ensure output consensus of the interconnected network.

Authors:Fanxin Wang, Yikun Cheng, Chuyuan Tao, Rohit Bhargava, Thenkurussi Kesavadas
Title: Needle Biopsy And Fiber-Optic Compatible Robotic Insertion Platform
Abstract:
Tissue biopsy is the gold standard for diagnosing many diseases, involving the extraction of diseased tissue for histopathology analysis by expert pathologists. However, this procedure has two main limitations: 1) Manual sampling through tissue biopsy is prone to inaccuracies; 2) The extraction process is followed by a time-consuming pathology test. To address these limitations, we present a compact, accurate, and maneuverable robotic insertion platform to overcome the limitations in traditional histopathology. Our platform is capable of steering a variety of tools with different sizes, including needle for tissue extraction and optical fibers for vibrational spectroscopy applications. This system facilitates the guidance of end-effector to the tissue and assists surgeons in navigating to the biopsy target area for multi-modal diagnosis. In this paper, we outline the general concept of our device, followed by a detailed description of its mechanical design and control scheme. We conclude with the validation of the system through a series of tests, including positioning accuracy, admittance performance, and tool insertion efficacy.

Authors:Thinh Viet Le, Mark M. Wilde, Vassilis Kekatos
Title: Solving Optimal Power Flow using a Variational Quantum Approach
Abstract:
The optimal power flow (OPF) is a large-scale optimization problem that is central in the operation of electric power systems. Although it can be posed as a nonconvex quadratically constrained quadratic program, the complexity of modern-day power grids raises scalability and optimality challenges. In this context, this work proposes a variational quantum paradigm for solving the OPF. We encode primal variables through the state of a parameterized quantum circuit (PQC), and dual variables through the probability mass function associated with a second PQC. The Lagrangian function can thus be expressed as scaled expectations of quantum observables. An OPF solution can be found by minimizing/maximizing the Lagrangian over the parameters of the first/second PQC. We pursue saddle points of the Lagrangian in a hybrid fashion. Gradients of the Lagrangian are estimated using the two PQCs, while PQC parameters are updated classically using a primal-dual method. We propose permuting primal variables so that OPF observables are expressed in a banded form, allowing them to be measured efficiently. Numerical tests on the IEEE 57-node power system using Pennylane's simulator corroborate that the proposed doubly variational quantum framework can find high-quality OPF solutions. Although showcased for the OPF, this framework features a broader scope, including conic programs with numerous variables and constraints, problems defined over sparse graphs, and training quantum machine learning models to satisfy constraints.

Authors:Yu Tian, Chi Kit Ng, Hongliang Ren
Title: Jacobian Exploratory Dual-Phase Reinforcement Learning for Dynamic Endoluminal Navigation of Deformable Continuum Robots
Abstract:
Deformable continuum robots (DCRs) present unique planning challenges due to nonlinear deformation mechanics and partial state observability, violating the Markov assumptions of conventional reinforcement learning (RL) methods. While Jacobian-based approaches offer theoretical foundations for rigid manipulators, their direct application to DCRs remains limited by time-varying kinematics and underactuated deformation dynamics. This paper proposes Jacobian Exploratory Dual-Phase RL (JEDP-RL), a framework that decomposes planning into phased Jacobian estimation and policy execution. During each training step, we first perform small-scale local exploratory actions to estimate the deformation Jacobian matrix, then augment the state representation with Jacobian features to restore approximate Markovianity. Extensive SOFA surgical dynamic simulations demonstrate JEDP-RL's three key advantages over proximal policy optimization (PPO) baselines: 1) Convergence speed: 3.2x faster policy convergence, 2) Navigation efficiency: requires 25% fewer steps to reach the target, and 3) Generalization ability: achieve 92% success rate under material property variations and achieve 83% (33% higher than PPO) success rate in the unseen tissue environment.

Authors:Alexander Gräfe, Joram Eickhoff, Marco Zimmerling, Sebastian Trimpe
Title: DMPC-Swarm: Distributed Model Predictive Control on Nano UAV Swarms
Abstract:
Swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are increasingly becoming vital to our society, undertaking tasks such as search and rescue, surveillance and delivery. A special variant of Distributed Model Predictive Control (DMPC) has emerged as a promising approach for the safe management of these swarms by combining the scalability of distributed computation with dynamic swarm motion control. In this DMPC method, multiple agents solve local optimization problems with coupled anti-collision constraints, periodically exchanging their solutions. Despite its potential, existing methodologies using this DMPC variant have yet to be deployed on distributed hardware that fully utilize true distributed computation and wireless communication. This is primarily due to the lack of a communication system tailored to meet the unique requirements of mobile swarms and an architecture that supports distributed computation while adhering to the payload constraints of UAVs. We present DMPC-SWARM, a new swarm control methodology that integrates an efficient, stateless low-power wireless communication protocol with a novel DMPC algorithm that provably avoids UAV collisions even under message loss. By utilizing event-triggered and distributed off-board computing, DMPC-SWARM supports nano UAVs, allowing them to benefit from additional computational resources while retaining scalability and fault tolerance. In a detailed theoretical analysis, we prove that DMPC-SWARM guarantees collision avoidance under realistic conditions, including communication delays and message loss. Finally, we present DMPC-SWARM's implementation on a swarm of up to 16 nano-quadcopters, demonstrating the first realization of these DMPC variants with computation distributed on multiple physical devices interconnected by a real wireless mesh networks. A video showcasing DMPC-SWARM is available at http://tiny.cc/DMPCSwarm.

Authors:Hancheng Min, René Vidal
Title: Understanding Incremental Learning with Closed-form Solution to Gradient Flow on Overparamerterized Matrix Factorization
Abstract:
Many theoretical studies on neural networks attribute their excellent empirical performance to the implicit bias or regularization induced by first-order optimization algorithms when training networks under certain initialization assumptions. One example is the incremental learning phenomenon in gradient flow (GF) on an overparamerterized matrix factorization problem with small initialization: GF learns a target matrix by sequentially learning its singular values in decreasing order of magnitude over time. In this paper, we develop a quantitative understanding of this incremental learning behavior for GF on the symmetric matrix factorization problem, using its closed-form solution obtained by solving a Riccati-like matrix differential equation. We show that incremental learning emerges from some time-scale separation among dynamics corresponding to learning different components in the target matrix. By decreasing the initialization scale, these time-scale separations become more prominent, allowing one to find low-rank approximations of the target matrix. Lastly, we discuss the possible avenues for extending this analysis to asymmetric matrix factorization problems.

Authors:Francesco Prignoli, Francesco Borrelli, Paolo Falcone, Mark Pustilnik
Title: Regulation-Aware Game-Theoretic Motion Planning for Autonomous Racing
Abstract:
This paper presents a regulation-aware motion planning framework for autonomous racing scenarios. Each agent solves a Regulation-Compliant Model Predictive Control problem, where racing rules - such as right-of-way and collision avoidance responsibilities - are encoded using Mixed Logical Dynamical constraints. We formalize the interaction between vehicles as a Generalized Nash Equilibrium Problem (GNEP) and approximate its solution using an Iterative Best Response scheme. Building on this, we introduce the Regulation-Aware Game-Theoretic Planner (RA-GTP), in which the attacker reasons over the defender's regulation-constrained behavior. This game-theoretic layer enables the generation of overtaking strategies that are both safe and non-conservative. Simulation results demonstrate that the RA-GTP outperforms baseline methods that assume non-interacting or rule-agnostic opponent models, leading to more effective maneuvers while consistently maintaining compliance with racing regulations.

Authors:Zhouyu Zhang, Chih-Yuan Chiu, Glen Chou
Title: Constraint Learning in Multi-Agent Dynamic Games from Demonstrations of Local Nash Interactions
Abstract:
We present an inverse dynamic game-based algorithm to learn parametric constraints from a given dataset of local generalized Nash equilibrium interactions between multiple agents. Specifically, we introduce mixed-integer linear programs (MILP) encoding the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) conditions of the interacting agents, which recover constraints consistent with the Nash stationarity of the interaction demonstrations. We establish theoretical guarantees that our method learns inner approximations of the true safe and unsafe sets, as well as limitations of constraint learnability from demonstrations of Nash equilibrium interactions. We also use the interaction constraints recovered by our method to design motion plans that robustly satisfy the underlying constraints. Across simulations and hardware experiments, our methods proved capable of inferring constraints and designing interactive motion plans for various classes of constraints, both convex and non-convex, from interaction demonstrations of agents with nonlinear dynamics.

Authors:Morokot Sakal, George Nehma, Camilo Riano-Rios, Madhur Tiwari
Title: Real-time Testing of Satellite Attitude Control With a Reaction Wheel Hardware-In-the-Loop Platform
Abstract:
We propose the Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) test of an adaptive satellite attitude control system with reaction wheel health estimation capabilities. Previous simulations and Software-in-the-Loop testing have prompted further experiments to explore the validity of the controller with real momentum exchange devices in the loop. This work is a step toward a comprehensive testing framework for validation of spacecraft attitude control algorithms. The proposed HIL testbed includes brushless DC motors and drivers that communicate using a CAN bus, an embedded computer that executes control and adaptation laws, and a satellite simulator that produces simulated sensor data, estimated attitude states, and responds to actions of the external actuators. We propose methods to artificially induce failures on the reaction wheels, and present related issues and lessons learned.

Authors:Farshad Amani, Amin Kargarian, Ramachandran Vaidyanathan
Title: Learning Interior Point Method for AC and DC Optimal Power Flow
Abstract:
This paper proposes a feasibility-guaranteed learning interior point method (L-IPM) to solve both AC and DC optimal power flow (OPF) problems. Given the criticality of OPF, the proposed L-IPM uses a hybrid learning model approach rather than relying solely on a simple black-box prediction. The traditional IPM follows a central path from an initial point to the optimal solution. However, each iteration involves solving large linear systems, which becomes increasingly expensive as the matrices grow more ill-conditioned in later steps. To address this, we model the IPM trajectory as a time series and train a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network to project the IPM central path using only the first few stable iterations, which carry the most informative features about the path to optimality. We introduce a grid-informed methodology that enforces operational constraints on generation, voltage magnitudes, and line flows to ensure feasibility. The grid-informed LSTM serves as a tool for the IPM central path projection and, followed by a final IPM refinement step, significantly reduces the total number of iterations and time required for convergence. We use a sampling method to generate a wide range of load scenarios to improve generalization across diverse operating conditions, efficiently covering the power system's operational space. Simulation results on a 2869-bus European high-voltage transmission system show that the proposed L-IPM significantly reduces solution time by up to 94\%, while maintaining accuracy and feasibility of the solution. By leveraging early iterations and bypassing the final ill-conditioned and computationally demanding steps of traditional IPM, the proposed L-IPM reduces the number of required iterations by up to 85.5\%. Since solution feasibility is also guaranteed, L-IPM outperforms the conventional IPM in both computational efficiency and robustness.

Authors:Mathieu Granzotto, Romain Postoyan, Dragan Nešić, Jamal Daafouz, Lucian Buşoniu
Title: An optimistic planning algorithm for switched discrete-time LQR
Abstract:
We introduce TROOP, a tree-based Riccati optimistic online planner, that is designed to generate near-optimal control laws for discrete-time switched linear systems with switched quadratic costs. The key challenge that we address is balancing computational resources against control performance, which is important as constructing near-optimal inputs often requires substantial amount of computations. TROOP addresses this trade-off by adopting an online best-first search strategy inspired by A*, allowing for efficient estimates of the optimal value function. The control laws obtained guarantee both near-optimality and stability properties for the closed-loop system. These properties depend on the planning depth, which determines how far into the future the algorithm explores and is closely related to the amount of computations. TROOP thus strikes a balance between computational efficiency and control performance, which is illustrated by numerical simulations on an example.

Authors:Jingwei Hu, Dave Zachariah, Torbjörn Wigren, Petre Stoica
Title: Closed-Form Input Design for Identification under Output Feedback with Perturbation Constraints
Abstract:
In many applications, system identification experiments must be performed under output feedback to ensure safety or to maintain system operation. In this paper, we consider the online design of informative experiments for ARMAX models by applying a bounded perturbation to the input signal generated by a fixed output feedback controller. Specifically, the design constrains the resulting output perturbation within user-specified limits and can be efficiently computed in closed form. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in two numerical experiments.

Authors:Nico Klar, Nizam Gifary, Felix P. G. Ziegler, Frank Sehnke, Anton Kaifel, Eric Price, Aamir Ahmad
Title: BirdRecorder's AI on Sky: Safeguarding birds of prey by detection and classification of tiny objects around wind turbines
Abstract:
The urgent need for renewable energy expansion, particularly wind power, is hindered by conflicts with wildlife conservation. To address this, we developed BirdRecorder, an advanced AI-based anti-collision system to protect endangered birds, especially the red kite (Milvus milvus). Integrating robotics, telemetry, and high-performance AI algorithms, BirdRecorder aims to detect, track, and classify avian species within a range of 800 m to minimize bird-turbine collisions. BirdRecorder integrates advanced AI methods with optimized hardware and software architectures to enable real-time image processing. Leveraging Single Shot Detector (SSD) for detection, combined with specialized hardware acceleration and tracking algorithms, our system achieves high detection precision while maintaining the speed necessary for real-time decision-making. By combining these components, BirdRecorder outperforms existing approaches in both accuracy and efficiency. In this paper, we summarize results on field tests and performance of the BirdRecorder system. By bridging the gap between renewable energy expansion and wildlife conservation, BirdRecorder contributes to a more sustainable coexistence of technology and nature.

Authors:Rahman Saadat Yeganeh, Hamid Behroozi, Mohammad Javad Omidi, Mohammad Robat Mili, Eduard A. Jorswieck, Symeon Chatzinotas
Title: Enhancing Energy and Spectral Efficiency in IoT-Cellular Networks via Active SIM-Equipped LEO Satellites
Abstract:
This paper investigates a low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite communication system enhanced by an active stacked intelligent metasurface (ASIM), mounted on the backplate of the satellite solar panels to efficiently utilize limited onboard space and reduce the main satellite power amplifier requirements. The system serves multiple ground users via rate-splitting multiple access (RSMA) and IoT devices through a symbiotic radio network. Multi-layer sequential processing in the ASIM improves effective channel gains and suppresses inter-user interference, outperforming active RIS and beyond-diagonal RIS designs. Three optimization approaches are evaluated: block coordinate descent with successive convex approximation (BCD-SCA), model-assisted multi-agent constraint soft actor-critic (MA-CSAC), and multi-constraint proximal policy optimization (MCPPO). Simulation results show that BCD-SCA converges fast and stably in convex scenarios without learning, MCPPO achieves rapid initial convergence with moderate stability, and MA-CSAC attains the highest long-term spectral and energy efficiency in large-scale networks. Energy-spectral efficiency trade-offs are analyzed for different ASIM elements, satellite antennas, and transmit power. Overall, the study demonstrates that integrating multi-layer ASIM with suitable optimization algorithms offers a scalable, energy-efficient, and high-performance solution for next-generation LEO satellite communications.

Authors:Aakash Khandelwal, Ranjan Mukherjee
Title: Discrete VHCs for Propeller Motion of a Devil-Stick using purely Impulsive Inputs
Abstract:
The control problem of realizing propeller motion of a devil-stick in the vertical plane using impulsive forces applied normal to the stick is considered. This problem is an example of underactuated robotic juggling and has not been considered in the literature before. Inspired by virtual holonomic constraints, the concept of discrete virtual holonomic constraints (DVHC) is introduced for the first time to solve this orbital stabilization problem. At the discrete instants when impulsive inputs are applied, the location of the center-of-mass of the devil-stick is specified in terms of its orientation angle. This yields the discrete zero dynamics (DZD), which provides conditions for stable propeller motion. In the limiting case, when the rotation angle between successive applications of impulsive inputs is chosen to be arbitrarily small, the problem reduces to that of propeller motion under continuous forcing. A controller that enforces the DVHC, and an orbit stabilizing controller based on the impulse controlled Poincaré map approach are presented. The efficacy of the approach to trajectory design and stabilization is validated through simulations.

Authors:Declan S. Jagt, Matthew M. Peet
Title: A State-Space Representation of Coupled Linear Multivariate PDEs and Stability Analysis using SDP
Abstract:
Physical processes evolving in both time and space are often modeled using Partial Differential Equations (PDEs). Recently, it has been shown how stability analysis and control of coupled PDEs in a single spatial variable can be more conveniently performed using an equivalent Partial Integral Equation (PIE) representation. The construction of this PIE representation is based on an analytic expression for the inverse of the spatial differential operator, $\partial_s^{d}$, on the domain defined by boundary conditions. In this paper, we show how this univariate representation may be extended inductively to multiple spatial variables by representing the domain as the intersection of lifted univariate domains. Specifically, we show that if each univariate domain is well-posed, then there exists a readily verified consistency condition which is necessary and sufficient for existence of an inverse to the multivariate spatial differential operator, $D^α=\partial_{s_1}^{α_1}\cdots\partial_{s_N}^{α_N}$, on the PDE domain. Furthermore, we show that this inverse is an element of a $*$-algebra of Partial Integral (PI) operators defined by polynomial semi-separable kernels. Based on this operator algebra, we show that the evolution of any suitably well-posed linear multivariate PDE may be described by a PIE, parameterized by elements of the PI algebra. A convex computational test for PDE stability is then proposed using a positive matrix parameterization of positive PI operators, and software (PIETOOLS) is provided which automates the process of representation and stability analysis of such PDEs. This software is used to analyze stability of 2D heat, wave, and plate equations, obtaining accurate bounds on the rate of decay.

Authors:Tianhua Gao, Masashi Izumita, Kohji Tomita, Akiya Kamimura
Title: Dimension-Decomposed Learning for Quadrotor Geometric Attitude Control with Almost Global Exponential Convergence on SO(3)
Abstract:
This paper introduces a lightweight and interpretable online learning approach called Dimension-Decomposed Learning (DiD-L) for disturbance identification in quadrotor geometric attitude control. As a module instance of DiD-L, we propose the Sliced Adaptive-Neuro Mapping (SANM). Specifically, to address underlying underfitting problems, the high-dimensional mapping for online identification is axially ``sliced" into multiple low-dimensional submappings (slices). In this way, the complex high-dimensional problem is decomposed into a set of simple low-dimensional subtasks addressed by shallow neural networks and adaptive laws. These neural networks and adaptive laws are updated online via Lyapunov-based adaptation without the persistent excitation (PE) condition. To enhance the interpretability of the proposed approach, we prove that the state solution of the rotational error dynamics exponentially converges into an arbitrarily small ball within an almost global attraction domain, despite time-varying disturbances and inertia uncertainties. This result is novel as it demonstrates exponential convergence without requiring pre-training for unseen disturbances and specific knowledge of the model. To our knowledge in the quadrotor control field, DiD-L is the first online learning approach that is lightweight enough to run in real-time at 400 Hz on microcontroller units (MCUs) such as STM32, and has been validated through real-world experiments.

Authors:Jesus Silva-Rodriguez, Tianxia Zhao, Ran Mo, Xingpeng Li
Title: Grid-Edge Energy-Flexible Technologies: A Comparative Analysis Across Generators, Loads, and Energy Storage Systems
Abstract:
This review analysis presents a comprehensive exploration of energy flexibility in modern power systems. It examines the roles and mechanisms of flexible technologies across three main categories: generators, energy storage systems (ESS), and loads. Energy flexibility is defined as the ability to dynamically adjust supply and/or demand in response to grid conditions to maintain balance and stability. This is of particular importance to facilitate the integration of the growing variable renewable energy sources (RES) into modern power grids. Additionally, traditional supply-side mechanisms to maintain balance and stability are complemented by advancements in demand-side management and demand response strategies, which enable loads to adjust consumption patterns and schedules in response to grid requirements. ESS are also explored to further enhance flexibility by absorbing excess generation and/or supplying large load increases that are not able to be met by the less flexible resources. This paper also explores specific flexibility technologies, examining their characteristics, control strategies, advantages, and limitations. Energy flexibility services are also categorized into intermittency mitigation, peak shaving, and energy reserve provisioning. Each service is supported by case studies and examples demonstrating how different resources respond to varying conditions. Ultimately, the findings and reviews of the various flexible resources in this paper provide a roadmap for optimizing energy flexibility across diverse resource types, paving the way for a more sustainable and resilient energy future.

Authors:Marco Polver, Daniel Limon, Fabio Previdi, Antonio Ferramosca
Title: Robust tracking MPC for perturbed nonlinear systems -- Extended version
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel robust predictive controller for constrained nonlinear systems that is able to track piece-wise constant setpoint signals. The tracking model predictive controller presented in this paper extends the nonlinear MPC for tracking to the more complex case of nonlinear systems subject to bounded and not necessarily additive perturbations. The optimal control problem that is solved at each step penalizes the deviation of the predicted nominal system trajectory from an artificial reference, which is added as a decision variable, as well as the distance between the artificial reference and the setpoint. Robust feasibility is ensured by imposing conservative constraints that take into account the effect of uncertainties and convergence to a neighborhood of any feasible setpoint is guaranteed by means of an appropriate terminal cost and an extended stabilizing terminal constraint. In the case of unreachable setpoints, convergence to a neighborhood of the optimal reachable steady output is also proved.

Authors:Zahra Rastin, Kathrin Donandt, Dirk Söffker
Title: Reliability comparison of vessel trajectory prediction models via Probability of Detection
Abstract:
This contribution addresses vessel trajectory prediction (VTP), focusing on the evaluation of different deep learning-based approaches. The objective is to assess model performance in diverse traffic complexities and compare the reliability of the approaches. While previous VTP models overlook the specific traffic situation complexity and lack reliability assessments, this research uses a probability of detection analysis to quantify model reliability in varying traffic scenarios, thus going beyond common error distribution analyses. All models are evaluated on test samples categorized according to their traffic situation during the prediction horizon, with performance metrics and reliability estimates obtained for each category. The results of this comprehensive evaluation provide a deeper understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the different prediction approaches, along with their reliability in terms of the prediction horizon lengths for which safe forecasts can be guaranteed. These findings can inform the development of more reliable vessel trajectory prediction approaches, enhancing safety and efficiency in future inland waterways navigation.

Authors:Yuying Zhang, Joni Pajarinen
Title: Manipulate-to-Navigate: Reinforcement Learning with Visual Affordances and Manipulability Priors
Abstract:
Mobile manipulation in dynamic environments is challenging due to movable obstacles blocking the robot's path. Traditional methods, which treat navigation and manipulation as separate tasks, often fail in such 'manipulate-to-navigate' scenarios, as obstacles must be removed before navigation. In these cases, active interaction with the environment is required to clear obstacles while ensuring sufficient space for movement. To address the manipulate-to-navigate problem, we propose a reinforcement learning-based approach for learning manipulation actions that facilitate subsequent navigation. Our method combines manipulability priors to focus the robot on high manipulability body positions with affordance maps for selecting high-quality manipulation actions. By focusing on feasible and meaningful actions, our approach reduces unnecessary exploration and allows the robot to learn manipulation strategies more effectively. We present two new manipulate-to-navigate simulation tasks called Reach and Door with the Boston Dynamics Spot robot. The first task tests whether the robot can select a good hand position in the target area such that the robot base can move effectively forward while keeping the end effector position fixed. The second task requires the robot to move a door aside in order to clear the navigation path. Both of these tasks need first manipulation and then navigating the base forward. Results show that our method allows a robot to effectively interact with and traverse dynamic environments. Finally, we transfer the learned policy to a real Boston Dynamics Spot robot, which successfully performs the Reach task.

Authors:Jan Krejčí, Ondřej Straka, Petr Girg, Jiří Benedikt
Title: Revisiting Functional Derivatives in Multi-object Tracking
Abstract:
Probability generating functionals (PGFLs) are efficient and powerful tools for tracking independent objects in clutter. It was shown that PGFLs could be used for the elegant derivation of practical multi-object tracking algorithms, e.g., the probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter. However, derivations using PGFLs use the so-called functional derivatives whose definitions usually appear too complicated or heuristic, involving Dirac delta ``functions''. This paper begins by comparing different definitions of functional derivatives and exploring their relationships and implications for practical applications. It then proposes a rigorous definition of the functional derivative, utilizing straightforward yet precise mathematics for clarity. Key properties of the functional derivative are revealed and discussed.

Authors:Bahar Taşkesen, Dan A. Iancu, Çağıl Koçyiğit, Daniel Kuhn
Title: Optimality of Linear Policies in Distributionally Robust Linear Quadratic Control
Abstract:
We study a generalization of the classical discrete-time, Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) control problem where the noise distributions affecting the states and observations are unknown and chosen adversarially from divergence-based ambiguity sets centered around a known nominal distribution. For a finite horizon model with Gaussian nominal noise and a structural assumption on the divergence that is satisfied by many examples -- including 2-Wasserstein distance, Kullback-Leibler divergence, moment-based divergences, entropy-regularized optimal transport, or Fisher (score-matching) divergence -- we prove that a control policy that is affine in the observations is optimal and the adversary's corresponding worst-case optimal distribution is Gaussian. When the nominal means are zero (as in the classical LQG model), we show that the adversary should optimally set the distribution's mean to zero and the optimal control policy becomes linear. Moreover, the adversary should optimally ``inflate" the noise by choosing covariance matrices that dominate the nominal covariance in Loewner order. Exploiting these structural properties, we develop a Frank-Wolfe algorithm whose inner step solves standard LQG subproblems via Kalman filtering and dynamic programming and show that the implementation consistently outperforms semidefinite-programming reformulations of the problem. All structural and algorithmic results extend to an infinite-horizon, average-cost formulation, yielding stationary linear policies and a time-invariant Gaussian distribution for the adversary. Lastly, we show that when the divergence is 2-Wasserstein, the entire framework remains valid when the nominal distributions are elliptical rather than Gaussian.

Authors:Kaustav Chatterjee, Sameer Nekkalapu, Sayak Mukherjee, Ramij Raja Hossain, Marcelo Elizondo
Title: Identification of Sub/Super-Synchronous Control Interaction Paths Using Dissipative Energy Flow
Abstract:
Sub- and super-synchronous control interactions (SSCIs) are oscillations arising from adverse interactions between inverter-based resource (IBR) controls and the power network. SSCIs often involve multiple frequencies and propagate through complex, interconnected paths, making it difficult for model-based approaches to identify both the sources and the paths of oscillatory energy flow. This paper extends the Dissipative Energy Flow (DEF) method, originally developed for low-frequency electromechanical oscillations, to identify SSCI sources and dynamic interaction paths across multiple frequencies using three-phase voltage and current measurements. The approach operates in the dq frame using dynamic phasors, enabling mode-specific DEF computation from bandpass-filtered signals. An electromagnetic transient (EMT) case study on a meshed network with synchronous generator and type-3 wind farm resources under series-compensated conditions demonstrates the method's capability to distinguish frequency-dependent source and sink roles, including cases where the same resource acts as a source at one frequency and a sink at another. The results show DEF can provide a physics-based and automation-friendly tool for SSCI diagnosis in IBR-rich grids.

Authors:Yizhi Zhou, Ziwei Kang, Jiawei Xia, Xuan Wang
Title: CVIRO: A Consistent and Tightly-Coupled Visual-Inertial-Ranging Odometry on Lie Groups
Abstract:
Ultra Wideband (UWB) is widely used to mitigate drift in visual-inertial odometry (VIO) systems. Consistency is crucial for ensuring the estimation accuracy of a UWBaided VIO system. An inconsistent estimator can degrade localization performance, where the inconsistency primarily arises from two main factors: (1) the estimator fails to preserve the correct system observability, and (2) UWB anchor positions are assumed to be known, leading to improper neglect of calibration uncertainty. In this paper, we propose a consistent and tightly-coupled visual-inertial-ranging odometry (CVIRO) system based on the Lie group. Our method incorporates the UWB anchor state into the system state, explicitly accounting for UWB calibration uncertainty and enabling the joint and consistent estimation of both robot and anchor states. Furthermore, observability consistency is ensured by leveraging the invariant error properties of the Lie group. We analytically prove that the CVIRO algorithm naturally maintains the system's correct unobservable subspace, thereby preserving estimation consistency. Extensive simulations and experiments demonstrate that CVIRO achieves superior localization accuracy and consistency compared to existing methods.

Authors:Tianyi Hu, Tianyuan Du, Zhehan Qu, Maria Gorlatova
Title: XR Reality Check: What Commercial Devices Deliver for Spatial Tracking
Abstract:
Inaccurate spatial tracking in extended reality (XR) devices leads to virtual object jitter, misalignment, and user discomfort, fundamentally limiting immersive experiences and natural interactions. In this work, we introduce a novel testbed that enables simultaneous, synchronized evaluation of multiple XR devices under identical environmental and kinematic conditions. Leveraging this platform, we present the first comprehensive empirical benchmarking of five state-of-the-art XR devices across 16 diverse scenarios. Our results reveal substantial intra-device performance variation, with individual devices exhibiting up to 101\% increases in error when operating in featureless environments. We also demonstrate that tracking accuracy strongly correlates with visual conditions and motion dynamics. We also observe significant inter-device disparities, with performance differences of up to 2.8$\times$, which are closely linked to hardware specifications such as sensor configurations and dedicated processing units. Finally, we explore the feasibility of substituting a motion capture system with the Apple Vision Pro as a practical ground truth reference. While the Apple Vision Pro delivers highly accurate relative pose error estimates ($R^2 = 0.830$), its absolute pose error estimation remains limited ($R^2 = 0.387$), highlighting both its potential and its constraints for rigorous XR evaluation. This work establishes the first standardized framework for comparative XR tracking evaluation, providing the research community with reproducible methodologies, comprehensive benchmark datasets, and open-source tools that enable systematic analysis of tracking performance across devices and conditions, thereby accelerating the development of more robust spatial sensing technologies for XR systems.

Authors:Ganesh Sundaram, Jonas Ulmen, Amjad Haider, Daniel Görges
Title: COMponent-Aware Pruning for Accelerated Control Tasks in Latent Space Models
Abstract:
The rapid growth of resource-constrained mobile platforms, including mobile robots, wearable systems, and Internet-of-Things devices, has increased the demand for computationally efficient neural network controllers (NNCs) that can operate within strict hardware limitations. While deep neural networks (DNNs) demonstrate superior performance in control applications, their substantial computational complexity and memory requirements present significant barriers to practical deployment on edge devices. This paper introduces a comprehensive model compression methodology that leverages component-aware structured pruning to determine the optimal pruning magnitude for each pruning group, ensuring a balance between compression and stability for NNC deployment. Our approach is rigorously evaluated on Temporal Difference Model Predictive Control (TD-MPC), a state-of-the-art model-based reinforcement learning algorithm, with a systematic integration of mathematical stability guarantee properties, specifically Lyapunov criteria. The key contribution of this work lies in providing a principled framework for determining the theoretical limits of model compression while preserving controller stability. Experimental validation demonstrates that our methodology successfully reduces model complexity while maintaining requisite control performance and stability characteristics. Furthermore, our approach establishes a quantitative boundary for safe compression ratios, enabling practitioners to systematically determine the maximum permissible model reduction before violating critical stability properties, thereby facilitating the confident deployment of compressed NNCs in resource-limited environments.

Authors:Tony Kinchen, Panagiotis Typaldos, Andreas A. Malikopoulos
Title: A United Framework for Planning Electric Vehicle Charging Accessibility
Abstract:
The shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) is crucial for establishing sustainable and low-emission urban transportation systems. However, the success of this transition depends on the strategic placement of the charging infrastructure. This paper addresses the challenge of optimizing charging station locations in dense urban environments while balancing efficiency with spatial accessibility. We propose an optimization framework that integrates traffic simulation, energy consumption modeling, and a mobility equity measure to evaluate the social reach of each potential charging station. Using New York City as a case study, we demonstrate consistent improvements in accessibility (15-20% reduction in travel time variability). Our results provide a scalable methodology for incorporating equity considerations into EV infrastructure planning, although economic factors and grid integration remain important areas for future development.

Authors:Phuc Hao Do, Tran Duc Le
Title: Challenges in Applying Variational Quantum Algorithms to Dynamic Satellite Network Routing
Abstract:
Applying near-term variational quantum algorithms to the problem of dynamic satellite network routing represents a promising direction for quantum computing. In this work, we provide a critical evaluation of two major approaches: static quantum optimizers such as the Variational Quantum Eigensolver (VQE) and the Quantum Approximate Optimization Algorithm (QAOA) for offline route computation, and Quantum Reinforcement Learning (QRL) methods for online decision-making. Using ideal, noise-free simulations, we find that these algorithms face significant challenges. Specifically, static optimizers are unable to solve even a classically easy 4-node shortest path problem due to the complexity of the optimization landscape. Likewise, a basic QRL agent based on policy gradient methods fails to learn a useful routing strategy in a dynamic 8-node environment and performs no better than random actions. These negative findings highlight key obstacles that must be addressed before quantum algorithms can offer real advantages in communication networks. We discuss the underlying causes of these limitations, including barren plateaus and learning instability, and suggest future research directions to overcome them.

Authors:Jialin Zheng, Haoyu Wang, Yangbin Zeng, Di Mou, Xin Zhang, Hong Li, Sergio Vazquez, Leopoldo G. Franquelo
Title: Physics-Embedded Neural ODEs for Sim2Real Edge Digital Twins of Hybrid Power Electronics Systems
Abstract:
Edge Digital Twins (EDTs) are crucial for monitoring and control of Power Electronics Systems (PES). However, existing modeling approaches struggle to consistently capture continuously evolving hybrid dynamics that are inherent in PES, degrading Sim-to-Real generalization on resource-constrained edge devices. To address these challenges, this paper proposes a Physics-Embedded Neural ODEs (PENODE) that (i) embeds the hybrid operating mechanism as an event automaton to explicitly govern discrete switching and (ii) injects known governing ODE components directly into the neural parameterization of unmodeled dynamics. This unified design yields a differentiable end-to-end trainable architecture that preserves physical interpretability while reducing redundancy, and it supports a cloud-to-edge toolchain for efficient FPGA deployment. Experimental results demonstrate that PENODE achieves significantly higher accuracy in benchmarks in white-box, gray-box, and black-box scenarios, with a 75% reduction in neuron count, validating that the proposed PENODE maintains physical interpretability, efficient edge deployment, and real-time control enhancement.

Authors:Faezeh Shojaeighadikolaei, Shouhuai Xu, Keith Paarporn
Title: Optimizing Preventive and Reactive Defense Resource Allocation with Uncertain Sensor Signals
Abstract:
Cyber attacks continue to be a cause of concern despite advances in cyber defense techniques. Although cyber attacks cannot be fully prevented, standard decision-making frameworks typically focus on how to prevent them from succeeding, without considering the cost of cleaning up the damages incurred by successful attacks. This motivates us to investigate a new resource allocation problem formulated in this paper: The defender must decide how to split its investment between preventive defenses, which aim to harden nodes from attacks, and reactive defenses, which aim to quickly clean up the compromised nodes. This encounters a challenge imposed by the uncertainty associated with the observation, or sensor signal, whether a node is truly compromised or not; this uncertainty is real because attack detectors are not perfect. We investigate how the quality of sensor signals impacts the defender's strategic investment in the two types of defense, and ultimately the level of security that can be achieved. In particular, we show that the optimal investment in preventive resources increases, and thus reactive resource investment decreases, with higher sensor quality. We also show that the defender's performance improvement, relative to a baseline of no sensors employed, is maximal when the attacker can only achieve low attack success probabilities.

Authors:Seraj Al Mahmud Mostafa, Jianwu Wang
Title: A Multi-Scale Attention-Enhanced Architecture for Gravity Wave Localization in Satellite Imagery
Abstract:
Satellite images present unique challenges due to their high object variability and lower spatial resolution, particularly for detecting atmospheric gravity waves which exhibit significant variability in scale, shape, and pattern extent, making accurate localization highly challenging. This variability is further compounded by dominant unwanted objects such as clouds and city lights, as well as instrumental noise, all within a single image channel, while conventional detection methods struggle to capture the diverse and often subtle features of gravity waves across varying conditions. To address these issues, we introduce YOLO-DCAT incorporating Multi Dilated Residual Convolution (MDRC) and Simplified Spatial and Channel Attention (SSCA), an enhanced version of YOLOv5 specifically designed to improve gravity wave localization by effectively handling their complex and variable characteristics. MDRC captures multi-scale features through parallel dilated convolutions with varying dilation rates, while SSCA focuses on the most relevant spatial regions and channel features to enhance detection accuracy and suppress interference from background noise. In our experiments, the improved model outperformed state-of-the-art alternatives, improving mean Average Precision (mAP) by over 14% and Intersection over Union (IoU) by approximately 17%, demonstrating significantly improved localization accuracy for gravity waves in challenging satellite imagery and contributing to more precise climate research and modeling.

Authors:Ziqin He, Mengqi Hu, Yifei Lou, Can Chen
Title: Tensor Dynamic Mode Decomposition
Abstract:
Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) has become a powerful data-driven method for analyzing the spatiotemporal dynamics of complex, high-dimensional systems. However, conventional DMD methods are limited to matrix-based formulations, which might be inefficient or inadequate for modeling inherently multidimensional data including images, videos, and higher-order networks. In this letter, we propose tensor dynamic mode decomposition (TDMD), a novel extension of DMD to third-order tensors based on the recently developed T-product framework. By incorporating tensor factorization techniques, TDMD achieves more efficient computation and better preservation of spatial and temporal structures in multiway data for tasks such as state reconstruction and dynamic component separation, compared to standard DMD with data flattening. We demonstrate the effectiveness of TDMD on both synthetic and real-world datasets.

Authors:Lucas Elbert Suryana, Saeed Rahmani, Simeon Craig Calvert, Arkady Zgonnikov, Bart van Arem
Title: A Framework for Ethical Decision-Making in Automated Vehicles through Human Reasons-based Supervision
Abstract:
Ethical dilemmas are a common challenge in everyday driving, requiring human drivers to balance competing priorities such as safety, efficiency, and rule compliance. However, much of the existing research in automated vehicles (AVs) has focused on high-stakes "trolley problems," which involve extreme and rare situations. Such scenarios, though rich in ethical implications, are rarely applicable in real-world AV decision-making. In practice, when AVs confront everyday ethical dilemmas, they often appear to prioritise strict adherence to traffic rules. By contrast, human drivers may bend the rules in context-specific situations, using judgement informed by practical concerns such as safety and efficiency. According to the concept of meaningful human control, AVs should respond to human reasons, including those of drivers, vulnerable road users, and policymakers. This work introduces a novel human reasons-based supervision framework that detects when AV behaviour misaligns with expected human reasons to trigger trajectory reconsideration. The framework integrates with motion planning and control systems to support real-time adaptation, enabling decisions that better reflect safety, efficiency, and regulatory considerations. Simulation results demonstrate that this approach could help AVs respond more effectively to ethical challenges in dynamic driving environments by prompting replanning when the current trajectory fails to align with human reasons. These findings suggest that our approach offers a path toward more adaptable, human-centered decision-making in AVs.

Authors:Md Meftahul Ferdaus, Tanmoy Dam, Md Rasel Sarkar, Moslem Uddin, Sreenatha G. Anavatti
Title: Foundation Models for Clean Energy Forecasting: A Comprehensive Review
Abstract:
As global energy systems transit to clean energy, accurate renewable generation and renewable demand forecasting is imperative for effective grid management. Foundation Models (FMs) can help improve forecasting of renewable generation and demand because FMs can rapidly process complex, high-dimensional time-series data. This review paper focuses on FMs in the realm of renewable energy forecasting, primarily focusing on wind and solar. We present an overview of the architectures, pretraining strategies, finetuning methods, and types of data used in the context of renewable energy forecasting. We emphasize the role of models that are trained at a large scale, domain specific Transformer architectures, where attention is paid to spatial temporal correlations, the embedding of domain knowledge, and also the brief and intermittent nature of renewable generation. We assess recent FM based advancements in forecast accuracy such as reconciling predictions over multiple time scales and quantifying uncertainty in renewable energy forecasting. We also review existing challenges and areas of improvement in long-term and multivariate time series forecasting. In this survey, a distinction between theory and practice is established regarding the use of FMs in the clean energy forecasting domain. Additionally, it critically assesses the strengths and weaknesses of FMs while advancing future research direction in this new and exciting area of forecasting.

Authors:Satyesh Shanker Awasthi, Mohammed Irshadh Ismaaeel Sathyamangalam Imran, Stefano Arrigoni, Francesco Braghin
Title: Bayesian Optimization applied for accelerated Virtual Validation of the Autonomous Driving Function
Abstract:
Rigorous Verification and Validation (V&V) of Autonomous Driving Functions (ADFs) is paramount for ensuring the safety and public acceptance of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). Current validation relies heavily on simulation to achieve sufficient test coverage within the Operational Design Domain (ODD) of a vehicle, but exhaustively exploring the vast parameter space of possible scenarios is computationally expensive and time-consuming. This work introduces a framework based on Bayesian Optimization (BO) to accelerate the discovery of critical scenarios. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the framework on an Model Predictive Controller (MPC)-based motion planner, showing that it identifies hazardous situations, such as off-road events, using orders of magnitude fewer simulations than brute-force Design of Experiments (DoE) methods. Furthermore, this study investigates the scalability of the framework in higher-dimensional parameter spaces and its ability to identify multiple, distinct critical regions within the ODD of the motion planner used as the case study .

Authors:Hadi Nemati, Ignacio Egido, Pedro Sánchez-Martín, Álvaro Ortega
Title: Assessing Value of Renewable-based VPP Versus Electrical Storage: Multi-market Participation Under Different Scheduling Regimes and Uncertainties
Abstract:
This paper compares the participation of Renewable-only Virtual Power Plants (RVPPs) and grid-scale Electrical Storage Systems (ESSs) in energy and reserve markets, evaluating their technical performance, market strategies, and economic outcomes. To ensure a fair comparison, scheduling is analyzed over representative sample days that capture seasonal operating regimes, and the associated uncertainties are explicitly modeled. Two-stage robust optimization frameworks are employed: the RVPP model addresses price, generation, and demand uncertainties, whereas the ESS model considers price uncertainty only. In addition, an algorithm is proposed for sizing the ESS so that its market performance matches that of the RVPP. Simulations cover both favorable and unfavorable scenarios, reflecting seasonal energy limits for dispatchable resources, varying forecast errors for nondispatchable resources, and alternative uncertainty-management strategies. The results provide operators with quantitative guidance on the relative value of each approach.

Authors:Johannes van Randenborgh, Steffen Daniel, Moritz Schulze Darup
Title: A lightweight numerical model for predictive control of borehole thermal energy storages
Abstract:
Borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) can reduce the operation of fossil fuel-based heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems for buildings. With BTES, thermal energy is stored via a borehole heat exchanger in the ground. Model predictive control (MPC) may maximize the use of BTES by achieving a dynamic interaction between the building and BTES. However, modeling BTES for MPC is challenging, and a trade-off between model accuracy and an easy-to-solve optimal control problem (OCP) must be found. This manuscript presents an accurate numerical model yielding an easy-to-solve linear-quadratic OCP.

Authors:Ahmad Suleman, Misha Urooj Khan, Zeeshan Kaleem, Ali H. Alenezi, Iqra Shabbir, Sinem Coleri, Chau Yuen
Title: Reward-Augmented Reinforcement Learning for Continuous Control in Precision Autonomous Parking via Policy Optimization Methods
Abstract:
Autonomous parking (AP) represents a critical yet complex subset of intelligent vehicle automation, characterized by tight spatial constraints, frequent close-range obstacle interactions, and stringent safety margins. However, conventional rule-based and model-predictive methods often lack the adaptability and generalization needed to handle the nonlinear and environment-dependent complexities of AP. To address these limitations, we propose a reward-augmented learning framework for AP (RARLAP), that mitigates the inherent complexities of continuous-domain control by leveraging structured reward design to induce smooth and adaptable policy behavior, trained entirely within a high-fidelity Unity-based custom 3D simulation environment. We systematically design and assess three structured reward strategies: goal-only reward (GOR), dense proximity reward (DPR), and milestone-augmented reward (MAR), each integrated with both on-policy and off-policy optimization paradigms. Empirical evaluations demonstrate that the on-policy MAR achieves a 91\% success rate, yielding smoother trajectories and more robust behavior, while GOR and DPR fail to guide effective learning. Convergence and trajectory analyses demonstrate that the proposed framework enhances policy adaptability, accelerates training, and improves safety in continuous control. Overall, RARLAP establishes that reward augmentation effectively addresses complex autonomous parking challenges, enabling scalable and efficient policy optimization with both on- and off-policy methods. To support reproducibility, the code accompanying this paper is publicly available.

Authors:Behzad Zamani, James Kennedy, Airlie Chapman, Peter Dower, Chris Manzie, Simon Crase
Title: GMM-Based Time-Varying Coverage Control
Abstract:
In coverage control problems that involve time-varying density functions, the coverage control law depends on spatial integrals of the time evolution of the density function. The latter is often neglected, replaced with an upper bound or calculated as a numerical approximation of the spatial integrals involved. In this paper, we consider a special case of time-varying density functions modeled as Gaussian Mixture Models (GMMs) that evolve with time via a set of time-varying sources (with known corresponding velocities). By imposing this structure, we obtain an efficient time-varying coverage controller that fully incorporates the time evolution of the density function. We show that the induced trajectories under our control law minimise the overall coverage cost. We elicit the structure of the proposed controller and compare it with a classical time-varying coverage controller, against which we benchmark the coverage performance in simulation. Furthermore, we highlight that the computationally efficient and distributed nature of the proposed control law makes it ideal for multi-vehicle robotic applications involving time-varying coverage control problems. We employ our method in plume monitoring using a swarm of drones. In an experimental field trial we show that drones guided by the proposed controller are able to track a simulated time-varying chemical plume in a distributed manner.

Authors:Yi Wang, Dawei Qiu, Fei Teng, Goran Strbac
Title: Two-Stage TSO-DSO Services Provision Framework for Electric Vehicle Coordination
Abstract:
High renewable penetration has been witnessed in power systems, resulting in reduced system inertia and increasing requirements for frequency response services. Electric vehicles (EVs), owing to their vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capabilities, can provide cost-effective frequency services for transmission system operators (TSOs). However, EVs that are inherently connected to distribution networks may pose voltage security issues for distribution system operators (DSOs) when supporting TSO frequency. To coordinate both TSO frequency and DSO voltage, this paper proposes a two-stage service provision framework for multi-EVs. At stage one, EVs participate in day-ahead TSO-DSO interactions for frequency reserve schedules; at stage two, EVs make real-time dispatching behaviors in distribution networks for reserve delivery while supporting DSO voltage. Considering the potentially large EV number and environment complexity, a decentralized operation paradigm is introduced for real-time EV dispatches at stage two, while a communication-efficient reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm is proposed to reduce the communication overhead during large-scale multi-agent RL training without compromising policy performance. Case studies are carried out on a 6-bus transmission and 33-bus distribution network as well as a 69-bus distribution network to evaluate the effectiveness and scalability of the proposed method in enabling EVs for frequency service and voltage support.

Authors:Yi Wang, Goran Strbac
Title: Regional Frequency-Constrained Planning for the Optimal Sizing of Power Systems via Enhanced Input Convex Neural Networks
Abstract:
Large renewable penetration has been witnessed in power systems, resulting in reduced levels of system inertia and increasing requirements for frequency response services. There have been plenty of studies developing frequency-constrained models for power system security. However, most existing literature only considers uniform frequency security, while neglecting frequency spatial differences in different regions. To fill this gap, this paper proposes a novel planning model for the optimal sizing problem of power systems, capturing regional frequency security and inter-area frequency oscillations. Specifically, regional frequency constraints are first extracted via an enhanced input convex neural network (ICNN) and then embedded into the original optimisation for frequency security, where a principled weight initialisation strategy is adopted to deal with the gradient vanishing issues of non-negative weights in traditional ICNNs and enhance its fitting ability. An adaptive genetic algorithm with sparsity calculation and local search is developed to separate the planning model into two stages and effectively solve it iteratively. Case studies have been conducted on three different power systems to verify the effectiveness of the proposed frequency-constrained planning model in ensuring regional system security and obtaining realistic investment decisions.

Authors:Yi Wang, Dawei Qiu, Fei Teng, Goran Strbac
Title: Towards Microgrid Resilience Enhancement via Mobile Power Sources and Repair Crews: A Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Approach
Abstract:
Mobile power sources (MPSs) have been gradually deployed in microgrids as critical resources to coordinate with repair crews (RCs) towards resilience enhancement owing to their flexibility and mobility in handling the complex coupled power-transport systems. However, previous work solves the coordinated dispatch problem of MPSs and RCs in a centralized manner with the assumption that the communication network is still fully functioning after the event. However, there is growing evidence that certain extreme events will damage or degrade communication infrastructure, which makes centralized decision making impractical. To fill this gap, this paper formulates the resilience-driven dispatch problem of MPSs and RCs in a decentralized framework. To solve this problem, a hierarchical multi-agent reinforcement learning method featuring a two-level framework is proposed, where the high-level action is used to switch decision-making between power and transport networks, and the low-level action constructed via a hybrid policy is used to compute continuous scheduling and discrete routing decisions in power and transport networks, respectively. The proposed method also uses an embedded function encapsulating system dynamics to enhance learning stability and scalability. Case studies based on IEEE 33-bus and 69-bus power networks are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method in load restoration.

Authors:Amr S. Mohamed, Emily Nguyen, Deepa Kundur
Title: Safe Reinforcement Learning-based Automatic Generation Control
Abstract:
Amidst the growing demand for implementing advanced control and decision-making algorithms|to enhance the reliability, resilience, and stability of power systems|arises a crucial concern regarding the safety of employing machine learning techniques. While these methods can be applied to derive more optimal control decisions, they often lack safety assurances. This paper proposes a framework based on control barrier functions to facilitate safe learning and deployment of reinforcement learning agents for power system control applications, specifically in the context of automatic generation control. We develop the safety barriers and reinforcement learning framework necessary to establish trust in reinforcement learning as a safe option for automatic generation control - as foundation for future detailed verification and application studies.

Authors:Leandro Von Krannichfeldt, Kristina Orehounig, Olga Fink
Title: Integrating Physics-Based and Data-Driven Approaches for Probabilistic Building Energy Modeling
Abstract:
Building energy modeling is a key tool for optimizing the performance of building energy systems. Historically, a wide spectrum of methods has been explored -- ranging from conventional physics-based models to purely data-driven techniques. Recently, hybrid approaches that combine the strengths of both paradigms have gained attention. These include strategies such as learning surrogates for physics-based models, modeling residuals between simulated and observed data, fine-tuning surrogates with real-world measurements, using physics-based outputs as additional inputs for data-driven models, and integrating the physics-based output into the loss function the data-driven model. Despite this progress, two significant research gaps remain. First, most hybrid methods focus on deterministic modeling, often neglecting the inherent uncertainties caused by factors like weather fluctuations and occupant behavior. Second, there has been little systematic comparison within a probabilistic modeling framework. This study addresses these gaps by evaluating five representative hybrid approaches for probabilistic building energy modeling, focusing on quantile predictions of building thermodynamics in a real-world case study. Our results highlight two main findings. First, the performance of hybrid approaches varies across different building room types, but residual learning with a Feedforward Neural Network performs best on average. Notably, the residual approach is the only model that produces physically intuitive predictions when applied to out-of-distribution test data. Second, Quantile Conformal Prediction is an effective procedure for calibrating quantile predictions in case of indoor temperature modeling.

Authors:Lendy Banegas, Fredy Vides
Title: Stochastically Structured Reservoir Computers for Financial and Economic System Identification
Abstract:
This paper introduces a methodology for identifying and simulating financial and economic systems using stochastically structured reservoir computers (SSRCs). The proposed framework leverages structure-preserving embeddings and graph-informed coupling matrices to model inter-agent dynamics with enhanced interpretability. A constrained optimization scheme ensures that the learned models satisfy both stochastic and structural constraints. Two empirical case studies, a dynamic behavioral model of resource competition among agents, and regional inflation network dynamics, illustrate the effectiveness of the approach in capturing and anticipating complex nonlinear patterns and enabling interpretable predictive analysis under uncertainty.

Authors:Yi Wang, Goran Strbac
Title: Transient Stability-Driven Planning for the Optimal Sizing of Resilient AC/DC Hybrid Microgrids
Abstract:
This paper proposes a transient stability-driven planning framework for the optimal sizing problem of resilient AC/DC hybrid microgrids (HMGs) under different types of contingencies, capturing frequency and voltage stability requirements as well as the frequency-voltage coupling dynamics of AC/DC interlinking converters (ICs). The planning model is formulated into a defender-attacker-defender (DAD) architecture, which can be further merged into two levels, i.e., upper-level and low-level problems, and then iteratively solved by an enhanced genetic algorithm with sparsity calculation and local search. Regarding the operation stage, a novel transient stability-constrained optimal power flow (TSC-OPF) algorithm is proposed for static and transient operations of HMGs, capturing governor dynamics and automatic voltage regulator of conventional generators as well as the droop control dynamics of inverter-based resources (IBRs) for frequency control and voltage control, respectively. Furthermore, a Lyapunov optimisation approach is developed to capture the time-coupling property of energy storages (ESs) and then allow the TSC-OPF to be solved on an hourly basis with a second-scale resolution, achieving the co-optimisation of static and transient stability requirements. Case studies have been conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed planning framework in obtaining cost-effective investment decisions for various resources while respecting transient stability requirements under different contingencies.

Authors:Jun Kang Yap, Vishnu Monn Baskaran, Wen Shan Tan, Ze Yang Ding, Hao Wang, David L. Dowe
Title: Transformer-based Deep Learning Model for Joint Routing and Scheduling with Varying Electric Vehicle Numbers
Abstract:
The growing integration of renewable energy sources in modern power systems has introduced significant operational challenges due to their intermittent and uncertain outputs. In recent years, mobile energy storage systems (ESSs) have emerged as a popular flexible resource for mitigating these challenges. Compared to stationary ESSs, mobile ESSs offer additional spatial flexibility, enabling cost-effective energy delivery through the transportation network. However, the widespread deployment of mobile ESSs is often hindered by the high investment cost, which has motivated researchers to investigate utilising more readily available alternatives, such as electric vehicles (EVs) as mobile energy storage units instead. Hence, we explore this opportunity with a MIP-based day-ahead electric vehicle joint routing and scheduling problem in this work. However, solving the problem in a practical setting can often be computationally intractable since the existence of binary variables makes it combinatorial challenging. Therefore, we proposed to simplify the problem's solution process for a MIP solver by pruning the solution search space with a transformer-based deep learning (DL) model. This is done by training the model to rapidly predict the optimal binary solutions. In addition, unlike many existing DL approaches that assume fixed problem structures, the proposed model is designed to accommodate problems with EV fleets of any sizes. This flexibility is essential since frequent re-training can introduce significant computational overhead. We evaluated the approach with simulations on the IEEE 33-bus system coupled with the Nguyen-Dupuis transportation network.

Authors:Jun Kang Yap, Vishnu Monn Baskaran, Wen Shan Tan, Ze Yang Ding, Hao Wang, David L. Dowe
Title: Joint Optimisation of Electric Vehicle Routing and Scheduling: A Deep Learning-Driven Approach for Dynamic Fleet Sizes
Abstract:
Electric Vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly prevalent nowadays, with studies highlighting their potential as mobile energy storage systems to provide grid support. Realising this potential requires effective charging coordination, which are often formulated as mixed-integer programming (MIP) problems. However, MIP problems are NP-hard and often intractable when applied to time-sensitive tasks. To address this limitation, we propose a deep learning assisted approach for optimising a day-ahead EV joint routing and scheduling problem with varying number of EVs. This problem simultaneously optimises EV routing, charging, discharging and generator scheduling within a distribution network with renewable energy sources. A convolutional neural network is trained to predict the binary variables, thereby reducing the solution search space and enabling solvers to determine the remaining variables more efficiently. Additionally, a padding mechanism is included to handle the changes in input and output sizes caused by varying number of EVs, thus eliminating the need for re-training. In a case study on the IEEE 33-bus system and Nguyen-Dupuis transportation network, our approach reduced runtime by 97.8% when compared to an unassisted MIP solver, while retaining 99.5% feasibility and deviating less than 0.01% from the optimal solution.

Authors:Michael J. Zellinger, Matt Thomson
Title: Fail Fast, or Ask: Mitigating the Deficiencies of Reasoning LLMs with Human-in-the-Loop Systems Engineering
Abstract:
State-of-the-art reasoning LLMs are powerful problem solvers, but they still occasionally make mistakes. However, adopting AI models in risk-sensitive domains often requires error rates near 0%. To address this gap, we propose collaboration between a reasoning model and a human expert who resolves queries the model cannot confidently answer. We find that quantifying the uncertainty of a reasoning model through the length of its reasoning trace yields an effective basis for deferral to a human, e.g., cutting the error rate of Qwen3 235B-A22B on difficult MATH problems from 3% to less than 1% when deferring 7.5% of queries. However, the high latency of reasoning models still makes them challenging to deploy on use cases with high query volume. To address this challenge, we explore fronting a reasoning model with a large non-reasoning model. We call this modified human-in-the-loop system "Fail Fast, or Ask", since the non-reasoning model may defer difficult queries to the human expert directly ("failing fast"), without incurring the reasoning model's higher latency. We show that this approach yields around 40% latency reduction and about 50% cost savings for DeepSeek R1 while maintaining 90+% area under the accuracy-rejection curve. However, we observe that latency savings are lower than expected because of "latency drag", the phenomenon that processing easier queries with a non-reasoning model pushes the reasoning model's latency distribution towards longer latencies. Broadly, our results suggest that the deficiencies of state-of-the-art reasoning models -- nontrivial error rates and high latency -- can be substantially mitigated through black-box systems engineering, without requiring access to LLM internals.

Authors:Mingdao Lin, Max Bolderman, Mircea Lazar
Title: Physics-guided gated recurrent units for inversion-based feedforward control
Abstract:
Inversion-based feedforward control relies on an accurate model that describes the inverse system dynamics. The gated recurrent unit (GRU), which is a recent architecture in recurrent neural networks, is a strong candidate for obtaining such a model from data. However, due to their black-box nature, GRUs face challenges such as limited interpretability and vulnerability to overfitting. Recently, physics-guided neural networks (PGNNs) have been introduced, which integrate the prior physical model structure into the prediction process. This approach not only improves training convergence, but also facilitates the learning of a physics-based model. In this work, we integrate a GRU in the PGNN framework to obtain a PG-GRU, based on which we adopt a two-step approach to feedforward control design. First, we adopt stable inversion techniques to design a stable linear model of the inverse dynamics. Then, a GRU trained on the residual is tailored to inverse system identification. The resulting PG-GRU feedforward controller is validated by means of real-life experiments on a two-mass spring-damper system, where it demonstrates roughly a two-fold improvement compared to the linear feedforward and a preview-based GRU feedforward in terms of the integral absolute error.

Authors:Inkyu Jang, H. Jin Kim
Title: Invariance Guarantees using Continuously Parametrized Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Constructing a control invariant set with an appropriate shape that fits within a given state constraint is a fundamental problem in safety-critical control but is known to be difficult, especially for large or complex spaces. This paper introduces a safe control framework of utilizing PCBF: continuously parametrized control barrier functions (CBFs). In PCBF, each choice of parameter corresponds to a control invariant set of relatively simple shape. Invariance-preserving control is done by dynamically selecting a parameter whose corresponding invariant set lies within the safety bound. This eliminates the need for synthesizing a single complex CBF that matches the entire free space. It also enables easier adaptation to diverse environments. By assigning a differentiable dynamics on the parameter space, we derive a lightweight feedback controller based on quadratic programming (QP), namely PCBF-QP. We also discuss on how to build a valid PCBF for a class of systems and how to constrain the parameter so that the invariant set does not exceed the safety bound. The concept is also extended to cover continuously parametrized high-order CBFs, which is called high-order PCBF. Finally, simulation experiments are conducted to validate the proposed approach.

Authors:Pardha Sai Krishna Ala, Ameya Salvi, Venkat Krovi, Matthias Schmid
Title: Physics constrained learning of stochastic characteristics
Abstract:
Accurate state estimation requires careful consideration of uncertainty surrounding the process and measurement models; these characteristics are usually not well-known and need an experienced designer to select the covariance matrices. An error in the selection of covariance matrices could impact the accuracy of the estimation algorithm and may sometimes cause the filter to diverge. Identifying noise characteristics has long been a challenging problem due to uncertainty surrounding noise sources and difficulties in systematic noise modeling. Most existing approaches try identifying unknown covariance matrices through an optimization algorithm involving innovation sequences. In recent years, learning approaches have been utilized to determine the stochastic characteristics of process and measurement models. We present a learning-based methodology with different loss functions to identify noise characteristics and test these approaches' performance for real-time vehicle state estimation

Authors:Youssef Ait Si, Antoine Girard, Adnane Saoud
Title: Symbolic Control: Unveiling Free Robustness Margins
Abstract:
This paper addresses the challenge of ensuring robustness in the presence of system perturbations for symbolic control techniques. Given a discrete-time control system that is related to its symbolic model by an alternating simulation relation. In this paper, we focus on computing the maximum robustness margin under which the symbolic model remains valid for a perturbed-version of the discrete-time control system. We first show that symbolic models are inherently equipped with a certain free robustness margins. We then provide constructive procedures to compute uniform and non-uniform (state and input dependent) robustness margins. We also show that the tightness of the robustness margin depends on the tightness of the reachability technique used to compute the symbolic model. We then explain how the computed robustness margin can be used for the sake of controller synthesis. Finally, we present two illustrative examples to demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach.

Authors:Takumi Shinohara, Karl H. Johansson, Henrik Sandberg
Title: Distributed Resilient State Estimation and Control with Strategically Implemented Security Measures
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of distributed resilient state estimation and control for linear time-invariant systems in the presence of malicious false data injection sensor attacks and bounded noise. We consider a system operator (defender) capable of deploying cybersecurity measures to counteract the sensor compromises. Although such measures enhance resilience against adversarial attacks, they may incur substantial costs; hence, it is crucial to select countermeasures to balance resilience gains and cost efficiency strategically. We first demonstrate that the system's resilience against attacks is maximized through the appropriate implementation of security measures, implying that no attacker can execute undetectable sensor attacks. Building on this analysis, we propose an algorithm that identifies the optimal security measure. While determining this measure is NP-hard in general, we also derive sufficient conditions under which efficient computation is feasible. Furthermore, we develop a distributed resilient state estimation and control scheme informed by the optimal security measure and establish conditions that guarantee bounded estimation and control errors. Finally, we validate the efficacy of our approach via numerical simulations of a vehicle platooning scenario.

Authors:Jeongyong Yang, KwangBin Lee, SooJean Han
Title: Hybrid Conformal Prediction-based Risk-Aware Model Predictive Planning in Dense, Uncertain Environments
Abstract:
Real-time path planning in dense, uncertain environments remains a challenging problem, as predicting the future motions of numerous dynamic obstacles is computationally burdensome and unrealistic. To address this, we introduce Hybrid Prediction-based Risk-Aware Planning (HyPRAP), a prediction-based risk-aware path-planning framework which uses a hybrid combination of models to predict local obstacle movement. HyPRAP uses a novel Prediction-based Collision Risk Index (P-CRI) to evaluate the risk posed by each obstacle, enabling the selective use of predictors based on whether the agent prioritizes high predictive accuracy or low computational prediction overhead. This selective routing enables the agent to focus on high-risk obstacles while ignoring or simplifying low-risk ones, making it suitable for environments with a large number of obstacles. Moreover, HyPRAP incorporates uncertainty quantification through hybrid conformal prediction by deriving confidence bounds simultaneously achieved by multiple predictions across different models. Theoretical analysis demonstrates that HyPRAP effectively balances safety and computational efficiency by leveraging the diversity of prediction models. Extensive simulations validate these insights for more general settings, confirming that HyPRAP performs better compared to single predictor methods, and P-CRI performs better over naive proximity-based risk assessment.

Authors:Xinxin Wang, Lixian Yan, Shuhan Liu, Luke Upton, Zhuoqi Cai, Yiming Tan, Shengman Li, Koustav Jana, Peijing Li, Jesse Cirimelli-Low, Thierry Tambe, Matthew Guthaus, H. -S. Philip Wong
Title: OpenGCRAM: An Open-Source Gain Cell Compiler Enabling Design-Space Exploration for AI Workloads
Abstract:
Gain Cell memory (GCRAM) offers higher density and lower power than SRAM, making it a promising candidate for on-chip memory in domain-specific accelerators. To support workloads with varying traffic and lifetime metrics, GCRAM also offers high bandwidth, ultra low leakage power and a wide range of retention times, which can be adjusted through transistor design (like threshold voltage and channel material) and on-the-fly by changing the operating voltage. However, designing and optimizing GCRAM sub-systems can be time-consuming. In this paper, we present OpenGCRAM, an open-source GCRAM compiler capable of generating GCRAM bank circuit designs and DRC- and LVS-clean layouts for commercially available foundry CMOS, while also providing area, delay, and power simulations based on user-specified configurations (e.g., word size and number of words). OpenGCRAM enables fast, accurate, customizable, and optimized GCRAM block generation, reduces design time, ensure process compliance, and delivers performance-tailored memory blocks that meet diverse application requirements.

Authors:Brycen D. Pearl, Joseph M. Miller, Hang Woon Lee
Title: The Reconfigurable Earth Observation Satellite Scheduling Problem
Abstract:
Earth observation satellites (EOS) play a pivotal role in capturing and analyzing planetary phenomena, ranging from natural disasters to societal development. The EOS scheduling problem (EOSSP), which optimizes the schedule of EOS, is often solved with respect to nadir-directional EOS systems, thus restricting the observation time of targets and, consequently, the effectiveness of each EOS. This paper leverages state-of-the-art constellation reconfigurability to develop the reconfigurable EOS scheduling problem (REOSSP), wherein EOS are assumed to be maneuverable, forming a more optimal constellation configuration at multiple opportunities during a schedule. This paper develops a novel mixed-integer linear programming formulation for the REOSSP to optimally solve the scheduling problem for given parameters. Additionally, since the REOSSP can be computationally expensive for large-scale problems, a rolling horizon procedure (RHP) solution method is developed. The performance of the REOSSP is benchmarked against the EOSSP, which serves as a baseline, through a set of random instances where problem characteristics are varied and a case study in which Hurricane Sandy is used to demonstrate realistic performance. These experiments demonstrate the value of constellation reconfigurability in its application to the EOSSP, yielding solutions that improve performance, while the RHP enhances computational runtime for large-scale REOSSP instances.

Authors:Yutong Li, Ilya Kolmanovsky
Title: Symptom-Driven Personalized Proton Pump Inhibitors Therapy Using Bayesian Neural Networks and Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
Proton Pump Inhibitors (PPIs) are the standard of care for gastric acid disorders but carry significant risks when administered chronically at high doses. Precise long-term control of gastric acidity is challenged by the impracticality of invasive gastric acid monitoring beyond 72 hours and wide inter-patient variability. We propose a noninvasive, symptom-based framework that tailors PPI dosing solely on patient-reported reflux and digestive symptom patterns. A Bayesian Neural Network prediction model learns to predict patient symptoms and quantifies its uncertainty from historical symptom scores, meal, and PPIs intake data. These probabilistic forecasts feed a chance-constrained Model Predictive Control (MPC) algorithm that dynamically computes future PPI doses to minimize drug usage while enforcing acid suppression with high confidence - without any direct acid measurement. In silico studies over diverse dietary schedules and virtual patient profiles demonstrate that our learning-augmented MPC reduces total PPI consumption by 65 percent compared to standard fixed regimens, while maintaining acid suppression with at least 95 percent probability. The proposed approach offers a practical path to personalized PPI therapy, minimizing treatment burden and overdose risk without invasive sensors.

Authors:Thien Hieu Hoang, Tri Nhu Do, Georges Kaddoum
Title: Domain Adaptation-Enabled Realistic Map-Based Channel Estimation for MIMO-OFDM
Abstract:
Accurate channel estimation is crucial for the improvement of signal processing performance in wireless communications. However, traditional model-based methods frequently experience difficulties in dynamic environments. Similarly, alternative machine-learning approaches typically lack generalization across different datasets due to variations in channel characteristics. To address this issue, in this study, we propose a novel domain adaptation approach to bridge the gap between the quasi-static channel model (QSCM) and the map-based channel model (MBCM). Specifically, we first proposed a channel estimation pipeline that takes into account realistic channel simulation to train our foundation model. Then, we proposed domain adaptation methods to address the estimation problem. Using simulation-based training to reduce data requirements for effective application in practical wireless environments, we find that the proposed strategy enables robust model performance, even with limited true channel information.

Authors:Raffael Theiler, Olga Fink
Title: Heterogeneous Graph Neural Networks for Short-term State Forecasting in Power Systems across Domains and Time Scales: A Hydroelectric Power Plant Case Study
Abstract:
Accurate short-term state forecasting is essential for efficient and stable operation of modern power systems, especially in the context of increasing variability introduced by renewable and distributed energy resources. As these systems evolve rapidly, it becomes increasingly important to reliably predict their states in the short term to ensure operational stability, support control decisions, and enable interpretable monitoring of sensor and machine behavior. Modern power systems often span multiple physical domains - including electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, and thermal - posing significant challenges for modeling and prediction. Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) have emerged as a promising data-driven framework for system state estimation and state forecasting in such settings. By leveraging the topological structure of sensor networks, GNNs can implicitly learn inter-sensor relationships and propagate information across the network. However, most existing GNN-based methods are designed under the assumption of homogeneous sensor relationships and are typically constrained to a single physical domain. This limitation restricts their ability to integrate and reason over heterogeneous sensor data commonly encountered in real-world energy systems, such as those used in energy conversion infrastructure. In this work, we propose the use of Heterogeneous Graph Attention Networks to address these limitations. Our approach models both homogeneous intra-domain and heterogeneous inter-domain relationships among sensor data from two distinct physical domains - hydraulic and electrical - which exhibit fundamentally different temporal dynamics. Experimental results demonstrate that our method significantly outperforms conventional baselines on average by 35.5% in terms of normalized root mean square error, confirming its effectiveness in multi-domain, multi-rate power system state forecasting.

Authors:John Morris, Douglas L. Van Bossuyt, Edward Louis, Gregory Mocko, John Wagner
Title: Constraint Hypergraphs as a Unifying Framework for Digital Twins
Abstract:
Digital twins, used to represent physical systems, have been lauded as tools for understanding reality. Complex system behavior is typically captured in domain-specific models crafted by subject experts. Contemporary methods for employing models in a digital twin require prescriptive interfaces, resulting in twins that are difficult to connect, redeploy, and modify. The limited interoperability of these twins has prompted calls for a universal framework enabling observability across model aggregations. Here we show how a new mathematical formalism called a constraint hypergraph serves as such a framework by representing system behavior as the composition of set-based functions. A digital twin is shown to be the second of two coupled systems where both adhere to the same constraint hypergraph, permitting the properties of the first to be observable from the second. Interoperability is given by deconstructing models into a structure enabling autonomous, white-box simulation of system properties. The resulting digital twins can interact immediately with both human and autonomous agents. This is demonstrated in a case study of a microgrid, showing how both measured and simulated data from the aggregated twins can be provided regardless of the operating environment. By connecting models, constraint hypergraphs supply scientists and modelers robust means to capture, communicate, and combine digital twins across all fields of study. We expect this framework to expand the use of digital twins, enriching scientific insights and collaborations by providing a structure for characterizing complex systems.

Authors:Niloofar Shadab, Tyler Cody, Alejandro Salado, Taylan G. Topcu, Mohammad Shadab, Peter Beling
Title: Exploring Core and Periphery Precepts in Biological and Artificial Intelligence: An Outcome-Based Perspective
Abstract:
Engineering methodologies predominantly revolve around established principles of decomposition and recomposition. These principles involve partitioning inputs and outputs at the component level, ensuring that the properties of individual components are preserved upon composition. However, this view does not transfer well to intelligent systems, particularly when addressing the scaling of intelligence as a system property. Our prior research contends that the engineering of general intelligence necessitates a fresh set of overarching systems principles. As a result, we introduced the "core and periphery" principles, a novel conceptual framework rooted in abstract systems theory and the Law of Requisite Variety. In this paper, we assert that these abstract concepts hold practical significance. Through empirical evidence, we illustrate their applicability to both biological and artificial intelligence systems, bridging abstract theory with real-world implementations. Then, we expand on our previous theoretical framework by mathematically defining core-dominant vs periphery-dominant systems.

Authors:Yunfan Zhang, Yifan Su, Feng Liu
Title: On Decision-Dependent Uncertainties in Power Systems with High-Share Renewables
Abstract:
The continuously increasing renewable energy sources (RES) and demand response (DR) are becoming important sources of system flexibility. As a consequence, decision-dependent uncertainties (DDUs), interchangeably referred to as endogenous uncertainties, impose new characteristics to power system dispatch. The DDUs faced by system operators originate from uncertain dispatchable resources such as RES units or DR, while reserve providers encounter DDUs arising from the uncertain reserve deployment. This paper presents a systematic framework for addressing robust dispatch problems with DDUs. The main contributions include i) the robust characterization of DDUs with a dependency decomposition structure; ii) a generic DDU coping mechanism, manifested as the bilateral matching between uncertainty and flexibility; iii) analyses of the influence of DDU incorporation on the convexity/non-convexity of robust dispatch problems; and iv) generic solution algorithms adaptive for DDUs. Under this framework, the inherent distinctions and correlations between DDUs and DIUs are revealed, providing a fundamental theoretical basis for the economic and reliable operation of RES-dominated power systems. Applications in the source and demand sides illustrate the importance of considering DDUs and verify the effectiveness of proposed algorithms for robust dispatch with DDUs.

Authors:Ioannis D. Bougas, Pavlos Doanis, Maria S. Papadopoulou, Achilles D. Boursianis, Sotirios P. Sotiroudis, Zaharias D. Zaharis, George Koudouridis, Panagiotis Sarigiannidis, Mohammad Abdul Matint, George Karagiannidis, Sotirios K. Goudos
Title: A Novel Hybrid Grey Wolf Differential Evolution Algorithm
Abstract:
Grey wolf optimizer (GWO) is a nature-inspired stochastic meta-heuristic of the swarm intelligence field that mimics the hunting behavior of grey wolves. Differential evolution (DE) is a popular stochastic algorithm of the evolutionary computation field that is well suited for global optimization. In this part, we introduce a new algorithm based on the hybridization of GWO and two DE variants, namely the GWO-DE algorithm. We evaluate the new algorithm by applying various numerical benchmark functions. The numerical results of the comparative study are quite satisfactory in terms of performance and solution quality.

Authors:Ning Qi, Yousuf Baker, Bolun Xu
Title: Online Convex Optimization for Coordinated Long-Term and Short-Term Isolated Microgrid Dispatch
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel non-anticipatory long-short-term coordinated dispatch framework for isolated microgrid with hybrid short-long-duration energy storages (LDES). We introduce a convex hull approximation model for nonconvex LDES electrochemical dynamics, facilitating computational tractability and accuracy. To address temporal coupling in SoC dynamics and long-term contracts, we generate hindsight-optimal state-of-charge (SoC) trajectories of LDES and netloads for offline training. In the online stage, we employ kernel regression to dynamically update the SoC reference and propose an adaptive online convex optimization (OCO) algorithm with SoC reference tracking and expert tracking to mitigate myopia and enable adaptive step-size optimization. We rigorously prove that both long-term and short-term policies achieve sublinear regret bounds over time, which improves with more regression scenarios, stronger tracking penalties, and finer convex approximations. Simulation results show that the proposed method outperforms state-of-the-art methods, reducing costs by 73.4%, eliminating load loss via reference tracking, and achieving an additional 2.4% cost saving via the OCO algorithm. These benefits scale up with longer LDES durations, and the method demonstrates resilience to poor forecasts and unexpected system faults.

Authors:Sertac Kilickaya, Levent Eren
Title: Padé Approximant Neural Networks for Enhanced Electric Motor Fault Diagnosis Using Vibration and Acoustic Data
Abstract:
Purpose: The primary aim of this study is to enhance fault diagnosis in induction machines by leveraging the Padé Approximant Neuron (PAON) model. While accelerometers and microphones are standard in motor condition monitoring, deep learning models with nonlinear neuron architectures offer promising improvements in diagnostic performance. This research addresses the question: Can Padé Approximant Neural Networks (PadéNets) outperform conventional Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) and Self-Organized Operational Neural Networks (Self-ONNs) in diagnosing electrical and mechanical faults using vibration and acoustic data? Methods: We evaluate and compare the diagnostic capabilities of three deep learning architectures: one-dimensional CNNs, Self-ONNs, and PadéNets. These models are tested on the University of Ottawa's publicly available constant-speed induction motor datasets, which include both vibration and acoustic sensor data. The PadéNet model is designed to introduce enhanced nonlinearity and is compatible with unbounded activation functions such as Leaky ReLU. Results and Conclusion: PadéNets consistently outperformed the baseline models, achieving diagnostic accuracies of 99.96%, 98.26%, 97.61%, and 98.33% for accelerometers 1, 2, 3, and the acoustic sensor, respectively. The enhanced nonlinearity of PadéNets, together with their compatibility with unbounded activation functions, significantly improves fault diagnosis performance in induction motor condition monitoring.

Authors:Yalin Liu, Zhigang Yan, Bingyuan Luo, Xiaochi Xu, Hong-Ning Dai, Yaru Fu, Bishenghui Tao, Siu-Kei Au Yeung
Title: Hybrid Satellite-Ground Deployments for Web3 DID: System Design and Performance Analysis
Abstract:
The emerging Web3 has great potential to provide worldwide decentralized services powered by global-range data-driven networks in the future. To ensure the security of Web3 services among diverse user entities, a decentralized identity (DID) system is essential. Especially, a user's access request to Web3 services can be treated as a DID transaction within the blockchain, executed through a consensus mechanism. However, a critical implementation issue arises in the current Web3, i.e., how to deploy network nodes to serve users on a global scale. To address this issue, emerging Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communication systems, such as Starlink, offer a promising solution. With their global coverage and high reliability, these communication satellites can complement terrestrial networks as Web3 deployment infrastructures. In this case, this paper develops three hybrid satellite-ground modes to deploy the blockchain-enabled DID system for Web3 users. Three modes integrate ground nodes and satellites to provide flexible and continuous DID services for worldwide users. Meanwhile, to evaluate the effectiveness of the present hybrid deployment modes, we analyze the complete DID consensus performance of blockchain on three hybrid satellite-ground modes. Moreover, we conduct numerical and simulation experiments to verify the effectiveness of three hybrid satellite-ground modes. The impacts of various system parameters are thoroughly analyzed, providing valuable insights for implementing the worldwide Web3 DID system in real-world network environments.

Authors:Audrey Blizard, Stephanie Stockar
Title: Optimality Loss Minimization in Distributed Control with Application to District Heating
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel partitioning method designed to minimize control performance degradation resulting from partitioning a system for distributed control while maintaining the computational benefits of these methods. A game-theoretic performance metric, the modified Price of Anarchy, is introduced and is used in a generalizable partitioning metric to quantify optimality losses in a distributed controller. By finding the partition that minimizes the partitioning metric, the best-performing distributed control design is chosen. The presented partitioning metric is control-design agnostic, making it broadly applicable to many control design problems. In this paper, the developed metric is used to minimize the performance losses in the distributed control of a demand-flexible District Heating Network. The final distributed controller is provably feasible and stable. In simulation, this novel partitioning performed similarly to the centralized controller, increasing overall heat losses by only 1.9%, as compared to a similarly-sized baseline partition, which resulted in a 22% increase in losses.

Authors:Leilei Cui, Zhong-Ping Jiang, Eduardo D. Sontag, Richard D. Braatz
Title: Perturbed Gradient Descent Algorithms are Small-Disturbance Input-to-State Stable
Abstract:
This article investigates the robustness of gradient descent algorithms under perturbations. The concept of small-disturbance input-to-state stability (ISS) for discrete-time nonlinear dynamical systems is introduced, along with its Lyapunov characterization. The conventional linear Polyak-Lojasiewicz (PL) condition is then extended to a nonlinear version, and it is shown that the gradient descent algorithm is small-disturbance ISS provided the objective function satisfies the generalized nonlinear PL condition. This small-disturbance ISS property guarantees that the gradient descent algorithm converges to a small neighborhood of the optimum under sufficiently small perturbations. As a direct application of the developed framework, we demonstrate that the LQR cost satisfies the generalized nonlinear PL condition, thereby establishing that the policy gradient algorithm for LQR is small-disturbance ISS. Additionally, other popular policy gradient algorithms, including natural policy gradient and Gauss-Newton method, are also proven to be small-disturbance ISS.

Authors:Hanlin Cai, Haofan Dong, Houtianfu Wang, Kai Li, Ozgur B. Akan
Title: Graph Representation-based Model Poisoning on Federated Large Language Models
Abstract:
Federated large language models (FedLLMs) enable powerful generative capabilities within wireless networks while preserving data privacy. Nonetheless, FedLLMs remain vulnerable to model poisoning attacks. This article first reviews recent advancements in model poisoning techniques and existing defense mechanisms for FedLLMs, underscoring critical limitations, especially when dealing with non-IID textual data distributions. Current defense strategies predominantly employ distance or similarity-based outlier detection mechanisms, relying on the assumption that malicious updates markedly differ from benign statistical patterns. However, this assumption becomes inadequate against adaptive adversaries targeting billion-parameter LLMs. The article further investigates graph representation-based model poisoning (GRMP), an emerging attack paradigm that exploits higher-order correlations among benign client gradients to craft malicious updates indistinguishable from legitimate ones. GRMP can effectively circumvent advanced defense systems, causing substantial degradation in model accuracy and overall performance. Moreover, the article outlines a forward-looking research roadmap that emphasizes the necessity of graph-aware secure aggregation methods, specialized vulnerability metrics tailored for FedLLMs, and evaluation frameworks to enhance the robustness of federated language model deployments.

Authors:Yulan Gao, Ziqiang Ye, Zhonghao Lyu, Ming Xiao, Yue Xiao, Ping Yang, Agata Manolova
Title: Vision-Aided ISAC in Low-Altitude Economy Networks via De-Diffused Visual Priors
Abstract:
Emerging low-altitude economy networks (LAENets) require agile and privacy-preserving resource control under dynamic agent mobility and limited infrastructure support. To meet these challenges, we propose a vision-aided integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) framework for UAV-assisted access systems, where onboard masked De-Diffusion models extract compact semantic tokens, including agent type, activity class, and heading orientation, while explicitly suppressing sensitive visual content. These tokens are fused with mmWave radar measurements to construct a semantic risk heatmap reflecting motion density, occlusion, and scene complexity, which guides access technology selection and resource scheduling. We formulate a multi-objective optimization problem to jointly maximize weighted energy and perception efficiency via radio access technology (RAT) assignment, power control, and beamforming, subject to agent-specific QoS constraints. To solve this, we develop De-Diffusion-driven vision-aided risk-aware resource optimization algorithm DeDiff-VARARO, a novel two-stage cross-modal control algorithm: the first stage reconstructs visual scenes from tokens via De-Diffusion model for semantic parsing, while the second stage employs a deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG)-based policy to adapt RAT selection, power control, and beam assignment based on fused radar-visual states. Simulation results show that DeDiff-VARARO consistently outperforms baselines in reward convergence, link robustness, and semantic fidelity, achieving within $4\%$ of the performance of a raw-image upper bound while preserving user privacy and scalability in dense environments.

Authors:Samuel G. Gessow, Brett T. Lopez
Title: Analysis of the Geometric Heat Flow Equation: Computing Geodesics in Real-Time with Convergence Guarantees
Abstract:
We present an analysis on the convergence properties of the so-called geometric heat flow equation for computing geodesics (shortest-path~curves) on Riemannian manifolds. Computing geodesics numerically in real-time has become an important capability in several fields, including control and motion planning. The geometric heat flow equation involves solving a parabolic partial differential equation whose solution is a geodesic. In practice, solving this PDE numerically can be done efficiently, and tends to be more numerically stable and exhibit a better rate of convergence compared to numerical optimization. We prove that the geometric heat flow equation is globally exponentially stable in $L_2$ if the curvature of the Riemannian manifold is not too positive, and that asymptotic convergence in $L_2$ is always guaranteed. We also present a pseudospectral method that leverages Chebyshev polynomials to accurately compute geodesics in only a few milliseconds for non-contrived manifolds. Our analysis was verified with our custom pseudospectral method by computing geodesics on common non-Euclidean surfaces, and in feedback for a contraction-based controller with a non-flat metric for a nonlinear system.

Authors:Enli Lin, Ziyuan Yang, Qiujing Lu, Jianming Hu, Shuo Feng
Title: IntersectioNDE: Learning Complex Urban Traffic Dynamics based on Interaction Decoupling Strategy
Abstract:
Realistic traffic simulation is critical for ensuring the safety and reliability of autonomous vehicles (AVs), especially in complex and diverse urban traffic environments. However, existing data-driven simulators face two key challenges: a limited focus on modeling dense, heterogeneous interactions at urban intersections - which are prevalent, crucial, and practically significant in countries like China, featuring diverse agents including motorized vehicles (MVs), non-motorized vehicles (NMVs), and pedestrians - and the inherent difficulty in robustly learning high-dimensional joint distributions for such high-density scenes, often leading to mode collapse and long-term simulation instability. We introduce City Crossings Dataset (CiCross), a large-scale dataset collected from a real-world urban intersection, uniquely capturing dense, heterogeneous multi-agent interactions, particularly with a substantial proportion of MVs, NMVs and pedestrians. Based on this dataset, we propose IntersectioNDE (Intersection Naturalistic Driving Environment), a data-driven simulator tailored for complex urban intersection scenarios. Its core component is the Interaction Decoupling Strategy (IDS), a training paradigm that learns compositional dynamics from agent subsets, enabling the marginal-to-joint simulation. Integrated into a scene-aware Transformer network with specialized training techniques, IDS significantly enhances simulation robustness and long-term stability for modeling heterogeneous interactions. Experiments on CiCross show that IntersectioNDE outperforms baseline methods in simulation fidelity, stability, and its ability to replicate complex, distribution-level urban traffic dynamics.

Authors:Guillaume Ambal, George Hodgkins, Mark Madler, Gregory Chockler, Brijesh Dongol, Joseph Izraelevitz, Azalea Raad, Viktor Vafeiadis
Title: A Verified High-Performance Composable Object Library for Remote Direct Memory Access (Extended Version)
Abstract:
Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is a memory technology that allows remote devices to directly write to and read from each other's memory, bypassing components such as the CPU and operating system. This enables low-latency high-throughput networking, as required for many modern data centres, HPC applications and AI/ML workloads. However, baseline RDMA comprises a highly permissive weak memory model that is difficult to use in practice and has only recently been formalised. In this paper, we introduce the Library of Composable Objects (LOCO), a formally verified library for building multi-node objects on RDMA, filling the gap between shared memory and distributed system programming. LOCO objects are well-encapsulated and take advantage of the strong locality and the weak consistency characteristics of RDMA. They have performance comparable to custom RDMA systems (e.g. distributed maps), but with a far simpler programming model amenable to formal proofs of correctness. To support verification, we develop a novel modular declarative verification framework, called Mowgli, that is flexible enough to model multinode objects and is independent of a memory consistency model. We instantiate Mowgli with the RDMA memory model, and use it to verify correctness of LOCO libraries.

Authors:Shahbaz P Qadri Syed, He Bai
Title: Structured Cooperative Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning: a Bayesian Network Perspective
Abstract:
The empirical success of multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) has motivated the search for more efficient and scalable algorithms for large scale multi-agent systems. However, existing state-of-the-art algorithms do not fully exploit inter-agent coupling information to develop MARL algorithms. In this paper, we propose a systematic approach to leverage structures in the inter-agent couplings for efficient model-free reinforcement learning. We model the cooperative MARL problem via a Bayesian network and characterize the subset of agents, termed as the value dependency set, whose information is required by each agent to estimate its local action value function exactly. Moreover, we propose a partially decentralized training decentralized execution (P-DTDE) paradigm based on the value dependency set. We theoretically establish that the total variance of our P-DTDE policy gradient estimator is less than the centralized training decentralized execution (CTDE) policy gradient estimator. We derive a multi-agent policy gradient theorem based on the P-DTDE scheme and develop a scalable actor-critic algorithm. We demonstrate the efficiency and scalability of the proposed algorithm on multi-warehouse resource allocation and multi-zone temperature control examples. For dense value dependency sets, we propose an approximation scheme based on truncation of the Bayesian network and empirically show that it achieves a faster convergence than the exact value dependence set for applications with a large number of agents.

Authors:Dylan Hirsch, Jaime Fernández Fisac, Sylvia Herbert
Title: Viscosity CBFs: Bridging the Control Barrier Function and Hamilton-Jacobi Reachability Frameworks in Safe Control Theory
Abstract:
Control barrier functions (CBFs) and Hamilton-Jacobi reachability (HJR) are central frameworks in safe control. Traditionally, these frameworks have been viewed as distinct, with the former focusing on optimally safe controller design and the latter providing sufficient conditions for safety. A previous work introduced the notion of a control barrier value function (CB-VF), which is defined similarly to the other value functions studied in HJR but has certain CBF-like properties. In this work, we proceed the other direction by generalizing CBFs to non-differentiable ``viscosity'' CBFs. We show the deep connection between viscosity CBFs and CB-VFs, bridging the CBF and HJR frameworks. Through this bridge, we characterize the viscosity CBFs as precisely those functions which provide CBF-like safety guarantees (control invariance and smooth approach to the boundary). We then further show nice theoretical properties of viscosity CBFs, including their desirable closure under maximum and limit operations. In the process, we also extend CB-VFs to non-exponential anti-discounting and update the corresponding theory for CB-VFs along these lines.

Authors:Hongming Liang, Matteo Pozzi, Jacopo Marconi, Shobhit Jain, Mingwu Li
Title: Topology optimization of nonlinear forced response curves via reduction on spectral submanifolds
Abstract:
Forced response curves (FRCs) of nonlinear systems can exhibit complex behaviors, including hardening/softening behavior and bifurcations. Although topology optimization holds great potential for tuning these nonlinear dynamic responses, its use in high-dimensional systems is limited by the high cost of repeated response and sensitivity analyses. To address this challenge, we employ the spectral submanifolds (SSMs) reduction theory, which reformulates the periodic response as the equilibria of an associated reduced-order model (ROM). This enables efficient and analytic evaluation of both response amplitudes and their sensitivities. Based on the SSM-based ROM, we formulate optimization problems that optimize the peak amplitude, the hardening/softening behavior, and the distance between two saddle-node bifurcations for an FRC. The proposed method is applied to the design of nonlinear MEMS devices, achieving targeted performance optimization. This framework provides a practical and efficient strategy for incorporating nonlinear dynamic effects into the topology optimization of structures.

Authors:Alexander Du, Emre Adabag, Gabriel Bravo, Brian Plancher
Title: GATO: GPU-Accelerated and Batched Trajectory Optimization for Scalable Edge Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
While Model Predictive Control (MPC) delivers strong performance across robotics applications, solving the underlying (batches of) nonlinear trajectory optimization (TO) problems online remains computationally demanding. Existing GPU-accelerated approaches typically (i) parallelize a single solve to meet real-time deadlines, (ii) scale to very large batches at slower-than-real-time rates, or (iii) achieve speed by restricting model generality (e.g., point-mass dynamics or a single linearization). This leaves a large gap in solver performance for many state-of-the-art MPC applications that require real-time batches of tens to low-hundreds of solves. As such, we present GATO, an open source, GPU-accelerated, batched TO solver co-designed across algorithm, software, and computational hardware to deliver real-time throughput for these moderate batch size regimes. Our approach leverages a combination of block-, warp-, and thread-level parallelism within and across solves for ultra-high performance. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through a combination of: simulated benchmarks showing speedups of 18-21x over CPU baselines and 1.4-16x over GPU baselines as batch size increases; case studies highlighting improved disturbance rejection and convergence behavior; and finally a validation on hardware using an industrial manipulator. We open source GATO to support reproducibility and adoption.

Authors:Felipe Arenas-Uribe, T. Michael Seigler, Jesse B. Hoagg
Title: Safe Landing on Small Celestial Bodies with Gravitational Uncertainty Using Disturbance Estimation and Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Soft landing on small celestial bodies (SCBs) poses unique challenges, as uncertainties in gravitational models and poorly characterized, dynamic environments require a high level of autonomy. Existing control approaches lack formal guarantees for safety constraint satisfaction, necessary to ensure the safe execution of the maneuvers. This paper introduces a control that addresses this limitation by integrating trajectory tracking, disturbance estimation, and safety enforcement. An extended high-gain observer is employed to estimate disturbances resulting from gravitational model uncertainties. We then apply a feedback-linearizing and disturbance-canceling controller that achieves exponential tracking of reference trajectories. Finally, we use a control barrier function based minimum-intervention controller to enforce state and input constraints through out the maneuver execution. This control combines trajectory tracking of offline generated reference trajectories with formal guarantees of safety, which follows common guidance and control architectures for spacecraft and allows aggressive maneuvers to be executed without compromising safety. Numerical simulations using fuel-optimal trajectories demonstrate the effectiveness of the controller in achieving precise and safe soft-landing, highlighting its potential for autonomous SCB missions.

Authors:Markus Walker, Daniel Frisch, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title: Sample-Efficient and Smooth Cross-Entropy Method Model Predictive Control Using Deterministic Samples
Abstract:
Cross-entropy method model predictive control (CEM--MPC) is a powerful gradient-free technique for nonlinear optimal control, but its performance is often limited by the reliance on random sampling. This conventional approach can lead to inefficient exploration of the solution space and non-smooth control inputs, requiring a large number of samples to achieve satisfactory results. To address these limitations, we propose deterministic sampling CEM (dsCEM), a novel framework that replaces the random sampling step with deterministic samples derived from localized cumulative distributions (LCDs). Our approach introduces modular schemes to generate and adapt these sample sets, incorporating temporal correlations to ensure smooth control trajectories. This method can be used as a drop-in replacement for the sampling step in existing CEM-based controllers. Experimental evaluations on two nonlinear control tasks demonstrate that dsCEM consistently outperforms state-of-the-art iCEM in terms of cumulative cost and control input smoothness, particularly in the critical low-sample regime.

Authors:Liraz Mudrik, Isaac Kaminer, Sean Kragelund, Abram H. Clark
Title: Optimization via a Control-Centric Framework
Abstract:
Optimization plays a central role in intelligent systems and cyber-physical technologies, where the speed and reliability of convergence directly impact performance. In control theory, optimization-centric methods are standard: controllers are designed by repeatedly solving optimization problems, as in linear quadratic regulation, $H_\infty$ control, and model predictive control. In contrast, this paper develops a control-centric framework for optimization itself, where algorithms are constructed directly from Lyapunov stability principles rather than being proposed first and analyzed afterward. A key element is the stationarity vector, which encodes first-order optimality conditions and enables Lyapunov-based convergence analysis. By pairing a Lyapunov function with a selectable decay law, we obtain continuous-time dynamics with guaranteed exponential, finite-time, fixed-time, or prescribed-time convergence. Within this framework, we introduce three feedback realizations of increasing restrictiveness: the Hessian-gradient, Newton, and gradient dynamics. Each realization shapes the decay of the stationarity vector to achieve the desired rate. These constructions unify unconstrained optimization, extend naturally to constrained problems via Lyapunov-consistent primal-dual dynamics, and broaden the results for minimax and generalized Nash equilibrium seeking problems beyond exponential stability. The framework provides systematic design tools for optimization algorithms in control and game-theoretic problems.

Authors:Kyung-Bin Kwon, Sayak Mukherjee, Veronica Adetola
Title: Operational Risks in Grid Integration of Large Data Center Loads: Characteristics, Stability Assessments, and Sensitivity Studies
Abstract:
This paper investigates the dynamic interactions between large-scale data centers and the power grid, focusing on reliability challenges arising from sudden fluctuations in demand. With the rapid growth of AI-driven workloads, such fluctuations, along with fast ramp patterns, are expected to exacerbate stressed grid conditions and system instabilities. We consider a few open-source AI data center consumption profiles from the MIT supercloud datasets, along with generating a few experimental HPC job-distribution-based inference profiles. Subsequently, we develop analytical methodologies for real-time assessment of grid stability, focusing on both transient and small-signal stability assessments. Energy-flow-like metrics for nonlinear transient stability, formulated by computing localized data center bus kinetic-like flows and coupling interactions with neighboring buses over varying time windows, help provide operators a real-time assessments of the regional grid stress in the data center hubs. On the other hand, small-signal stability metrics, constructed from analytical state matrices under variable operating conditions during a fast ramping period, enable snapshot-based assessments of data center load fluctuations, provide enhanced observability into evolving grid conditions. By quantifying the stability impacts of large data center clusters, studies conducted in the modified IEEE benchmark $68-$bus model support improved operator situational awareness to capture risks in reliable integration of large data center loads.

Authors:Addie McCurdy, Andrew Gusty, Emily Jensen
Title: A System Level Approach to LQR Control of the Diffusion Equation
Abstract:
The continuous-time, infinite horizon LQR problem for the diffusion equation over the unit circle with fully distributed actuation is considered. It is well-known that the solution to this problem can be obtained from the solution to an operator-valued algebraic Riccati equation. Here, it is demonstrated that this solution can be equivalently obtained by solving an $H_2$ control problem through a closed-loop design procedure that is analogous to the "System Level Synthesis" methodology previously developed for systems over a discrete spatial domain and/or over a finite time horizon. The presented extension to the continuous spatial domain and continuous and infinite-horizon time setting admits analytical solutions that may complement computational approaches for discrete or finite-horizon settings. It is further illustrated that spatio-temporal constraints on the closed-loop responses can be incorporated into this new formulation in a convex manner.

Authors:Peng Wang, Luis Badesa
Title: Pricing Short-Circuit Current via a Primal-Dual Formulation for Preserving Integrality Constraints
Abstract:
Synchronous Generators (SGs) currently provide important levels of Short-Circuit Current (SCC), a critical ancillary service that ensures line protections trip during short-circuit faults. Given the ongoing replacement of SGs by power-electronics-based generation, which have a hard limit for current injection, it has become relevant to optimize the procurement of SCC provided by remaining SGs. Pricing this service is however challenging due to the integrality constraints in Unit Commitment (UC). Existing methods, e.g., dispatchable pricing, restricted pricing and marginal unit pricing, attempt to address this issue but exhibit limitations in handling binary variables, resulting in SCC prices that either fail to cover the operating costs of units or lack interpretability. To overcome these pitfalls, we propose a primal-dual formulation of the SCC-constrained dispatch that preserves the binary nature of UC while effectively computing shadow prices of SCC services. Using a modified IEEE 30-bus system, a comparison is carried out between the proposed approach and the state-of-the-art pricing schemes, highlighting the advantages of the primal-dual method in preserving UC integrality for SCC pricing.

Authors:Junfeng Cai, Marco Lovera
Title: An Active Fault-Tolerant Online Control Allocation Scheme for a Dual-System UAV in Transition Flight
Abstract:
A novel active fault-tolerant control (AFTC) scheme for a dual-system vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during transition flight is proposed in this paper. The AFTC scheme is composed of a baseline control law and an online control reallocation module. First, the structured $H_{\infty}$ baseline control law is able to guarantee the stability of closed-loop systems without being reconfigured under simultaneous actuator fault conditions. Second, compared to the existing mainstream method of sliding mode control that is a discontinuous control strategy, the AFTC scheme can effectively avoid control chattering problem by adopting the structured $H_{\infty}$ baseline control law. Third, an online control allocation (CA) module is implemented to carry out a unified CA for all the available actuators. When actuator faults/failures occur, the CA matrix is updated according to fault information and real-time airspeed, which is able to redistribute the virtual control signals to the remaining healthy actuators, avoiding significant performance degradation. Based on the developed AFTC scheme, symmetric and non-symmetric actuator fault scenarios are simulated on a nonlinear six-degree-of-freedom simulator, where the cases of merely structured $H_{\infty}$ control and structured $H_{\infty}$ based AFTC are compared and analyzed. The results show that the proposed structured $H_{\infty}$ based AFTC system is capable of handling more complicated fault scenarios and model uncertainties with no need to reconfigure the baseline control law. The proposed AFTC scheme significantly improves the safety and reliability of the transition flight of dual-system VTOL UAVs.

Authors:Yijie Yang, Jian Shi, Dan Wang, Chenye Wu, Zhu Han
Title: A Conformal Prediction-Based Chance-Constrained Programming Approach for 24/7 Carbon-Free Data Center Operation Scheduling
Abstract:
The rapid growth of AI applications is dramatically increasing data center energy demand, exacerbating carbon emissions, and necessitating a shift towards 24/7 carbon-free energy (CFE). Unlike traditional annual energy matching, 24/7 CFE requires matching real-time electricity consumption with clean energy generation every hour, presenting significant challenges due to the inherent variability and forecasting errors of renewable energy sources. Traditional robust and data-driven optimization methods often fail to leverage the features of the prediction model (also known as contextual or covariate information) when constructing the uncertainty set, leading to overly conservative operational decisions. This paper proposes a comprehensive approach for 24/7 CFE data center operation scheduling, focusing on robust decision-making under renewable generation uncertainty. This framework leverages covariate information through a multi-variable conformal prediction (CP) technique to construct statistically valid and adaptive uncertainty sets for renewable forecasts. The uncertainty sets directly inform the chance-constrained programming (CCP) problem, ensuring that chance constraints are met with a specified probability. We further establish theoretical underpinnings connecting the CP-generated uncertainty sets to the statistical feasibility guarantees of the CCP. Numerical results highlight the benefits of this covariate-aware approach, demonstrating up to 6.65% cost reduction and 6.96% decrease in carbon-based energy usage compared to conventional covariate-independent methods, thereby enabling data centers to progress toward 24/7 CEF.

Authors:Otobong Jerome, Geesara Prathap Kulathunga, Devitt Dmitry, Eugene Murawjow, Alexandr Klimchik
Title: A Real-Time Framework for Intermediate Map Construction and Kinematically Feasible Off-Road Planning Without OSM
Abstract:
Off-road environments present unique challenges for autonomous navigation due to their complex and unstructured nature. Traditional global path-planning methods, which typically aim to minimize path length and travel time, perform poorly on large-scale maps and fail to account for critical factors such as real-time performance, kinematic feasibility, and memory efficiency. This paper introduces a novel global path-planning method specifically designed for off-road environments, addressing these essential factors. The method begins by constructing an intermediate map within the pixel coordinate system, incorporating geographical features like off-road trails, waterways, restricted and passable areas, and trees. The planning problem is then divided into three sub-problems: graph-based path planning, kinematic feasibility checking, and path smoothing. This approach effectively meets real-time performance requirements while ensuring kinematic feasibility and efficient memory use. The method was tested in various off-road environments with large-scale maps up to several square kilometers in size, successfully identifying feasible paths in an average of 1.5 seconds and utilizing approximately 1.5GB of memory under extreme conditions. The proposed framework is versatile and applicable to a wide range of off-road autonomous navigation tasks, including search and rescue missions and agricultural operations.

Authors:Yiheng Xie, Wenqi Cui, Adam Wierman
Title: Enhancing Data Center Low-Voltage Ride-Through
Abstract:
Data center loads have expanded significantly in recent years. Compared to traditional loads, data centers are highly sensitive to voltage deviations and thus their protection mechanisms trip more proactively during voltage fluctuations. During a grid fault, simultaneous tripping of large-scale data centers can further destabilize the transmission system and even lead to cascading failures. In response, transmission system operators are imposing voltage ride-through (VRT) requirements for data centers. In this work, we enhance the VRT capability of data centers by designing voltage controllers for their internal power distribution network. We first systematically analyze VRT standards and the controllable resources related to data centers. These resources enable the design of voltage control strategies to regulate voltages internal to the data center, thereby allowing loads to remain online during voltage disturbances from the external transmission grid. We study and contrast both centralized and decentralized controllers that unify the control of heterogeneous flexible resources. Additionally, we construct an integrated test system that simulates both the transient fault response of the transmission system and the data center distribution network. Case studies demonstrate that the proposed voltage control mechanisms provide effective yet simple solutions to enhance data center low-voltage ride-through capability.

Authors:Hanyang He, John Harlim, Daning Huang, Yan Li
Title: Efficient MPC-Based Energy Management System for Secure and Cost-Effective Microgrid Operations
Abstract:
Model predictive control (MPC)-based energy management systems (EMS) are essential for ensuring optimal, secure, and stable operation in microgrids with high penetrations of distributed energy resources. However, due to the high computational cost for the decision-making, the conventional MPC-based EMS typically adopts a simplified integrated-bus power balance model. While this simplification is effective for small networks, large-scale systems require a more detailed branch flow model to account for the increased impact of grid power losses and security constraints. This work proposes an efficient and reliable MPC-based EMS that incorporates power-loss effects and grid-security constraints. %, while adaptively shaping the battery power profile in response to online renewable inputs, achieving reduced operational costs. It enhances system reliability, reduces operational costs, and shows strong potential for online implementation due to its reduced computational effort. Specifically, a second-order cone program (SOCP) branch flow relaxation is integrated into the constraint set, yielding a convex formulation that guarantees globally optimal solutions with high computational efficiency. Owing to the radial topology of the microgrid, this relaxation is practically tight, ensuring equivalence to the original problem. Building on this foundation, an online demand response (DR) module is designed to further reduce the operation cost through peak shaving. To the best of our knowledge, no prior MPC-EMS framework has simultaneously modeled losses and security constraints while coordinating flexible loads within a unified architecture. The developed framework enables secure operation with effective peak shaving and reduced total cost. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated on 10-bus, 18-bus, and 33-bus systems.

Authors:Jiabao He, S. Joe Qin, Håkan Hjalmarsson
Title: Bridging the Prediction Error Method and Subspace Identification: A Weighted Null Space Fitting Method
Abstract:
Subspace identification methods (SIMs) have proven to be very useful and numerically robust for building state-space models. While most SIMs are consistent, few if any can achieve the efficiency of the maximum likelihood estimate (MLE). Conversely, the prediction error method (PEM) with a quadratic criteria is equivalent to MLE, but it comes with non-convex optimization problems and requires good initialization points. This contribution proposes a weighted null space fitting (WNSF) approach for estimating state-space models, combining some key advantages of the two aforementioned mainstream approaches. It starts with a least-squares estimate of a high-order ARX model, and then a multi-step least-squares procedure reduces the model to a state-space model on canoncial form. It is demonstrated through statistical analysis that when a canonical parameterization is admissible, the proposed method is consistent and asymptotically efficient, thereby making progress on the long-standing open problem about the existence of an asymptotically efficient SIM. Numerical and practical examples are provided to illustrate that the proposed method performs favorable in comparison with SIMs.

Authors:Tianyi Li, Tianyu Liu, Yicheng Yang
Title: Conceptualizing and Modeling Communication-Based Cyberattacks on Automated Vehicles
Abstract:
Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) is rapidly proliferating across electric vehicles (EVs) and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, enhancing traffic flow while simultaneously expanding the attack surface for communication-based cyberattacks. Because the two powertrains translate control inputs into motion differently, their cyber-resilience remains unquantified. Therefore, we formalize six novel message-level attack vectors and implement them in a ring-road simulation that systematically varies the ACC market penetration rates (MPRs) and the spatial pattern of compromised vehicles. A three-tier risk taxonomy converts disturbance metrics into actionable defense priorities for practitioners. Across all simulation scenarios, EV platoons exhibit lower velocity standard deviation, reduced spacing oscillations, and faster post-attack recovery compared to ICE counterparts, revealing an inherent stability advantage. These findings clarify how controller-to-powertrain coupling influences vulnerability and offer quantitative guidance for the detection and mitigation of attacks in mixed automated traffic.

Authors:Jixian Liu, Enrique Mallada
Title: Recurrent Control Barrier Functions: A Path Towards Nonparametric Safety Verification
Abstract:
Ensuring the safety of complex dynamical systems often relies on Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) Reachability Analysis or Control Barrier Functions (CBFs). Both methods require computing a function that characterizes a safe set that can be made (control) invariant. However, the computational burden of solving high-dimensional partial differential equations (for HJ Reachability) or large-scale semidefinite programs (for CBFs) makes finding such functions challenging. In this paper, we introduce the notion of Recurrent Control Barrier Functions (RCBFs), a novel class of CBFs that leverages a recurrent property of the trajectories, i.e., coming back to a safe set, for safety verification. Under mild assumptions, we show that the RCBF condition holds for the signed-distance function, turning function design into set identification. Notably, the resulting set need not be invariant to certify safety. We further propose a data-driven nonparametric method to compute safe sets that is massively parallelizable and trades off conservativeness against computational cost.

Authors:Di Shen, Qi Dai, Suzhou Huang
Title: Coordinated Car-following Using Distributed MPC
Abstract:
Within the modeling framework of Markov games, we propose a series of algorithms for coordinated car-following using distributed model predictive control (DMPC). Instead of tracking prescribed feasible trajectories, driving policies are solved directly as outcomes of the DMPC optimization given the driver's perceivable states. The coordinated solutions are derived using the best response dynamics via iterated self-play, and are facilitated by direct negotiation using inter-agent or agent-infrastructure communication. These solutions closely approximate either Nash equilibrium or centralized optimization. By re-parameterizing the action sequence in DMPC as a curve along the planning horizon, we are able to systematically reduce the original DMPC to very efficient grid searches such that the optimal solution to the original DMPC can be well executed in real-time. Within our modeling framework, it is natural to cast traffic control problems as mechanism design problems, in which all agents are endogenized on an equal footing with full incentive compatibility. We show how traffic efficiency can be dramatically improved while keeping stop-and-go phantom waves tamed at high vehicle densities. Our approach can be viewed as an alternative way to formulate coordinated adaptive cruise control (CACC) without an explicit platooning (or with all vehicles in the traffic system treated as a single extended platoon). We also address the issue of linear stability of the associated discrete-time traffic dynamics and demonstrate why it does not always tell the full story about the traffic stability.

Authors:Burak Dindar, Can Berk Saner, Hüseyin Kemal Çakmak, Veit Hagenmeyer
Title: A TSO-DSO Coordination Framework via Analytical Representation and Monetization of PQV-Based Distribution System Flexibility
Abstract:
As the role of distribution system (DS) flexibility in transmission system operator (TSO) network management becomes increasingly vital, data privacy concerns hinder seamless interoperability. The notion of the feasible operating region (FOR), defined in the PQ domain, has emerged as a promising privacy-preserving approach. However, effectively leveraging FOR in TSO operations remains challenging due to three key factors: its accurate determination in large-scale, meshed DS networks; its tractable analytical representation; and its economic valuation. In the present paper, we propose a novel AC optimal power flow (OPF)-based method to construct a three-dimensional PQV-FOR, explicitly accounting for voltage variability and diverse flexibility-providing unit (FPU) characteristics. The construction process employs a two-stage sampling strategy that combines bounding box projection and Fibonacci direction techniques to efficiently capture the FOR. We then introduce an implicit polynomial fitting approach to analytically represent the FOR. Furthermore, we derive a quadratic cost function over the PQV domain to monetize the FOR. Thus, the proposed framework enables single-round TSO-DSO coordination: the DSO provides an analytical FOR and cost model; the TSO determines operating point at the point of common coupling (PCC) within the FOR-based AC-OPF; and the DSO computes FPU dispatch by solving its local OPF, without computationally intensive disaggregation or iterative coordination. Case studies on meshed DS with up to 533 buses, integrated into TS, demonstrates the method's efficiency compared to standard AC-OPF. On average, the proposed approach yields negligible cost deviations of at most 0.058% across test cases, while reducing computation times by up to 58.11%.

Authors:Urmee Maitra, Ashish R. Hota, Vaibhav Srivastava
Title: Bi-Virus SIS Epidemic Propagation under Mutation and Game-theoretic Protection Adoption
Abstract:
We study a bi-virus susceptible-infected-susceptible (SIS) epidemic model in which individuals are either susceptible or infected with one of two virus strains, and consider mutation-driven transitions between strains. The general case of bi-directional mutation is first analyzed, where we characterize the disease-free equilibrium and establish its global asymptotic stability, as well as the existence, uniqueness, and stability of an endemic equilibrium. We then present a game-theoretic framework where susceptible individuals strategically choose whether to adopt protection or remain unprotected, to maximize their instantaneous payoffs. We derive Nash strategies under bi-directional mutation, and subsequently consider the special case of unidirectional mutation. In the latter case, we show that coexistence of both strains is impossible when mutation occurs from the strain with lower reproduction number and transmission rate to the other strain. Furthermore, we fully characterize the stationary Nash equilibrium (SNE) in the setting permitting coexistence, and examine how mutation rates influence protection adoption and infection prevalence at the SNE. Numerical simulations corroborate the analytical results, demonstrating that infection levels decrease monotonically with higher protection adoption, and highlight the impact of mutation rates and protection cost on infection state trajectories.

Authors:Jixian Liu, Enrique Mallada
Title: Safety-Critical Control via Recurrent Tracking Functions
Abstract:
This paper addresses the challenge of synthesizing safety-critical controllers for high-order nonlinear systems, where constructing valid Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) remains computationally intractable. Leveraging layered control, we design CBFs in reduced-order models (RoMs) while regulating full-order models' (FoMs) dynamics at the same time. Traditional Lyapunov tracking functions are required to decrease monotonically, but systematic synthesis methods for such functions exist only for fully-actuated systems. To overcome this limitation, we introduce Recurrent Tracking Functions (RTFs), which replace the monotonic decay requirement with a weaker finite-time recurrence condition. This relaxation permits transient deviations of tracking errors while ensuring safety. By augmenting CBFs for RoMs with RTFs, we construct recurrent CBFs (RCBFs) whose zero-superlevel set is control $τ$-recurrent, and guarantee safety for all initial states in such a set when RTFs are satisfied. We establish theoretical safety guarantees and validate the approach through numerical experiments, demonstrating RTFs' effectiveness and the safety of FoMs.

Authors:Junfeng Cai, Marco Lovera
Title: Gain-Scheduled Passive Fault-Tolerant Control Design for Dual-System UAV Transition Flight
Abstract:
Dual-system UAVs with vertical take-off and landing capabilities have become increasingly popular in recent years. As a safety-critical system, it is important that a dual-system UAV can maintain safe flight after faults/failures occur. This paper proposes a gain-scheduled passive fault-tolerant control (PFTC) method for the transition flight of dual-system UAVs. In this novel FTC design method, the model uncertainties arising from the loss of control effectiveness caused by actuator faults/failures, for the first time, are treated as model input uncertainty, allowing us to use multiplicative uncertainty descriptions to represent it. The advantages of the proposed method consist in significantly reducing the number of design points, thereby simplifying the control synthesis process and improving the efficiency of designing the FTC system for dual-system UAV transition flight compared with the existing FTC design methods. As a general method, it can be applied to the design of FTC systems with multiple uncertain parameters and multiple channels. The developed passive FTC system is validated on a nonlinear six-degree-of-freedom simulator. The simulation results demonstrate that the gain-scheduled structured H infinity (GS SHIF) PFTC system provides superior fault tolerance performance compared with the LQR and structured H infinity control systems, thereby showcasing the effectiveness and the advantages of the proposed GS SHIF PFTC approach.

Authors:Ian Reid, Joseph Ritchie, Jacob Moore, Brandon Sutherland, Gabe Snow, Phillip Tokumaru, Tim McLain
Title: ROSplane 2.0: A Fixed-Wing Autopilot for Research
Abstract:
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) research requires the integration of cutting-edge technology into existing autopilot frameworks. This process can be arduous, requiring extensive resources, time, and detailed knowledge of the existing system. ROSplane is a lean, open-source fixed-wing autonomy stack built by researchers for researchers. It is designed to accelerate research by providing clearly defined interfaces with an easily modifiable framework. Powered by ROS 2, ROSplane allows for rapid integration of low or high-level control, path planning, or estimation algorithms. A focus on lean, easily understood code and extensive documentation lowers the barrier to entry for researchers. Recent developments to ROSplane improve its capacity to accelerate UAV research, including the transition from ROS 1 to ROS 2, enhanced estimation and control algorithms, increased modularity, and an improved aerodynamic modeling pipeline. This aerodynamic modeling pipeline significantly reduces the effort of transitioning from simulation to real-world testing without requiring expensive system identification or computational fluid dynamics tools. ROSplane's architecture reduces the effort required to integrate new research tools and methods, expediting hardware experimentation.

Authors:Jacob Moore, Phil Tokumaru, Ian Reid, Brandon Sutherland, Joseph Ritchie, Gabe Snow, Tim McLain
Title: ROSflight 2.0: Lean ROS 2-Based Autopilot for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Abstract:
ROSflight is a lean, open-source autopilot ecosystem for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Designed by researchers for researchers, it is built to lower the barrier to entry to UAV research and accelerate the transition from simulation to hardware experiments by maintaining a lean (not full-featured), well-documented, and modular codebase. This publication builds on previous treatments and describes significant additions to the architecture that improve the modularity and usability of ROSflight, including the transition from ROS 1 to ROS 2, supported hardware, low-level actuator mixing, and the simulation environment. We believe that these changes improve the usability of ROSflight and enable ROSflight to accelerate research in areas like advanced-air mobility. Hardware results are provided, showing that ROSflight is able to control a multirotor over a serial connection at 400 Hz while closing all control loops on the companion computer.

Authors:Lyuzhu Pan, Hongcai Zhang
Title: Optimal Pricing of Electric Vehicle Charging on Coupled Power-Transportation Network based on Generalized Sensitivity Analysis
Abstract:
In the last decade, charging service providers are emerging along with the prevalence of electric vehicles. These providers need to strategically optimize their charging prices to improve the profits considering operation conditions of the coupled power-transportation network. However, the optimal pricing problem generally involves the user equilibrium model, which leads to a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints. As a result, the pricing problem is non-convex and computationally intractable especially for large-scale network. To address this challenge, we propose a generalized sensitivity analysis approach for optimal pricing of electric vehicle charging on coupled power-transportation network. Specifically, we adopt a sensitivity analysis to capture the best response of charging demand to charging price in the gradient form. Consequently, charging service providers can make pricing decisions based on the gradient information instead of the conventional KKT conditions of the user equilibrium model. We then propose a tailored gradient descent algorithm to solve the whole pricing problem. The mathematical proof of validity is given and the time complexity of the proposed algorithm is theoretically polynomial. Numerical experiments on different scales of networks verify the computational efficiency of the proposed algorithm, indicating its potential in evaluating the impact of the optimal pricing on the operational performance of large-scale coupled power-transportation network.

Authors:Lyuzhu Pan, Hongcai Zhang
Title: Real-time Operation of Electric Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand System Considering Power System Regulation
Abstract:
Electric autonomous mobility-on-demand (EAMoD) systems are emerging all over the world. However, their potential swarm charging in depots may deteriorate operation of the power system, further in turn affecting EAMoD system's optimal operation. To prevent this latent risk, we develop a real-time coordination framework for the EAMoD system and the power system. First, the temporal-spatial characteristics of EAMoD fleets are fully described based on a Markov decision process model, including serving trips, repositioning, and charging. Second, charger accessibility of EAMoD depot charging is well modeled as real-world configuration, wherein fast and slow charge piles are both included. Third, the power system regulation model provides real-time charging regulation constraints for EAMoD systems to prevent potential overload and undervoltage. To address the poor solution quality attributed to the complex decision space of the EAMoD system, this paper proposes a piecewise linear-based approximate dynamic programming algorithm combined with model predictive control. Numerical experiments in the Manhattan and a 14-node power distribution network validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and underscore the necessity of system coordination.

Authors:Hang Zhou, Yuxin Yang, Branislav Hrezdak, John Edward Fletcher
Title: Accurate Small-Signal Modeling of Digitally Controlled Buck Converters with ADC-PWM Synchronization
Abstract:
Digital control has become increasingly widespread in modern power electronic converters. When acquiring feedback signals such as the inductor current, synchronizing the analog-to-digital converter (ADC) with the digital pulse-width modulator (DPWM) is commonly employed to accurately track their steady-state average. However, the small-signal implications of such synchronization have not been investigated. This paper presents an exact small-signal model for digitally controlled buck converters operating in forced continuous-conduction mode (FCCM) under constant-frequency current-mode control, explicitly accounting for DPWM-ADC synchronization. Using a sampled-data framework, the proposed model captures all sideband effects introduced by the sampling process, yielding precise predictions of both analog and digital loop gains, even at frequencies beyond the switching and sampling frequencies. Both asymmetrical and symmetrical carrier modulations are considered. Furthermore, the digital loop gain is derived in closed form using the modified z-transform, enabling low-complexity compensator design and stability assessment. Within this framework, the analog loop gain can be directly obtained from the digital loop gain, thereby eliminating the need for computationally intensive infinite series evaluations. The validity of the proposed model is confirmed through both simulation and experimental results.

Authors:Daiki Tsuzuki, Kentaro Ohki
Title: Global convergence of Oja's component flow for general square matrices and its applications
Abstract:
This paper establishes the global convergence properties of the Oja flow, a continuous-time algorithm for principal component extraction, for general square matrices. The Oja flow is a matrix differential equation on the Stiefel manifold designed to extract a dominant subspace. While its analysis has traditionally been restricted to symmetric positive-definite matrices, where it acts as a gradient flow, recent applications have extended its use to general matrices. In this non-symmetric case, the flow extracts the invariant subspace corresponding to the eigenvalues with the largest real parts. However, prior convergence results have been purely local, leaving the global behavior as an open problem. This paper fills this gap by providing a comprehensive global convergence analysis, establishing that the flow converges exponentially for almost all initial conditions. We also propose a modification to the algorithm that enhances its numerical stability. As an application of this theory, we develop novel methods for the model reduction of linear dynamical systems and the synthesis of low-rank stabilizing controllers.

Authors:Amirhoseein Afsharrad, Ahmadreza Moradipari, Sanjay Lall
Title: Multi-Agent Stage-wise Conservative Linear Bandits
Abstract:
In many real-world applications such as recommendation systems, multiple learning agents must balance exploration and exploitation while maintaining safety guarantees to avoid catastrophic failures. We study the stochastic linear bandit problem in a multi-agent networked setting where agents must satisfy stage-wise conservative constraints. A network of $N$ agents collaboratively maximizes cumulative reward while ensuring that the expected reward at every round is no less than $(1-α)$ times that of a baseline policy. Each agent observes local rewards with unknown parameters, but the network optimizes for the global parameter (average of local parameters). Agents communicate only with immediate neighbors, and each communication round incurs additional regret. We propose MA-SCLUCB (Multi-Agent Stage-wise Conservative Linear UCB), an episodic algorithm alternating between action selection and consensus-building phases. We prove that MA-SCLUCB achieves regret $\tilde{O}\left(\frac{d}{\sqrt{N}}\sqrt{T}\cdot\frac{\log(NT)}{\sqrt{\log(1/|λ_2|)}}\right)$ with high probability, where $d$ is the dimension, $T$ is the horizon, and $|λ_2|$ is the network's second largest eigenvalue magnitude. Our analysis shows: (i) collaboration yields $\frac{1}{\sqrt{N}}$ improvement despite local communication, (ii) communication overhead grows only logarithmically for well-connected networks, and (iii) stage-wise safety adds only lower-order regret. Thus, distributed learning with safety guarantees achieves near-optimal performance in reasonably connected networks.

Authors:A. Calderon Hurtado, J. Xu, R. Salleh, D. Dias-da-Costa, M. Makki Alamdari
Title: Development and Field Validation of a Fully Customised Vehicle Scanning System on Two Full-Scale Bridges
Abstract:
Ensuring the structural integrity of bridges is essential for maintaining infrastructure safety and promoting long-term sustainability. In this context, Indirect Structural Health Monitoring (ISHM) through drive-by bridge inspection emerges as a promising alternative to traditional inspection methods, offering a cost-effective and scalable solution by using vehicle-mounted sensors to assess the condition of bridges without requiring direct instrumentation. This study introduces the first purpose-built electric inspection vehicle specifically designed for drive-by bridge inspection. The autonomous platform is capable of maintaining a constant low speed and offers customisable operational parameters to maximise the accuracy and repeatability of indirect sensing, capabilities not achieved in previous studies. The vehicle is deployed within an ISHM framework and tested on two full-scale bridges to evaluate its effectiveness in capturing structural dynamic responses. Two unsupervised frameworks are then employed to analyse the collected data to identify features indicative of bridge properties and structural condition. The promising findings from this study demonstrate the practical feasibility of the approach. The study also shows the potential of ISHM as a viable tool for efficient bridge monitoring, contributing to the development of next-generation structural health monitoring systems that can enhance safety, optimise maintenance strategies, and support the longevity of critical infrastructure.

Authors:Ahmed Khalil, Mohamed Safwat, Efstathios Bakolas
Title: Annealed Ensemble Kalman Inversion for Constrained Nonlinear Model Predictive Control: An ADMM Approach
Abstract:
This work proposes a novel Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM)-based Ensemble Kalman Inversion (EKI) algorithm for solving constrained nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) problems. First, the stage-wise nonlinear inequality constraints in the NMPC problem are embedded via an augmented Lagrangian with nonnegative slack variables. We then show that the unconstrained augmented Lagrangian formulation of the NMPC admits a Bayesian interpretation: under a Gaussian observation model, its minimizers coincide with MAP estimators, enabling solution via EKI. However, since the nonnegativity constraint on the slacks cannot be enforced via Gaussian noise, our proposed algorithm results in a two-block ADMM that alternates between (i) a primal step that minimizes the unconstrained augmented Lagrangian, (ii) a nonnegativity projection for the slacks, and (iii) a dual ascent step. To balance exploration and convergence, an annealing schedule tempers covariances and penalty weights, thereby encouraging global search early and precise constraint satisfaction later. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed method, we compare it with another iterative sampling-based approach based on Model Predictive Path Integral (MPPI) control, called DIAL-MPC.

Authors:Chi Ho Leung, Philip E. Paré
Title: Learning Passive Continuous-Time Dynamics with Multistep Port-Hamiltonian Gaussian Processes
Abstract:
We propose the multistep port-Hamiltonian Gaussian process (MS-PHS GP) to learn physically consistent continuous-time dynamics and a posterior over the Hamiltonian from noisy, irregularly-sampled trajectories. By placing a GP prior on the Hamiltonian surface $H$ and encoding variable-step multistep integrator constraints as finite linear functionals, MS-PHS GP enables closed-form conditioning of both the vector field and the Hamiltonian surface without latent states, while enforcing energy balance and passivity by design. We state a finite-sample vector-field bound that separates the estimation and variable-step discretization terms. Lastly, we demonstrate improved vector-field recovery and well-calibrated Hamiltonian uncertainty on mass-spring, Van der Pol, and Duffing benchmarks.

Authors:Tanay Kumar, Raktim Bhattacharya
Title: Robust Attitude Control of Nonlinear Multi-Rotor Dynamics with LFT Models and $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ Performance
Abstract:
Attitude stabilization of unmanned aerial vehicles in uncertain environments presents significant challenges due to nonlinear dynamics, parameter variations, and sensor limitations. This paper presents a comparative study of $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ and classical PID controllers for multi-rotor attitude regulation in the presence of wind disturbances and gyroscope noise. The flight dynamics are modeled using a linear parameter-varying (LPV) framework, where nonlinearities and parameter variations are systematically represented as structured uncertainties within a linear fractional transformation formulation. A robust controller based on $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ formulation is designed using only gyroscope measurements to ensure guaranteed performance bounds. Nonlinear simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the robust controllers compared to classical PID control, showing significant improvement in attitude regulation under severe wind disturbances.

Authors:Alireza Aliyari, Gholamreza Vossoughi
Title: A Novel Robust Control Method Combining DNN-Based NMPC Approximation and PI Control: Application to Exoskeleton Squat Movements
Abstract:
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) is a precise controller, but its heavy computational load often prevents application in robotic systems. Some studies have attempted to approximate NMPC using deep neural networks (NMPC-DNN). However, in the presence of unexpected disturbances or when operating conditions differ from training data, this approach lacks robustness, leading to large tracking errors. To address this issue, for the first time, the NMPC-DNN output is combined with a PI controller (Hybrid NMPC-DNN-PI). The proposed controller is validated by applying it to an exoskeleton robot during squat movement, which has a complex dynamic model and has received limited attention regarding robust nonlinear control design. A human-robot dynamic model with three active joints (ankle, knee, hip) is developed, and more than 5.3 million training samples are used to train the DNN. The results show that, under unseen conditions for the DNN, the tracking error in Hybrid NMPC-DNN-PI is significantly lower compared to NMPC-DNN. Moreover, human joint torques are greatly reduced with the use of the exoskeleton, with RMS values for the studied case reduced by 30.9%, 41.8%, and 29.7% at the ankle, knee, and hip, respectively. In addition, the computational cost of Hybrid NMPC-DNN-PI is 99.93% lower than that of NMPC.

Authors:Imtiaz Ur Rehman Moussa Labbadi, Amine Abadi, Lew Lew Yan Voon
Title: Robust Safety-Critical Control of Integrator Chains with Mismatched Perturbations via Linear Time-Varying Feedback
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a novel safety-critical control framework for a chain of integrators subject to both matched and mismatched perturbations. The core of our approach is a linear, time-varying state-feedback design that simultaneously enforces stability and safety constraints. By integrating backstepping techniques with a quadratic programming (QP) formulation, we develop a systematic procedure to guarantee safety under time-varying gains. We provide rigorous theoretical guarantees for the double integrator case, both in the presence and absence of perturbations, and outline general proofs for extending the methodology to higher-order chains of integrators. This proposed framework thus bridges robustness and safety-critical performance, while overcoming the limitations of existing prescribed-time approaches.

Authors:Kalin Kochnev, Chang Liu
Title: Stability Analysis of Thermohaline Convection With a Time-Varying Shear Flow Using the Lyapunov Method
Abstract:
This work identifies instabilities and computes the growth rate of a linear time-varying system using the Lyapunov method. The linear system describes cold fresh water on top of hot salty water with a periodically time-varying background shear flow. We employ a time-dependent weighting matrix to construct a Lyapunov function candidate, and the resulting linear matrix inequalities formulation is discretized in time using the forward Euler method. As the number of temporal discretization points increases, the growth rate predicted from the Lyapunov method or the Floquet theory will converge to the same value as that obtained from numerical simulations. We also use the Lyapunov method to analyze the instantaneous principal direction of instabilities and compare the computational resources required by the Lyapunov method, numerical simulations, and the Floquet theory.

Authors:M. R. Sayeh, R. E. Auxier
Title: Anticipatory Structure in the Propagation of Signal
Abstract:
We here report the development of a structure that shows the proteresis phenomenon in more general setting and set out its philosophical implications. In this case, the questions relate to how we are to interpret what will happen in the future, and the procollection (the counterpart of recollection) of not-yet-experienced phenomena that, when expressed, will be whatever has built up in fully determinate form already, ahead of the event. If such a process really exists, as our evidence confirms, not just as phenomenon but as a fact, then a gap exists between the actualized form of the future and its concrete expression when the event does happen. Such a fact, as hard to imagine as it is, may be intelligible, even interpretable and susceptible to mathematical and/or logical modeling. We build upon neglected theories and formulae that present time in a way that makes our results interpretable. A proteretic device is here described which shifts the input signal (event) to the future; and it is an anticipatory structure. The proteretic characteristic of neurons should also be capable of demonstration; and its neuronal behavior is possibly the reason for the fast perception/thought processes in spite of slow behaving neurons. That capacity may also account for why it is possible for animals (including humans) to interact with the environment by slightly seeing (in the sense of perceiving and/or sensing) the future. Exploiting this new proteretic technology, faster computers and more efficient cellphones, among other things, will be designed and built.

Authors:Nishant Kumar, Shravan Kumar Singh, Nikhil Chander
Title: Assessment of East-West (E-W) and South-North (S-N) facing Vertical Bifacial Photovoltaic Modules for Agrivoltaics and Dual-Land Use Applications in India
Abstract:
Deploying vertical bifacial PV modules can play a significant role in agrivoltaics, fencing walls, noise barriers, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), solar PV for electric vehicles, and many other applications. This research work presents the performance comparison of vertical bifacial photovoltaic (VBPV) modules facing East-West (E-W) and South-North (S-N) directions. Also, the VBPV modules are compared with vertical and tilted south-facing monofacial PV modules. Six PV modules (monofacial and bifacial) were installed at the rooftop of IIT Bhilai academic building, Raipur (21.16° N, 81.65° E), India, and studied for a year from May 2022 to April 2023. The results show that the E-W facing VBPV module gives two production peaks, one in the morning and another in the evening, as compared to the single notable rise at midday observed for a monofacial module. From a series of experiments, 19 days of data were collected over the one-year period from May 2022 to April 2023, with specific inclusion of important days like solstices and equinoxes. In addition, the energy generation results are compared with PVsyst simulations, while also addressing the limitations of the PVsyst simulation of vertical PV modules. E-W bifacial generation is higher than S-N bifacial and south-facing monofacial modules from February to April. The VBPV modules in E-W and S-N orientations present a promising opportunity for expanding the agrivoltaics sector in tropical and sub-tropical countries, like India. This has huge implications for addressing the sustainable development goals by simultaneously contributing to sustainable land management, green energy generation, energy security and water conservation in the vast geo-climatic expanse of tropics.

Authors:Malek Succar, Mohamed I. Ibrahim
Title: Ingress Cryogenic Receivers Toward Scalable Quantum Information Processing: Theory and System Analysis
Abstract:
Current control techniques for cryogenically cooled qubits are realized with coaxial cables, posing multiple challenges in terms of cost, thermal load, size, and long-term scalability. Emerging approaches to tackle this issue include cryogenic CMOS electronics at 4 K, and photonic links for direct qubit control. In this paper, we propose a multiplexed all-passive cryogenic high frequency direct detection control platform (cryo-HFDD). The proposed classical interface for direct qubit control utilizes optical or sub-THz bands. We present the possible tradeoffs of this platform, and compare it with current state-of-the-art cryogenic CMOS and conventional coaxial approaches. We assess the feasibility of adopting these efficient links for a wide range of microwave qubit power levels. Specifically, we estimate the heat load to achieve the required signal-to-noise ratio SNR considering different noise sources, component losses, as well as link density. We show that multiplexed photonic receivers at 4 K can aggressively scale the control of thousands of qubits. This opens the door for low cost scalable quantum computing systems.

Authors:Muhammad Imran Hossain, Jignesh Solanki, Sarika Khushlani Solanki
Title: Unsupervised Detection of Spatiotemporal Anomalies in PMU Data Using Transformer-Based BiGAN
Abstract:
Ensuring power grid resilience requires the timely and unsupervised detection of anomalies in synchrophasor data streams. We introduce T-BiGAN, a novel framework that integrates window-attention Transformers within a bidirectional Generative Adversarial Network (BiGAN) to address this challenge. Its self-attention encoder-decoder architecture captures complex spatio-temporal dependencies across the grid, while a joint discriminator enforces cycle consistency to align the learned latent space with the true data distribution. Anomalies are flagged in real-time using an adaptive score that combines reconstruction error, latent space drift, and discriminator confidence. Evaluated on a realistic hardware-in-the-loop PMU benchmark, T-BiGAN achieves an ROC-AUC of 0.95 and an average precision of 0.996, significantly outperforming leading supervised and unsupervised methods. It shows particular strength in detecting subtle frequency and voltage deviations, demonstrating its practical value for live, wide-area monitoring without relying on manually labeled fault data.

Authors:Sabbir Ahmed, Hafiz Fareed Ahmed, Erfan Nozari
Title: A General Theory of Emergent Linearity in Complex Dynamical Systems: The Role of Spatial Averaging and Vanishing Correlations
Abstract:
Various natural and engineered systems, from urban traffic flow to the human brain, have been described by large-scale networked dynamical systems. Despite their vast differences, these systems are often similar in being comprised of numerous microscopic subsystems with complex nonlinear dynamics and interactions that give rise to diverse emergent macroscopic behaviors. As such, a long-standing question across various fields has been to understand why and how various forms of macroscopic behavior emerge from underlying microscopic dynamics. Motivated by a growing body of empirical observations, in this work we focus on linearity as one of the most fundamental aspects of system dynamics, and develop a general theoretical framework for the interplay between spatial averaging, decaying microscopic correlations, and emergent macroscopic linearity. Using and extending the theory of mixing sequences, we show that in a broad class of autonomous nonlinear networked systems, the dynamics of the average of all subsystems' states becomes asymptotically linear as the number of subsystems grows to infinity, provided that (in addition to technical assumptions) pairwise correlations between subsystems decay to 0 as their pairwise distance grows to infinity. We prove this result when the latter distance is between subsystems' linear indices or spatial locations, and provide extensions to linear time-invariant (LTI) limit dynamics, finite-sample analysis of rates of convergence, and networks of spatially-embedded subsystems with random locations. To our knowledge, this work is the first rigorous analysis of macroscopic linearity in large-scale heterogeneous networked systems, and provides a solid foundation for further theoretical and empirical analyses in various domains of science and engineering.

Authors:Chuandong Li, Runtian Zeng
Title: AW-EL-PINNs: A Multi-Task Learning Physics-Informed Neural Network for Euler-Lagrange Systems in Optimal Control Problems
Abstract:
This paper presents adaptive weighted Euler-Lagrange theorem combined physics-informed neural networks (AW-EL-PINNs) for solving Euler-Lagrange systems in optimal control problems. The framework systematically converts optimal control frameworks into two-point boundary value problems (TPBVPs) while establishing a multi-task learning paradigm through innovative integration of the Euler-Lagrange theorem with deep learning architecture. An adaptive loss weighting mechanism dynamically balances loss function components during training, decreasing tedious manual tuning of weighting the loss functions compared to the conventional physics-informed neural networks (PINNs). Based on six numerical examples, it's clear that AW-EL-PINNs achieve enhanced solution accuracy compared to baseline methods while maintaining stability throughout the optimization process. These results highlight the framework's capability to improve precision and ensure stability in solving Euler-Lagrange systems in optimal control problems, offering potential strategies for problems under physical applications.

Authors:Shuide Wen, Beier Ku, Teng Wang, Mingyang Zou, Yang Yang
Title: Neo-Grounded Theory: A Methodological Innovation Integrating High-Dimensional Vector Clustering and Multi-Agent Collaboration for Qualitative Research
Abstract:
Purpose: Neo Grounded Theory (NGT) integrates vector clustering with multi agent systems to resolve qualitative research's scale depth paradox, enabling analysis of massive datasets in hours while preserving interpretive rigor. Methods: We compared NGT against manual coding and ChatGPT-assisted analysis using 40,000 character Chinese interview transcripts. NGT employs 1536-dimensional embeddings, hierarchical clustering, and parallel agent-based coding. Two experiments tested pure automation versus human guided refinement. Findings: NGT achieved 168-fold speed improvement (3 hours vs 3 weeks), superior quality (0.904 vs 0.883), and 96% cost reduction. Human AI collaboration proved essential: automation alone produced abstract frameworks while human guidance yielded actionable dual pathway theories. The system discovered patterns invisible to manual coding, including identity bifurcation phenomena. Contributions: NGT demonstrates computational objectivity and human interpretation are complementary. Vector representations provide reproducible semantic measurement while preserving meaning's interpretive dimensions. Researchers shift from mechanical coding to theoretical guidance, with AI handling pattern recognition while humans provide creative insight. Implications: Cost reduction from \$50,000 to \$500 democratizes qualitative research, enabling communities to study themselves. Real-time analysis makes qualitative insights contemporaneous with events. The framework shows computational methods can strengthen rather than compromise qualitative research's humanistic commitments. Keywords: Grounded theory; Vector embeddings; Multi agent systems; Human AI collaboration; Computational qualitative analysis

Authors:Heming Fu, Guojun Xiong, Shan Lin
Title: MARLIN: Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning with Murmuration Intelligence and LLM Guidance for Reservoir Management
Abstract:
As climate change intensifies extreme weather events, water disasters pose growing threats to global communities, making adaptive reservoir management critical for protecting vulnerable populations and ensuring water security. Modern water resource management faces unprecedented challenges from cascading uncertainties propagating through interconnected reservoir networks. These uncertainties, rooted in physical water transfer losses and environmental variability, make precise control difficult. For example, sending 10 tons downstream may yield only 8-12 tons due to evaporation and seepage. Traditional centralized optimization approaches suffer from exponential computational complexity and cannot effectively handle such real-world uncertainties, while existing multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) methods fail to achieve effective coordination under uncertainty. To address these challenges, we present MARLIN, a decentralized reservoir management framework inspired by starling murmurations intelligence. Integrating bio-inspired alignment, separation, and cohesion rules with MARL, MARLIN enables individual reservoirs to make local decisions while achieving emergent global coordination. In addition, a LLM provides real-time reward shaping signals, guiding agents to adapt to environmental changes and human-defined preferences. Experiments on real-world USGS data show that MARLIN improves uncertainty handling by 23\%, cuts computation by 35\%, and accelerates flood response by 68\%, exhibiting super-linear coordination, with complexity scaling 5.4x from 400 to 10,000 nodes. These results demonstrate MARLIN's potential for disaster prevention and protecting communities through intelligent, scalable water resource management.

Authors:Chi Ho Leung, Philip E. Paré
Title: Spectral Flow Learning Theory: Finite-Sample Guarantees for Vector-Field Identification
Abstract:
We study the identification of continuous-time vector fields from irregularly sampled trajectories. We introduce Spectral Flow Learning (SFL), which learns in a windowed flow space using a lag-linear label operator that aggregates lagged Koopman actions. We provide finite-sample high-probability (FS-HP) guarantees for the class of variable-step linear multistep methods (vLLM). The FS-HP rates are constructed using spectral regularization with qualification-controlled filters for flow predictors under standard source and filter assumptions. A multistep observability inequality links flow error to vector-field error and yields two-term bounds that combine a statistical rate with an explicit discretization bias from vLMM theory. This preliminary preprint states the results and sketches proofs, with full proofs and extensions deferred to a journal version.

Authors:Da Saem Lee, Akash Karthikeyan, Yash Vardhan Pant, Sebastian Fischmeister
Title: Path Diffuser: Diffusion Model for Data-Driven Traffic Simulator
Abstract:
Simulating diverse and realistic traffic scenarios is critical for developing and testing autonomous planning. Traditional rule-based planners lack diversity and realism, while learning-based simulators often replay, forecast, or edit scenarios using historical agent trajectories. However, they struggle to generate new scenarios, limiting scalability and diversity due to their reliance on fully annotated logs and historical data. Thus, a key challenge for a learning-based simulator's performance is that it requires agents' past trajectories and pose information in addition to map data, which might not be available for all agents on the road.Without which, generated scenarios often produce unrealistic trajectories that deviate from drivable areas, particularly under out-of-distribution (OOD) map scenes (e.g., curved roads). To address this, we propose Path Diffuser (PD): a two-stage, diffusion model for generating agent pose initializations and their corresponding trajectories conditioned on the map, free of any historical context of agents' trajectories. Furthermore, PD incorporates a motion primitive-based prior, leveraging Frenet frame candidate trajectories to enhance diversity while ensuring road-compliant trajectory generation. We also explore various design choices for modeling complex multi-agent interactions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our method through extensive experiments on the Argoverse2 Dataset and additionally evaluate the generalizability of the approach on OOD map variants. Notably, Path Diffuser outperforms the baseline methods by 1.92x on distribution metrics, 1.14x on common-sense metrics, and 1.62x on road compliance from adversarial benchmarks.

Authors:Xin Qin, Ioannis Lestas
Title: Frequency Control and Optimal Power Sharing in Combined Power and Heating Networks with Heat Pumps
Abstract:
Heat pumps have the capability for fast adjustments in power consumption with potential connections to large heating-inertia district heating networks, and are thus a very important resource for providing frequency support in low-inertia power systems. Nevertheless, the coupling of power networks with district heating systems renders the underlying dynamics much more involved. It is therefore important to ensure that system stability and appropriate power sharing are maintained. In this paper, we consider the problem of leveraging district heating systems as ancillary services for primary frequency control in power networks via heat pumps. We propose a novel power sharing scheme for heating systems based on the average temperature. This enables an optimal power allocation among diverse energy sources without requiring load disturbances information. We then discuss two approaches for heating systems to contribute to frequency regulation in power networks. We show that both approaches ensure stability in the combined heat and power network and facilitate optimal power allocation among the different energy sources. We also discuss how various generation dynamics can be incorporated into our framework with guaranteed stability and optimality. Finally, we conduct simulations that demonstrate various tradeoffs in the transient response and the practical potential of the proposed approaches.

Authors:Harshal D. Kaushik, Jingbo Wang, Roshni Anna Jacob, Jie Zhang
Title: Electric Vehicle Charger Infrastructure Planning: Demand Estimation, Coverage Optimization Over an Integrated Power Grid
Abstract:
For electrifying the transportation sector, deploying a strategically planned and efficient charging infrastructure is essential. This paper presents a two-phase approach for electric vehicle (EV) charger deployment that integrates spatial point-of-interest analysis and maximum coverage optimization over an integrated spatial power grid. Spatial-focused studies in the literature often overlook electrical grid constraints, while grid-focused work frequently considers statistically modeled EV charging demand. To address these gaps, a new framework is proposed that combines spatial network planning with electrical grid considerations. This study approaches EV charger planning from a perspective of the distribution grid, starting with an estimation of EV charging demand and the identification of optimal candidate locations. It ensures that the capacity limits of newly established chargers are maintained within the limits of the power grid. This framework is applied in a test case for the Dallas area, integrating the existing EV charger network with an 8500-bus distribution system for comprehensive planning.

Authors:Aoqian Zhang, Zixuan Zhuang, Chunzheng Wang, Shuzhi Sam Ge, Fan Shi, Cheng Xiang
Title: SAC-Loco: Safe and Adjustable Compliant Quadrupedal Locomotion
Abstract:
Quadruped robots are designed to achieve agile locomotion by mimicking legged animals. However, existing control methods for quadrupeds often lack one of the key capabilities observed in animals: adaptive and adjustable compliance in response to external disturbances. Most locomotion controllers do not provide tunable compliance and tend to fail under large perturbations. In this work, we propose a switched policy framework for compliant and safe quadruped locomotion. First, we train a force compliant policy with adjustable compliance levels using a teacher student reinforcement learning framework, eliminating the need for explicit force sensing. Next, we develop a safe policy based on the capture point concept to stabilize the robot when the compliant policy fails. Finally, we introduce a recoverability network that predicts the likelihood of failure and switches between the compliant and safe policies. Together, this framework enables quadruped robots to achieve both force compliance and robust safety when subjected to severe external disturbances.

Authors:Louise McCormack, Diletta Huyskes, Dave Lewis, Malika Bendechache
Title: Trust and Transparency in AI: Industry Voices on Data, Ethics, and Compliance
Abstract:
The EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act directs businesses to assess their AI systems to ensure they are developed in a way that is human-centered and trustworthy. The rapid adoption of AI in the industry has outpaced ethical evaluation frameworks, leading to significant challenges in accountability, governance, data quality, human oversight, technological robustness, and environmental and societal impacts. Through structured interviews with fifteen industry professionals, paired with a literature review conducted on each of the key interview findings, this paper investigates practical approaches and challenges in the development and assessment of Trustworthy AI (TAI). The findings from participants in our study, and the subsequent literature reviews, reveal complications in risk management, compliance and accountability, which are exacerbated by a lack of transparency, unclear regulatory requirements and a rushed implementation of AI. Participants reported concerns that technological robustness and safety could be compromised by model inaccuracies, security vulnerabilities, and an overreliance on AI without proper safeguards in place. Additionally, the negative environmental and societal impacts of AI, including high energy consumption, political radicalisation, loss of culture and reinforcement of social inequalities, are areas of concern. There is a pressing need not just for risk mitigation and TAI evaluation within AI systems but for a wider approach to developing an AI landscape that aligns with the social and cultural values of the countries adopting those technologies.

Authors:Xuebin Li, Xuefei Yang, Emilia Fridman, Mamadou Diagne, Jiebao Sun
Title: Distributed Time-Varying Optimization via Unbiased Extremum Seeking
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel distributed optimization framework that addresses time-varying optimization problems without requiring explicit derivative information of the objective functions. Traditional distributed methods often rely on derivative computations, limiting their applicability when only real-time objective function measurements are available. Leveraging unbiased extremum seeking, we develop continuous-time algorithms that utilize local measurements and neighbor-shared data to collaboratively track time-varying optima. Key advancements include compatibility with directed communication graphs, customizable convergence rates (asymptotic, exponential, or prescribed-time), and the ability to handle dynamically evolving objectives. By integrating chirpy probing signals with time-varying frequencies, our unified framework achieves accelerated convergence while maintaining stability under mild assumptions. Theoretical guarantees are established through Lie bracket averaging and Lyapunov-based analysis, with linear matrix inequality conditions ensuring rigorous convergence. Numerical simulations validate the effectiveness of the algorithms.

Authors:Haoyu Zheng, Xizhe Zhang
Title: Optimized Control of Duplex Networks
Abstract:
Many real-world complex systems can be modeled as multiplex networks, where each layer represents a distinct set of interactions among the same entities. Controlling such systems-steering them toward desired states using external inputs-is crucial across many domains. However, existing network control theory largely focuses on single-layer networks, and applying separate controls to each layer of a multiplex system often leads to redundant sets of driver nodes, increasing cost and complexity. To address this challenge, we formulate the Universal Minimum Union Driver Set (MinUDS) problem for duplex networks. The goal is to find the smallest set of driver nodes that can simultaneously control both layers. We propose a novel algorithm, Shortest Cross-Layer Augmenting Path Search (CLAP-S). This method introduces the concept of a Cross-Layer Augmenting Path (CLAP) and efficiently explores the combinatorial space of control configurations. CLAP-S iteratively realigns each layer's Minimum Driver Set (MDS) to maximize their overlap. We prove the algorithm's global optimality and demonstrate its efficiency on both synthetic networks and real-world multiplex systems. The results show that CLAP-S consistently outperforms baseline approaches by significantly reducing the number of required driver nodes and cutting computational time by an order of magnitude. This work provides a powerful, general-purpose tool for optimizing control strategies in multi-layer networks, enabling more economical interventions in diverse fields.

Authors:Ibrahim K. Ozaslan, Tryphon T. Georgiou, Mihailo R. Jovanovic
Title: Automated Algorithm Design via Nevanlinna-Pick Interpolation
Abstract:
The synthesis of optimization algorithms typically follows a design-first-analyze-later approach, which often obscures fundamental performance limitations and hinders the systematic design of algorithms operating at the achievable theoretical boundaries. Recently, a framework based on frequency-domain techniques from robust control theory has emerged as a powerful tool for automating algorithm synthesis. By integrating the design and analysis stages, this framework enables the identification of fundamental performance limits. In this paper, we build on this framework and extend it to address algorithms for solving strongly convex problems with equality constraints. As a result, we obtain a new class of algorithms that offers sharp trade-off between number of matrix multiplication per iteration and convergence rate.

Authors:Yang Wang, Riccardo M. G. Ferrari, Michel Verhaegen
Title: Continuous-Time System Identification and OCV Reconstruction of Li-ion Batteries via Regularized Least Squares
Abstract:
Accurate identification of lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery parameters is essential for managing and predicting battery behavior. However, existing discrete-time methods hinder the estimation of physical parameters and face the fast-slow dynamics problem presented in the battery. In this paper, we developed a continuous-time approach that enables the estimation of battery parameters directly from sampled data. This method avoids discretization errors in converting continuous-time models into discrete-time ones, achieving more accurate identification. In addition, we jointly identify the open-circuit voltage (OCV) and the state of charge (SOC) relation of the battery without utilizing offline OCV tests. By modeling the OCV-SOC curve as a cubic B-spline, we achieve a high-fidelity representation of the OCV curve, facilitating its estimation. Through solving a rank and L1 regularized least squares problem, we jointly identify battery parameters and the OCV-SOC relation from the battery's dynamic data. Simulated and real-life data demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method.

Authors:Yang Wang, Riccardo M. G. Ferrari
Title: Direct Continuous-Time LPV System Identification of Li-ion Batteries via L1-Regularized Least Squares
Abstract:
Accurate identification of lithium-ion battery parameters is essential for estimating battery states and managing performance. However, the variation of battery parameters over the state of charge (SOC) and the nonlinear dependence of the open-circuit voltage (OCV) on the SOC complicate the identification process. In this work, we develop a continuous-time LPV system identification approach to identify the SOC-dependent battery parameters and the OCV-SOC mapping. We model parameter variations using cubic B-splines to capture the piecewise nonlinearity of the variations and estimate signal derivatives via state variable filters, facilitating CT-LPV identification. Battery parameters and the OCV-SOC mapping are jointly identified by solving L1-regularized least squares problems. Numerical experiments on a simulated battery and real-life data demonstrate the effectiveness of the developed method in battery identification, presenting improved performance compared to conventional RLS-based methods.

Authors:Soham Chatterjee, Vivek Natarajan
Title: On the convergence of a numerical scheme for a boundary controlled 1D linear parabolic PIDE
Abstract:
We consider an 1D partial integro-differential equation (PIDE) comprising of an 1D parabolic partial differential equation (PDE) and a nonlocal integral term. The control input is applied on one of the boundaries of the PIDE. Partitioning the spatial interval into $n+1$ subintervals and approximating the spatial derivatives and the integral term with their finite-difference approximations and Riemann sum, respectively, we derive an $n^{\rm th}$-order semi-discrete approximation of the PIDE. The $n^{\rm th}$-order semi-discrete approximation of the PIDE is an $n^{\rm th}$-order ordinary differential equation (ODE) in time. We establish some of its salient properties and using them prove that the solution of the semi-discrete approximation converges to the solution of the PIDE as $n\to\infty$. We illustrate our convergence results using numerical examples. The results in this work are useful for establishing the null controllability of the PIDE considered.

Authors:Fan Qin, Runkai Song, Chao Gu, Wenchi Cheng, Steven Gao
Title: Dual-Band Flexible Endfire Filtering Antenna With Conformal Capability for Emergency Communication Applications
Abstract:
In this letter, a single-layer dual-band flexible conformal filtering endfire antenna is presented. The proposed antenna is based on two co-designed folded dipoles (FDs) working at two frequencies, where the lower-frequency FD acts as a reflector for the higher-frequency one. Then, by devising an additional reflector for lower-frequency FD, dual-band endfire radiation is realized. Parasitic strips are deliberately introduced around the FDs to generate electric coupling and magnetic coupling in the two operating bands, resulting in significant filtering performance with four radiation nulls. With flexible structure and single-layer configuration, the antenna design exhibits flexible conformability with cylindrical surfaces of diverse diameters, thereby enabling seamless integration into scalable emergency communication systems. To verify our design concept, an antenna prototype is fabricated and measured. The measured working frequency ranges from 1.37 to 1.45 GHz and 1.89 to 2.07 GHz. Out-of-band radiation suppression more than 11 dB is achieved under different bending radii. The proposed design offers several advantages including dual-band endfire filtering radiation, flexible conformability and low-profile.

Authors:Ibrahim K. Ozaslan, Wuwei Wu, Jie Chen, Tryphon T. Georgiou, Mihailo R. Jovanovic
Title: Automated algorithm design for convex optimization problems with linear equality constraints
Abstract:
Synthesis of optimization algorithms typically follows a {\em design-then-analyze\/} approach, which can obscure fundamental performance limits and hinder the systematic development of algorithms that operate near these limits. Recently, a framework grounded in robust control theory has emerged as a powerful tool for automating algorithm synthesis. By integrating design and analysis stages, fundamental performance bounds are revealed and synthesis of algorithms that achieve them is enabled. In this paper, we apply this framework to design algorithms for solving strongly convex optimization problems with linear equality constraints. Our approach yields a single-loop, gradient-based algorithm whose convergence rate is independent of the condition number of the constraint matrix. This improves upon the best known rate within the same algorithm class, which depends on the product of the condition numbers of the objective function and the constraint matrix.

Authors:Maurizio Titz, Dirk Witthaut, Joost van Dijk, Benjamin Petrick, Nico Westerbeck
Title: Voltage-sensitive distribution factors for contingency analysis and topology optimization
Abstract:
Topology optimization is a promising approach for mitigating congestion and managing changing grid conditions, but it is computationally challenging and requires approximations. Conventional distribution factors like PTDFs and LODFs, based on DC power flow, fail to capture voltage variations, reactive power, and losses - limiting their use in detailed optimization tasks such as busbar splitting. This paper introduces generalized distribution factors derived from a voltage-sensitive linearization of the full AC power flow equations. The proposed formulation accurately reflects reactive power flows, Ohmic losses, and voltage deviations while remaining computationally efficient. We derive and evaluate generalized PTDFs, LODFs, and topology modification factors using matrix identities. We discuss potential applications including voltage-aware N-1 security analysis, and topology optimization with a focus on busbar splitting. Numerical experiments demonstrate close agreement with full AC solutions, significantly outperforming the traditional DC approximation.

Authors:Sander Tonkens, Nikhil Uday Shinde, Azra Begzadić, Michael C. Yip, Jorge Cortés, Sylvia L. Herbert
Title: From Space to Time: Enabling Adaptive Safety with Learned Value Functions via Disturbance Recasting
Abstract:
The widespread deployment of autonomous systems in safety-critical environments such as urban air mobility hinges on ensuring reliable, performant, and safe operation under varying environmental conditions. One such approach, value function-based safety filters, minimally modifies a nominal controller to ensure safety. Recent advances leverage offline learned value functions to scale these safety filters to high-dimensional systems. However, these methods assume detailed priors on all possible sources of model mismatch, in the form of disturbances in the environment -- information that is rarely available in real world settings. Even in well-mapped environments like urban canyons or industrial sites, drones encounter complex, spatially-varying disturbances arising from payload-drone interaction, turbulent airflow, and other environmental factors. We introduce SPACE2TIME, which enables safe and adaptive deployment of offline-learned safety filters under unknown, spatially-varying disturbances. The key idea is to reparameterize spatial variations in disturbance as temporal variations, enabling the use of precomputed value functions during online operation. We validate SPACE2TIME on a quadcopter through extensive simulations and hardware experiments, demonstrating significant improvement over baselines.

Authors:Ali Baheri, Lars Lindemann
Title: Metriplectic Conditional Flow Matching for Dissipative Dynamics
Abstract:
Metriplectic conditional flow matching (MCFM) learns dissipative dynamics without violating first principles. Neural surrogates often inject energy and destabilize long-horizon rollouts; MCFM instead builds the conservative-dissipative split into both the vector field and a structure preserving sampler. MCFM trains via conditional flow matching on short transitions, avoiding long rollout adjoints. In inference, a Strang-prox scheme alternates a symplectic update with a proximal metric step, ensuring discrete energy decay; an optional projection enforces strict decay when a trusted energy is available. We provide continuous and discrete time guarantees linking this parameterization and sampler to conservation, monotonic dissipation, and stable rollouts. On a controlled mechanical benchmark, MCFM yields phase portraits closer to ground truth and markedly fewer energy-increase and positive energy rate events than an equally expressive unconstrained neural flow, while matching terminal distributional fit.

Authors:Yue Zhang, Xinzhi Zhong, Soyoung Ahn, Yajie Zou, Zhengbing He
Title: Interaction-aware Lane-Changing Early Warning System in Congested Traffic
Abstract:
Lane changes (LCs) in congested traffic are complex, multi-vehicle interactive events that pose significant safety concerns. Providing early warnings can enable more proactive driver assistance system and support more informed decision-making for drivers under LCs. This paper presents an interaction-aware Lane-Changing Early Warning (LCEW) system designed to issue reliable early warning signals based on future trajectory predictions. We first investigate the stochastic nature of LCs, characterized by (i) variable-size multi-vehicle interactions and (ii) the direct and indirect risks resulting from these interactions. To model these stochastic interactions, a Social Spatio-Temporal Graph Convolutional Neural Network framework informed by mutual information (STGCNN-MI) is introduced to predict multi-vehicle trajectories. By leveraging a MI-based adjacency matrix, the framework enhances trajectory prediction accuracy while providing interpretable representations of vehicle interactions. Then, potential collisions between the LC vehicle and adjacent vehicles (direct risks) or among the non-adjacent vehicles (indirect risks) are identified using oriented bounding box detection applied to the predicted trajectories. Finally, a warning signal is generated to inform the LC driver of location of potential collisions within the predicted time window. Traffic simulation experiments conducted in SUMO demonstrate that the proposed interaction-aware LCEW improves both vehicle-level safety and overall traffic efficiency, while also promoting more natural behavioral adaptation.

Authors:Han Zeng, Haibo Wang, Luhao Fan, Bingcheng Zhu, Xiaohu You, Zaichen Zhang
Title: AI Agent Access (A\^3) Network: An Embodied, Communication-Aware Multi-Agent Framework for 6G Coverage
Abstract:
The vision of 6G communication demands autonomous and resilient networking in environments without fixed infrastructure. Yet most multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) approaches focus on isolated stages - exploration, relay formation, or access - under static deployments and centralized control, limiting adaptability. We propose the AI Agent Access (A\^3) Network, a unified, embodied intelligence-driven framework that transforms multi-agent networking into a dynamic, decentralized, and end-to-end system. Unlike prior schemes, the A\^3 Network integrates exploration, target user access, and backhaul maintenance within a single learning process, while supporting on-demand agent addition during runtime. Its decentralized policies ensure that even a single agent can operate independently with limited observations, while coordinated agents achieve scalable, communication-optimized coverage. By embedding link-level communication metrics into actor-critic learning, the A\^3 Network couples topology formation with robust decision-making. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the A\^3 Network not only balances exploration and communication efficiency but also delivers system-level adaptability absent in existing MARL frameworks, offering a new paradigm for 6G multi-agent networks.

Authors:Xiaoyan Li, Evan Patterson, Patricia L. Mabry, Nathaniel D. Osgood
Title: Compositional System Dynamics: The Higher Mathematics Underlying System Dynamics Diagrams & Practice
Abstract:
This work establishes a robust mathematical foundation for compositional System Dynamics modeling, leveraging category theory to formalize and enhance the representation, analysis, and composition of system models. Here, System Dynamics diagrams, such as stock & flow diagrams, system structure diagrams, and causal loop diagrams, are formulated as categorical constructs, enabling scalable, transparent, and systematic reasoning. By encoding these diagrams as data using attributed C-sets and utilizing advanced categorical tools like structured cospans, pushouts, pullbacks, and functor mappings, the framework supports modular composition, stratification, and seamless mapping between syntax and semantics. The approach underwrites traditional practice with firm mathematical structure, facilitates the identification of certain forms of pathways and feedback loops, the detection of simple patterns within complex diagrams, common structure between diagrams, and structure-preserving mappings between diverse diagram types. Additionally, this framework supports alternative semantics, such as stochastic transition dynamics, extending beyond traditional ordinary differential equation (ODE) representations. Applications in compositional modeling, modularity, and team-based collaboration demonstrate the practical advantages of this advanced framework. Future directions include integrating dimensional annotations, supporting hybrid and agent-based modeling paradigms, and expanding the framework's applicability to global and local temporal reasoning through temporal sheaves. By revealing and formalizing the hidden mathematical structure of System Dynamics diagrams, this work empowers practitioners to tackle complex systems with clarity, scalability, and rigor.

Authors:Priyanshu Agrawal, Shalabh Gupta, Zongyuan Shen
Title: SMART-3D: Three-Dimensional Self-Morphing Adaptive Replanning Tree
Abstract:
This paper presents SMART-3D, an extension of the SMART algorithm to 3D environments. SMART-3D is a tree-based adaptive replanning algorithm for dynamic environments with fast moving obstacles. SMART-3D morphs the underlying tree to find a new path in real-time whenever the current path is blocked by obstacles. SMART-3D removed the grid decomposition requirement of the SMART algorithm by replacing the concept of hot-spots with that of hot-nodes, thus making it computationally efficient and scalable to 3D environments. The hot-nodes are nodes which allow for efficient reconnections to morph the existing tree to find a new safe and reliable path. The performance of SMART-3D is evaluated by extensive simulations in 2D and 3D environments populated with randomly moving dynamic obstacles. The results show that SMART-3D achieves high success rates and low replanning times, thus highlighting its suitability for real-time onboard applications.

Authors:Sayak Mukherjee, Ramij R. Hossain, Mahantesh Halappanavar
Title: On the System Theoretic Offline Learning of Continuous-Time LQR with Exogenous Disturbances
Abstract:
We analyze offline designs of linear quadratic regulator (LQR) strategies with uncertain disturbances. First, we consider the scenario where the exogenous variable can be estimated in a controlled environment, and subsequently, consider a more practical and challenging scenario where it is unknown in a stochastic setting. Our approach builds on the fundamental learning-based framework of adaptive dynamic programming (ADP), combined with a Lyapunov-based analytical methodology to design the algorithms and derive sample-based approximations motivated from the Markov decision process (MDP)-based approaches. For the scenario involving non-measurable disturbances, we further establish stability and convergence guarantees for the learned control gains under sample-based approximations. The overall methodology emphasizes simplicity while providing rigorous guarantees. Finally, numerical experiments focus on the intricacies and validations for the design of offline continuous-time LQR with exogenous disturbances.

Authors:Daniel Arnström, André M. H. Teixeira
Title: Efficiently Computing the Cyclic Output-to-Output Gain
Abstract:
The cyclic output-to-output gain is a security metric for control systems. Commonly, it is computed by solving a semi-definite program, which scales badly and inhibits its use for large-scale systems. We propose a method for computing the cyclic output-to-output gain using Hamiltonian matrices, similar to existing methods for the $H_\infty$-norm. In contrast to existing methods for the $H_{\infty}$-norm, the proposed method considers generalized singular values rather than regular singular values. Moreover, to ensure that the Hamiltonian matrices exist, we introduce a regularized version of the cyclic output-to-output gain. Through numerical experiments, we show that the proposed method is more efficient, scalable, and reliable than semi-definite programming approaches.

Authors:Bojan Derajić, Sebastian Bernhard, Wolfgang Hönig
Title: ORN-CBF: Learning Observation-conditioned Residual Neural Control Barrier Functions via Hypernetworks
Abstract:
Control barrier functions (CBFs) have been demonstrated as an effective method for safety-critical control of autonomous systems. Although CBFs are simple to deploy, their design remains challenging, motivating the development of learning-based approaches. Yet, issues such as suboptimal safe sets, applicability in partially observable environments, and lack of rigorous safety guarantees persist. In this work, we propose observation-conditioned neural CBFs based on Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) reachability analysis, which approximately recover the maximal safe sets. We exploit certain mathematical properties of the HJ value function, ensuring that the predicted safe set never intersects with the observed failure set. Moreover, we leverage a hypernetwork-based architecture that is particularly suitable for the design of observation-conditioned safety filters. The proposed method is examined both in simulation and hardware experiments for a ground robot and a quadcopter. The results show improved success rates and generalization to out-of-domain environments compared to the baselines.

Authors:Johannes Mootz, Reza Akhavian
Title: Advancing Accessible Hand-Arm Vibration Safety Monitoring: ISO-Compliance with Wearable Sensors and Transfer Functions
Abstract:
Field workers are frequently exposed to hazardous vibrations, increasing the risk of Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) and other long-term health problems. ISO 5349-1 provides guidelines for measuring vibration exposure. However, this standard was established in controlled conditions using high-quality accelerometers directly attached to power tool handles. This study investigates an alternative, wearable sensor-based data collection process and develops an error-minimization transfer function that derives values comparable to ISO benchmarks for safety monitoring. Experiments are performed with subjects hammer drilling into concrete while vibrations are measured using three accelerometers at different sampling frequencies. The transfer function maps vibration data across sensor positions by accounting for damping effects. The findings indicate a significant reduction in acceleration between the palm and upper arm, highlight the impact of sampling frequency on data accuracy, and enable accurate comparison of true hand-arm vibration levels with existing standard limits to allow accessible, real-time, and cost-effective HAVS prevention.

Authors:Seyyedali Hosseinalipour, Shimiao Li, Adedoyin Inaolaji, Filippo Malandra, Luis Herrera, Nicholas Mastronarde
Title: Synergies between Federated Foundation Models and Smart Power Grids
Abstract:
The recent emergence of large language models (LLMs) such as GPT-3 has marked a significant paradigm shift in machine learning. Trained on massive corpora of data, these models demonstrate remarkable capabilities in language understanding, generation, summarization, and reasoning, transforming how intelligent systems process and interact with human language. Although LLMs may still seem like a recent breakthrough, the field is already witnessing the rise of a new and more general category: multi-modal, multi-task foundation models (M3T FMs). These models go beyond language and can process heterogeneous data types/modalities, such as time-series measurements, audio, imagery, tabular records, and unstructured logs, while supporting a broad range of downstream tasks spanning forecasting, classification, control, and retrieval. When combined with federated learning (FL), they give rise to M3T Federated Foundation Models (FedFMs): a highly recent and largely unexplored class of models that enable scalable, privacy-preserving model training/fine-tuning across distributed data sources. In this paper, we take one of the first steps toward introducing these models to the power systems research community by offering a bidirectional perspective: (i) M3T FedFMs for smart grids and (ii) smart grids for FedFMs. In the former, we explore how M3T FedFMs can enhance key grid functions, such as load/demand forecasting and fault detection, by learning from distributed, heterogeneous data available at the grid edge in a privacy-preserving manner. In the latter, we investigate how the constraints and structure of smart grids, spanning energy, communication, and regulatory dimensions, shape the design, training, and deployment of M3T FedFMs.

Authors:Pranav Tiwari, Soumyodipta Nath
Title: Robot Conga: A Leader-Follower Walking Approach to Sequential Path Following in Multi-Agent Systems
Abstract:
Coordinated path following in multi-agent systems is a key challenge in robotics, with applications in automated logistics, surveillance, and collaborative exploration. Traditional formation control techniques often rely on time-parameterized trajectories and path integrals, which can result in synchronization issues and rigid behavior. In this work, we address the problem of sequential path following, where agents maintain fixed spatial separation along a common trajectory, guided by a leader under centralized control. We introduce Robot Conga, a leader-follower control strategy that updates each agent's desired state based on the leader's spatial displacement rather than time, assuming access to a global position reference, an assumption valid in indoor environments equipped with motion capture, vision-based tracking, or UWB localization systems. The algorithm was validated in simulation using both TurtleBot3 and quadruped (Laikago) robots. Results demonstrate accurate trajectory tracking, stable inter-agent spacing, and fast convergence, with all agents aligning within 250 time steps (approx. 0.25 seconds) in the quadruped case, and almost instantaneously in the TurtleBot3 implementation.

Authors:Jun He, Andrew L. Liu, Yihsu Chen
Title: Learning in Stackelberg Markov Games
Abstract:
Designing socially optimal policies in multi-agent environments is a fundamental challenge in both economics and artificial intelligence. This paper studies a general framework for learning Stackelberg equilibria in dynamic and uncertain environments, where a single leader interacts with a population of adaptive followers. Motivated by pressing real-world challenges such as equitable electricity tariff design for consumers with distributed energy resources (such as rooftop solar and energy storage), we formalize a class of Stackelberg Markov games and establish the existence and uniqueness of stationary Stackelberg equilibria under mild continuity and monotonicity conditions. We then extend the framework to incorporate a continuum of agents via mean-field approximation, yielding a tractable Stackelberg-Mean Field Equilibrium (S-MFE) formulation. To address the computational intractability of exact best-response dynamics, we introduce a softmax-based approximation and rigorously bound its error relative to the true Stackelberg equilibrium. Our approach enables scalable and stable learning through policy iteration without requiring full knowledge of follower objectives. We validate the framework on an energy market simulation, where a public utility or a state utility commission sets time-varying rates for a heterogeneous population of prosumers. Our results demonstrate that learned policies can simultaneously achieve economic efficiency, equity across income groups, and stability in energy systems. This work demonstrates how game-theoretic learning frameworks can support data-driven policy design in large-scale strategic environments, with applications to real-world systems like energy markets.

Authors:Ibai Ramirez, Jokin Alcibar, Joel Pino, Mikel Sanz, David Pardo, Jose I. Aizpurua
Title: Bayesian Physics Informed Neural Networks for Reliable Transformer Prognostics
Abstract:
Scientific Machine Learning (SciML) integrates physics and data into the learning process, offering improved generalization compared with purely data-driven models. Despite its potential, applications of SciML in prognostics remain limited, partly due to the complexity of incorporating partial differential equations (PDEs) for ageing physics and the scarcity of robust uncertainty quantification methods. This work introduces a Bayesian Physics-Informed Neural Network (B-PINN) framework for probabilistic prognostics estimation. By embedding Bayesian Neural Networks into the PINN architecture, the proposed approach produces principled, uncertainty-aware predictions. The method is applied to a transformer ageing case study, where insulation degradation is primarily driven by thermal stress. The heat diffusion PDE is used as the physical residual, and different prior distributions are investigated to examine their impact on predictive posterior distributions and their ability to encode a priori physical knowledge. The framework is validated against a finite element model developed and tested with real measurements from a solar power plant. Results, benchmarked against a dropout-PINN baseline, show that the proposed B-PINN delivers more reliable prognostic predictions by accurately quantifying predictive uncertainty. This capability is crucial for supporting robust and informed maintenance decision-making in critical power assets.

Authors:Yuxing Zhong, Yuchi Wu, Daniel E. Quevedo, Ling Shi
Title: Bandwidth-Constrained Sensor Scheduling: A Trade-off between Fairness and Efficiency
Abstract:
We address fair sensor scheduling over bandwidth-constrained communication channels. While existing literature on fair scheduling overlooks overall system efficiency, we introduce a novel $q$-fairness framework to balance efficiency and fairness by adjusting the parameter $q$. Specifically, for two communication scenarios, we: (i) derive the optimal schedule under limited communication rates, and (ii) propose two suboptimal algorithms under limited simultaneous sensor transmissions and analyze their performance gaps relative to the optimal strategy. Simulations demonstrate that our algorithms effectively balance efficiency and fairness in both cases.

Authors:Jungjin Lee, Jaeuk Shin, Gihwan Kim, Joonho Han, Insoon Yang
Title: KoopCast: Trajectory Forecasting via Koopman Operators
Abstract:
We present KoopCast, a lightweight yet efficient model for trajectory forecasting in general dynamic environments. Our approach leverages Koopman operator theory, which enables a linear representation of nonlinear dynamics by lifting trajectories into a higher-dimensional space. The framework follows a two-stage design: first, a probabilistic neural goal estimator predicts plausible long-term targets, specifying where to go; second, a Koopman operator-based refinement module incorporates intention and history into a nonlinear feature space, enabling linear prediction that dictates how to go. This dual structure not only ensures strong predictive accuracy but also inherits the favorable properties of linear operators while faithfully capturing nonlinear dynamics. As a result, our model offers three key advantages: (i) competitive accuracy, (ii) interpretability grounded in Koopman spectral theory, and (iii) low-latency deployment. We validate these benefits on ETH/UCY, the Waymo Open Motion Dataset, and nuScenes, which feature rich multi-agent interactions and map-constrained nonlinear motion. Across benchmarks, KoopCast consistently delivers high predictive accuracy together with mode-level interpretability and practical efficiency.

Authors:Christopher Oeltjen, Carson Sobolewski, Saleh Faghfoorian, Lorant Domokos, Giancarlo Vidal, Ivan Ruchkin
Title: Online Slip Detection and Friction Coefficient Estimation for Autonomous Racing
Abstract:
Accurate knowledge of the tire-road friction coefficient (TRFC) is essential for vehicle safety, stability, and performance, especially in autonomous racing, where vehicles often operate at the friction limit. However, TRFC cannot be directly measured with standard sensors, and existing estimation methods either depend on vehicle or tire models with uncertain parameters or require large training datasets. In this paper, we present a lightweight approach for online slip detection and TRFC estimation. Our approach relies solely on IMU and LiDAR measurements and the control actions, without special dynamical or tire models, parameter identification, or training data. Slip events are detected in real time by comparing commanded and measured motions, and the TRFC is then estimated directly from observed accelerations under no-slip conditions. Experiments with a 1:10-scale autonomous racing car across different friction levels demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves accurate and consistent slip detections and friction coefficients, with results closely matching ground-truth measurements. These findings highlight the potential of our simple, deployable, and computationally efficient approach for real-time slip monitoring and friction coefficient estimation in autonomous driving.

Authors:Easop Lee, Samuel A. Moore, Boyuan Chen
Title: Sym2Real: Symbolic Dynamics with Residual Learning for Data-Efficient Adaptive Control
Abstract:
We present Sym2Real, a fully data-driven framework that provides a principled way to train low-level adaptive controllers in a highly data-efficient manner. Using only about 10 trajectories, we achieve robust control of both a quadrotor and a racecar in the real world, without expert knowledge or simulation tuning. Our approach achieves this data efficiency by bringing symbolic regression to real-world robotics while addressing key challenges that prevent its direct application, including noise sensitivity and model degradation that lead to unsafe control. Our key observation is that the underlying physics is often shared for a system regardless of internal or external changes. Hence, we strategically combine low-fidelity simulation data with targeted real-world residual learning. Through experimental validation on quadrotor and racecar platforms, we demonstrate consistent data-efficient adaptation across six out-of-distribution sim2sim scenarios and successful sim2real transfer across five real-world conditions. More information and videos can be found at at http://generalroboticslab.com/Sym2Real

Authors:João Damião Almeida, Egidio Falotico, Cecilia Laschi, José Santos-Victor
Title: The Role of Touch: Towards Optimal Tactile Sensing Distribution in Anthropomorphic Hands for Dexterous In-Hand Manipulation
Abstract:
In-hand manipulation tasks, particularly in human-inspired robotic systems, must rely on distributed tactile sensing to achieve precise control across a wide variety of tasks. However, the optimal configuration of this network of sensors is a complex problem, and while the fingertips are a common choice for placing sensors, the contribution of tactile information from other regions of the hand is often overlooked. This work investigates the impact of tactile feedback from various regions of the fingers and palm in performing in-hand object reorientation tasks. We analyze how sensory feedback from different parts of the hand influences the robustness of deep reinforcement learning control policies and investigate the relationship between object characteristics and optimal sensor placement. We identify which tactile sensing configurations contribute to improving the efficiency and accuracy of manipulation. Our results provide valuable insights for the design and use of anthropomorphic end-effectors with enhanced manipulation capabilities.

Authors:Tejas Pagare, Agniv Bandyopadhyay, Sandeep Juneja
Title: Optimal Algorithms for Bandit Learning in Matching Markets
Abstract:
We study the problem of pure exploration in matching markets under uncertain preferences, where the goal is to identify a stable matching with confidence parameter $δ$ and minimal sample complexity. Agents learn preferences via stochastic rewards, with expected values indicating preferences. This finds use in labor market platforms like Upwork, where firms and freelancers must be matched quickly despite noisy observations and no prior knowledge, in a stable manner that prevents dissatisfaction. We consider markets with unique stable matching and establish information-theoretic lower bounds on sample complexity for (1) one-sided learning, where one side of the market knows its true preferences, and (2) two-sided learning, where both sides are uncertain. We propose a computationally efficient algorithm and prove that it asymptotically ($δ\to 0$) matches the lower bound to a constant for one-sided learning. Using the insights from the lower bound, we extend our algorithm to the two-sided learning setting and provide experimental results showing that it closely matches the lower bound on sample complexity. Finally, using a system of ODEs, we characterize the idealized fluid path that our algorithm chases.

Authors:Jaidev Gill, Jing Shuang Li
Title: Identifying Network Structure of Linear Dynamical Systems: Observability and Edge Misclassification
Abstract:
This work studies the limitations of uniquely identifying a linear network's topology from partial measurements of its nodes. We show that the set of networks that are consistent with the measurements are related through the nullspace of the observability matrix for the true network. In doing so, we illustrate how potentially many networks are fully consistent with the measurements despite having topologies that are structurally inconsistent with each other, an often neglected consideration in the design of topology inference methods. We then provide an aggregate characterization of the space of possible networks by analytically solving for the most structurally dissimilar network. We find that when observing over 6% of nodes in random network models (e.g., Erdős-Rényi and Watts-Strogatz) the rate of edge misclassification drops to ~1%. Extending this discussion, we construct a family of networks that keep measurements $ε$-"close" to each other, and connect the identifiability of these networks to the spectral properties of an augmented observability Gramian.

Authors:Arman Pourghorban, Dipankar Maity
Title: Multi-Attacker Single-Defender Target Defense in Conical Environments
Abstract:
We consider a variant of the target defense problem in a planar conical environment where a single defender is tasked to capture a sequence of incoming attackers. The attackers' objective is to breach the target boundary without being captured by the defender. As soon as the current attacker breaches the target or gets captured by the defender, the next attacker appears at the boundary of the environment and moves radially toward the target with maximum speed. Therefore, the defender's final location at the end of the current game becomes its initial location for the next game. The attackers pick strategies that are advantageous for the current as well as for future engagements between the defender and the remaining attackers. The attackers have their own sensors with limited range, using which they can perfectly detect if the defender is within their sensing range. We derive equilibrium strategies for all the players to optimize the capture percentage using the notions of capture distribution. Finally, the theoretical results are verified through numerical examples using Monte Carlo type random trials of experiments.

Authors:Jaidev Gill, Jing Shuang Li
Title: Identifying Network Structure of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems: Contraction and Kuramoto Oscillators
Abstract:
In this work, we study the identifiability of network topologies for networked nonlinear systems when partial measurements of the nodes are taken. We explore scenarios where different candidate topologies can yield similar measurements, thus limiting identifiability. To do so, we apply the contraction theory framework to facilitate comparisons between candidate topologies. We show that semicontraction in the observable space is a sufficient condition for two systems to become indistinguishable from one another based on partial measurements. We apply this framework to study networks of Kuramoto oscillators, and discuss scenarios in which different topologies (both connected and disconnected) become indistinguishable.

Authors:Addie McCurdy, Emily Jensen
Title: Complete Decentralization of Linear Quadratic Gaussian Control for the Discrete Wave Equation
Abstract:
The linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control problem for the linear wave equation on the unit circle with fully distributed actuation and partial state measurements is considered. An analytical solution to a spatial discretization of the problem is obtained. The main result of this work illustrates that for specific parameter values, the optimal LQG policy is completely decentralized, meaning only a measurement at spatial location $i$ is needed to compute an optimal control signal to actuate at this location. The relationship between performance and decentralization as a function of parameters is explored. Conditions for complete decentralization are related to metrics of kinetic and potential energy quantities and control effort.

Authors:Filippo Fabiani, Andrea Simonetto
Title: Concentration inequalities for semidefinite least squares based on data
Abstract:
We study data-driven least squares (LS) problems with semidefinite (SD) constraints and derive finite-sample guarantees on the spectrum of their optimal solutions when these constraints are relaxed. In particular, we provide a high confidence bound allowing one to solve a simpler program in place of the full SDLS problem, while ensuring that the eigenvalues of the resulting solution are $\varepsilon$-close of those enforced by the SD constraints. The developed certificate, which consistently shrinks as the number of data increases, turns out to be easy-to-compute, distribution-free, and only requires independent and identically distributed samples. Moreover, when the SDLS is used to learn an unknown quadratic function, we establish bounds on the error between a gradient descent iterate minimizing the surrogate cost obtained with no SD constraints and the true minimizer.

Authors:Bálint Hartmann, Michelle T. Cirunay
Title: Topology and Fragility of European High-Voltage Networks: A Cross-Country Comparative Analysis
Abstract:
Reliable electricity supply depends on the seamless operation of high-voltage grid infrastructure spanning both transmission and sub-transmission levels. Beneath this apparent uniformity lies a striking structural diversity, which leaves a clear imprint on system vulnerability. In this paper, we present harmonized topological models of the high-voltage grids of 15 European countries, integrating all elements at voltage levels above 110 kV. Topological analysis of these networks reveals a simple yet robust pattern: node degree distributions consistently follow an exponential decay, but the rate of decay varies significantly across countries. Through a detailed and systematic evaluation of network tolerance to node and edge removals, we show that the decay rate delineates the boundary between systems that are more resilient to failures and those that are prone to large-scale disruptions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that this numerical boundary is highly sensitive to which layers of the infrastructure are included in the models. To our knowledge, this study provides the first quantitative cross-country comparison of 15 European high-voltage networks, linking topological properties with vulnerability characteristics.

Authors:Srijesh Pillai, M. I. Jawid Nazir
Title: CattleSense -- A Multisensory Approach to Optimize Cattle Well-Being
Abstract:
CattleSense is an innovative application of Internet of Things (IoT) technology for the comprehensive monitoring and management of cattle well-being. This research paper outlines the design and implementation of a sophisticated system using a Raspberry Pi Module 4B, RFID Card Reader, Electret Arduino Microphone Module, DHT11 Sensor, Arduino UNO, Neo-6M GPS Sensor, and Heartbeat Sensor. The system aims to provide real-time surveillance of the environment in which Cows are present and individual Cow parameters such as location, milking frequency, and heartbeat fluctuations. The primary objective is to simplify managing the Cattle in the shed, ensuring that the Cattle are healthy and safe.

Authors:Sel Ly, Kapil Chauhan, Anshuman Singh, Hung Dinh Nguyen
Title: Meta-model Neural Process for Probabilistic Power Flow under Varying N-1 System Topologies
Abstract:
The probabilistic power flow (PPF) problem is essential to quantifying the distribution of the nodal voltages due to uncertain injections. The conventional PPF problem considers a fixed topology, and the solutions to such a PPF problem are associated with this topology. A change in the topology might alter the power flow patterns and thus require the PPF problem to be solved again. The previous PPF model and its solutions are no longer valid for the new topology. This practice incurs both inconvenience and computation burdens as more contingencies are foreseen due to high renewables and a large share of electric vehicles. This paper presents a novel topology-adaptive approach, based on the meta-model Neural Process (MMNP), for finding the solutions to PPF problems under varying N-1 topologies, particularly with one-line failures. By leveraging context set-based topology representation and conditional distribution over function learning techniques, the proposed MMNP enhances the robustness of PPF models to topology variations, mitigating the need for retraining PPF models on a new configuration. Simulations on an IEEE 9-bus system and IEEE 118-bus system validate the model's performance. The maximum %L1-relative error norm was observed as 1.11% and 0.77% in 9-bus and 118-bus, respectively. This adaptive approach fills a critical gap in PPF methodology in an era of increasing grid volatility.

Authors:Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli, Xiaodong Cheng, Kris V. Parag, Ioannis Lestas
Title: Fundamental limits on taming infectious disease epidemics
Abstract:
Epidemic control frequently relies on adjusting interventions based on prevalence. But designing such policies is a highly non-trivial problem due to uncertain intervention effects, costs and the difficulty of quantifying key transmission mechanisms and parameters. Here, using exact mathematical and computational methods, we reveal a fundamental limit in epidemic control in that prevalence feedback policies are outperformed by a single optimally chosen constant control level. Specifically, we find no incentive to use prevalence based control under a wide class of cost functions that depend arbitrarily on interventions and scale with infections. We also identify regimes where prevalence feedback is beneficial. Our results challenge the current understanding that prevalence based interventions are required for epidemic control and suggest that, for many classes of epidemics, interventions should not be varied unless the epidemic is near the herd immunity threshold.

Authors:Garegin Mazmanyan, Hossein Rastgoftar
Title: Experimental Validation of Decentralized Affine Transformation
Abstract:
This paper presents an experimental validation of decentralized affine transformation (AT) in multi-agent systems using teams of mini-quadcopters. The AT framework enables an agent team to safely navigate constrained, obstacle-rich environments while allowing aggressive changes in inter-agent distances, which are formally characterized through the decomposition of the AT transformation matrix. Without loss of generality, we focus on two-dimensional AT, formulated as a decentralized leader-follower problem. In this formulation, three leader quadcopters are positioned at the vertices of a triangle, while all follower quadcopters remain within the triangle. The leaders know the desired trajectories prescribed by the AT, whereas the followers do not. Instead, the followers infer their trajectories through local communication governed by fixed communication weights determined by the initial spatial configuration of the team. Experimental results validate the asymptotic convergence of decentralized AT and demonstrate its capability to safely guide multi-agent teams through obstacle-laden environments.

Authors:Amir Bahador Javadi, Amin Kargarian, Mort Naraghi-Pour
Title: Learning Constraint Surrogate Model for Two-stage Stochastic Unit Commitment
Abstract:
The increasing penetration of renewable energy sources introduces significant uncertainty in power system operations, making traditional deterministic unit commitment approaches computationally expensive. This paper presents a machine learning surrogate modeling approach designed to reformulate the feasible design space of the two-stage stochastic unit commitment (TSUC) problem, reducing its computational complexity. The proposed method uses a support vector machine (SVM) to construct a surrogate model based on the governing equations of the learner. This model replaces the original 2|L| * |S| transmission line flow constraints, where |S| is the number of uncertainty scenarios and |L| is the number of transmission lines with |S| much less than |L|, with a significantly reduced set of 1 * |S| linear inequality constraints. The approach is theoretically grounded in the polyhedral structure of the feasible region under the DC power flow approximation, enabling the transformation of 2|L| line flow limit constraints into a single linear constraint. The surrogate model is trained using data generated from computationally efficient DC optimal power flow simulations. Simulation results on the IEEE 57-bus and 118-bus systems demonstrate SVM halfspace constraint accuracy of 99.72% and 99.88%, respectively, with TSUC computational time reductions of 46% and 31% and negligible generation cost increases (0.63% and 0.88% on average for IEEE 57- and 118-bus systems, respectively). This shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach for practical power system operations under renewable energy uncertainty.

Authors:Amir Bahador Javadi, Amin Kargarian, Mort Naraghi-Pour
Title: Automatic Regression for Governing Equations with Control (ARGOSc)
Abstract:
Learning the governing equations of dynamical systems from data has drawn significant attention across diverse fields, including physics, engineering, robotics and control, economics, climate science, and healthcare. Sparse regression techniques, exemplified by the Automatic Regression for Governing Equations (ARGOS) framework, have demonstrated effectiveness in extracting parsimonious models from time series data. However, real-world dynamical systems are driven by input control, external forces, or human interventions, which standard ARGOS does not accommodate. To address this, we introduce ARGOS with control (ARGOSc), an extension of ARGOS that incorporates external control inputs into the system identification process. ARGOSc extends the sparse regression framework to infer governing equations while accounting for the effects of exogenous inputs, enabling robust identification of forcing dynamics in low- to medium-noise datasets. We demonstrate ARGOSc efficacy on benchmark systems, including the Van der Pol oscillator, Lotka-Volterra, and the Lorenz system with forcing and feedback control, showing enhanced accuracy in discovering governing laws. Under the noisy conditions, ARGOSc outperforms the widely used sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics with control (SINDYc), in accurately identifying the underlying forced dynamics. In some cases, SINDYc fails to capture the true system dynamics, whereas ARGOSc consistently succeeds.

Authors:Di Shen, Qi Dai, Suzhou Huang, Dimitar Filev
Title: Taming Spontaneous Stop-and-Go Traffic Waves: A Computational Mechanism Design Perspective
Abstract:
It is well known that stop-and-go waves can be generated spontaneously in traffic even without bottlenecks. Can such undesirable traffic patterns, induced by intrinsic human driving behaviors, be tamed effectively and inexpensively? Taking advantage of emerging connectivity and autonomy technologies, we envision a simple yet realistic traffic control system to achieve this goal. To prove the concept, we design such a system to suppress these waves while maximizing traffic throughput in the Tadaki setting: a circular road with varying number of vehicles. We first introduce our driver behavior model and demonstrate how our calibrated human driving agents can closely reproduce the observed human driving patterns in the original Tadaki experiment. We then propose a simple control system mediated via connected automated vehicles (CAV) whose ideal speed parameter is treated as a system-level control variable adapted to the local vehicle density of the traffic. The objective of the control system is set up as a tradeoff: maximizing throughput while minimizing traffic oscillation. Following computational mechanism design, we search for the optimal control policy as a function of vehicle density and the tradeoff attitude parameter. This can be done by letting all vehicles play a simulated game of CAV-modulated traffic under such a control system. Our simulation results show that the improvements in traffic efficiency and smoothness are substantial. Finally, we envision how such a traffic control system can be realized in an environment with smart vehicles connected to a smart infrastructure or via a scheme of variable speed advisory.

Authors:Qianxi Tang, Li Peng
Title: Voltage Synchronization and Proportional Current Sharing of Grid-Forming Inverters
Abstract:
Most previously proposed controllers are analyzed in the small-signal/quasi-steady regime rather than large-signal or transient stability for grid-forming inverters (GFMI). Additionally, methods that presume system-wide data--global measurements and complete grid-model knowledge--are challenging to realize in practice and unsuitable for large-scale operation. Moreover, proportional current sharing is rarely embedded into them. The whole system is a high-order, nonlinear differential system, making analysis intractable without principled simplifications. Hence, contraction stability analysis in GFMI is proposed to guarantee the large-signal stability. Furthermore, a contraction-based controller is proposed to synchronize GFMI. Additionally, this paper proposes integrating an auxiliary virtual-impedance layer into the contraction-based controller to achieve proportional current sharing, while the GFMI retains global stability and voltage synchronization. A dispatchable virtual oscillator control (dVOC), also known as the Andronov--Hopf oscillator (AHO) is used to validate the proposed contraction stability analysis and contraction-based controller with virtual-impedance. It is proved that the complex multi-converter system can achieve output-feedback contraction under large-signal operation. Therefore, without requiring system-wide data, the proposed method offers voltage synchronization, decentralized stability conditions for the transient stability of AHO and proportional current sharing, beyond prior small-signal, quasi-steady analysis.

Authors:Sreejeet Maity, Aritra Mitra
Title: Corruption-Tolerant Asynchronous Q-Learning with Near-Optimal Rates
Abstract:
We consider the problem of learning the optimal policy in a discounted, infinite-horizon reinforcement learning (RL) setting where the reward signal is subject to adversarial corruption. Such corruption, which may arise from extreme noise, sensor faults, or malicious attacks, can severely degrade the performance of classical algorithms such as Q-learning. To address this challenge, we propose a new provably robust variant of the Q-learning algorithm that operates effectively even when a fraction of the observed rewards are arbitrarily perturbed by an adversary. Under the asynchronous sampling model with time-correlated data, we establish that despite adversarial corruption, the finite-time convergence rate of our algorithm matches that of existing results for the non-adversarial case, up to an additive term proportional to the fraction of corrupted samples. Moreover, we derive an information-theoretic lower bound revealing that the additive corruption term in our upper bounds is unavoidable. Next, we propose a variant of our algorithm that requires no prior knowledge of the statistics of the true reward distributions. The analysis of this setting is particularly challenging and is enabled by carefully exploiting a refined Azuma-Hoeffding inequality for almost-martingales, a technical tool that might be of independent interest. Collectively, our contributions provide the first finite-time robustness guarantees for asynchronous Q-learning, bridging a significant gap in robust RL.

Authors:Ruixuan Zhao, Guitao Yang, Peng Li, Boli Chen
Title: Bridging Centralized and Distributed Frameworks in Unknown Input Observer Design
Abstract:
State estimation for linear time-invariant systems with unknown inputs is a fundamental problem in various research domains. In this article, we establish conditions for the design of unknown input observers (UIOs) from a geometric approach perspective. Specifically, we derive a necessary and sufficient geometric condition for the existence of a centralized UIO. Compared to existing results, our condition offers a more general design framework, allowing designers the flexibility to estimate partial information of the system state. Furthermore, we extend the centralized UIO design to distributed settings. In contrast to existing distributed UIO approaches, which require each local node to satisfy the rank condition regarding the unknown input and output matrices, our method accommodates cases where a subset of nodes does not meet this requirement. This relaxation significantly broadens the range of practical applications. Simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed design.

Authors:Ruixuan Zhao, Guitao Yang, Thomas Parisini, Boli Chen
Title: Distributed Unknown Input Observer Design with Relaxed Conditions: Theory and Application to Vehicle Platooning
Abstract:
Designing observers for linear systems with both known and unknown inputs is an important problem in several research contexts, for example, fault diagnosis and fault-tolerant control, and cyber-secure control systems, and presents significant challenges in distributed state estimation due to the limited sensing capabilities of individual nodes. Existing methods typically impose an individual input-to-output rank condition on each estimator node, which severely restricts applicability in practical applications. This paper presents a novel distributed unknown-input observer design scheme based on a geometric approach under much weaker assumptions than the ones available in the literature. By leveraging the properties of the $(C, A)$-invariant (conditioned invariant) subspace at each node, our methodology aims at reconstructing portions of the system state that remain unaffected by local unknown inputs, while integrating these estimates via a network-based information exchange. A case study on vehicle platoon control shows the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Authors:Giovanni Pugliese Carratelli, Ioannis Lestas
Title: Optimal control of stochastic networks of $M/M/\infty$ queues with linear costs
Abstract:
We consider an arbitrary network of $M/M/\infty$ queues with controlled transitions between queues. We consider optimal control problems where the costs are linear functions of the state and inputs over a finite or infinite horizon. We provide in both cases an explicit characterization of the optimal control policies. We also show that these do not involve state feedback, but they depend on the network topology and system parameters. The results are also illustrated with various examples.

Authors:S Krishna Niketh, Sagar Babu Mitikiri, V Vignesh, Vedantham Lakshmi Srinivas, Mayukha Pal
Title: Game-Theoretic Resilience Framework for Cyber-Physical Microgrids using Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
The increasing reliance on cyber physical infrastructure in modern power systems has amplified the risk of targeted cyber attacks, necessitating robust and adaptive resilience strategies. This paper presents a mathematically rigorous game theoretic framework to evaluate and enhance microgrid resilience using a combination of quantitative resilience metrics Load Served Ratio LSR, Critical Load Resilience CLR, Topological Survivability Score TSS, and DER Resilience Score DRS. These are integrated into a unified payoff matrix using the Analytic Hierarchy Process AHP to assess attack defense interactions. The framework is formalized as a finite horizon Markov Decision Process MDP with formal convergence guarantees and computational complexity bounds. Three case studies are developed 1. static attacks analyzed via Nash equilibrium, 2. severe attacks incorporating high impact strategies, and 3. adaptive attacks using Stackelberg games, regret matching, softmax heuristics, and Multi Agent Q Learning. Rigorous theoretical analysis provides convergence proofs with explicit rates , PAC learning sample complexity bounds, and computational complexity analysis. The framework is tested on an enhanced IEEE 33bus distribution system with DERs and control switches, demonstrating the effectiveness of adaptive and strategic defenses in improving cyber physical resilience with statistically significant improvements of 18.7% 2.1% over static approaches.

Authors:Alexander Dorsey, Ankit Goel
Title: Feedback Linearization-based Guidance Law for Guaranteed Interception
Abstract:
This paper presents an input-output feedback linearization (IOL)-based guidance law to ensure interception in a pursuer-evader engagement scenario. A point-mass dynamic model for both the pursuer and the evader is considered. An IOL guidance law is derived using range and line-of-sight (LOS) rate measurements. It is found that the range-based IOL guidance law exhibits a singularity under certain conditions. To address this issue, a fuzzy logic system is employed to smoothly blend the IOL guidance with the classical proportional guidance law, thereby avoiding the singularity. In contrast, the LOS-based IOL guidance law is free of singularities but suffers from divergence issues due to angle-related complications. To resolve this, a simple correction function is introduced to ensure consistent interception behavior. Results from Monte Carlo simulations indicate that both modifications of the IOL guidance laws cause interception with control limits applied.

Authors:Marwan Mostafa, Daniel Wenser, Payam Teimourzadeh Baboli, Christian Becker
Title: Unified Graph-Theoretic Modeling of Multi-Energy Flows in Distribution Systems
Abstract:
The increasing complexity of energy systems due to sector coupling and decarbonization calls for unified modeling frameworks that capture the physical and structural interactions between electricity, gas, and heat networks. This paper presents a graph-based modeling approach for multi-energy systems, where each domain is represented as a layer in a multi-layer graph, and coupling technologies are modeled as inter-layer edges via a dedicated coupling layer. A steady-state solver based on a block-structured Newton-Raphson method is developed to jointly compute flows and state variables across all carriers. The proposed model is tested and validated on a realistic case study based on data from a German distribution network. The results demonstrate convergence, numerical accuracy, and consistent domain interaction, and demonstrate the method's applicability for system-wide analysis and its potential as a foundation for future optimizations in integrated energy systems.

Authors:Vedant Karia, Abdullah Zyarah, Dhireesha Kudithipudi
Title: Genesis: A Spiking Neuromorphic Accelerator With On-chip Continual Learning
Abstract:
Continual learning, the ability to acquire and transfer knowledge through a models lifetime, is critical for artificial agents that interact in real-world environments. Biological brains inherently demonstrate these capabilities while operating within limited energy and resource budgets. Achieving continual learning capability in artificial systems considerably increases memory and computational demands, and even more so when deploying on platforms with limited resources. In this work, Genesis, a spiking continual learning accelerator, is proposed to address this gap. The architecture supports neurally inspired mechanisms, such as activity-dependent metaplasticity, to alleviate catastrophic forgetting. It integrates low-precision continual learning parametersand employs a custom data movement strategy to accommodate the sparsely distributed spikes. Furthermore, the architecture features a memory mapping technique that places metaplasticity parameters and synaptic weights in a single address location for faster memory access. Results show that the mean classification accuracy for Genesis is 74.6% on a task-agnostic split-MNIST benchmark with power consumption of 17.08mW in a 65nm technology node.

Authors:Nariman Niknejad, Gokul S. Sankar, Bahare Kiumarsi, Hamidreza Modares
Title: Robust Model Predictive Control Design for Autonomous Vehicles with Perception-based Observers
Abstract:
This paper presents a robust model predictive control (MPC) framework that explicitly addresses the non-Gaussian noise inherent in deep learning-based perception modules used for state estimation. Recognizing that accurate uncertainty quantification of the perception module is essential for safe feedback control, our approach departs from the conventional assumption of zero-mean noise quantification of the perception error. Instead, it employs set-based state estimation with constrained zonotopes to capture biased, heavy-tailed uncertainties while maintaining bounded estimation errors. To improve computational efficiency, the robust MPC is reformulated as a linear program (LP), using a Minkowski-Lyapunov-based cost function with an added slack variable to prevent degenerate solutions. Closed-loop stability is ensured through Minkowski-Lyapunov inequalities and contractive zonotopic invariant sets. The largest stabilizing terminal set and its corresponding feedback gain are then derived via an ellipsoidal approximation of the zonotopes. The proposed framework is validated through both simulations and hardware experiments on an omnidirectional mobile robot along with a camera and a convolutional neural network-based perception module implemented within a ROS2 framework. The results demonstrate that the perception-aware MPC provides stable and accurate control performance under heavy-tailed noise conditions, significantly outperforming traditional Gaussian-noise-based designs in terms of both state estimation error bounding and overall control performance.

Authors:Hai Wang, Baoshen Guo, Xiaolei Zhou, Shuai Wang, Zhiqing Hong, Tian He
Title: Resource-Oriented Optimization of Electric Vehicle Systems: A Data-Driven Survey on Charging Infrastructure, Scheduling, and Fleet Management
Abstract:
Driven by growing concerns over air quality and energy security, electric vehicles (EVs) has experienced rapid development and are reshaping global transportation systems and lifestyle patterns. Compared to traditional gasoline-powered vehicles, EVs offer significant advantages in terms of lower energy consumption, reduced emissions, and decreased operating costs. However, there are still some core challenges to be addressed: (i) Charging station congestion and operational inefficiencies during peak hours, (ii) High charging cost under dynamic electricity pricing schemes, and (iii) Conflicts between charging needs and passenger service requirements.Hence, in this paper, we present a comprehensive review of data-driven models and approaches proposed in the literature to address the above challenges. These studies cover the entire lifecycle of EV systems, including charging station deployment, charging scheduling strategies, and large-scale fleet management. Moreover, we discuss the broader implications of EV integration across multiple domains, such as human mobility, smart grid infrastructure, and environmental sustainability, and identify key opportunities and directions for future research.

Authors:Nicole Fronda, Hariharan Narayanan, Sadia Afrin Ananna, Steven Weber, Houssam Abbas
Title: PRREACH: Probabilistic Risk Assessment Using Reachability for UAV Control
Abstract:
We present a new approach for designing risk-bounded controllers for Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). Existing frameworks for assessing risk of UAV operations rely on knowing the conditional probability of an incident occurring given different causes. Limited data for computing these probabilities makes real-world implementation of these frameworks difficult. Furthermore, existing frameworks do not include control methods for risk mitigation. Our approach relies on UAV dynamics, and employs reachability analysis for a probabilistic risk assessment over all feasible UAV trajectories. We use this holistic risk assessment to formulate a control optimization problem that minimally changes a UAV's existing control law to be bounded by an accepted risk threshold. We call our approach PRReach. Public and readily available UAV dynamics models and open source spatial data for mapping hazard outcomes enables practical implementation of PRReach for both offline pre-flight and online in-flight risk assessment and mitigation. We evaluate PRReach through simulation experiments on real-world data. Results show that PRReach controllers reduce risk by up to 24% offline, and up to 53% online from classical controllers.

Authors:Babak Esmaeili, Hamidreza Modares
Title: SAFE--MA--RRT: Multi-Agent Motion Planning with Data-Driven Safety Certificates
Abstract:
This paper proposes a fully data-driven motion-planning framework for homogeneous linear multi-agent systems that operate in shared, obstacle-filled workspaces without access to explicit system models. Each agent independently learns its closed-loop behavior from experimental data by solving convex semidefinite programs that generate locally invariant ellipsoids and corresponding state-feedback gains. These ellipsoids, centered along grid-based waypoints, certify the dynamic feasibility of short-range transitions and define safe regions of operation. A sampling-based planner constructs a tree of such waypoints, where transitions are allowed only when adjacent ellipsoids overlap, ensuring invariant-to-invariant transitions and continuous safety. All agents expand their trees simultaneously and are coordinated through a space-time reservation table that guarantees inter-agent safety by preventing simultaneous occupancy and head-on collisions. Each successful edge in the tree is equipped with its own local controller, enabling execution without re-solving optimization problems at runtime. The resulting trajectories are not only dynamically feasible but also provably safe with respect to both environmental constraints and inter-agent collisions. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach in synthesizing synchronized, safe trajectories for multiple agents under shared dynamics and constraints, using only data and convex optimization tools.

Authors:Aditi Saxena, Twinkle Tripathy, Rajasekhar Anguluri
Title: Laplacian Flows in Complex-valued Directed Networks: Analysis, Design, and Consensus
Abstract:
In the interdisciplinary field of network science, a complex-valued network, with edges assigned complex weights, provides a more nuanced representation of relationships by capturing both the magnitude and phase of interactions. Additionally, an important application of this setting arises in distribution power grids. Motivated by the richer framework, we study the necessary and sufficient conditions for achieving consensus in both strongly and weakly connected digraphs. The paper establishes that complex-valued Laplacian flows converge to consensus subject to an additional constraint termed as real dominance which relies on the phase angles of the edge weights. Our approach builds on the complex Perron-Frobenius properties to study the spectral properties of the Laplacian and its relation to graphical conditions. Finally, we propose modified flows that guarantee consensus even if the original network does not converge to consensus. Additionally, we explore diffusion in complex-valued networks as a dual process of consensus and simulate our results on synthetic and real-world networks.

Authors:Ioannis Tzortzis, Themistoklis Charalambous, Charalambos D. Charalambous
Title: Remote Estimation for Markov Jump Linear Systems: A Distributionally Robust Approach
Abstract:
This paper considers the problem of remote state estimation for Markov jump linear systems in the presence of uncertainty in the posterior mode probabilities. Such uncertainty may arise when the estimator receives noisy or incomplete measurements over an unreliable communication network. To address this challenge, the estimation problem is formulated within a distributionally robust framework, where the true posterior is assumed to lie within a total variation distance ball centered at the nominal posterior. The resulting minimax formulation yields an estimator that extends the classical MMSE solution with additional terms that account for mode uncertainty. A tractable implementation is developed using a distributionally robust variant of the first-order generalized pseudo-Bayesian algorithm. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the applicability and effectiveness of the approach.

Authors:Lyssa Ramaut, Chesney Buyle, Jona Cappelle, Liesbet Van der Perre
Title: Low-Power Impact Detection and Localization on Forklifts Using Wireless IMU Sensors
Abstract:
Forklifts are essential for transporting goods in industrial environments. These machines face wear and tear during field operations, along with rough terrain, tight spaces and complex handling scenarios. This increases the likelihood of unintended impacts, such as collisions with goods, infrastructure, or other machinery. In addition, deliberate misuse has been stated, compromising safety and equipment integrity. This paper presents a low-cost and low-power impact detection system based on multiple wireless sensor nodes measuring 3D accelerations. These were deployed in a measurement campaign covering realworld operational scenarios. An algorithm was developed, based on this collected data, to differentiate high-impact events from normal usage and to localize detected collisions on the forklift. The solution successfully detects and localizes impacts, while maintaining low power consumption, enabling reliable forklift monitoring with multi-year sensor autonomy.

Authors:Ángel Aso-Mollar, Diego Aineto, Enrico Scala, Eva Onaindia
Title: Handling Infinite Domain Parameters in Planning Through Best-First Search with Delayed Partial Expansions
Abstract:
In automated planning, control parameters extend standard action representations through the introduction of continuous numeric decision variables. Existing state-of-the-art approaches have primarily handled control parameters as embedded constraints alongside other temporal and numeric restrictions, and thus have implicitly treated them as additional constraints rather than as decision points in the search space. In this paper, we propose an efficient alternative that explicitly handles control parameters as true decision points within a systematic search scheme. We develop a best-first, heuristic search algorithm that operates over infinite decision spaces defined by control parameters and prove a notion of completeness in the limit under certain conditions. Our algorithm leverages the concept of delayed partial expansion, where a state is not fully expanded but instead incrementally expands a subset of its successors. Our results demonstrate that this novel search algorithm is a competitive alternative to existing approaches for solving planning problems involving control parameters.

Authors:Sherwan Jalal Abdullah, Sravan Reddy Chintareddy, Victor S. Frost, Shawn Keshmiri, Morteza Hashemi
Title: A Versatile and Programmable UAV Platform for Radio Access Network and End-to-End Cellular Measurements
Abstract:
In this work, we develop a measurement platform to capture mobile network performance metrics including coverage and quality of service in regions where conventional coverage testing approaches are frequently time-intensive, labor-demanding, and occasionally hazardous. Traditionally, crowd-sourcing methods are used to collect cellular network performance metrics. However, these approaches are inadequate in rural areas due to low-density population, and difficult terrain. The platform described here is a UAV-based and is designed to investigate the mobile network performance through aerial operations and gather Radio Access Network (RAN) signal alongside end-to-end network performance metrics. Our platform gathers metrics through the integration of an onboard computation unit and commercial off-the-shelf cellular modem. The gathered data are subsequently analyzed and displayed using geospatial mapping utilities and statistical techniques to deliver key observations on cellular network performance. Experimental results showed that the received signal power improves at higher altitudes due to enhanced line-of-sight (LoS) conditions as expected. However, the signal quality degrades as a result of increased interference from neighboring cells. The analysis reveals that for most of the geographic area covered in the initial experiments the system maintained acceptable signal quality, with adequate throughput performance for both uplink and downlink communications, while maintaining satisfactory round-trip time characteristics. Notably, the experiment showed that a strong radio signal metric for a given cell does not necessarily translate to consistent spatial coverage across the tested region.

Authors:Elias Fontanari, Gianni Lunardi, Matteo Saveriano, Andrea Del Prete
Title: Parallel-Constraint Model Predictive Control: Exploiting Parallel Computation for Improving Safety
Abstract:
Ensuring constraint satisfaction is a key requirement for safety-critical systems, which include most robotic platforms. For example, constraints can be used for modeling joint position/velocity/torque limits and collision avoidance. Constrained systems are often controlled using Model Predictive Control, because of its ability to naturally handle constraints, relying on numerical optimization. However, ensuring constraint satisfaction is challenging for nonlinear systems/constraints. A well-known tool to make controllers safe is the so-called control-invariant set (a.k.a. safe set). In our previous work, we have shown that safety can be improved by letting the safe-set constraint recede along the MPC horizon. In this paper, we push that idea further by exploiting parallel computation to improve safety. We solve several MPC problems at the same time, where each problem instantiates the safe-set constraint at a different time step along the horizon. Finally, the controller can select the best solution according to some user-defined criteria. We validated this idea through extensive simulations with a 3-joint robotic arm, showing that significant improvements can be achieved in terms of safety and performance, even using as little as 4 computational cores.

Authors:Gaosheng Zhao, Dong In Kim
Title: Multi-layer Digital Twin System for Future Mobile Metaverse
Abstract:
In the upcoming 6G era, the communication networks are expected to face unprecedented challenges in terms of complexity and dynamics. Digital Twin (DT) technology, with its various digital capabilities, holds great potential to facilitate the transformation of the communication network from passive responding to proactive adaptation. Thus, in this paper, we propose a multi-layer DT system that coordinates local DT, edge DT, and cloud DT for future network architecture and functions. In our vision, the proposed DT system will not only achieve real-time data-driven decision-making and digital agent functions previously handled by centralized DT, but will do so in a more distributed, mobile, layer-by-layer manner. Moreover, it will supply essential data, pre-trained models, and open interfaces for future metaverse applications, enabling creators and users to efficiently develop and experience metaverse services.

Authors:Shahbaz P Qadri Syed, He Bai
Title: Approximate constrained stochastic optimal control via parameterized input inference
Abstract:
Approximate methods to solve stochastic optimal control (SOC) problems have received significant interest from researchers in the past decade. Probabilistic inference approaches to SOC have been developed to solve nonlinear quadratic Gaussian problems. In this work, we propose an Expectation-Maximization (EM) based inference procedure to generate state-feedback controls for constrained SOC problems. We consider the inequality constraints for the state and controls and also the structural constraints for the controls. We employ barrier functions to address state and control constraints. We show that the expectation step leads to smoothing of the state-control pair while the the maximization step on the non-zero subsets of the control parameters allows inference of structured stochastic optimal controllers. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the algorithm on unicycle obstacle avoidance, four-unicycle formation control, and quadcopter navigation in windy environment examples. In these examples, we perform an empirical study on the parametric effect of barrier functions on the state constraint satisfaction. We also present a comparative study of smoothing algorithms on the performance of the proposed approach.

Authors:Jaliya L. Wijayaraja, Janaka L. Wijekoon, Malitha Wijesundara
Title: Event Detection and Classification for Long Range Sensing of Elephants Using Seismic Signal
Abstract:
Detecting elephants through seismic signals is an emerging research topic aimed at developing solutions for Human-Elephant Conflict (HEC). Despite the promising results, such solutions heavily rely on manual classification of elephant footfalls, which limits their applicability for real-time classification in natural settings. To address this limitation and build on our previous work, this study introduces a classification framework targeting resource-constrained implementations, prioritizing both accuracy and computational efficiency. As part of this framework, a novel event detection technique named Contextually Customized Windowing (CCW), tailored specifically for detecting elephant footfalls, was introduced, and evaluations were conducted by comparing it with the Short-Term Average/Long-Term Average (STA/LTA) method. The yielded results show that the maximum validated detection range was 155.6 m in controlled conditions and 140 m in natural environments. Elephant footfall classification using Support Vector Machine (SVM) with a Radial Basis Function (RBF) kernel demonstrated superior performance across multiple settings, achieving an accuracy of 99% in controlled environments, 73% in natural elephant habitats, and 70% in HEC-prone human habitats, the most challenging scenario. Furthermore, feature impact analysis using explainable AI identified the number of Zero Crossings and Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) Alignment Cost as the most influential factors in all experiments, while Predominant Frequency exhibited significant influence in controlled settings.

Authors:Sangjun Hwang, Bon-Hong Koo, Ho Joong Kim, Jang-Yeon Kwon, Chan-Byoung Chae
Title: Nano Machine Intelligence: From a Communication Perspective
Abstract:
We present an AI-integrated molecular communication link validated on a benchtop nanomachine testbed representative of subdermal implants. The system employs an indium-gallium-zinc-oxide electrolyte-gated FET (IGZO-EGFET) functionalized with glucose oxidase as a biocompatible receiver, a microfluidic channel with a syringe-pump transmitter using on-off keying (OOK), and a machine-intelligence pipeline that addresses model mismatch and hardware non-idealities. The pipeline integrates: (i) a modular universal decoder robust to vibration-induced noise, chemical delay, and single-tap intersymbol interference; (ii) a lightweight pilot-only synchronizer that estimates symbol intervals; and (iii) a virtual-response generator that augments data and scales symbol duration. Experiments across multiple chips and sessions demonstrate end-to-end chemical text transmission with consistent error-rate reductions compared to naive thresholding and standard neural baselines. By coupling biocompatible hardware with learning-based detection and generative augmentation, this work establishes a practical route toward AI-native nanomachine networks and higher rate molecular links, while providing a system blueprint adaptable to other biochemical modalities.

Authors:S. Ali Hosseini, Dragan Kostić, S. Hassan HosseinNia
Title: Robust Performance Analysis and Nonlinearity Shaping for Closed-loop Reset Control Systems
Abstract:
Reset elements are nonlinear filters that improve control performance beyond linear time-invariant (LTI) limits but introduce higher-order harmonics that complicate design. Although frequency-domain tools like describing functions (DFs) and higher-order sinusoidal-input describing functions (HOSIDFs) analyze reset control systems (RCS), no direct method yet quantifies the impact of higher-order harmonics on the error signal without time-domain simulations. This paper introduces a robustness factor, $σ_2(ω)$, which quantifies the increase in the root-mean-square (RMS) value of the error signal due to HOSIDFs, enabling RCS to rely solely on first-order DF characteristics while accounting for nonlinear effects. By using this robustness factor, a systematic method for designing pre- and post-filters is developed to ensure a predefined bound on $σ_2(ω)$, thereby limiting the influence of higher-order harmonics without altering first-order DF behavior. The proposed framework is validated through a case study on a planar precision positioning stage, demonstrating how the robustness factor guides the reduction of nonlinearities and improves performance predictability.

Authors:Yangyadatta Tripathy, Barjeev Tyagi
Title: A Mathematical Model of Hybrid Microgrid With Pole Placement Controller Using State Feedback For Stability Improvement
Abstract:
This paper presents the development of a mathematical model of a converter state space model for a hybrid microgrid. The hybrid model combines the models of components such as DC-Converters, DC-AC converters, and their individual controllers, as well as loads. The input to the converter is considered a constant DC voltage, assumed to originate from distributed generations like solar, battery storage, or fuel-cells. The converter output is connected to a DC line through an LCL filter. The controller circuitry is designed to regulate the voltage, current, and power from the converter. Sensors are strategically placed to measure the currents, voltages, and power, and calculate the reference pulse signal using PWM for the switch. Similarly, the DC-AC converter is modeled. In the state space domain the converter models is used to design overall microgrid system. A single DC converter has six states and two inputs, with all states as outputs. A single DC-AC converter has thirteen states and three inputs, with all states as outputs. Three such converters of each type are considered to develop the DC microgrid and AC microgrid, which are then combined using mathematical analysis to model a hybrid microgrid. For the hybrid microgrid development, network and load models were also included. Eigenvalue analysis has been conducted to study the small signal stability of the considered system. The complete state space model of the hybrid microgrid has been programmed, and a pole-placement controller has been designed to enhance the stability of the system.

Authors:Yangyadatta Tripathy, Barjeev Tyagi
Title: A Novel Tunable Controller for Grid Forming Converters towards Critical Services Application
Abstract:
This paper demonstrates the key features of a control system applicable to inverter-based resources (IBR), which is based on grid-forming technology. Such resources are classified as grid-forming or grid-following converters based on the type of output with or without grid connection. With rapid growth in the energy sector to adopt carbon-free generation, Grid Forming Converter (GFC) seems suitable for power provision to remote or islanded operation of converters. A fully-fledged bulk power grid based on GFC requires complex control implementation with suitable tuning of its parameters. In this article a broader analysis of synchronous machine and such type of converter is discussed and designed in the MATLAB 2024 environment with its control technique is studied for a closed-loop system under contingencies. A proposed control scheme is developed to understand the frequency minimization problem and the minimization problem is solved using GAMS programming tool. The primary objective function is found to be suitable for minimization of frequency deviation using a mixed control approach. An artificial neural network-based controller is also proposed with Levenberg-Marquardt training algorithm which augments the research by finding suitable optimal reference for GFM converter in the presence of a grid. A long-short-term memory (LSTM) based network is also proposed for the above control and the performance is found to be efficacious.

Authors:Nathanael Coolidge, Jaime González Sanz, Li Yang, Khalil El Khatib, Glenn Harvel, Nelson Agbemava, I Putu Susila, Mehmet Yavuz Yagci
Title: An Efficient Intrusion Detection System for Safeguarding Radiation Detection Systems
Abstract:
Radiation Detection Systems (RDSs) are used to measure and detect abnormal levels of radioactive material in the environment. These systems are used in many applications to mitigate threats posed by high levels of radioactive material. However, these systems lack protection against malicious external attacks to modify the data. The novelty of applying Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS) in RDSs is a crucial element in safeguarding these critical infrastructures. While IDSs are widely used in networking environments to safeguard against various attacks, their application in RDSs is novel. A common attack on RDSs is Denial of Service (DoS), where the attacker aims to overwhelm the system, causing malfunctioning RDSs. This paper proposes an efficient Machine Learning (ML)-based IDS to detect anomalies in radiation data, focusing on DoS attacks. This work explores the use of sampling methods to create a simulated DoS attack based on a real radiation dataset, followed by an evaluation of various ML algorithms, including Random Forest, Support Vector Machine (SVM), logistic regression, and Light Gradient-Boosting Machine (LightGBM), to detect DoS attacks on RDSs. LightGBM is emphasized for its superior accuracy and low computational resource consumption, making it particularly suitable for real-time intrusion detection. Additionally, model optimization and TinyML techniques, including feature selection, parallel execution, and random search methods, are used to improve the efficiency of the proposed IDS. Finally, an optimized and efficient LightGBM-based IDS is developed to achieve accurate intrusion detection for RDSs.

Authors:Einstein Rivas Pizarro, Wajiha Zaheer, Li Yang, Khalil El-Khatib, Glenn Harvel
Title: Securing Radiation Detection Systems with an Efficient TinyML-Based IDS for Edge Devices
Abstract:
Radiation Detection Systems (RDSs) play a vital role in ensuring public safety across various settings, from nuclear facilities to medical environments. However, these systems are increasingly vulnerable to cyber-attacks such as data injection, man-in-the-middle (MITM) attacks, ICMP floods, botnet attacks, privilege escalation, and distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Such threats could compromise the integrity and reliability of radiation measurements, posing significant public health and safety risks. This paper presents a new synthetic radiation dataset and an Intrusion Detection System (IDS) tailored for resource-constrained environments, bringing Machine Learning (ML) predictive capabilities closer to the sensing edge layer of critical infrastructure. Leveraging TinyML techniques, the proposed IDS employs an optimized XGBoost model enhanced with pruning, quantization, feature selection, and sampling. These TinyML techniques significantly reduce the size of the model and computational demands, enabling real-time intrusion detection on low-resource devices while maintaining a reasonable balance between efficiency and accuracy.

Authors:Ozan Baris Mulayim, Yuvraj Agarwal, Mario Bergés, Steve Schaefer, Mitali Shah, Derek Supple
Title: Semantic Technologies in Practical Demand Response: An Informational Requirement-based Roadmap
Abstract:
The future grid will be highly complex and decentralized, requiring sophisticated coordination across numerous human and software agents that manage distributed resources such as Demand Response (DR). Realizing this vision demands significant advances in semantic interoperability, which enables scalable and cost-effective automation across heterogeneous systems. While semantic technologies have progressed in commercial building and DR domains, current ontologies have two critical limitations: they are often developed without a formal framework that reflects real-world DR requirements, and proposals for integrating general and application-specific ontologies remain mostly conceptual, lacking formalization or empirical validation. In this paper, we address these gaps by applying a formal ontology evaluation/development approach to define the informational requirements (IRs) necessary for semantic interoperability in the area of incentive-based DR for commercial buildings. We identify the IRs associated with each stage of the wholesale incentive-based DR process, focusing on the perspective of building owners. Using these IRs, we evaluate how well existing ontologies (Brick, DELTA, and EFOnt) support the operational needs of DR participation. Our findings reveal substantial misalignments between current ontologies and practical DR requirements. Based on our assessments, we propose a roadmap of necessary extensions and integrations for these ontologies. This work ultimately aims to enhance the interoperability of today's and future smart grid, thereby facilitating scalable integration of DR systems into the grid's complex operational framework.

Authors:Philipp Hartmann, Jannick Stranghöner, Klaus Neumann
Title: End-to-End Low-Level Neural Control of an Industrial-Grade 6D Magnetic Levitation System
Abstract:
Magnetic levitation is poised to revolutionize industrial automation by integrating flexible in-machine product transport and seamless manipulation. It is expected to become the standard drive for automated manufacturing. However, controlling such systems is inherently challenging due to their complex, unstable dynamics. Traditional control approaches, which rely on hand-crafted control engineering, typically yield robust but conservative solutions, with their performance closely tied to the expertise of the engineering team. In contrast, neural control learning presents a promising alternative. This paper presents the first neural controller for 6D magnetic levitation. Trained end-to-end on interaction data from a proprietary controller, it directly maps raw sensor data and 6D reference poses to coil current commands. The neural controller can effectively generalize to previously unseen situations while maintaining accurate and robust control. These results underscore the practical feasibility of learning-based neural control in complex physical systems and suggest a future where such a paradigm could enhance or even substitute traditional engineering approaches in demanding real-world applications. The trained neural controller, source code, and demonstration videos are publicly available at https://sites.google.com/view/neural-maglev.

Authors:Mohammad Amin Sheikhi, Gabriel de Albuquerque Gleizer, Peyman Mohajerin Esfahani, Tamás Keviczky
Title: Data-Driven Fault Isolation in Linear Time-Invariant Systems: A Subspace Classification Approach
Abstract:
We study the problem of fault isolation in linear systems with actuator and sensor faults within a data-driven framework. We propose a nullspace-based filter that uses solely fault-free input-output data collected under process and measurement noises. By reparameterizing the problem within a behavioral framework, we achieve a direct fault isolation filter design that is independent of any explicit system model. The underlying classification problem is approached from a geometric perspective, enabling a characterization of mutual fault discernibility in terms of fundamental system properties given a noise-free setting. In addition, the provided conditions can be evaluated using only the available data. Finally, a simulation study is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Authors:Hyungbo Shim, Jin Gyu Lee, B. D. O. Anderson
Title: Adaptation of Parameters in Heterogeneous Multi-agent Systems
Abstract:
This paper proposes an adaptation mechanism for heterogeneous multi-agent systems to align the agents' internal parameters, based on enforced consensus through strong couplings. Unlike homogeneous systems, where exact consensus is attainable, the heterogeneity in node dynamics precludes perfect synchronization. Nonetheless, previous work has demonstrated that strong coupling can induce approximate consensus, whereby the agents exhibit emergent collective behavior governed by the so-called blended dynamics. Building on this observation, we introduce an adaptation law that gradually aligns the internal parameters of agents without requiring direct parameter communication. The proposed method reuses the same coupling signal employed for state synchronization, which may result in a biologically or sociologically plausible adaptation process. Under a persistent excitation condition, we prove that the linearly parametrized vector fields of the agents converge to each other, thereby making the dynamics asymptotically homogeneous, and leading to exact consensus of the state variables.

Authors:S Krishna Niketh, Prasanta K Panigrahi, V Vignesh, Mayukha Pal
Title: Game Theoretic Resilience Recommendation Framework for CyberPhysical Microgrids Using Hypergraph MetaLearning
Abstract:
This paper presents a physics-aware cyberphysical resilience framework for radial microgrids under coordinated cyberattacks. The proposed approach models the attacker through a hypergraph neural network (HGNN) enhanced with model agnostic metalearning (MAML) to rapidly adapt to evolving defense strategies and predict high-impact contingencies. The defender is modeled via a bi-level Stackelberg game, where the upper level selects optimal tie-line switching and distributed energy resource (DER) dispatch using an Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) coordinator embedded within the Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II). The framework simultaneously optimizes load served, operational cost, and voltage stability, ensuring all post-defense states satisfy network physics constraints. The methodology is first validated on the IEEE 69-bus distribution test system with 12 DERs, 8 critical loads, and 5 tie-lines, and then extended to higher bus systems including the IEEE 123-bus feeder and a synthetic 300-bus distribution system. Results show that the proposed defense strategy restores nearly full service for 90% of top-ranked attacks, mitigates voltage violations, and identifies Feeder 2 as the principal vulnerability corridor. Actionable operating rules are derived, recommending pre-arming of specific tie-lines to enhance resilience, while higher bus system studies confirm scalability of the framework on the IEEE 123-bus and 300-bus systems.

Authors:Saurab Chhachhi, Fei Teng
Title: Privacy, Informed Consent and the Demand for Anonymisation of Smart Meter Data
Abstract:
Access to smart meter data offers system-wide benefits but raises significant privacy concerns due to the personal information it contains. Privacy-preserving techniques could facilitate wider access, though they introduce privacy-utility trade-offs. Understanding consumer valuations for anonymisation can help identify appropriate trade-offs. However, existing studies do not focus on anonymisation specifically or account for information asymmetries regarding privacy risks, raising questions about the validity of informed consent under current regulations. We use a mixed-methods approach to estimate non-monetary (willingness-to-share and smart metering demand) and monetary (willingness-to-pay/accept) preferences for anonymisation, based on a representative sample of 965 GB bill payers. An embedded randomised control trial examines the effect of providing information about privacy implications. On average, consumers are willing to pay for anonymisation, are more willing to share data when anonymised and less willing to share non-anonymised data once anonymisation is presented as an option. However, a significant minority remains unwilling to adopt smart meters, despite anonymisation. We find strong evidence of information asymmetries that suppress demand for anonymisation and identify substantial variation across demographic and electricity supply characteristics. Qualitative responses corroborate the quantitative findings, underscoring the need for stronger privacy defaults, user-centric design, and consent mechanisms that enable truly informed decisions.

Authors:Catalin Arghir, Pieder Jörg, Silvia Mastellone
Title: Transferring the driveshaft inertia to the grid via the DC-link in MV drive systems
Abstract:
This paper investigates a control approach that renders the driveshaft inertia completely available on the grid side and enhances the fault ride-through behavior of medium-voltage (MV) drive systems. Two main contributions are presented. First, we show how the rotational inertia of the driveline shaft can be synchronously coupled to the grid through a modification of the speed control reference signal and through an adapted DC-link control strategy. For the latter, we pursue two alternatives: one based on conventional cascaded control and another based on synchronous machine (SM) model matching. Second, we demonstrate that both the standard phase-locked loop (PLL) and the matching control approach can be interpreted, via the ray-circle complementarity, as feedback optimization schemes with distinct steady-state maps. This perspective allows us to revisit matching control, reveal its embedded PLL, highlight its current-limiting and tracking capabilities, and provide an extensive simulation study.

Authors:Feng-Yu Yue, Daniel Zelazo
Title: A Passivity Analysis for Nonlinear Consensus on Digraphs
Abstract:
This work presents a passivity-based analysis for the nonlinear output agreement problem in network systems over directed graphs. We reformulate the problem as a convergence analysis on the agreement submanifold. First, we establish how passivity properties of individual agents and controllers determine the passivity of their associated system relations. Building on this, we introduce the concept of submanifold-constrained passivity and develop a novel compensation theorem that ensures output convergence to the agreement submanifold. Unlike previous approaches, our approach can analyze the network system with arbitrary digraphs and any passive agents. We apply this framework to analyze the output agreement problem for network systems consisting of nonlinear and passive agents. Numerical examples support our results.

Authors:Qingkai Meng, Fenglan Wang, Lin Zhao
Title: Incremental Policy Iteration for Unknown Nonlinear Systems with Stability and Performance Guarantees
Abstract:
This paper proposes a general incremental policy iteration adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) algorithm for model-free robust optimal control of unknown nonlinear systems. The approach integrates recursive least squares estimation with linear ADP principles, which greatly simplifies the implementation while preserving adaptive learning capabilities. In particular, we develop a sufficient condition for selecting a discount factor such that it allows learning the optimal policy starting with an initial policy that is not necessarily stabilizing. Moreover, we characterize the robust stability of the closed-loop system and the near-optimality of iterative policies. Finally, we perform numerical simulations to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Authors:Alex Xinting Wu, Ian R. Petersen, Iman Shames
Title: A Fundamental Convergence Rate Bound for Gradient Based Online Optimization Algorithms with Exact Tracking
Abstract:
In this paper, we consider algorithms with integral action for solving online optimization problems characterized by quadratic cost functions with a time-varying optimal point described by an $(n-1)$th order polynomial. Using a version of the internal model principle, the optimization algorithms under consideration are required to incorporate a discrete time $n$-th order integrator in order to achieve exact tracking. By using results on an optimal gain margin problem, we obtain a fundamental convergence rate bound for the class of linear gradient based algorithms exactly tracking a time-varying optimal point. This convergence rate bound is given by $ \left(\frac{\sqrtκ - 1 }{\sqrtκ + 1}\right)^{\frac{1}{n}}$, where $κ$ is the condition number for the set of cost functions under consideration. Using our approach, we also construct algorithms which achieve the optimal convergence rate as well as zero steady-state error when tracking a time-varying optimal point.

Authors:Yoshiyuki Yajima, Hemant Prasad, Daisuke Ikefuji, Hitoshi Sakurai, Manabu Otani
Title: Traffic State Estimation in Congestion to Extend Applicability of DFOS
Abstract:
This paper presents a traffic state estimation (TSE) method in congestion for distributed fiber-optic sensing (DFOS). DFOS detects vehicle driving vibrations along the optical fiber and obtains their trajectories in the spatiotemporal plane. From these trajectories, DFOS provides mean velocities for real-time spatially continuous traffic monitoring without dead zones. However, when vehicle vibration intensities are insufficiently low due to slow speed, trajectories cannot be obtained, leading to missing values in mean velocity data. It restricts DFOS applicability in severe congestion. Therefore, this paper proposes a missing value imputation method based on data assimilation. Our proposed method is validated on two expressways in Japan with the reference data. The results show that the mean absolute error (MAE) of the imputed mean velocities to the reference increases only by 1.5 km/h as compared with the MAE of non-missing values. This study enhances the wide-range applicability of DFOS in practical cases.

Authors:Michal Bujak, Rafal Kucharski
Title: Adaptive Optimisation of Ride-Pooling Personalised Fares in a Stochastic Framework
Abstract:
Ride-pooling systems, to succeed, must provide an attractive service, namely compensate perceived costs with an appealing price. However, because of a strong heterogeneity in a value-of-time, each traveller has his own acceptable price, unknown to the operator. Here, we show that individual acceptance levels can be learned by the operator (over $90\%$ accuracy for pooled travellers in $10$ days) to optimise personalised fares. We propose an adaptive pricing policy, where every day the operator constructs an offer that progressively meets travellers' expectations and attracts a growing demand. Our results suggest that operators, by learning behavioural traits of individual travellers, may improve performance not only for travellers (increased utility) but also for themselves (increased profit). Moreover, such knowledge allows the operator to remove inefficient pooled rides and focus on attractive and profitable combinations.

Authors:Giulio Salizzoni, Sophie Hall, Maryam Kamgarpour
Title: Bridging Finite and Infinite-Horizon Nash Equilibria in Linear Quadratic Games
Abstract:
Finite-horizon linear quadratic (LQ) games admit a unique Nash equilibrium, while infinite-horizon settings may have multiple. We clarify the relationship between these two cases by interpreting the finite-horizon equilibrium as a nonlinear dynamical system. Within this framework, we prove that its fixed points are exactly the infinite-horizon equilibria and that any such equilibrium can be recovered by an appropriate choice of terminal costs. We further show that periodic orbits of the dynamical system, when they arise, correspond to periodic Nash equilibria, and we provide numerical evidence of convergence to such cycles. Finally, simulations reveal three asymptotic regimes: convergence to stationary equilibria, convergence to periodic equilibria, and bounded non-convergent trajectories. These findings offer new insights and tools for tuning finite-horizon LQ games using infinite-horizon.

Authors:Huan Yan, Juan A. Fraire, Ziqi Yang, Kanglian Zhao, Wenfeng Li, Xiyun Hou, Haohan Li, Yuxuan Miao, Jinjun Zheng, Chengbin Kang, Huichao Zhou, Xinuo Chang, Lu Wang, Linshan Xue
Title: Joint Contact Planning for Navigation and Communication in GNSS-Libration Point Systems
Abstract:
Deploying satellites at Earth-Moon Libration Points (LPs) addresses the inherent deep-space coverage gaps of low-altitude GNSS constellations. Integrating LP satellites with GNSS into a joint constellation enables a more robust and comprehensive Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) system, while also extending navigation and communication services to spacecraft operating in cislunar space (i.e., users). However, the long propagation delays between LP satellites, users, and GNSS satellites result in significantly different link durations compared to those within the GNSS constellation. Scheduling inter-satellite links (ISLs) is a core task of Contact Plan Design (CPD). Existing CPD approaches focus exclusively on GNSS constellations, assuming uniform link durations, and thus cannot accommodate the heterogeneous link timescales present in a joint GNSS-LP system. To overcome this limitation, we introduce a Joint CPD (J-CPD) scheme tailored to handle ISLs with differing duration units across integrated constellations. The key contributions of J-CPD are: (i):introduction of LongSlots (Earth-Moon scale links) and ShortSlots (GNSS-scale links); (ii):a hierarchical and crossed CPD process for scheduling LongSlots and ShortSlots ISLs; (iii):an energy-driven link scheduling algorithm adapted to the CPD process. Simulations on a joint BeiDou-LP constellation demonstrate that J-CPD surpasses the baseline FCP method in both delay and ranging coverage, while maintaining high user satisfaction and enabling tunable trade-offs through adjustable potential-energy parameters. To our knowledge, this is the first CPD framework to jointly optimize navigation and communication in GNSS-LP systems, representing a key step toward unified and resilient deep-space PNT architectures.

Authors:Jiayu Chen, Zhenhui Xu, Xinghu Wang
Title: Bootstrap Policy Iteration for Stochastic LQ Tracking with Multiplicative Noise
Abstract:
This paper studies the optimal tracking control problem for continuous-time stochastic linear systems with multiplicative noise. The solution framework involves solving a stochastic algebraic Riccati equation for the feedback gain and a Sylvester equation for the feedforward gain. To enable model-free optimal tracking, we first develop a two-phase bootstrap policy iteration (B-PI) algorithm, which bootstraps a stabilizing control gain from the trivially initialized zero-value start and proceeds with standard policy iteration. Building on this algorithm, we propose a data-driven, off-policy reinforcement learning approach that ensures convergence to the optimal feedback gain under the interval excitation condition. We further introduce a data-driven method to compute the feedforward using the obtained feedback gain. Additionally, for systems with state-dependent noise, we propose a shadow system-based optimal tracking method to eliminate the need for probing noise. The effectiveness of the proposed methods is demonstrated through numerical examples.

Authors:Chao Wang, Shuyuan Zhang, Lei Wang
Title: Distributed Safety-Critical MPC for Multi-Agent Formation Control and Obstacle Avoidance
Abstract:
For nonlinear multi-agent systems with high relative degrees, achieving formation control and obstacle avoidance in a distributed manner remains a significant challenge. To address this issue, we propose a novel distributed safety-critical model predictive control (DSMPC) algorithm that incorporates discrete-time high-order control barrier functions (DHCBFs) to enforce safety constraints, alongside discrete-time control Lyapunov functions (DCLFs) to establish terminal constraints. To facilitate distributed implementation, we develop estimated neighbor states for formulating DHCBFs and DCLFs, while also devising a bound constraint to limit estimation errors and ensure convergence. Additionally, we provide theoretical guarantees regarding the feasibility and stability of the proposed DSMPC algorithm based on a mild assumption. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evidenced by the simulation results, demonstrating improved performance and reduced computation time compared to existing approaches.

Authors:Arwa Alanqary, Alexandre M. Bayen, Xiaoqian Gong, Anish Gollakota, Alexander Keimer, Ashish Pandian
Title: Optimal Control of ODE Car-Following Models: Applications to Mixed-Autonomy Platoon Control via Coupled Autonomous Vehicles
Abstract:
In this paper, we study the optimal control of a mixed-autonomy platoon driving on a single lane to smooth traffic flow. The platoon consists of autonomous vehicles, whose acceleration is controlled, and human-driven vehicles, whose behavior is described using a microscopic car-following model. We formulate the optimal control problem where the dynamics of the platoon are describing through a system of non-linear ODEs, with explicit constraints on both the state and the control variables. Theoretically, we analyze the well-posedness of the system dynamics under a reasonable set of admissible controls and establish the existence of minimizers for the optimal control problem. To solve the problem numerically, we propose a gradient descent-based algorithm that leverages the adjoint method, along with a penalty approach to handle state constraints. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed numerical scheme through several experiments, exploring various scenarios with different penetration rates and distributions of controlled vehicles within the platoon.

Authors:Meng Chen, Yufei Xi, Lin Cheng, Xiongfei Wang, Ioannis Lestas
Title: Comparison of Droop-Based Single-Loop Grid-Forming Wind Turbines: High-Frequency Open-Loop Unstable Behavior and Damping
Abstract:
The integration of inverter-interfaced generators introduces new instability phenomena into modern power systems. This paper conducts a comparative analysis of two widely used droop-based grid-forming controls, namely droop control and droop-I control, in wind turbines. Although both approaches provide steady-state reactive power-voltage droop characteristics, their impacts on high-frequency (HF) stability differ significantly. Firstly, on open-loop (OL) comparison reveals that droop-I control alters HF pole locations. The application of Routh's Stability Criterion further analytically demonstrates that such pole shifts inevitably lead to OL instability. This HF OL instability is identified as a structural phenomenon in purely inductive grids and cannot be mitigated through control parameter tuning. As a result, droop-I control significantly degrades HF stability, making conventional gain and phase margins insufficient for evaluating robustness against parameter variations. Then, the performance of established active damping (AD) is assessed for both control schemes. The finding indicates that AD designs effective for droop control may fail to suppress HF resonance under droop-I control due to the presence of unstable OL poles. Case studies performed on the IEEE 14-Bus Test System validate the analysis and emphasize the critical role of HF OL instability in determining the overall power system stability.

Authors:Alessio Moreschini, Wei He, Romeo Ortega, Yiheng Lu, Tao Li
Title: Globally Stable Discrete Time PID Passivity-based Control of Power Converters: Simulation and Experimental Results
Abstract:
The key idea behind PID Passivity-based Control (PID-PBC) is to leverage the passivity property of PIDs (for all positive gains) and wrap the PID controller around a passive output to ensure global stability in closed-loop. However, the practical applicability of PID-PBC is stymied by two key facts: (i) the vast majority of practical implementations of PIDs is carried-out in discrete time -- discretizing the continuous time dynamical system of the PID; (ii) the well-known problem that passivity is not preserved upon discretization, even with small sampling times. Therefore, two aspects of the PID-PBC must be revisited for its safe practical application. First, we propose a discretization of the PID that ensures its passivity. Second, since the output that is identified as passive for the continuous time system is not necessarily passive for its discrete time version, we construct a new output that ensures the passivity property for the discretization of the system. In this paper, we provide a constructive answer to both issues for the case of power converter models. Instrumental to achieve this objective is the use of the implicit midpoint discretization method -- which is a symplectic integration technique that preserves system invariants. Since the reference value for the output to be regulated in power converters is non-zero, we are henceforth interested in the property of passivity of the incremental model -- currently known as shifted passivity. Therefore, we demonstrate that the resulting discrete-time PID-PBC defines a passive map for the incremental model and establish shifted passivity for the discretized power converter model. Combining these properties, we prove global stability for the feedback interconnection of the power converter with the discretized PID-PBC. The paper also presents simulations and experiments that demonstrate the performance of the proposed discretization.

Authors:Sumit S. Kamat, T. Michael Seigler, Jesse B. Hoagg
Title: Electromagnetic Formation Flying Using Alternating Magnetic Field Forces and Control Barrier Functions for State and Input Constraints
Abstract:
This article presents a feedback control algorithm for electromagnetic formation flying with constraints on the satellites' states and control inputs. The algorithm combines several key techniques. First, we use alternating magnetic field forces to decouple the electromagnetic forces between each pair of satellites in the formation. Each satellite's electromagnetic actuation system is driven by a sum of amplitude-modulated sinusoids, where amplitudes are controlled in order to prescribe the time-averaged force between each pair of satellites. Next, the desired time-averaged force is computed from a optimal control that satisfies state constraints (i.e., no collisions and an upper limit on intersatellite speeds) and input constraints (i.e., not exceeding satellite's apparent power capability). The optimal time-averaged force is computed using a single relaxed control barrier function that is obtained by composing multiple control barrier functions that are designed to enforce each state and input constraint. Finally, we demonstrate the satellite formation control method in numerical simulations.

Authors:Samuel Y. W. Low, Toby Bell, Simone D'Amico
Title: Flight-Ready Precise and Robust Carrier-Phase GNSS Navigation Software for Distributed Space Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents the full requirements analysis, design, development, and testing of high-precision navigation flight software for Distributed Space Systems (DSS) using Carrier Phase Differential GNSS (CDGNSS). Five main contributions are made. First, a survey of flown and upcoming DSS missions with stringent precision requirements is conducted, from which a thorough requirements analysis is distilled to guide development and testing. Second, a real-time navigation functional architecture is designed, and adopts a sparse and regularized Consider Kalman Filter with options for numerical stability in-flight. The filter rigorously accounts for uncertainties in process noise, measurement noise, and biases. It tracks float ambiguities with integer resolution where possible. The covariance correlation structure is preserved under all navigation modes, including contingencies and outages. Third, a lightweight, memoryless Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) module is developed to guard against anomalous measurements, providing statistical screening and ensuring robust navigation. Fourth, the software architecture is proposed for ease of integration, with strategies presented for modularity and computational efficiency tailored to constrained flight systems. Fifth, a comprehensive test campaign is conducted, mapped to a requirements verification matrix, spanning unit, interface, software-in-the-loop, and real-time hardware-in-the-loop tests, emphasizing gradual test fidelity for efficient fault isolation. Finally, flight-like results are demonstrated using the VISORS mission, due to the generalizability of the VISORS navigation operations, and the stringency which demands sub-centimeter relative position and sub-millimeter-per-second velocity accuracy. This architecture aims to serve as a reference for next-generation DSS missions adopting CDGNSS.

Authors:Peng Sang, Santhosh Balasubramanian, Amritanshu Pandey
Title: Analysis of Circuit-based Per-Panel Diode Model of Photovoltaic Array
Abstract:
Solar photovoltaic systems are increasing in size and number on the grid. In regions with high penetration, such as California, PV systems serve multiple functions, including peak shaving and demand response. Therefore, the criticality of PV systems to grid operations calls for accurate models. The current practice is to represent the PV array, composed of multiple PV panels, with an aggregated single-diode model (SDM). The highly abstract model has a limited ability to capture real-world behaviors, such as partial shading and hotspots. Thus, we develop a circuit-based per-panel PV array model that uses a single diode model for each panel and interconnects them to form an array. This approach bridges the tradeoff between cell-level physics and control-dependent system-level behavior. We establish conditions for mathematical equivalence between the proposed per-panel array circuit model and the aggregated single-diode array model. We generate empirical evidence by running simulations using parameters derived from real-world PV panels. Results indicate that the proposed per-panel array model can represent the electrical behavior of the array under non-ideal conditions, such as partial shading, more accurately. With maximum power point tracking control, the proposed model is 21.2% more accurate when estimating the real power output of an array under a partial shading scenario and 8.1% more accurate under a hot spot scenario.

Authors:Junyu Mao, Emyr Williams, Thulasi Mylvaganam, Giordano Scarciotti
Title: One Equation to Rule Them All -- Part II: Direct Data-Driven Reduction and Regulation
Abstract:
The Sylvester equation underpins a wide spectrum of control synthesis and systems analysis tools associated with cascade interconnections. In the preceding Part I [1] of this article, it was shown that such an equation can be reformulated using data, enabling the production of a collection of data-driven stabilisation procedures. In this second part of the article, we continue to develop the framework established in Part I to solve two important control-theoretic problems: model order reduction and output regulation. For the model order reduction problem we provide a solution from input-state measurements, from input-output measurements, and we study the effect of the noise. For the output regulation problem, we provide data-driven solutions for the static and dynamic feedback problem. The proposed designs are illustrated by means of examples.

Authors:Junyu Mao, Emyr Williams, Thulasi Mylvaganam, Giordano Scarciotti
Title: One Equation to Rule Them All -- Part I: Direct Data-Driven Cascade Stabilisation
Abstract:
In this article we present a framework for direct data-driven control for general problems involving interconnections of dynamical systems. We first develop a method to determine the solution of a Sylvester equation from data. Such solution is used to describe a subspace that plays a role in a large variety of problems. We then provide an error analysis of the impact that noise has on this solution. This is a crucial contribution because, thanks to the interconnection approach developed throughout the article, we are able to track how the noise propagates at each stage, and thereby provide bounds on the final designs. Among the many potential problems that can be solved with this framework, we focus on three representatives: cascade stabilisation, model order reduction, and output regulation. This manuscript studies the first problem, while the companion Part II addresses the other two. For each of these settings we show how the problems can be recast in our framework. In the context of cascade stabilisation, we consider the 2-cascade problem, the effect of noise through the cascade, as well as N-cascade case, and we demonstrate that our proposed method is data efficient. The proposed designs are illustrated by means of a numerical example.

Authors:Emmanuel O. Badmus, Peng Sang, Dimitrios Stamoulis, Amritanshu Pandey
Title: PowerChain: Automating Distribution Grid Analysis with Agentic AI Workflows
Abstract:
Due to the rapid pace of electrification and decarbonization, distribution grid (DG) operation and planning are becoming more complex, necessitating advanced computational analyses to ensure grid reliability and resilience. State-of-the-art DG analyses rely on disparate workflows of complex models, functions, and data pipelines, which require expert knowledge and are challenging to automate. Many small-scale utilities and cooperatives lack a large R&D workforce and therefore cannot use advanced analysis at scale. To address this gap, we develop a novel agentic AI system, PowerChain, to solve unseen DG analysis tasks via automated agentic orchestration and large language models (LLMs) function-calling. Given a natural language query, PowerChain dynamically generates and executes an ordered sequence of domain-aware functions guided by the semantics of an expert-built power systems function pool and a select reference set of known, expert-generated workflow-query pairs. Our results show that PowerChain can produce expert-level workflows with both GPT-5 and open-source Qwen models on complex, unseen DG analysis tasks operating on real utility data.

Authors:Xavier Gonzalez, Leo Kozachkov, David M. Zoltowski, Kenneth L. Clarkson, Scott W. Linderman
Title: Predictability Enables Parallelization of Nonlinear State Space Models
Abstract:
The rise of parallel computing hardware has made it increasingly important to understand which nonlinear state space models can be efficiently parallelized. Recent advances like DEER (arXiv:2309.12252) or DeepPCR (arXiv:2309.16318) have shown that evaluating a state space model can be recast as solving a parallelizable optimization problem, and sometimes this approach can yield dramatic speed-ups in evaluation time. However, the factors that govern the difficulty of these optimization problems remain unclear, limiting the larger adoption of the technique. In this work, we establish a precise relationship between the dynamics of a nonlinear system and the conditioning of its corresponding optimization formulation. We show that the predictability of a system, defined as the degree to which small perturbations in state influence future behavior, impacts the number of optimization steps required for evaluation. In predictable systems, the state trajectory can be computed in $O((\log T)^2)$ time, where $T$ is the sequence length, a major improvement over the conventional sequential approach. In contrast, chaotic or unpredictable systems exhibit poor conditioning, with the consequence that parallel evaluation converges too slowly to be useful. Importantly, our theoretical analysis demonstrates that for predictable systems, the optimization problem is always well-conditioned, whereas for unpredictable systems, the conditioning degrades exponentially as a function of the sequence length. We validate our claims through extensive experiments, providing practical guidance on when nonlinear dynamical systems can be efficiently parallelized, and highlighting predictability as a key design principle for parallelizable models.

Authors:Federico Zocco, Wassim M. Haddad, Monica Malvezzi
Title: CarboNet: A Finite-Time Combustion-Tolerant Compartmental Network for Tropospheric Carbon Control
Abstract:
While governments and international organizations have set the net-zero target to prevent a climate event horizon, practical solutions are lacking mainly because of the impracticability to completely replace combustion processes. Hence, in this paper, we first design a compartmental network whose states must remain in the nonnegative orthant for physical consistency and in which the carbon dioxide emissions result from the combustion of diesel in vehicles and gas in house heaters. Then, we designed both full-state and output-feedback linear-quadratic regulators of the compartmental network to bring the mass of carbon dioxide to the pre-industrial era, which is reached in approximately 25 and 60 days, respectively. The output feedback tolerates for 6 days the combustion taking place in 5,000 vehicles and in 10,000 house heating systems, it meets the net-zero target, and it nullifies the extraction of finite natural resources. The tropospheric temperature with closed-loop reaches the equilibrium at 133 °C after 16.4 years; while such an high value requires to further investigate with climate experts the model of the dynamics of the temperature, this work is a first step in designing optimal network control systems for climate stability. Source code is publicly available.

Authors:Christoph Sachs, Martin Neuburger
Title: Konzepte zur Effizienzsteigerung von Traktionsmotoren in batterieelektrischen Fahrzeugen durch den Einsatz neuartiger teillastoptimierbarer Motor- und Invertertopologien
Abstract:
To increase the efficiency of future electric vehicles, it is crucial to reduce drivetrain losses in battery-powered vehicles. This enables either an increase in driving range or overall cost savings by reducing battery capacity while maintaining the same range. Harmonic motor losses account for an avoidable share of more than 30% of the total eDrive losses in standard B6-2L 300 kW iPMSM configurations. These losses result from high-frequency voltage distortion across the motor windings, which can be reduced through various approaches. Of great importance is the classification of cost-neutral and low-cost concepts for loss reduction. The following presents and categorizes approaches to loss reduction that have been developed by research and industry in recent years. In particular, novel part-load-capable motor and inverter concepts are introduced, which enable motor switching or multilevel operation to reduce harmonic losses in the part-load range.

Authors:Yingqi Liu, Tianlu Pan, Jingjun Tan, Renxin Zhong, Can Chen
Title: Integrated Take-off Management and Trajectory Optimization for Merging Control in Urban Air Mobility Corridors
Abstract:
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has the potential to revolutionize daily transportation, offering rapid and efficient aerial mobility services. Take-off and merging phases are critical for air corridor operations, requiring the coordination of take-off aircraft and corridor traffic while ensuring safety and seamless transition. This paper proposes an integrated take-off management and trajectory optimization for merging control in UAM corridors. We first introduce a novel take-off airspace design. To our knowledge, this paper is one of the first to propose a structured design for take-off airspace. Based on the take-off airspace design, we devise a hierarchical coordinated take-off and merging management (HCTMM) strategy. To be specific, the take-off airspace design can simplify aircraft dynamics and thus reduce the dimensionality of the trajectory optimization problem whilst mitigating obstacle avoidance complexities. The HCTMM strategy strictly ensures safety and improves the efficiency of take-off and merging operations. At the tactical level, a scheduling algorithm coordinates aircraft take-off times and selects dynamic merging points to reduce conflicts and ensure smooth take-off and merging processes. At the operational level, a trajectory optimization strategy ensures that each aircraft reaches the dynamic merging point efficiently while satisfying safety constraints. Simulation results show that, compared to representative strategies with fixed or dynamic merging points, the HCTMM strategy significantly improves operational efficiency and reduces computational burden, while ensuring safety under various corridor traffic conditions. Further results confirm the scalability of the HCTMM strategy and the computational efficiency enabled by the proposed take-off airspace design.

Authors:Christoph Sachs, Martin Neuburger
Title: A Data-Based Review of Battery Electric Vehicle and Traction Inverter Trends
Abstract:
Battery electric vehicles (BEVs) have advanced significantly during the past decade, yet drivetrain energy losses continue to restrict practical range and elevate cost. A dataset comprising more than 1000 European-market BEVs (model years 2010-2025) is combined with detailed inverter-motor co-simulation to chart technology progress for and quantify the efficiency and cost-saving potential of partial-load optimised multi-level inverter (MLI) for 2030. Average drive-cycle range has climbed from 135 km to 455 km, while fleet-average energy consumption has remained virtually constant. Three inverter topologies are assessed to evaluate future efficiency and cost enhancements: a conventional two-level (2L) six halfbridge (B6) inverter with silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) devices, and two three-level (3L) T-type neutral point clamped (TNPC) and active neutral point clamped (ANPC) inverters tailored for partial-load operation. The 3L-TNPC inverter, realised with only 30% additional SiC chip area, lowers drive-cycle drivetrain losses by 0.67 kWh/100 km relative to a SiC 2L-B6 baseline. These results identify partial-load optimised MLIs as a cost-effective route to further reduce BEV energy consumption and total system cost.

Authors:Jianan Bai, Anubhab Chowdhury, Anders Hansson, Erik G. Larsson
Title: Repeater Swarm-Assisted Cellular Systems: Interaction Stability and Performance Analysis
Abstract:
We consider a cellular massive MIMO system where swarms of wireless repeaters are deployed to improve coverage. These repeaters are full-duplex relays with small form factors that receive and instantaneously retransmit signals. They can be deployed in a plug-and-play manner at low cost, while being transparent to the network--conceptually they are active channel scatterers with amplification capabilities. Two fundamental questions need to be addressed in repeater deployments: (I) How can we prevent destructive effects of positive feedback caused by inter-repeater interaction (i.e., each repeater receives and amplifies signals from others)? (ii) How much performance improvement can be achieved given that repeaters also inject noise and may introduce more interference? To answer these questions, we first derive a generalized Nyquist stability criterion for the repeater swarm system, and provide an easy-to-check stability condition. Then, we study the uplink performance and develop an efficient iterative algorithm that jointly optimizes the repeater gains, user transmit powers, and receive combining weights to maximize the weighted sum rate while ensuring system stability. Numerical results corroborate our theoretical findings and show that the repeaters can significantly improve the system performance, both in sub-6 GHz and millimeter-wave bands. The results also warrant careful deployment to fully realize the benefits of repeaters, for example, by ensuring a high probability of line-of-sight links between repeaters and the base station.

Authors:Abdulrahman Bukhari, Bullo Mamo, Mst Shamima Hossain, Ziliang Zhang, Mohsen Karimi, Daniel Enright, Patricia Manosalva, Hyoseung Kim
Title: Low-Cost Sensing and Classification for Early Stress and Disease Detection in Avocado Plants
Abstract:
With rising demands for efficient disease and salinity management in agriculture, early detection of plant stressors is crucial, particularly for high-value crops like avocados. This paper presents a comprehensive evaluation of low-cost sensors deployed in the field for early stress and disease detection in avocado plants. Our monitoring system was deployed across 72 plants divided into four treatment categories within a greenhouse environment, with data collected over six months. While leaf temperature and conductivity measurements, widely used metrics for controlled settings, were found unreliable in field conditions due to environmental interference and positioning challenges, leaf spectral measurements produced statistically significant results when combined with our machine learning approach. For soil data analysis, we developed a two-level hierarchical classifier that leverages domain knowledge about treatment characteristics, achieving 75-86\% accuracy across different avocado genotypes and outperforming conventional machine learning approaches by over 20\%. In addition, performance evaluation on an embedded edge device demonstrated the viability of our approach for resource-constrained environments, with reasonable computational efficiency while maintaining high classification accuracy. Our work bridges the gap between theoretical potential and practical application of low-cost sensors in agriculture and offers insights for developing affordable, scalable monitoring systems.

Authors:Samuel G. Gessow, James Tseng, Eden Zafran, Brett T. Lopez
Title: Two-Impulse Trajectory Design in Two-Body Systems With Riemannian Geometry
Abstract:
This work presents a new method for generating impulsive trajectories in restricted two-body systems by leveraging Riemannian geometry. The proposed method transforms the standard trajectory optimization problem into a purely geometric one that involves computing a set of geodesics for a suitable Riemannian metric. This transformation is achieved by defining a metric, specifically the Jacobi metric, that embeds the dynamics directly into the metric, so any geodesic of the metric is also a dynamically feasible trajectory. The method finds the fuel-optimal transfer trajectory by sampling candidate energy ($ΔV$) changes for different points on the current and desired orbit, and efficiently computing and evaluating each candidate geodesic, which are equivalent to candidate orbit transfer trajectories via the Jacobi metric. The method bypasses the known issues of optimization-based methods, e.g., sensitivity to the initial guess, and can be applied to more complex two-body systems. The approach is demonstrated on the minimum-$ΔV$ two-impulse phase-free orbit transfer problem, first on a Keplerian system and second on a system with a modeled $J_2$ perturbation. The proposed method is shown to meet or exceed the state-of-the-art methods in the minimum-$ΔV$ problem in the Keplerian system. The generality and versatility of the approach is demonstrated by seamlessly including the $J_2$ perturbation, a case that many existing methods cannot handle. Numerical simulations and performance comparisons showcase the effectiveness of the approach.

Authors:Oumaima Barhoumi, Ghazal Farhani, Taufiq Rahman, Mohamed H. Zaki, Sofiène Tahar, Fadi Araji
Title: Fuel Consumption in Platoons: A Literature Review
Abstract:
Platooning has emerged as a promising strategy for improving fuel efficiency in automated vehicle systems, with significant implications for reducing emissions and operational costs. While existing literature on vehicle platooning primarily focuses on individual aspects such as aerodynamic drag reduction or specific control strategies, this work takes a more comprehensive approach by bringing together a wide range of factors and components that contribute to fuel savings in platoons. In this literature review, we examine the impact of platooning on fuel consumption, highlighting the key components of platoon systems, the factors and actors influencing fuel savings, methods for estimating fuel use, and the effect of platoon instability on efficiency. Furthermore, we study the role of reduced aerodynamic drag, vehicle coordination, and the challenges posed by instability in real-world conditions. By compiling insights from recent studies, this work provides a comprehensive overview of the latest advancements in platooning technologies and highlights both the challenges and opportunities for future research to maximize fuel savings in real-world scenarios.

Authors:Alessandro Adami, Aris Synodinos, Matteo Iovino, Ruggero Carli, Pietro Falco
Title: Learning Task Execution Hierarchies for Redundant Robots
Abstract:
Modern robotic systems, such as mobile manipulators, humanoids, and aerial robots with arms, often possess high redundancy, enabling them to perform multiple tasks simultaneously. Managing this redundancy is key to achieving reliable and flexible behavior. A widely used approach is the Stack of Tasks (SoT), which organizes control objectives by priority within a unified framework. However, traditional SoTs are manually designed by experts, limiting their adaptability and accessibility. This paper introduces a novel framework that automatically learns both the hierarchy and parameters of a SoT from user-defined objectives. By combining Reinforcement Learning and Genetic Programming, the system discovers task priorities and control strategies without manual intervention. A cost function based on intuitive metrics such as precision, safety, and execution time guides the learning process. We validate our method through simulations and experiments on the mobile-YuMi platform, a dual-arm mobile manipulator with high redundancy. Results show that the learned SoTs enable the robot to dynamically adapt to changing environments and inputs, balancing competing objectives while maintaining robust task execution. This approach provides a general and user-friendly solution for redundancy management in complex robots, advancing human-centered robot programming and reducing the need for expert design.

Authors:Qi Liu, Xiaopeng Zhang, Mingshan Tan, Shuaikang Ma, Jinliang Ding, Yanjie Li
Title: MASH: Cooperative-Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Single Humanoid Robot Locomotion
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel method to enhance locomotion for a single humanoid robot through cooperative-heterogeneous multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MARL). While most existing methods typically employ single-agent reinforcement learning algorithms for a single humanoid robot or MARL algorithms for multi-robot system tasks, we propose a distinct paradigm: applying cooperative-heterogeneous MARL to optimize locomotion for a single humanoid robot. The proposed method, multi-agent reinforcement learning for single humanoid locomotion (MASH), treats each limb (legs and arms) as an independent agent that explores the robot's action space while sharing a global critic for cooperative learning. Experiments demonstrate that MASH accelerates training convergence and improves whole-body cooperation ability, outperforming conventional single-agent reinforcement learning methods. This work advances the integration of MARL into single-humanoid-robot control, offering new insights into efficient locomotion strategies.

Authors:Peng Wang, Luis Badesa
Title: Imperfect Competition in Markets for Short-Circuit Current Services
Abstract:
An important limitation of Inverter-Based Resources (IBR) is their reduced contribution to Short-Circuit Current (SCC), as compared to that of Synchronous Generators (SGs). With increasing penetration of IBR in most power systems, the reducing SCC poses challenges to a secure system operation, as line protections may not trip when required. In order to address this issue, the SCC ancillary service could be procured via an economic mechanism, aiming at securing adequate SCC on all buses. However, the suitability of markets for SCC services is not well understood, given that these could be prone to market-power issues: since the SCC contributions from various SGs to a certain bus are determined by the electrical topology of the grid, this is a highly local service. It is necessary to understand if SGs at advantageous electrical locations could exert market power and, if so, how it could be mitigated. In order to fill this gap, this paper adopts an SCC-constrained bilevel model to investigate strategic behaviors of SGs. To address the non-convexity due to unit commitment variables, the model is restructured through a primal-dual formulation. Based on a modified IEEE 30-bus system, cases with strategic SGs placed at different buses are analyzed. These studies demonstrate that agents exerting market power could achieve up to triple revenues from SCC provision, highlighting the need to carefully design these markets.

Authors:Rohith Reddy Vennam, Luke Wilson, Ish Kumar Jain, Dinesh Bharadia
Title: Satellites are closer than you think: A near field MIMO approach for Ground stations
Abstract:
The rapid growth of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations has revolutionized broadband access, earth observation, and direct-to-device connectivity. However, the expansion of ground station infrastructure has not kept pace, creating a critical bottleneck in satellite-to-ground backhaul capacity. Traditional parabolic dish antennas, though effective for geostationary (GEO) satellites, are ill-suited for dense, fastmoving LEO networks due to mechanical steering delays and their inability to track multiple satellites simultaneously. Phased array antennas offer electronically steerable beams and multisatellite support, but their integration into ground stations is limited by the high cost, hardware issues, and complexity of achieving sufficient antenna gain. We introduce ArrayLink, a distributed phased array architecture that coherently combines multiple small commercially available panels to achieve high-gain beamforming and unlock line-of-sight MIMO spatial multiplexing with minimal additional capital expenditure. By spacing 16 (32x32) panels across a kilometer-scale aperture, ArrayLink enters the radiative near-field, focusing energy in both angle and range while supporting up to four simultaneous spatial streams on a single feeder link. Through rigorous theoretical analysis, detailed 2D beam pattern simulations and real-world hardware experiments, we show that ArrayLink (i) achieves dish-class gain with in range 1-2 dB of 1.47 m reflector, (ii) maintains four parallel streams at ranges of hundreds of kilometers (falling to two beyond 2000 km), and (iii) exhibits tight agreement across theory, simulation, and experiment with minimal variance. These findings open a practical and scalable path to boosting LEO backhaul capacity.

Authors:Ninad Gaikwad, Kasey Dettlaff, Athul Jose P, Anamika Dubey
Title: An Open-Source Simulation and Data Management Tool for EnergyPlus Building Models
Abstract:
We present a new open-source, GUI-based application created using Plotly-Dash, along with an integrated PostgreSQL-based relational database, developed to streamline EnergyPlus building model simulation workflows. The application facilitates data generation, aggregation (across thermal zones), and visualization based on customizable user preferences, while the database efficiently stores and retrieves complex simulation data generated by EnergyPlus. We demonstrate the need for this application and database, emphasizing how existing approaches for generating, managing, and analyzing EnergyPlus simulation data can be cumbersome, particularly when handling a large number of building models with varying simulation setups. This integrated framework enables building energy engineers and researchers to simplify their EnergyPlus simulations, manage generated simulation data, perform data analyses, and support data-driven modeling tasks.

Authors:Ninad Gaikwad, Kunal Shankar, Anamika Dubey, Alan Love, Olvar Bergland
Title: Comparing Building Thermal Dynamics Models and Estimation Methods for Grid-Edge Applications
Abstract:
We need computationally efficient and accurate building thermal dynamics models for use in grid-edge applications. This work evaluates two grey-box approaches for modeling building thermal dynamics: RC-network models and structured regression models. For RC-network models, we compare parameter estimation methods including Nonlinear Least Squares, Batch Estimation, and Maximum Likelihood Estimation. We use the Almon Lag Structure with Linear Least Squares for estimating the structured regression models. The performance of these models and methods is evaluated on simulated house and commercial building data across three different simulation types.

Authors:Ninad Gaikwad, Anamika Dubey
Title: Smart Residential Community Simulator for Developing and Benchmarking Energy Management Systems
Abstract:
Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS) are being actively developed for both individual houses and communities to support demand response in on-grid operation, and ensure resilience during off-grid scenarios. However, most simulators used for closed-loop HEMS testing are tailored to a specific distributed energy resource (DER) configuration with a fixed number of houses, limiting flexibility and scalability. This leads to additional development efforts to support diverse DER configurations across any number of houses and to integrate appropriate weather and load data pipelines. To address these limitations, we present a scalable simulator capable of modeling any number of houses in both on-grid and off-grid modes as a Gymnasium environment. Each house can have a unique DER configuration - Rooftop Solar Photovoltaics (PV), Battery-only, PV-only, or no DER - and includes models for air-conditioning and eight grouped circuit-level loads. The simulator integrates National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) weather and Pecan Street load datasets, supports three default controllers (two for off-grid, and one for on-grid scenarios), and includes performance metrics and visualization tools. We demonstrate its flexibility through simulations on individual houses and a four-house community with heterogeneous DERs, benchmarking the controllers across built-in metrics and computation time. The results highlight the simulator's capability to systematically evaluate control policy performance under varying system configurations.

Authors:Mohamed Parvez Aslam, Bojan Derajic, Mohamed-Khalil Bouzidi, Sebastian Bernhard, Jan Oliver Ringert
Title: Model Predictive Control for Crowd Navigation via Learning-Based Trajectory Prediction
Abstract:
Safe navigation in pedestrian-rich environments remains a key challenge for autonomous robots. This work evaluates the integration of a deep learning-based Social-Implicit (SI) pedestrian trajectory predictor within a Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework on the physical Continental Corriere robot. Tested across varied pedestrian densities, the SI-MPC system is compared to a traditional Constant Velocity (CV) model in both open-loop prediction and closed-loop navigation. Results show that SI improves trajectory prediction - reducing errors by up to 76% in low-density settings - and enhances safety and motion smoothness in crowded scenes. Moreover, real-world deployment reveals discrepancies between open-loop metrics and closed-loop performance, as the SI model yields broader, more cautious predictions. These findings emphasize the importance of system-level evaluation and highlight the SI-MPC framework's promise for safer, more adaptive navigation in dynamic, human-populated environments.

Authors:Antar Kumar Biswas, Masoud H. Nazari
Title: Secure and Decentralized Peer-to-Peer Energy Transactions using Blockchain Technology
Abstract:
This paper presents an optimal peer-to-peer (P2P) energy transaction mechanism leveraging decentralized blockchain technology to enable a secure and scalable retail electricity market for the increasing penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs). A decentralized bidding strategy is proposed to maximize individual profits while collectively enhancing social welfare. The market design and transaction processes are simulated using the Ethereum testnet, demonstrating the blockchain network's capability to ensure secure, transparent, and sustainable P2P energy trading among DER participants.

Authors:Tzu-Chien Hsueh, Bill Lin, Zijun Chen, Yeshaiahu Fainman
Title: Panel-Scale Reconfigurable Photonic Interconnects for Scalable AI Computation
Abstract:
Panel-scale reconfigurable photonic interconnects on a glass substrate up to 500-mm x 500-mm or larger are envisioned by proposing a novel photonic switch fabric that enables all directional panel-edge-to-panel-edge reach without the need for active repeaters while offering high communication bandwidth, planar-direction reconfigurability, low energy consumption, and compelling data bandwidth density for heterogeneous integration of an in-package AI computing system on a single glass-substrate photonic interposer exceeding thousands of centimeters square. The proposed approach focuses on reconfigurable photonic interconnects, which are integration-compatible with commercial processor chiplets and 3D high-bandwidth memory (HBM) stacks on a large-area glass substrate, to create a novel panel-scale heterogeneously integrated interposer or package enabling low-energy and high-capacity wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) optical data links using advanced high-speed optical modulators, broadband photodetectors, novel optical crossbar switches with multi-layer waveguides, and in-package frequency comb sources.

Authors:Mohammed Tuhin Rana, Mishfad Shaikh Veedu, Murti V. Salapaka
Title: Uncovering the Influence Flow Model of Transistor Amplifiers, Its Reconstruction and Application
Abstract:
Multistage transistor amplifiers can be effectively modeled as network of dynamic systems where individual amplifier stages interact through couplings that are dynamic in nature. Using circuit analysis techniques, we show that a large class of transistor amplifiers can be modeled as Linear Dynamic Influence Model (LDIM), where the interactions between different amplifier stages are modeled as linear dynamic equations. LDIM modeling of transistor circuits leads to application of data-driven network reconstruction techniques to characterize stage interactions and identify faults and critical circuit parameters efficiently. Employing graphical modeling techniques and Wiener filtering, we demonstrate that the network structure can be reconstructed solely from voltage time-series measurements sampled at specified points in the circuit. The efficacy of these network reconstruction methods in multistage amplifiers is demonstrated through extensive simulations involving multiple amplifier circuits in Cadence, as well as experimental results on physical hardware. The ability to infer network structure directly from measurement data offers designers and users efficient tools to design, analyze, and debug amplifier circuits. To demonstrate the utility of network reconstruction in multistage amplifier circuits, a fault diagnosis method leveraging these techniques is presented.

Authors:Wafeeq Jaleel, Md Ragib Rownak, Athar Hanif, Sidra Ghayour Bhatti, Qadeer Ahmed
Title: Sequence Aware SAC Control for Engine Fuel Consumption Optimization in Electrified Powertrain
Abstract:
As hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) gain traction in heavy-duty trucks, adaptive and efficient energy management is critical for reducing fuel consumption while maintaining battery charge for long operation times. We present a new reinforcement learning (RL) framework based on the Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) algorithm to optimize engine control in series HEVs. We reformulate the control task as a sequential decision-making problem and enhance SAC by incorporating Gated Recurrent Units (GRUs) and Decision Transformers (DTs) into both actor and critic networks to capture temporal dependencies and improve planning over time. To evaluate robustness and generalization, we train the models under diverse initial battery states, drive cycle durations, power demands, and input sequence lengths. Experiments show that the SAC agent with a DT-based actor and GRU-based critic was within 1.8% of Dynamic Programming (DP) in fuel savings on the Highway Fuel Economy Test (HFET) cycle, while the SAC agent with GRUs in both actor and critic networks, and FFN actor-critic agent were within 3.16% and 3.43%, respectively. On unseen drive cycles (US06 and Heavy Heavy-Duty Diesel Truck (HHDDT) cruise segment), generalized sequence-aware agents consistently outperformed feedforward network (FFN)-based agents, highlighting their adaptability and robustness in real-world settings.

Authors:Vishnu Murali, Mohammed Adib Oumer, Majid Zamani
Title: Control Closure Certificates
Abstract:
This paper introduces the notion of control closure certificates to synthesize controllers for discrete-time control systems against $ω$-regular specifications. Typical functional approaches to synthesize controllers against $ω$-regular specifications rely on combining inductive invariants (for example, via barrier certificates) with proofs of well-foundedness (for example, via ranking functions). Transition invariants, provide an alternative where instead of standard well-foundedness arguments one may instead search for disjunctive well-foundedness arguments that together ensure a well-foundedness argument. Closure certificates, functional analogs of transition invariants, provide an effective, automated approach to verify discrete-time dynamical systems against linear temporal logic and $ω$-regular specifications. We build on this notion to synthesize controllers to ensure the satisfaction of $ω$-regular specifications. To do so, we first illustrate how one may construct control closure certificates to visit a region infinitely often (or only finitely often) via disjunctive well-founded arguments. We then combine these arguments to provide an argument for parity specifications. Thus, finding an appropriate control closure certificate over the product of the system and a parity automaton specifying a desired $ω$-regular specification ensures that there exists a controller $κ$ to enforce the $ω$-regular specification. We propose a sum-of-squares optimization approach to synthesize such certificates and demonstrate their efficacy in designing controllers over some case studies.

Authors:Hend Abououf, Sidra Ghayour Bhatti, Qadeer Ahmed
Title: Improving Q-Learning for Real-World Control: A Case Study in Series Hybrid Agricultural Tractors
Abstract:
The variable and unpredictable load demands in hybrid agricultural tractors make it difficult to design optimal rule-based energy management strategies, motivating the use of adaptive, learning-based control. However, existing approaches often rely on basic fuel-based rewards and do not leverage expert demonstrations to accelerate training. In this paper, first, the performance of Q-value-based reinforcement learning algorithms is evaluated for powertrain control in a hybrid agricultural tractor. Three algorithms, Double Q-Learning (DQL), Deep Q-Networks (DQN), and Double DQN (DDQN), are compared in terms of convergence speed and policy optimality. Second, a piecewise domain-specific reward-shaping strategy is introduced to improve learning efficiency and steer agent behavior toward engine fuel-efficient operating regions. Third, the design of the experience replay buffer is examined, with a focus on the effects of seeding the buffer with expert demonstrations and analyzing how different types of expert policies influence convergence dynamics and final performance. Experimental results demonstrate that (1) DDQN achieves 70\% faster convergence than DQN in this application domain, (2) the proposed reward shaping method effectively biases the learned policy toward fuel-efficient outcomes, and (3) initializing the replay buffer with structured expert data leads to a 33\% improvement in convergence speed.

Authors:Bojan Derajić, Mohamed-Khalil Bouzidi, Sebastian Bernhard, Wolfgang Hönig
Title: Residual Neural Terminal Constraint for MPC-based Collision Avoidance in Dynamic Environments
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a hybrid MPC local planner that uses a learning-based approximation of a time-varying safe set, derived from local observations and applied as the MPC terminal constraint. This set can be represented as a zero-superlevel set of the value function computed via Hamilton-Jacobi (HJ) reachability analysis, which is infeasible in real-time. We exploit the property that the HJ value function can be expressed as a difference of the corresponding signed distance function (SDF) and a non-negative residual function. The residual component is modeled as a neural network with non-negative output and subtracted from the computed SDF, resulting in a real-time value function estimate that is at least as safe as the SDF by design. Additionally, we parametrize the neural residual by a hypernetwork to improve real-time performance and generalization properties. The proposed method is compared with three state-of-the-art methods in simulations and hardware experiments, achieving up to 30\% higher success rates compared to the best baseline while requiring a similar computational effort and producing high-quality (low travel-time) solutions.

Authors:Satyapreet Singh Yadav, Akash K S, Chandra Sekhar Seelamantula, Chetan Singh Thakur
Title: Live Demonstration: Neuromorphic Radar for Gesture Recognition
Abstract:
We present a neuromorphic radar framework for real-time, low-power hand gesture recognition (HGR) using an event-driven architecture inspired by biological sensing. Our system comprises a 24 GHz Doppler radar front-end and a custom neuromorphic sampler that converts intermediate-frequency (IF) signals into sparse spike-based representations via asynchronous sigma-delta encoding. These events are directly processed by a lightweight neural network deployed on a Cortex-M0 microcontroller, enabling low-latency inference without requiring spectrogram reconstruction. Unlike conventional radar HGR pipelines that continuously sample and process data, our architecture activates only when meaningful motion is detected, significantly reducing memory, power, and computation overhead. Evaluated on a dataset of five gestures collected from seven users, our system achieves > 85% real-time accuracy. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work that employs bio-inspired asynchronous sigma-delta encoding and an event-driven processing framework for radar-based HGR.

Authors:Xinyuan Jiang, Yan Li
Title: On the Equivalence of Koopman Eigenfunctions and Commuting Symmetries
Abstract:
The Koopman operator framework offers a way to represent a nonlinear system as a linear one. The key to this simplification lies in the identification of eigenfunctions. While various data-driven algorithms have been developed for this problem, a theoretical characterization of Koopman eigenfunctions from geometric properties of the flow is still missing. This paper provides such a characterization by establishing an equivalence between a set of Koopman eigenfunctions and a set of commuting symmetries -- both assumed to span the tangent spaces at every point on a simply connected open set. Based on this equivalence, we derive an explicit formula for the principal Koopman eigenfunctions and prove its uniform convergence on the region of attraction of a locally asymptotically stable equilibrium point, thereby offering a constructive method for computing Koopman eigenfunctions.

Authors:Xiaojun Wang, Shaolong Shu, Feng Lin
Title: Supervisory Control of Discrete Event Systems for Small Language Under Cyber Attacks
Abstract:
Cyber attacks are unavoidable in networked discrete event systems where the plant and the supervisor communicate with each other via networks. Because of the nondeterminism in observation and control caused by cyber attacks, the language generated by the supervised system becomes nondeterministic. The small language is defined as the lower bound on all possible languages that can be generated by the supervised system, which is needed for a supervised system to perform some required tasks under cyber attacks. In this paper, we investigate supervisory control for the small language. After introducing CA-S-controllability and CA-S-observability, we prove that the supervisory control problem of achieving a required small language is solvable if and only if the given language is CA-Scontrollable and CA-S-observable. If the given language is not CA-S controllable and/or CA-S-observable, we derive conditions under which the infimal CA-S-controllable and CA-S-observable superlanguage exists and can be used to design a supervisor satisfying the given requirement.

Authors:Xinyang Wang, Wei Xiao, Hongwei Zhang
Title: A class of unified disturbance rejection control barrier functions
Abstract:
Most existing robust control barrier functions (CBFs) can only handle matched disturbances, restricting their applications in real-world scenarios. While some recent advances extend robust CBFs to unmatched disturbances, they heavily rely on differentiability property of disturbances, and fail to accommodate non-differentiable case for high-relative-degree safety constraints. To address these limitations, this paper proposes a class of disturbance rejection CBFs (DRCBFs), including DRCBFs and adaptive DRCBFs (aDRCBFs). This class of DRCBFs can strictly guarantee safety under general bounded disturbances, which includes both matched or unmatched, differentiable or non-differentiable disturbances as special cases. Morevoer, no information of disturbance bound is needed in aDRCBFs. Simulation results illustrate that this class of DRCBFs outperform existing robust CBFs.

Authors:Tauhid Zaman, Yen-Shao Chen
Title: Social Media Information Operations
Abstract:
The battlefield of information warfare has moved to online social networks, where influence campaigns operate at unprecedented speed and scale. As with any strategic domain, success requires understanding the terrain, modeling adversaries, and executing interventions. This tutorial introduces a formal optimization framework for social media information operations (IO), where the objective is to shape opinions through targeted actions. This framework is parameterized by quantities such as network structure, user opinions, and activity levels - all of which must be estimated or inferred from data. We discuss analytic tools that support this process, including centrality measures for identifying influential users, clustering algorithms for detecting community structure, and sentiment analysis for gauging public opinion. These tools either feed directly into the optimization pipeline or help defense analysts interpret the information environment. With the landscape mapped, we highlight threats such as coordinated bot networks, extremist recruitment, and viral misinformation. Countermeasures range from content-level interventions to mathematically optimized influence strategies. Finally, the emergence of generative AI transforms both offense and defense, democratizing persuasive capabilities while enabling scalable defenses. This shift calls for algorithmic innovation, policy reform, and ethical vigilance to protect the integrity of our digital public sphere.

Authors:Florian Felten, Gabriel Apaza, Gerhard Bräunlich, Cashen Diniz, Xuliang Dong, Arthur Drake, Milad Habibi, Nathaniel J. Hoffman, Matthew Keeler, Soheyl Massoudi, Francis G. VanGessel, Mark Fuge
Title: EngiBench: A Framework for Data-Driven Engineering Design Research
Abstract:
Engineering design optimization seeks to automatically determine the shapes, topologies, or parameters of components that maximize performance under given conditions. This process often depends on physics-based simulations, which are difficult to install, computationally expensive, and require domain-specific expertise. To mitigate these challenges, we introduce EngiBench, the first open-source library and datasets spanning diverse domains for data-driven engineering design. EngiBench provides a unified API and a curated set of benchmarks -- covering aeronautics, heat conduction, photonics, and more -- that enable fair, reproducible comparisons of optimization and machine learning algorithms, such as generative or surrogate models. We also release EngiOpt, a companion library offering a collection of such algorithms compatible with the EngiBench interface. Both libraries are modular, letting users plug in novel algorithms or problems, automate end-to-end experiment workflows, and leverage built-in utilities for visualization, dataset generation, feasibility checks, and performance analysis. We demonstrate their versatility through experiments comparing state-of-the-art techniques across multiple engineering design problems, an undertaking that was previously prohibitively time-consuming to perform. Finally, we show that these problems pose significant challenges for standard machine learning methods due to highly sensitive and constrained design manifolds.

Authors:Michał Forystek, Andrew D. Syrmakesis, Alkistis Kontou, Panos Kotsampopoulos, Nikos D. Hatziargyriou, Charalambos Konstantinou
Title: Cyber-Physical Co-Simulation of Load Frequency Control under Load-Altering Attacks
Abstract:
Integrating Information and Communications Technology (ICT) devices into the power grid brings many benefits. However, it also exposes the grid to new potential cyber threats. Many control and protection mechanisms, such as Load Frequency Control (LFC), responsible for maintaining nominal frequency during load fluctuations and Under Frequency Load Shedding (UFLS) disconnecting portion of the load during an emergency, are dependent on information exchange through the communication network. The recently emerging Load Altering Attacks (LAAs) utilize a botnet of high-wattage devices to introduce load fluctuation. In their dynamic form (DLAAs), they manipulate the load in response to live grid frequency measurements for increased efficiency, posing a notable threat to grid stability. Recognizing the importance of communication networks in power grid cyber security research, this paper presents an open-source co-simulation environment that models the power grid with the corresponding communication network, implementing grid protective mechanisms. This setup allows the comprehensive analysis of the attacks in concrete LFC and UFLS scenarios.

Authors:Babak Esmaeili, Hamidreza Modares, Stefano Di Cairano
Title: Data-Driven Motion Planning for Uncertain Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
This paper proposes a data-driven motion-planning framework for nonlinear systems that constructs a sequence of overlapping invariant polytopes. Around each randomly sampled waypoint, the algorithm identifies a convex admissible region and solves data-driven linear-matrix-inequality problems to learn several ellipsoidal invariant sets together with their local state-feedback gains. The convex hull of these ellipsoids, still invariant under a piece-wise-affine controller obtained by interpolating the gains, is then approximated by a polytope. Safe transitions between nodes are ensured by verifying the intersection of consecutive convex-hull polytopes and introducing an intermediate node for a smooth transition. Control gains are interpolated in real time via simplex-based interpolation, keeping the state inside the invariant polytopes throughout the motion. Unlike traditional approaches that rely on system dynamics models, our method requires only data to compute safe regions and design state-feedback controllers. The approach is validated through simulations, demonstrating the effectiveness of the proposed method in achieving safe, dynamically feasible paths for complex nonlinear systems.

Authors:Ernest Bonnah, Luan Viet Nguyen, Khaza Anuarul Hoque
Title: Hyperproperty-Constrained Secure Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Hyperproperties for Time Window Temporal Logic (HyperTWTL) is a domain-specific formal specification language known for its effectiveness in compactly representing security, opacity, and concurrency properties for robotics applications. This paper focuses on HyperTWTL-constrained secure reinforcement learning (SecRL). Although temporal logic-constrained safe reinforcement learning (SRL) is an evolving research problem with several existing literature, there is a significant research gap in exploring security-aware reinforcement learning (RL) using hyperproperties. Given the dynamics of an agent as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) and opacity/security constraints formalized as HyperTWTL, we propose an approach for learning security-aware optimal policies using dynamic Boltzmann softmax RL while satisfying the HyperTWTL constraints. The effectiveness and scalability of our proposed approach are demonstrated using a pick-up and delivery robotic mission case study. We also compare our results with two other baseline RL algorithms, showing that our proposed method outperforms them.

Authors:Menghan Li, Yulin Shao, Runxin Zhang, Lu Lu
Title: From Link Diversity to Cross-Band Feedback Collaboration: A New Perspective on Hybrid Optical-RF Systems
Abstract:
We suggest a re-examination of the conventional view that hybrid optical-radio frequency (O-RF) systems are primarily diversity-driven networks that switch between RF and optical links for robustness. Instead, we uncover a new architectural opportunity: repurposing the optical downlink to enable real-time feedback channel coding over the RF uplink, where structured decoder feedback is delivered from the access point to guide the transmitter's coding strategy. This insight marks a conceptual paradigm shift from passive link diversity to active cross-band collaboration, where the wideband, interference-free optical wireless communication (OWC) is no longer merely a downlink backup but a functional enabler of uplink reliability. To realize this vision, we propose a novel architecture, O-RF with Cross-Band Feedback (O-RF-CBF), that exploits the optical downlink feedback to facilitate adaptive RF uplink coding. Numerical results reveal that O-RF-CBF achieves significant uplink throughput gains over traditional O-RF systems. Our findings highlight that inter-band synergy, not redundancy, is the key to unlocking the full potential of hybrid wireless networks.

Authors:Bálint Hartmann, Michelle T. Cirunay
Title: Empirical cross-system meta-analysis of long-term transmission grid evolution
Abstract:
The potential of grid-side flexibility, the latent ability to reconfigure transmission network topology remains under-used partly because of the lack of empirical studies on how real-world grids evolve.

Authors:Sourav Sinha, Mazen Farhood
Title: Robust Control Design and Analysis for Nonlinear Systems with Uncertain Initial Conditions Based on Lifting Linearization
Abstract:
This paper presents a robust control synthesis and analysis framework for nonlinear systems with uncertain initial conditions. First, a deep learning-based lifting approach is proposed to approximate nonlinear dynamical systems with linear parameter-varying (LPV) state-space models in higher-dimensional spaces while simultaneously characterizing the uncertain initial states within the lifted state space. Then, convex synthesis conditions are provided to generate full-state feedback nonstationary LPV (NSLPV) controllers for the lifted LPV system. A performance measure similar to the l2-induced norm is used to provide robust performance guarantees in the presence of exogenous disturbances and uncertain initial conditions. The paper also includes results for synthesizing full-state feedback LTI controllers and output feedback NSLPV controllers. Additionally, a robustness analysis approach based on integral quadratic constraint (IQC) theory is developed to analyze and tune the synthesized controllers while accounting for noise associated with state measurements. This analysis approach characterizes model parameters and disturbance inputs using IQCs to reduce conservatism. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed framework is demonstrated through two illustrative examples.

Authors:Themistoklis Charalambous, Zheng Chen, Christoforos N. Hadjicostis
Title: Distributed Average Consensus in Wireless Multi-Agent Systems with Over-the-Air Aggregation
Abstract:
In this paper, we address the average consensus problem of multi-agent systems over wireless networks. We propose a distributed average consensus algorithm by invoking the concept of over-the-air aggregation, which exploits the signal superposition property of wireless multiple-access channels. The proposed algorithm deploys a modified version of the well-known Ratio Consensus algorithm with an additional normalization step for compensating for the arbitrary channel coefficients. We show that, when the noise level at the receivers is negligible, the algorithm converges asymptotically to the average for time-invariant and time-varying channels. Numerical simulations corroborate the validity of our results.

Authors:Yu Zheng, Olugbenga Moses Anubi, Warren E. Dixon
Title: Resilient State Recovery using Prior Measurement Support Information
Abstract:
Resilient state recovery of cyber-physical systems has attracted much research attention due to the unique challenges posed by the tight coupling between communication, computation, and the underlying physics of such systems. By modeling attacks as additive adversary signals to a sparse subset of measurements, this resilient recovery problem can be formulated as an error correction problem. To achieve exact state recovery, most existing results require less than $50\%$ of the measurement nodes to be compromised, which limits the resiliency of the estimators. In this paper, we show that observer resiliency can be further improved by incorporating data-driven prior information. We provide an analytical bridge between the precision of prior information and the resiliency of the estimator. By quantifying the relationship between the estimation error of the weighted $\ell_1$ observer and the precision of the support prior. This quantified relationship provides guidance for the estimator's weight design to achieve optimal resiliency. Several numerical simulations and an application case study are presented to validate the theoretical claims.

Authors:Jiaqian Yang, Eric Sillekens, Ronit Sohanpal, Mingming Tan, Dini Pratiwi, Henrique Buglia, Romulo Aparecido, John D. Downie, Sergejs Makovejs, Lidia Galdino, Wladek Forysiak, Polina Bayvel, Robert I. Killey
Title: On the Feasibility of SCL-Band Transmission over G.654.E-Compliant Long-Haul Fibre Links
Abstract:
We demonstrate the first SCL-band long-haul transmission using G.654.E-compliant fibre, achieving 100.8 Tb/s (GMI) over 1552 km, despite its 1520 nm cutoff wavelength. Due to the fibre's ultra-low loss and low nonlinearity, the achievable-information-rate with lumped amplification is comparable to that of G.652.D-compliant fibre links with distributed-Raman-amplification.

Authors:Saeed Rahmani, Simeon C. Calvert, Bart van Arem
Title: Decentralized Modeling of Vehicular Maneuvers and Interactions at Urban Junctions
Abstract:
Modeling and evaluation of automated vehicles (AVs) in mixed-autonomy traffic is essential prior to their safe and efficient deployment. This is especially important at urban junctions where complex multi-agent interactions occur. Current approaches for modeling vehicular maneuvers and interactions at urban junctions have limitations in formulating non-cooperative interactions and vehicle dynamics within a unified mathematical framework. Previous studies either assume predefined paths or rely on cooperation and central controllability, limiting their realism and applicability in mixed-autonomy traffic. This paper addresses these limitations by proposing a modeling framework for trajectory planning and decentralized vehicular control at urban junctions. The framework employs a bi-level structure where the upper level generates kinematically feasible reference trajectories using an efficient graph search algorithm with a custom heuristic function, while the lower level employs a predictive controller for trajectory tracking and optimization. Unlike existing approaches, our framework does not require central controllability or knowledge sharing among vehicles. The vehicle kinematics are explicitly incorporated at both levels, and acceleration and steering angle are used as control variables. This intuitive formulation facilitates analysis of traffic efficiency, environmental impacts, and motion comfort. The framework's decentralized structure accommodates operational and stochastic elements, such as vehicles' detection range, perception uncertainties, and reaction delay, making the model suitable for safety analysis. Numerical and simulation experiments across diverse scenarios demonstrate the framework's capability in modeling accurate and realistic vehicular maneuvers and interactions at various urban junctions, including unsignalized intersections and roundabouts.

Authors:Hardy Pinto, Tiago Roux Oliveira, Liu Hsu
Title: Sliding Mode Control for Uncertain Systems with Time-Varying Delays via Predictor Feedback and Super-Twisting Observer
Abstract:
This paper introduces a novel stabilization control strategy for linear time-invariant systems affected by known time-varying measurement delays and matched unknown nonlinear disturbances, which may encompass actuator faults. It is considered that part of the state vector is not available for real-time measurement. To address this, the proposed approach combines an open-loop predictor with a state observer designed using the Super-Twisting Algorithm, aiming to compensate for the delays and estimate the unmeasured state components. Specifically, the nonlinear observer-based framework enables the reconstruction of unmodeled fault signals without assuming that they originate from a known exogenous system, offering robustness against parametric uncertainties. Meanwhile, the predictor forwards the delayed output in time. Subsequently, a sliding mode control law is formulated to enforce an ideal sliding mode and ensure global stabilization, even under a broader class of perturbations, unmodeled disturbances, parametric uncertainties, and delays, owing to the integration of the Super-Twisting observer. Numerical simulations illustrate the efficiency of the proposed approach.

Authors:Mauro Di Marco, Mauro Forti, Luca Pancioni, Giacomo Innocenti, Alberto Tesi
Title: Convergent Weight and Activation Dynamics in Memristor Neural Networks
Abstract:
Convergence of dynamic feedback neural networks (NNs), as the Cohen-Grossberg, Hopfield and cellular NNs, has been for a long time a workhorse of NN theory. Indeed, convergence in the presence of multiple stable equilibrium points (EPs) is crucial to implement content addressable memories and solve several other signal processing tasks in real time. There are two typical ways to use a convergent NN, i.e.: a) let the activations evolve while maintaining fixed weights and inputs (activation dynamics) or b) adapt the weights while maintaining fixed activations (weight dynamics). As remarked in a seminal paper by Hirsch, there is another interesting possibility, i.e., let the neuron interconnection weights evolve while simultaneously running the activation dynamics (weight-activation dynamics). The weight-activation dynamics is of importance also because it is more plausible than the other two types for modeling neural systems. The paper breaks new ground by analyzing for the first time in a systematic way the convergence properties of the weight-activation dynamics for a class of memristor feedback dynamic NNs. The main result is that, under suitable assumptions on the structure of the memristor interconnections, the solutions (weights and activations) converge to an EP, except at most for a set of initial conditions with zero measure. The result includes the most important case where the NN has multiple stable EPs.

Authors:Rajat Bhattacharjya, Arnab Sarkar, Ish Kool, Sabur Baidya, Nikil Dutt
Title: ACCESS-AV: Adaptive Communication-Computation Codesign for Sustainable Autonomous Vehicle Localization in Smart Factories
Abstract:
Autonomous Delivery Vehicles (ADVs) are increasingly used for transporting goods in 5G network-enabled smart factories, with the compute-intensive localization module presenting a significant opportunity for optimization. We propose ACCESS-AV, an energy-efficient Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) localization framework that leverages existing 5G infrastructure in smart factory environments. By opportunistically accessing the periodically broadcast 5G Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) for localization, ACCESS-AV obviates the need for dedicated Roadside Units (RSUs) or additional onboard sensors to achieve energy efficiency as well as cost reduction. We implement an Angle-of-Arrival (AoA)-based estimation method using the Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm, optimized for resource-constrained ADV platforms through an adaptive communication-computation strategy that dynamically balances energy consumption with localization accuracy based on environmental conditions such as Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) and vehicle velocity. Experimental results demonstrate that ACCESS-AV achieves an average energy reduction of 43.09% compared to non-adaptive systems employing AoA algorithms such as vanilla MUSIC, ESPRIT, and Root-MUSIC. It maintains sub-30 cm localization accuracy while also delivering substantial reductions in infrastructure and operational costs, establishing its viability for sustainable smart factory environments.

Authors:Ding Zhang, Xiaokan Yang, Axel Ringh, Li Qiu
Title: The Phantom of Davis-Wielandt Shell: A Unified Framework for Graphical Stability Analysis of MIMO LTI Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a unified framework based on Davis-Wielandt (DW) shell for graphical stability analysis of multi-input and multi-output linear time-invariant feedback systems. Connections between DW shells and various graphical descriptions, as well as gain and phase measures, are established through an intuitive geometric perspective. Within this framework, we examine the relationships and relative conservatism among various separation conditions. A rotated Scaled Relative Graph (SRG) concept is proposed as a mixed gain-phase representation, from which a closed-loop stability criterion is derived and shown to be the least conservative among the existing 2-D graphical conditions for bi-component feedback loops. We also propose a reliable algorithm for visualizing the rotated SRGs and include an example to demonstrate the non-conservatism of the proposed condition.

Authors:Hassan Zahid Butt, Xingpeng Li
Title: Approximating CCCV charging using SOC-dependent tapered charging power constraints in long-term microgrid planning
Abstract:
Traditional long-term microgrid planning models assume constant power charging for battery energy storage systems (BESS), overlooking efficiency losses that occur toward the end of charge due to rising internal resistance. While this issue can be mitigated at the cell level using constant current-constant voltage (CCCV) charging, it is impractical at the pack level in large-scale systems. However, battery management systems and inverter controls can emulate this effect by tapering charging power at high state-of-charge (SOC) levels, trading off charging speed for improved efficiency and reduced thermal stress. Ignoring this behavior in planning models can lead to undersized batteries and potential reliability issues. This paper proposes a tractable and scalable approach to approximate CCCV behavior using SOC-dependent tapered charging power (TCP) constraints. A MATLAB-based proof of concept demonstrates the energy delivery and efficiency benefits of tapering. The method is integrated into a long-term planning framework and evaluated under a synthetic load and solar profile. Results show tapering significantly affects BESS sizing, cost, and reliability under dynamic operating conditions that demand fast charging. These findings highlight tapering as a critical modeling factor for accurately capturing BESS performance in long-term microgrid planning.

Authors:Mirhan Ürkmez, Carsten Kallesøe, Jan Dimon Bendtsen, Eric C. Kerrigan, John Leth
Title: A Robust Predictive Control Method for Pump Scheduling in Water Distribution Networks
Abstract:
Water utilities aim to reduce the high electrical costs of Water Distribution Networks (WDNs), primarily driven by pumping. However, pump scheduling is challenging due to model uncertainties and water demand forecast errors. This paper presents a Robust Model Predictive Control (RMPC) method for optimal and reliable pump scheduling, extending a previous efficient robust control method tailored to our model. A linear model with bounded additive disturbances is used to represent tank water level evolution, with uncertainty bounds derived from WDN simulation and demand data. At each time step, a pump scheduling policy, affine in past disturbances, is optimized to satisfy system constraints over a prediction horizon. The resulting policies are then applied in a receding horizon fashion. The optimization problem is formulated to require $\mathcal{O}(N^6)$ computations per iteration with an interior-point method, which is reduced to $\mathcal{O}(N^3)$ by reformulating it into a sparse form. When evaluated on a model representing the water distribution network of Randers, a medium-sized town in Denmark, the method surpasses nominal and constraint-tightening model predictive control (MPC) approaches in terms of meeting constraints and provides comparable economic outcomes.

Authors:Andreas Karrenbauer, Bernd Kuhn, Kurt Mehlhorn, Paolo Luigi Rinaldi
Title: Optimizing Car Resequencing on Mixed-Model Assembly Lines: Algorithm Development and Deployment
Abstract:
The mixed-model assembly line (MMAL) is a production system used in the automobile industry to manufacture different car models on the same conveyor, offering a high degree of product customization and flexibility. However, the MMAL also poses challenges, such as finding optimal sequences of models satisfying multiple constraints and objectives related to production performance, quality, and delivery -- including minimizing the number of color changeovers in the Paint Shop, balancing the workload and setup times on the assembly line, and meeting customer demand and delivery deadlines. We propose a multi-objective algorithm to solve the MMAL resequencing problem under consideration of all these aspects simultaneously. We also present empirical results obtained from recorded event data of the production process over $4$ weeks following the deployment of our algorithm in the Saarlouis plant of Ford-Werke GmbH. We achieved an improvement of the average batch size of about $30\%$ over the old control software translating to a $23\%$ reduction of color changeovers. Moreover, we reduced the spread of cars planned for a specific date by $10\%$, reducing the risk of delays in delivery. We discuss effectiveness and robustness of our algorithm in improving production performance and quality as well as trade-offs and limitations.

Authors:James S. Wheaton, Daniel R. Herber
Title: Ontological Definition of Seamless Digital Engineering Based on ISO/IEC 25000-Series SQuaRE Product Quality Model
Abstract:
Since the introduction of Digital Engineering (DE) as a well-defined concept in 2018, organizations and industry groups have been working to interpret the DE concepts to establish consistent meta-models of those interrelated concepts for integration into their DE processes and tools. To reach the breadth and depth of DE concept definitions, the interpretation of international standard sources is necessary, including ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, 24765, 42000-series, 15408, 15206, 27000-series, and 25000-series, to effectively model the knowledge domain where digital engineering applies. The harmonization of the concepts used in these international standards continues to improve with each revision, but it may be more effectively accomplished by relying on the descriptive logic formalized in the Web Ontology Language (OWL 2 DL). This paper presents a verified and consistent ontology based on the Basic Formal Ontology (BFO) and Common Core Ontologies (CCO) that defines Seamless Digital Engineering as a digital tooling paradigm that relies on formal verification of digital interfaces to provide a system-level qualification of the assured integrity of a Digital Engineering Environment. The present work defines classes and equivalence axioms, while using only the BFO- and CCO-defined object properties that relate them, to provide a baseline analysis that may inform future DE-related ontology development, using a case study to formally define the `seamless' quality in relation to the updated ISO 25010 SQuaRE product quality model. We identified ISO meta-model inconsistencies that are resolvable using the BFO/CCO ontological framework, and define `seamless' as both a system integration quality and a Human-Computer Interface quality-in-use, working to disambiguate this concept in the context of DE.

Authors:Olivia Dry, Timothy L. Molloy, Wanxin Jin, Iman Shames
Title: ZORMS-LfD: Learning from Demonstrations with Zeroth-Order Random Matrix Search
Abstract:
We propose Zeroth-Order Random Matrix Search for Learning from Demonstrations (ZORMS-LfD). ZORMS-LfD enables the costs, constraints, and dynamics of constrained optimal control problems, in both continuous and discrete time, to be learned from expert demonstrations without requiring smoothness of the learning-loss landscape. In contrast, existing state-of-the-art first-order methods require the existence and computation of gradients of the costs, constraints, dynamics, and learning loss with respect to states, controls and/or parameters. Most existing methods are also tailored to discrete time, with constrained problems in continuous time receiving only cursory attention. We demonstrate that ZORMS-LfD matches or surpasses the performance of state-of-the-art methods in terms of both learning loss and compute time across a variety of benchmark problems. On unconstrained continuous-time benchmark problems, ZORMS-LfD achieves similar loss performance to state-of-the-art first-order methods with an over $80$\% reduction in compute time. On constrained continuous-time benchmark problems where there is no specialized state-of-the-art method, ZORMS-LfD is shown to outperform the commonly used gradient-free Nelder-Mead optimization method.

Authors:Yang Xu, Jesús Bautista, José Hinojosa, Héctor García de Marina
Title: Distributed Oscillatory Guidance for Formation Flight of Fixed-Wing Drones
Abstract:
The autonomous formation flight of fixed-wing drones is hard when the coordination requires the actuation over their speeds since they are critically bounded and aircraft are mostly designed to fly at a nominal airspeed. This paper proposes an algorithm to achieve formation flights of fixed-wing drones without requiring any actuation over their speed. In particular, we guide all the drones to travel over specific paths, e.g., parallel straight lines, and we superpose an oscillatory behavior onto the guiding vector field that drives the drones to the paths. This oscillation enables control over the average velocity along the path, thereby facilitating inter-drone coordination. Each drone adjusts its oscillation amplitude distributively in a closed-loop manner by communicating with neighboring agents in an undirected and connected graph. A novel consensus algorithm is introduced, leveraging a non-negative, asymmetric saturation function. This unconventional saturation is justified since negative amplitudes do not make drones travel backward or have a negative velocity along the path. Rigorous theoretical analysis of the algorithm is complemented by validation through numerical simulations and a real-world formation flight.

Authors:Ignacio Ponce, Federico Milano
Title: Analytical Framework for Power System Strength
Abstract:
This paper proposes a general framework to evaluate power system strength. The formulation features twelve indicators, grouped in three dynamical orders, that quantify the resistance of bus voltage phasors and their first and second order rates of change to sudden current injection changes. To quantify such changes the paper introduces a novel finite differentiation technique, that we named Delta operator, able to properly capture "jumps" of algebraic variables and utilizes the recently developed concept of complex frequency. The paper also shows how the proposed framework can be systematically applied to any system device, and provides a variety of examples based on synchronous machines, converters and loads models are given. Numerical results in a benchmark system validate the exactness of the formulation.

Authors:Jiahao Liu, Cheng Wang, Tianshu Bi
Title: Revisiting the Effect of Grid-Following Converter on Frequency Dynamics -- Part II: Spatial Variation
Abstract:
Besides the center of inertia (COI) frequency dynamics addressed in Part I, the spatial frequency variation in power systems with grid-following (GFL) converters is also crucial. Part II revisits the effect of GFLs on frequency spatial variation. Leveraging the interfacing state variables and equivalent frequency defined in Part I, an extended frequency divider (FD) formula is proposed. The linearized mapping relationship between network node frequency and synchronous generator (SG) rotor frequency, as well as GFL equivalent frequency, is modeled. The superposition contribution from GFLs is determined by the electrical distance between the generator and the frequency observation node, as well as the system power flow conditions. Additionally, the frequency mapping for branch currents, which is overlooked in previous research, is addressed. Simulation results validate the accuracy of the proposed extended FD formula. They quantitatively demonstrate that the superposition contribution of GFLs to node frequency is relatively weak and that the superposition coefficient is time-varying. The branch frequency superposition reveals a complex and distinctly different pattern.

Authors:Jiahao Liu, Cheng Wang, Tianshu Bi
Title: Revisiting the Effect of Grid-Following Converter on Frequency Dynamics -- Part I: Center of Inertia
Abstract:
Understanding the impact of grid-following (GFL) converters on system frequency dynamics is crucial, from both the center of inertia (COI) and frequency spatial variation perspectives. Part I of this series clarifies the mechanisms by which GFLs influence COI frequency dynamics. A multi-generator model of the power system with GFLs is developed, incorporating the local dynamics of GFLs and their interaction with synchronous generators via virtual tie lines. By aggregating the multi-generator model into the COI frame, the interaction between the COI frequency and the equivalent frequency of GFLs is revealed. The equivalent inertia and other components at the GFL side, determined by control parameters and operating conditions, support the COI through virtual tying power. Simulation validates the accuracy of the proposed modeling and demonstrates that the impact of GFLs on COI frequency is relatively weak. The equivalent inertia and other components of GFLs still significantly influence COI frequency dynamics, with their effects being both time-variable and adjustable.

Authors:Jiahao Liu, Cheng Wang, Tianshu Bi
Title: RoCoF Constrained Regional Inertia Security Region: Formulation and Application
Abstract:
The regional inertia, which determines the regional rate of change of frequency (RoCoF), should be kept in a secure status in renewable-penetrated power systems. To break away from mapping the regional maximum RoCoF with regional inertia in a linearized form, this paper comprehensively studies the regional inertia security problem from formulation to applications. Firstly, the regional inertia security region (R-ISR) is defined, whose boundary is non-linear and non-convex. Then, a local linearized method is devised to calculate the global maximum of regional RoCoF. The non-convex ISR boundary is expressed by multiple simple boundaries corresponding to each local solution, which can be obtained by a simple search-based method. Finally, the convexified R-ISR constraint is formed by convex decomposition and embedded in an inertia optimal adjustment model. The results on a 3-region system show some counter-intuitive findings, such as increasing the inertia of one region may worsen its RoCoF.

Authors:Xinqi Chen, Xiuxian Li, Min Meng
Title: Dual-Channel Adaptive NMPC for Quadrotor under Instantaneous Impact and Payload Disturbances
Abstract:
Capturing target objects using the quadrotor has gained increasing popularity in recent years, but most studies focus on capturing lightweight objects. The instantaneous contact force generated when capturing objects of a certain mass, along with the payload uncertainty after attachment, will pose significant challenges to the quadrotor control. This paper proposes a novel control architecture, namely Dual-Channel Adaptive Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (DCA-NMPC), which cascades a nonlinear model predictive control with two lower-level model reference adaptive controllers and can resist drastic impact and adapt to uncertain inertial parameters. Numerical simulation experiments are performed for validation.

Authors:Kyung-Bin Kwon, Sayak Mukherjee, Ramij R. Hossain, Marcelo Elizondo
Title: Physics-Informed Learning of Proprietary Inverter Models for Grid Dynamic Studies
Abstract:
This letter develops a novel physics-informed neural ordinary differential equations-based framework to emulate the proprietary dynamics of the inverters -- essential for improved accuracy in grid dynamic simulations. In current industry practice, the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) often do not disclose the exact internal controls and parameters of the inverters, posing significant challenges in performing accurate dynamic simulations and other relevant studies, such as gain tunings for stability analysis and controls. To address this, we propose a Physics-Informed Latent Neural ODE Model (PI-LNM) that integrates system physics with neural learning layers to capture the unmodeled behaviors of proprietary units. The proposed method is validated using a grid-forming inverter (GFM) case study, demonstrating improved dynamic simulation accuracy over approaches that rely solely on data-driven learning without physics-based guidance.

Authors:Nils Mandischer, Alexander Atanasyan, Ulrich Dahmen, Michael Schluse, Jürgen Rossmann, Lars Mikelsons
Title: Holistic Specification of the Human Digital Twin: Stakeholders, Users, Functionalities, and Applications
Abstract:
The digital twin of humans is a relatively new concept. While many diverse definitions, architectures, and applications exist, a clear picture is missing on what, in fact, makes a human digital twin. Within this context, researchers and industrial use-case owners alike are unaware about the market potential of the - at the moment - rather theoretical construct. In this work, we draw a holistic vision of the human digital twin, and derive the specification of this holistic human digital twin in form of requirements, stakeholders, and users. For each group of users, we define exemplary applications that fall into the six levels of functionality: store, analyze, personalize, predict, control, and optimize. The functionality levels facilitate an abstraction of abilities of the human digital twin. From the manifold applications, we discuss three in detail to showcase the feasibility of the abstraction levels and the analysis of stakeholders and users. Based on the deep discussion, we derive a comprehensive list of requirements on the holistic human digital twin. These considerations shall be used as a guideline for research and industries for the implementation of human digital twins, particularly in context of reusability in multiple target applications.

Authors:Nicholas Mohammad, Nicola Bezzo
Title: Corridor-based Adaptive Control Barrier and Lyapunov Functions for Safe Mobile Robot Navigation
Abstract:
Safe navigation in unknown and cluttered environments remains a challenging problem in robotics. Model Predictive Contour Control (MPCC) has shown promise for performant obstacle avoidance by enabling precise and agile trajectory tracking, however, existing methods lack formal safety assurances. To address this issue, we propose a general Control Lyapunov Function (CLF) and Control Barrier Function (CBF) enabled MPCC framework that enforces safety constraints derived from a free-space corridor around the planned trajectory. To enhance feasibility, we dynamically adapt the CBF parameters at runtime using a Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) policy. The approach is validated with extensive simulations and an experiment on mobile robot navigation in unknown cluttered environments.

Authors:Hongliang Li, Herschel C. Pangborn, Ilya Kovalenko
Title: Bi-level Model Predictive Control for Energy-aware Integrated Product Pricing and Production Scheduling
Abstract:
The manufacturing industry is under growing pressure to enhance sustainability while preserving economic competitiveness. As a result, manufacturers have been trying to determine how to integrate onsite renewable energy and real-time electricity pricing into manufacturing schedules without compromising profitability. To address this challenge, we propose a bi-level model predictive control framework that jointly optimizes product prices and production scheduling with explicit consideration of renewable energy availability. The higher level determines the product price to maximize revenue and renewable energy usage. The lower level controls production scheduling in runtime to minimize operational costs and respond to the product demand. Price elasticity is incorporated to model market response, allowing the system to increase demand by lowering the product price during high renewable energy generation. Results from a lithium-ion battery pack manufacturing system case study demonstrate that our approach enables manufacturers to reduce grid energy costs while increasing profit.

Authors:Marcelo Jacinto, Pedro Trindade, Francisco Rego, Rita Cunha
Title: Distributed consensus-based observer design for target state estimation with bearing measurements
Abstract:
This paper introduces a novel distributed consensus-based observer design that enables a group of agents in an undirected communication network to solve the problem of target tracking, where the target is modeled as a chain of integrators of arbitrary order. Each agent is assumed to know its own position and simultaneously measure bearing vectors relative to the target. We start by introducing a general continuous time observer design tailored to systems whose state dynamics are modeled as chains of integrators and whose measurement model follows a particular nonlinear but observer-suited form. This design leverages a correction term that combines innovation and consensus components, allowing each agent to broadcast only a part of the state estimate to its neighbours, which effectively reduces the data flowing across the network. To provide uniform exponential stability guarantees, a novel result for a class of nonlinear closed-loop systems in a generalized observer form is introduced and subsequently used as the main tool to derive stability conditions on the observer gains. Then, by exploring the properties of orthogonal projection matrices, the proposed design is used to solve the distributed target tracking problem and provide explicit stability conditions that depend on the target-agents geometric formation. Practical examples are derived for a target modeled as first-, second-, and third-order integrator dynamics, highlighting the design procedure and the stability conditions imposed. Finally, numerical results showcase the properties of the proposed algorithm.

Authors:Thomas Banker, Ali Mesbah
Title: Model-free Reinforcement Learning for Model-based Control: Towards Safe, Interpretable and Sample-efficient Agents
Abstract:
Training sophisticated agents for optimal decision-making under uncertainty has been key to the rapid development of modern autonomous systems across fields. Notably, model-free reinforcement learning (RL) has enabled decision-making agents to improve their performance directly through system interactions, with minimal prior knowledge about the system. Yet, model-free RL has generally relied on agents equipped with deep neural network function approximators, appealing to the networks' expressivity to capture the agent's policy and value function for complex systems. However, neural networks amplify the issues of sample inefficiency, unsafe learning, and limited interpretability in model-free RL. To this end, this work introduces model-based agents as a compelling alternative for control policy approximation, leveraging adaptable models of system dynamics, cost, and constraints for safe policy learning. These models can encode prior system knowledge to inform, constrain, and aid in explaining the agent's decisions, while deficiencies due to model mismatch can be remedied with model-free RL. We outline the benefits and challenges of learning model-based agents -- exemplified by model predictive control -- and detail the primary learning approaches: Bayesian optimization, policy search RL, and offline strategies, along with their respective strengths. While model-free RL has long been established, its interplay with model-based agents remains largely unexplored, motivating our perspective on their combined potentials for sample-efficient learning of safe and interpretable decision-making agents.

Authors:Thibaud Cambronne, Samuel Bobick, Wente Zeng, Scott Moura
Title: Joint Price and Power MPC for Peak Power Reduction at Workplace EV Charging Stations
Abstract:
Demand charge often constitutes a significant portion of electricity costs for commercial electric vehicle charging station operators. This paper explores control methods to reduce peak power consumption at workplace EV charging stations in a joint price and power optimization framework. We optimize a menu of price options to incentivize users to select controllable charging service. Using this framework, we propose several solutions to achieve a reduction in both demand charge and overall operator costs. Through a Monte Carlo simulation, we find that model predictive control using a time series forecast can significantly reduce station operator costs.

Authors:Man Shi, Vikram Jain, Antony Joseph, Maurice Meijer, Marian Verhelst
Title: BitWave: Exploiting Column-Based Bit-Level Sparsity for Deep Learning Acceleration
Abstract:
Bit-serial computation facilitates bit-wise sequential data processing, offering numerous benefits, such as a reduced area footprint and dynamically-adaptive computational precision. It has emerged as a prominent approach, particularly in leveraging bit-level sparsity in Deep Neural Networks (DNNs). However, existing bit-serial accelerators exploit bit-level sparsity to reduce computations by skipping zero bits, but they suffer from inefficient memory accesses due to the irregular indices of the non-zero bits. As memory accesses typically are the dominant contributor to DNN accelerator performance, this paper introduces a novel computing approach called "bit-column-serial" and a compatible architecture design named "BitWave." BitWave harnesses the advantages of the "bit-column-serial" approach, leveraging structured bit-level sparsity in combination with dynamic dataflow techniques. This achieves a reduction in computations and memory footprints through redundant computation skipping and weight compression. BitWave is able to mitigate the performance drop or the need for retraining that is typically associated with sparsity-enhancing techniques using a post-training optimization involving selected weight bit-flips. Empirical studies conducted on four deep-learning benchmarks demonstrate the achievements of BitWave: (1) Maximally realize 13.25x higher speedup, 7.71x efficiency compared to state-of-the-art sparsity-aware accelerators. (2) Occupying 1.138 mm2 area and consuming 17.56 mW power in 16nm FinFet process node.

Authors:Laura Boca de Giuli, Alessio La Bella, Riccardo Scattolini
Title: Learning, fast and slow: a two-fold algorithm for data-based model adaptation
Abstract:
This article addresses the challenge of adapting data-based models over time. We propose a novel two-fold modelling architecture designed to correct plant-model mismatch caused by two types of uncertainty. Out-of-domain uncertainty arises when the system operates under conditions not represented in the initial training dataset, while in-domain uncertainty results from real-world variability and flaws in the model structure or training process. To handle out-of-domain uncertainty, a slow learning component, inspired by the human brain's slow thinking process, learns system dynamics under unexplored operating conditions, and it is activated only when a monitoring strategy deems it necessary. This component consists of an ensemble of models, featuring (i) a combination rule that weights individual models based on the statistical proximity between their training data and the current operating condition, and (ii) a monitoring algorithm based on statistical control charts that supervises the ensemble's reliability and triggers the offline training and integration of a new model when a new operating condition is detected. To address in-domain uncertainty, a fast learning component, inspired by the human brain's fast thinking process, continuously compensates in real time for the mismatch of the slow learning model. This component is implemented as a Gaussian process (GP) model, trained online at each iteration using recent data while discarding older samples. The proposed methodology is tested on a benchmark energy system referenced in the literature, demonstrating that the combined use of slow and fast learning components improves model accuracy compared to standard adaptation approaches.

Authors:Fateme Salehi, Aamir Mahmood, Sarder Fakhrul Abedin, Kyi Thar, Mikael Gidlund
Title: Towards Ultra-Reliable 6G in-X Subnetworks: Dynamic Link Adaptation by Deep Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
6G networks are composed of subnetworks expected to meet ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) requirements for mission-critical applications such as industrial control and automation. An often-ignored aspect in URLLC is consecutive packet outages, which can destabilize control loops and compromise safety in in-factory environments. Hence, the current work proposes a link adaptation framework to support extreme reliability requirements using the soft actor-critic (SAC)-based deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm that jointly optimizes energy efficiency (EE) and reliability under dynamic channel and interference conditions. Unlike prior work focusing on average reliability, our method explicitly targets reducing burst/consecutive outages through adaptive control of transmit power and blocklength based solely on the observed signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). The joint optimization problem is formulated under finite blocklength and quality of service constraints, balancing reliability and EE. Simulation results show that the proposed method significantly outperforms the baseline algorithms, reducing outage bursts while consuming only 18\% of the transmission cost required by a full/maximum resource allocation policy in the evaluated scenario. The framework also supports flexible trade-off tuning between EE and reliability by adjusting reward weights, making it adaptable to diverse industrial requirements.

Authors:Abdelhakim Amer, Mohit Mehindratta, Yury Brodskiy, Bilal Wehbe, Erdal Kayacan
Title: REACT: Real-time Entanglement-Aware Coverage Path Planning for Tethered Underwater Vehicles
Abstract:
Inspection of complex underwater structures with tethered underwater vehicles is often hindered by the risk of tether entanglement. We propose REACT (real-time entanglement-aware coverage path planning for tethered underwater vehicles), a framework designed to overcome this limitation. REACT comprises a fast geometry-based tether model using the signed distance field (SDF) map for accurate, real-time simulation of taut tether configurations around arbitrary structures in 3D. This model enables an efficient online replanning strategy by enforcing a maximum tether length constraint, thereby actively preventing entanglement. By integrating REACT into a coverage path planning framework, we achieve safe and optimal inspection paths, previously challenging due to tether constraints. The complete REACT framework's efficacy is validated in a pipe inspection scenario, demonstrating safe, entanglement-free navigation and full-coverage inspection. Simulation results show that REACT achieves complete coverage while maintaining tether constraints and completing the total mission 20% faster than conventional planners, despite a longer inspection time due to proactive avoidance of entanglement that eliminates extensive post-mission disentanglement. Real-world experiments confirm these benefits, where REACT completes the full mission, while the baseline planner fails due to physical tether entanglement.

Authors:Ruotong Sun, Ermin Wei, Lihui Yi
Title: Optimal Battery Placement in Power Grid
Abstract:
We study the optimal placement of an unlimited-capacity battery in power grids under a centralized market model, where the independent system operator (ISO) aims to minimize total generation costs through load shifting. The optimal battery placement is not well understood by the existing literature, especially regarding the influence of network topology on minimizing generation costs. Our work starts with decomposing the Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) problem into a series of Linear Programming (LP) formulations. For power grids with sufficiently large generation capacity or tree topologies, we derive analytical cost expressions demonstrating that, under reasonable assumptions, the weighted degree is the only topological factor for optimal battery placement. We also discuss the minor impact of higher-order topological conditions on tree-topology networks. To find the localized nature of a single battery's impact, we establish that the relative cost-saving benefit of a single battery decreases as the network scales. Furthermore, we design a low-complexity algorithm for weakly-cyclic networks. Numerical experiments show that our algorithm is not only approximately 100 times faster than commercial solvers but also maintains high accuracy even when some theoretical assumptions are relaxed.

Authors:Hossein Nejatbakhsh Esfahani, Javad Mohammadpour Velni
Title: Intersection of Reinforcement Learning and Bayesian Optimization for Intelligent Control of Industrial Processes: A Safe MPC-based DPG using Multi-Objective BO
Abstract:
Model Predictive Control (MPC)-based Reinforcement Learning (RL) offers a structured and interpretable alternative to Deep Neural Network (DNN)-based RL methods, with lower computational complexity and greater transparency. However, standard MPC-RL approaches often suffer from slow convergence, suboptimal policy learning due to limited parameterization, and safety issues during online adaptation. To address these challenges, we propose a novel framework that integrates MPC-RL with Multi-Objective Bayesian Optimization (MOBO). The proposed MPC-RL-MOBO utilizes noisy evaluations of the RL stage cost and its gradient, estimated via a Compatible Deterministic Policy Gradient (CDPG) approach, and incorporates them into a MOBO algorithm using the Expected Hypervolume Improvement (EHVI) acquisition function. This fusion enables efficient and safe tuning of the MPC parameters to achieve improved closed-loop performance, even under model imperfections. A numerical example demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach in achieving sample-efficient, stable, and high-performance learning for control systems.

Authors:Arshia Rafieioskouei, Kenneth Rogale, Borzoo Bonakdarpour
Title: Efficient Discovery of Actual Causality in Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
Identifying the actual cause of events in engineered systems is a fundamental challenge in system analysis. Finding such causes becomes more challenging in the presence of noise and stochastic behavior in real-world systems. In this paper, we adopt the notion of probabilistic actual causality by Fenton-Glynn, which is a probabilistic extension of Halpern and Pearl's actual causality, and propose a novel method to formally reason about causal effect of events in stochastic systems. We (1) formulate the discovery of probabilistic actual causes in computing systems as an SMT problem, and (2) address the scalability challenges by introducing an abstraction-refinement technique that improves efficiency by up to 95%. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through three case studies, identifying probabilistic actual causes of safety violations in (1) the Mountain Car problem, (2) the Lunar Lander benchmark, and (3) MPC controller for an F-16 autopilot simulator.

Authors:Thanh V. Pham, Susumu Ishihara
Title: Optimization of Probabilistic Constellation Shaping for Optical OFDM Systems with Clipping Distortion
Abstract:
Optical orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) and probabilistic constellation shaping (PCS) have emerged as powerful techniques to enhance the performance of optical wireless communications (OWC) systems. While PCS improves spectral efficiency and adaptability, we show that its integration with optical OFDM can inadvertently increase the peak-to-average power ratio (PAPR) of the signal, exacerbating clipping distortion due to signal clipping. This letter investigates the impact of PCS on the PAPR of direct current-biased optical OFDM (DCO-OFDM) waveforms and proposes an optimization of PCS that maximizes channel capacity, considering clipping distortion. The optimization problem is shown to be complex and non-convex. We thus present a suboptimal yet efficient solving approach based on projected gradient descent to solve the problem. Simulation results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed approach over the conventional uniform signaling, particularly under severe clipping distortion conditions.

Authors:Tianshun Li, Tianyi Huai, Zhen Li, Yichun Gao, Haoang Li, Xinhu Zheng
Title: SkyVLN: Vision-and-Language Navigation and NMPC Control for UAVs in Urban Environments
Abstract:
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have emerged as versatile tools across various sectors, driven by their mobility and adaptability. This paper introduces SkyVLN, a novel framework integrating vision-and-language navigation (VLN) with Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) to enhance UAV autonomy in complex urban environments. Unlike traditional navigation methods, SkyVLN leverages Large Language Models (LLMs) to interpret natural language instructions and visual observations, enabling UAVs to navigate through dynamic 3D spaces with improved accuracy and robustness. We present a multimodal navigation agent equipped with a fine-grained spatial verbalizer and a history path memory mechanism. These components allow the UAV to disambiguate spatial contexts, handle ambiguous instructions, and backtrack when necessary. The framework also incorporates an NMPC module for dynamic obstacle avoidance, ensuring precise trajectory tracking and collision prevention. To validate our approach, we developed a high-fidelity 3D urban simulation environment using AirSim, featuring realistic imagery and dynamic urban elements. Extensive experiments demonstrate that SkyVLN significantly improves navigation success rates and efficiency, particularly in new and unseen environments.

Authors:Shanting Wang, Panagiotis Typaldos, Chenjun Li, Andreas A. Malikopoulos
Title: VisioPath: Vision-Language Enhanced Model Predictive Control for Safe Autonomous Navigation in Mixed Traffic
Abstract:
In this paper, we introduce VisioPath, a novel framework combining vision-language models (VLMs) with model predictive control (MPC) to enable safe autonomous driving in dynamic traffic environments. The proposed approach leverages a bird's-eye view video processing pipeline and zero-shot VLM capabilities to obtain structured information about surrounding vehicles, including their positions, dimensions, and velocities. Using this rich perception output, we construct elliptical collision-avoidance potential fields around other traffic participants, which are seamlessly integrated into a finite-horizon optimal control problem for trajectory planning. The resulting trajectory optimization is solved via differential dynamic programming with an adaptive regularization scheme and is embedded in an event-triggered MPC loop. To ensure collision-free motion, a safety verification layer is incorporated in the framework that provides an assessment of potential unsafe trajectories. Extensive simulations in Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) demonstrate that VisioPath outperforms conventional MPC baselines across multiple metrics. By combining modern AI-driven perception with the rigorous foundation of optimal control, VisioPath represents a significant step forward in safe trajectory planning for complex traffic systems.

Authors:Yicheng Xu, Faryar Jabbari
Title: Distributed Optimization of Finite Condition Number for Laplacian Matrix in Multi-Agent Systems
Abstract:
This paper addresses the distributed optimization of the finite condition number of the Laplacian matrix in multi-agent systems. The finite condition number, defined as the ratio of the largest to the second smallest eigenvalue of the Laplacian matrix, plays an important role in determining the convergence rate and performance of consensus algorithms, especially in discrete-time implementations. We propose a fully distributed algorithm by regulating the node weights. The approach leverages max consensus, distributed power iteration, and consensus-based normalization for eigenvalue and eigenvector estimation, requiring only local communication and computation. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves performance comparable to centralized LMI-based optimization, significantly improving consensus speed and multi-agent system performance. The framework can be extended to edge weight optimization and the scenarios with non-simple eigenvalues, highlighting its scalability and practical applicability for large-scale networked systems.

Authors:Josefine B. Graebener, Inigo Incer, Richard M. Murray
Title: A Compositional Approach to Diagnosing Faults in Cyber-Physical Systems
Abstract:
Identifying the cause of a system-level failure in a cyber-physical system (CPS) can be like tracing a needle in a haystack. This paper approaches the problem by assuming that the CPS has been designed compositionally and that each component in the system is associated with an assume-guarantee contract. We exploit recent advances in contract-based design that show how to compute the contract for the entire system using the component-level contracts. When presented with a system-level failure, our approach is able to efficiently identify the components that are responsible for the system-level failure together with the specific predicates in those components' specifications that are involved in the fault. We implemented this approach using Pacti and demonstrate it through illustrative examples inspired by an autonomous vehicle in the DARPA urban challenge.

Authors:Amirhossein Nazerian, Malbor Asllani, Melvyn Tyloo, Wai Lim Ku, Francesco Sorrentino
Title: The Frequency Response of Networks as Open Systems
Abstract:
Many biological, technological, and social systems are effectively networks of interacting individual systems. Typically, these networks are not isolated objects, but interact with their environment through both signals and information that is received by specific nodes with an input function or released to the environment by other nodes with an output function. An important question is whether the structure of different networks, together with the particular selection of input and output nodes, is such that it favors the passing or blocking of such signals. For a given network and a given choice of the input and output nodes, the H2-norm provides a natural and general quantification of the extent to which input signals-whether deterministic or stochastic, periodic or arbitrary-are amplified. We analyze a diverse set of empirical networks and conjecture that many naturally occurring systems-such as food webs, signaling pathways, and gene regulatory circuits-are structurally organized to enhance the passing of signals, facilitating the efficient flow of biomass, information, or regulatory activity. This passing behavior culminates in directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), for which we analytically show that amplification depends on the number and length of input-output pathways, which is consistent with the well-known tendency of naturally emerging networks to approximate DAG structures. In contrast, the structure of engineered systems like power grids appears to be intentionally designed to suppress signal propagation, as the transmitted quantity-voltage phase differences-requires tight control to maintain synchronized operation.

Authors:Ho Jae Lee, Se Hwan Jeon, Sangbae Kim
Title: Learning Humanoid Arm Motion via Centroidal Momentum Regularized Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Humans naturally swing their arms during locomotion to regulate whole-body dynamics, reduce angular momentum, and help maintain balance. Inspired by this principle, we present a limb-level multi-agent reinforcement learning (RL) framework that enables coordinated whole-body control of humanoid robots through emergent arm motion. Our approach employs separate actor-critic structures for the arms and legs, trained with centralized critics but decentralized actors that share only base states and centroidal angular momentum (CAM) observations, allowing each agent to specialize in task-relevant behaviors through modular reward design. The arm agent guided by CAM tracking and damping rewards promotes arm motions that reduce overall angular momentum and vertical ground reaction moments, contributing to improved balance during locomotion or under external perturbations. Comparative studies with single-agent and alternative multi-agent baselines further validate the effectiveness of our approach. Finally, we deploy the learned policy on a humanoid platform, achieving robust performance across diverse locomotion tasks, including flat-ground walking, rough terrain traversal, and stair climbing.

Authors:Christoph Sachs, Fabian Stamer, Jan Allgeier, Duleepa Thrimawithana, Martin Neuburger
Title: Optimization-Based Comparative System Evaluation of Single and Dual Traction Inverters with Focus on Partial Load Efficiency and Chip Area
Abstract:
The transition to electric transportation demands efficient and cost-effective powertrains. Optimizing energy use is crucial for extending range and reducing expenses. However, comparing inverter and motor efficiency based on inverter topologies is challenging due to biased methodologies that favor certain designs over others. This document introduces a novel optimization-based approach for enhancing partial load efficiency and minimizing chip area of single and dual traction inverters, indicating potential energy savings and cost reduction. Recent publications of both industry and academia underscore the importance of these design goals achieved by either novel inverter topologies or enhanced control methods. Two promising topologies with the inherent capability of partial load optimization are evaluated regarding chip area and system efficiency to find the most suitable concept for future electric vehicle power trains.

Authors:Jun He, Andrew L. Liu
Title: A Hybrid Mean Field Framework for Aggregators Participating in Wholesale Electricity Markets
Abstract:
The rapid growth of distributed energy resources (DERs), including rooftop solar and energy storage, is transforming the grid edge, where distributed technologies and customer-side systems increasingly interact with the broader power grid. DER aggregators, entities that coordinate and optimize the actions of many small-scale DERs, play a key role in this transformation. This paper presents a hybrid Mean-Field Control (MFC) and Mean-Field Game (MFG) framework for integrating DER aggregators into wholesale electricity markets. Unlike traditional approaches that treat market prices as exogenous, our model captures the feedback between aggregators' strategies and locational marginal prices (LMPs) of electricity. The MFC component optimizes DER operations within each aggregator, while the MFG models strategic interactions among multiple aggregators. To account for various uncertainties, we incorporate reinforcement learning (RL), which allows aggregators to learn optimal bidding strategies in dynamic market conditions. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a mean-field equilibrium and validate the framework through a case study of the Oahu Island power system. Results show that our approach reduces price volatility and improves market efficiency, offering a scalable and decentralized solution for DER integration in wholesale markets.

Authors:Ibon Gracia, Morteza Lahijanian
Title: Beyond Interval MDPs: Tight and Efficient Abstractions of Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
This work addresses the general problem of control synthesis for continuous-space, discrete-time stochastic systems with probabilistic guarantees via finite abstractions. While established methods exist, they often trade off accuracy for tractability. We propose a unified abstraction framework that improves both the tightness of probabilistic guarantees and computational efficiency. First, we introduce multi-interval MDPs (MI-MDPs), a generalization of interval-valued MDPs (IMDPs), which allows multiple, possibly overlapping clusters of successor states. This results in tighter abstractions but with increased computational complexity. To mitigate this, we further propose a generalized form of MDPs with set-valued transition probabilities (SMDPs), which model transitions as a fixed probability to a state cluster, followed by a non-deterministic choice within the cluster, as a sound abstraction. We show that control synthesis for MI-MDPs reduces to robust dynamic programming via linear optimization, while SMDPs admit even more efficient synthesis algorithms that avoid linear programming altogether. Theoretically, we prove that, given the partitioning of the state and disturbance spaces, both MI-MDPs and SMDPs yield tighter probabilistic guarantees than IMDPs, and that SMDPs are tighter than MI-MDPs. Extensive experiments across several benchmarks validate our theoretical results and demonstrate that SMDPs achieve favorable trade-offs among tightness, memory usage, and computation time.

Authors:Koen Ponse, Jan Felix Kleuker, Aske Plaat, Thomas Moerland
Title: Chargax: A JAX Accelerated EV Charging Simulator
Abstract:
Deep Reinforcement Learning can play a key role in addressing sustainable energy challenges. For instance, many grid systems are heavily congested, highlighting the urgent need to enhance operational efficiency. However, reinforcement learning approaches have traditionally been slow due to the high sample complexity and expensive simulation requirements. While recent works have effectively used GPUs to accelerate data generation by converting environments to JAX, these works have largely focussed on classical toy problems. This paper introduces Chargax, a JAX-based environment for realistic simulation of electric vehicle charging stations designed for accelerated training of RL agents. We validate our environment in a variety of scenarios based on real data, comparing reinforcement learning agents against baselines. Chargax delivers substantial computational performance improvements of over 100x-1000x over existing environments. Additionally, Chargax' modular architecture enables the representation of diverse real-world charging station configurations.

Authors:S. Ali Hosseini, Fabian R. Quinten, Luke F. van Eijk, Dragan Kostic, S. Hassan HosseinNia
Title: Frequency Domain Design of a Reset-Based Filter: An Add-On Nonlinear Filter for Industrial Motion Control
Abstract:
This study introduces a modified version of the Constant-in-Gain, Lead-in-Phase (CgLp) filter, which incorporates a feedthrough term in the First-Order Reset Element (FORE) to reduce the undesirable nonlinearities and achieve an almost constant gain across all frequencies. A backward calculation approach is proposed to derive the additional parameter introduced by the feedthrough term, enabling designers to easily tune the filter to generate the required phase. The paper also presents an add-on filter structure that can enhance the performance of an existing LTI controller without altering its robustness margins. A sensitivity improvement indicator is proposed to guide the tuning process, enabling designers to visualize the improvements in closed-loop performance. The proposed methodology is demonstrated through a case study of an industrial wire bonder machine, showcasing its effectiveness in addressing low-frequency vibrations and improving overall control performance.

Authors:Junzhe Shi, Shida Jiang, Shengyu Tao, Jaewong Lee, Manashita Borah, Scott Moura
Title: An Adaptive Estimation Approach based on Fisher Information to Overcome the Challenges of LFP Battery SOC Estimation
Abstract:
Robust and Real-time State of Charge (SOC) estimation is essential for Lithium Iron Phosphate (LFP) batteries, which are widely used in electric vehicles (EVs) and energy storage systems due to safety and longevity. However, the flat Open Circuit Voltage (OCV)-SOC curve makes this task particularly challenging. This challenge is complicated by hysteresis effects, and real-world conditions such as current bias, voltage quantization errors, and temperature that must be considered in the battery management system use. In this paper, we proposed an adaptive estimation approach to overcome the challenges of LFPSOC estimation. Specifically, the method uses an adaptive fisher information fusion strategy that adaptively combines the SOC estimation from two different models, which are Coulomb counting and equivalent circuit model-based parameter identification. The effectiveness of this strategy is rationalized by the information richness excited by external cycling signals. A 3D OCV-H-SOC map that captures the relationship between OCV, hysteresis, and SOC was proposed as the backbone, and can be generalizable to other widely adopted parameter-identification methods. Extensive validation under ideal and real-world use scenarios, including SOC-OCV flat zones, current bias, voltage quantization errors, low temperatures, and insufficient current excitations, have been performed using 4 driving profiles, i.e., the Orange County Transit Bus Cycle, the California Unified Cycle, the US06 Drive Cycle, and the New York City Cycle, where the results demonstrate superiority over the state-of-the-art unscented Kalman filter, long short-term memory networks and transformer in all validation cases.

Authors:William H English, Chase Walker, Dominic Simon, Sumit Kumar Jha, Rickard Ewetz
Title: Verifiable Natural Language to Linear Temporal Logic Translation: A Benchmark Dataset and Evaluation Suite
Abstract:
Empirical evaluation of state-of-the-art natural-language (NL) to temporal-logic (TL) translation systems reveals near-perfect performance on existing benchmarks. However, current studies measure only the accuracy of the translation of NL logic into formal TL, ignoring a system's capacity to ground atomic propositions into new scenarios or environments. This is a critical feature, necessary for the verification of resulting formulas in a concrete state space. Consequently, most NL-to-TL translation frameworks propose their own bespoke dataset in which the correct grounding is known a-priori, inflating performance metrics and neglecting the need for extensible, domain-general systems. In this paper, we introduce the Verifiable Linear Temporal Logic Benchmark ( VLTL-Bench), a unifying benchmark that measures verification and verifiability of automated NL-to-LTL translation. The dataset consists of three unique state spaces and thousands of diverse natural language specifications and corresponding formal specifications in temporal logic. Moreover, the benchmark contains sample traces to validate the temporal logic expressions. While the benchmark directly supports end-to-end evaluation, we observe that many frameworks decompose the process into i) lifting, ii) grounding, iii) translation, and iv) verification. The benchmark provides ground truths after each of these steps to enable researches to improve and evaluate different substeps of the overall problem. To encourage methodologically sound advances in verifiable NL-to-LTL translation approaches, we release VLTL-Bench here: https://www.kaggle.com/datasets/dubascudes/vltl bench.

Authors:Subed Lamichhane, Haotian Lu, Sheldon X. -D. Tan
Title: EMSpice 2.1: A Coupled EM and IR Drop Analysis Tool with Joule Heating and Thermal Map Integration for VLSI Reliability
Abstract:
Electromigration (EM) remains a critical reliability concern in current and future copper-based VLSI circuits. As technology scales down, EM-induced IR drop becomes increasingly severe. While several EM-aware IR drop analysis tools have been proposed, few incorporate the real impact of temperature distribution on both EM and IR drop effects. In this work, we introduce EMSpice 2.1, an enhanced tool built upon the existing coupled IR-EM analysis framework, EMSpice 2.0, for EM-aware IR drop analysis. For the first time, EMSpice 2.1 uniquely integrates Joule heating effects and practical thermal maps derived from actual chip conditions. Additionally, it features improved interoperability with commercial EDA tools, facilitating more comprehensive EM and IR drop sign-off analysis. Our findings demonstrate that specific hotspot patterns significantly impact the lifetime of interconnects and overall chip reliability due to EM failures. Furthermore, our tool exhibits strong agreement with industry-standard tools such as COMSOL, achieving a speedup of over 200 times while maintaining high accuracy.

Authors:Bingjie Zhu, Zhixiong Chen, Liqiang Zhao, Hyundong Shin, Arumugam Nallanathan
Title: Efficient LLM Inference over Heterogeneous Edge Networks with Speculative Decoding
Abstract:
Large language model (LLM) inference at the network edge is a promising serving paradigm that leverages distributed edge resources to run inference near users and enhance privacy. Existing edge-based LLM inference systems typically adopt autoregressive decoding (AD), which only generates one token per forward pass. This iterative process, compounded by the limited computational resources of edge nodes, results in high serving latency and constrains the system's ability to support multiple users under growing demands.To address these challenges, we propose a speculative decoding (SD)-based LLM serving framework that deploys small and large models across heterogeneous edge nodes to collaboratively deliver inference services. Specifically, the small model rapidly generates draft tokens that the large model verifies in parallel, enabling multi-token generation per forward pass and thus reducing serving latency. To improve resource utilization of edge nodes, we incorporate pipeline parallelism to overlap drafting and verification across multiple inference tasks. Based on this framework, we analyze and derive a comprehensive latency model incorporating both communication and inference latency. Then, we formulate a joint optimization problem for speculation length, task batching, and wireless communication resource allocation to minimize total serving latency. To address this problem, we derive the closed-form solutions for wireless communication resource allocation, and develop a dynamic programming algorithm for joint batching and speculation control strategies. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed framework achieves lower serving latency compared to AD-based serving systems. In addition,the proposed joint optimization method delivers up to 44.9% latency reduction compared to benchmark schemes.

Authors:Jiajie Qiu, Dakota Thompson, Kamal Youcef-Toumi, Amro M. Farid
Title: Optimal Multi-Modal Transportation and Electric Power Flow: The Value of Coordinated Dynamic Operation
Abstract:
The electrification of transportation represents a critical challenge in the global transition toward net-zero emissions, as the sector often accounts for more than one-quarter of national energy consumption. Achieving this transformation requires not only widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) but also their seamless integration into interdependent infrastructure systems-specifically, the transportation-electricity nexus (TEN). This paper develops an optimal multi-modal transportation and electric power flow (OMTEPF) model to evaluate the benefits of coordinated, dynamic system operation. Building on recent advances in hetero-functional graph theory, the framework enables joint optimization of five key operational decisions in intelligent TEN management: vehicle dispatch, route choice, charging station queuing, coordinated charging, and vehicle-to-grid stabilization. The mesoscopic, dynamic model explicitly represents individual EVs and their state-of-charge trajectories, thereby extending beyond the prevailing literature's focus on static, macroscopic traffic assignment. It further captures the full scope of the TEN as a system-of-systems, incorporating five distinct charging modalities: private residential, private commercial, wired public commercial, inductive public, and discharging. On the power system side, an IV-ACOPF formulation ensures globally optimal solutions to the electrical subproblems. Comparative analysis demonstrates the substantial value of coordinated TEN operation relative to the status quo of siloed, uncoordinated infrastructure management. This work provides both a novel methodological contribution and actionable insights for the co-design and operation of next-generation sustainable mobility-energy systems.

Authors:Ahmad Mohammadi, Reza Ahmari, Vahid Hemmati, Frederick Owusu-Ambrose, Mahmoud Nabil Mahmoud, Parham Kebria, Abdollah Homaifar, Mehrdad Saif
Title: GPS Spoofing Attack Detection in Autonomous Vehicles Using Adaptive DBSCAN
Abstract:
As autonomous vehicles become an essential component of modern transportation, they are increasingly vulnerable to threats such as GPS spoofing attacks. This study presents an adaptive detection approach utilizing a dynamically tuned Density Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) algorithm, designed to adjust the detection threshold (ε) in real-time. The threshold is updated based on the recursive mean and standard deviation of displacement errors between GPS and in-vehicle sensors data, but only at instances classified as non-anomalous. Furthermore, an initial threshold, determined from 120,000 clean data samples, ensures the capability to identify even subtle and gradual GPS spoofing attempts from the beginning. To assess the performance of the proposed method, five different subsets from the real-world Honda Research Institute Driving Dataset (HDD) are selected to simulate both large and small magnitude GPS spoofing attacks. The modified algorithm effectively identifies turn-by-turn, stop, overshoot, and multiple small biased spoofing attacks, achieving detection accuracies of 98.621%, 99.960.1%, 99.880.1%, and 98.380.1%, respectively. This work provides a substantial advancement in enhancing the security and safety of AVs against GPS spoofing threats.

Authors:Jingyi Wu, Chao Ning, Yang Shi
Title: Distributionally Robust Control with End-to-End Statistically Guaranteed Metric Learning
Abstract:
Wasserstein distributionally robust control (DRC) recently emerges as a principled paradigm for handling uncertainty in stochastic dynamical systems. However, it constructs data-driven ambiguity sets via uniform distribution shifts before sequentially incorporating them into downstream control synthesis. This segregation between ambiguity set construction and control objectives inherently introduces a structural misalignment, which undesirably leads to conservative control policies with sub-optimal performance. To address this limitation, we propose a novel end-to-end finite-horizon Wasserstein DRC framework that integrates the learning of anisotropic Wasserstein metrics with downstream control tasks in a closed-loop manner, thus enabling ambiguity sets to be systematically adjusted along performance-critical directions and yielding more effective control policies. This framework is formulated as a bilevel program: the inner level characterizes dynamical system evolution under DRC, while the outer level refines the anisotropic metric leveraging control-performance feedback across a range of initial conditions. To solve this program efficiently, we develop a stochastic augmented Lagrangian algorithm tailored to the bilevel structure. Theoretically, we prove that the learned ambiguity sets preserve statistical finite-sample guarantees under a novel radius adjustment mechanism, and we establish the well-posedness of the bilevel formulation by demonstrating its continuity with respect to the learnable metric. Furthermore, we show that the algorithm converges to stationary points of the outer level problem, which are statistically consistent with the optimal metric at a non-asymptotic convergence rate. Experiments on both numerical and inventory control tasks verify that the proposed framework achieves superior closed-loop performance and robustness compared against state-of-the-art methods.

Authors:Carsten Hartmann, Edoardo De Din, Daniele Carta, Florian Middelkoop, Arndt Neubauer, Johannes Kruse, Ulrich Oberhofer, Richard Jumar, Benjamin Schäfer, Thiemo Pesch, Andrea Benigni, Dirk Witthaut
Title: Cyber-Physical Systems on the Megawatt Scale: The impact of battery control on grid frequency stability
Abstract:
Electric power systems are undergoing fundamental change. The shift to inverter-based generation challenges frequency stability, while growing digitalisation heightens vulnerability to errors and attacks. Here we identify an emerging risk at the intersection of cyber-physical coupling and control system design. We show that grid frequency time series worldwide exhibit a persistent one-minute oscillatory pattern, whose origin has remained largely unexplained. We trace this pattern back to the energy management systems of battery electric storage systems and demonstrate that the pattern amplitude has increased substantially in the Nordic and British grids. We argue that this effect is a potential burden for stability in future grids with low inertia and an increasing penetration with batteries and smart devices, though it can be mitigated by a revision of battery control algorithms.

Authors:Yeomoon Kim, Minsoo Kim, Jip Kim
Title: MPA-DNN: Projection-Aware Unsupervised Learning for Multi-period DC-OPF
Abstract:
Ensuring both feasibility and efficiency in optimal power flow (OPF) operations has become increasingly important in modern power systems with high penetrations of renewable energy and energy storage. While deep neural networks (DNNs) have emerged as promising fast surrogates for OPF solvers, they often fail to satisfy critical operational constraints, especially those involving inter-temporal coupling, such as generator ramping limits and energy storage operations. To deal with these issues, we propose a Multi-Period Projection-Aware Deep Neural Network (MPA-DNN) that incorporates a projection layer for multi-period dispatch into the network. By doing so, our model enforces physical feasibility through the projection, enabling end-to-end learning of constraint-compliant dispatch trajectories without relying on labeled data. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves near-optimal performance while strictly satisfying all constraints in varying load conditions.

Authors:Johannes Autenrieb, Patrick Gruhn
Title: A Control Allocation Algorithm for Hypersonic Glide Vehicles with Input Limitations
Abstract:
Hypersonic glide vehicles (HGVs) operate in challenging flight regimes characterized by strong nonlinearities in actuation and stringent physical constraints. These include state-dependent actuator limitations, asymmetric control bounds, and thermal loads that vary with maneuvering conditions. This paper introduces an iterative control allocation method to address these challenges in real time. The proposed algorithm searches for control inputs that achieve the desired moment commands while respecting constraints on input magnitude and rate. For slender HGV configurations, thermal loads and drag generation are strongly correlated-lower drag typically results in reduced surface heating. By embedding drag-sensitive soft constraints, the method improves energy efficiency and implicitly reduces surface temperatures, lowering the vehicle's infrared signature. These features are particularly advantageous for long-range military operations that require low observability. The approach is demonstrated using the DLR's Generic Hypersonic Glide Vehicle 2 (GHGV-2) simulation model. The results confirm the method's effectiveness in maintaining control authority under realistic, constrained flight conditions.

Authors:Frank Mukwege, Tam Willy Nguyen, Emanuele Garone
Title: General formulation of an analytic, Lipschitz continuous control allocation for thrust-vectored controlled rigid-bodies
Abstract:
This study introduces a systematic and scalable method for arbitrary rigid-bodies equipped with vectorized thrusters. Two novel solutions are proposed: a closed-form, Lipschitz continuous mapping that ensures smooth actuator orientation references, and a convex optimization formulation capable of handling practical actuator constraints such as thrust saturation and angular rate limits. Both methods leverage the null-space structure of the allocation mapping to perform singularity avoidance while generating sub-optimal yet practical solutions. The effectiveness and generality of the proposed framework are demonstrated through numerical simulations on a 3DOF marine vessel and a 6DOF aerial quadcopter.

Authors:Jihun Lim, Sungwon Lee
Title: Techno-economic analysis of self-sustainable thermophotovoltaic systems for grid-scale energy generation
Abstract:
To facilitate the widespread adoption of renewable energy, dispatchable, zero-emission power sources are essential for grid stability. This work performs a comprehensive techno-economic analysis of a self-sustainable thermophotovoltaic (TPV) system, an architecture that integrates solar charging to function as a standalone power generation asset. Using theory-based models for air-bridge InGaAs and Si diode cells, our analysis reveals that while the system is not currently competitive from a pure levelized of storage cost (LCOS) perspective due to the high capital expenditure for thermal battery materials, its primary value lies in its competitive levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). The results demonstrate that the LCOE of this self-sustaining system can be competitive with conventional dispatchable generators, such as gas turbines. Furthermore, at scales exceeding the gigawatt-hour level, a Si-based system can also achieve an LCOE comparable to that of traditional gas-turbine power plants, despite having a lower conversion efficiency than its InGaAs counterpart. This highlights a practical engineering pathway for leveraging silicon's immense manufacturing scalability, offering a lower-risk route to deployment compared to III-V materials. Ultimately, this work establishes the self-sustainable TPV architecture as a compelling pathway toward providing grid-scale, on-demand, zero-emission power.

Authors:Sebastiano Randino, Lorenzo Schena, Nicolas Coudou, Emanuele Garone, Miguel Alfonso Mendez
Title: Nonlinear System Identification for Model-Based Control of Waked Wind Turbines
Abstract:
This work presents a nonlinear system identification framework for modeling the power extraction dynamics of wind turbines, including both freestream and waked conditions. The approach models turbine dynamics using data-driven power coefficient maps expressed as combinations of compact radial basis functions and polynomial bases, parameterized in terms of tip-speed ratio and upstream conditions. These surrogate models are embedded in a first-order dynamic system suitable for model-based control. Experimental validation is carried out in two wind tunnel configurations: a low-turbulence tandem setup and a high-turbulence wind farm scenario. In the tandem case, the identified model is integrated into an adapted Kω^2 controller, resulting in improved tip-speed ratio tracking and power stability compared to BEM-based and steady-state models. In the wind farm scenario, the model captures the statistical behavior of the turbines despite unresolved turbulence. The proposed method enables interpretable, adaptive control across a range of operating conditions without relying on black-box learning strategies.

Authors:Johannes Autenrieb, Mark Spiller
Title: Decentralized CBF-based Safety Filters for Collision Avoidance of Cooperative Missile Systems with Input Constraints
Abstract:
This paper presents a decentralized safety filter for collision avoidance in multi-agent aerospace interception scenarios. The approach leverages robust control barrier functions (RCBFs) to guarantee forward invariance of safety sets under bounded inputs and high-relative-degree dynamics. Each effector executes its nominal cooperative guidance command, while a local quadratic program (QP) modifies the input only when necessary. Event-triggered activation based on range and zero-effort miss (ZEM) criteria ensures scalability by restricting active constraints to relevant neighbors. To resolve feasibility issues from simultaneous constraints, a slack-variable relaxation scheme is introduced that prioritizes critical agents in a Pareto-optimal manner. Simulation results in many-on-many interception scenarios demonstrate that the proposed framework maintains collision-free operation with minimal deviation from nominal guidance, providing a computationally efficient and scalable solution for safety-critical multi-agent aerospace systems.

Authors:Hongjian Chen, Changyun Wen, Xiaolei Li, Jiaqi Yan
Title: Resilient Multi-Dimensional Consensus and Distributed Optimization against Agent-Based and Denial-of-Service Attacks
Abstract:
In this paper, we consider the resilient multi-dimensional consensus and distributed optimization problems of multi-agent systems (MASs) in the presence of both agent-based and denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. The considered agent-based attacks can cover malicious, Byzantine, and stubborn agents. The links between agents in the network can be blocked by DoS attacks, which may lead the digraph to be time-varying and even disconnected. The objective is to ensure that the remaining benign agents achieve consensus. To this end, an "auxiliary point"-based resilient control algorithm is proposed for MASs. Under the proposed algorithm, each healthy agent constructs a "safe kernel" utilizing the states of its in-neighbors and updates its state toward a specific point within this kernel at each iteration. If an agent cannot receive its neighbors' states owing to DoS attacks, it will use the states received immediately before the DoS period. Moreover, a resilient multi-dimensional distributed optimization (RMDO) algorithm is also proposed. Theoretical proofs and numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Authors:Abdülbaki Şanlan, Fatih Erol, Murad Abu-Khalaf, Emre Koyuncu
Title: Terrain-Aided Navigation Using a Point Cloud Measurement Sensor
Abstract:
We investigate the use of a point cloud measurement in terrain-aided navigation. Our goal is to aid an inertial navigation system, by exploring ways to generate a useful measurement innovation error for effective nonlinear state estimation. We compare two such measurement models that involve the scanning of a digital terrain elevation model: a) one that is based on typical ray-casting from a given pose, that returns the predicted point cloud measurement from that pose, and b) another computationally less intensive one that does not require raycasting and we refer to herein as a sliding grid. Besides requiring a pose, it requires the pattern of the point cloud measurement itself and returns a predicted point cloud measurement. We further investigate the observability properties of the altitude for both measurement models. As a baseline, we compare the use of a point cloud measurement performance to the use of a radar altimeter and show the gains in accuracy. We conclude by showing that a point cloud measurement outperforms the use of a radar altimeter, and the point cloud measurement model to use depends on the computational resources

Authors:Othman Younus, Behnaz Majlesein, Richard Nacke, Isaac N. O. Osahon, Carmine Pellegrino, Sina Babadi, Iman Tavakkolnia, Henning Helmers, Harald Haas
Title: Multi-Segment Photonic Power Converters for Energy Harvesting and High-Speed Optical Wireless Communication
Abstract:
The demand for energy-efficient high-speed wireless communication, coupled with the rapid rise of IoT devices, requires systems that integrate power harvesting with optical data reception to eliminate the need for charging or battery replacements. Recent advances have explored the use of solar cells as optical receivers for high-speed data detection alongside power harvesting. \acs{GaAs}-based \acp{PPC} provide six times greater electron mobility than silicon- or cadmium telluride-based cells, enabling faster data detection and improved power efficiency. However, their bandwidth is constrained by junction capacitance, which increases with active area, creating a trade-off between power output and data rate. To address this, we propose and test multi-segment \acs{GaAs}-based \Acp{PPC} that serve as both energy harvesters and data detectors. By segmenting the active area into 2, 4, or 6 subcells, forming circular areas with diameters of 1, 1.5, or 2.08~mm, we reduce capacitance and boost bandwidth while preserving light collection. Fabricated on a semi-insulating \ac{GaAs} substrate with etched trenches for electrical isolation, the series-connected subcells optimize absorption and minimize parasitic effects. The \Acp{PPC} were used for an eye-safe 1.5~m optical wireless link, employing \ac{OFDM} with adaptive bit and power loading. The system achieved a world record data rate of 3.8~Gbps, which is four times higher than prior works. The system converts 39.7\% of optical power from a beam of 2.3~mW, although the segmentation increases the sensitivity of the alignment. These findings provide new solutions for off-grid backhaul for future communication networks, such as 6th generation (6G) cellular.

Authors:Ask Hällström, Felix Agner, Richard Pates
Title: On properties of hydraulic equilibria in district heating networks
Abstract:
District heating networks are an integral part of the energy system in many countries. In future smart energy systems, they are expected to enhance energy flexibility and support the integration of renewable and waste energy sources. An important aspect of these networks is the control of flow rates, which dictates the heat delivered to consumers. This paper concerns the properties of flow rates in tree-structured district heating networks. We show that under mild assumptions of monotonicity in the hydraulic network components, statements regarding the stationary flow rate distribution can be made. In particular, when all consumers in a network incrementally open their valves, an increase in total flow rate throughput is guaranteed, while if one consumer does not open their valve when others do, they will receive a reduced flow rate. These properties are illustrated numerically on a small 2-consumer network as well as on a larger 22-consumer network. Previous works have shown that these properties allow the design and use of efficient control strategies for optimal heat distribution.

Authors:Josh A. Taylor, Alejandro D. Domínguez-García
Title: Geometry of Distance Protection
Abstract:
Distance relays detect faults on transmission lines. They face uncertainty from the fault's location and resistance, as well as the current from the line's remote terminal. In this paper, we aggregate this uncertainty with the Minkowski sum. This allows us to explicitly model the power grid surrounding the relay's line, and in turn accommodate any mix of synchronous machines and inverter-based resources. To make the relay's task easier, inverters can inject perturbations, or auxiliary signals, such as negative-sequence current. We use Farkas' lemma to construct an optimization for designing inverter auxiliary signals.

Authors:Anirban Samanta, Shun-Hung Lee, Chun-Yi Cheng, Samuel Palermo, S. J. Ben Yoo
Title: 3D Electronic-Photonic Heterogenous Interconnect Platforms Enabling Energy-Efficient Scalable Architectures For Future HPC Systems
Abstract:
3D interconnects have emerged as a solution to address the scaling issues of interconnect bandwidth and the memory wall problem in high-performance computing (HPC), such as High-Bandwidth Memory (HBM). However, the copper-based electrical interconnect retains fundamental limitations. Dense I/O for high-speed signals lead to degraded signal quality for end-to-end links, necessitating additional circuits to mitigate signal impairments and resulting in poor energy efficiency. We propose a 3D chiplet stacking electronic-photonic interconnect (EPIC) platform, which offers a solution by moving the high-speed data communication interface to the optical domain across the 3D stack by using Through Silicon Optical Vias (TSOV), while retaining the functionality of electrical TSVs and 2.5D interconnects for power delivery and short-reach low-latency communications. We then benchmark the proposed model against state-of-the-art 3D electrical interconnects to demonstrate our 3D EPIC platform beating the 3D electrical interconnects to $>$10 TB/s/$mm^2$ bandwidth density. We present a pathway to extend our demonstrated, industry-ready design to achieving $\leq$100 fJ/bit high-speed communication.

Authors:Alex Durkin, Jasper Stolte, Mehmet Mercangöz
Title: HOFLON: Hybrid Offline Learning and Online Optimization for Process Start-Up and Grade-Transition Control
Abstract:
Start-ups and product grade-changes are critical steps in continuous-process plant operation, because any misstep immediately affects product quality and drives operational losses. These transitions have long relied on manual operation by a handful of expert operators, but the progressive retirement of that workforce is leaving plant owners without the tacit know-how needed to execute them consistently. In the absence of a process model, offline reinforcement learning (RL) promises to capture and even surpass human expertise by mining historical start-up and grade-change logs, yet standard offline RL struggles with distribution shift and value-overestimation whenever a learned policy ventures outside the data envelope. We introduce HOFLON (Hybrid Offline Learning + Online Optimization) to overcome those limitations. Offline, HOFLON learns (i) a latent data manifold that represents the feasible region spanned by past transitions and (ii) a long-horizon Q-critic that predicts the cumulative reward from state-action pairs. Online, it solves a one-step optimization problem that maximizes the Q-critic while penalizing deviations from the learned manifold and excessive rates of change in the manipulated variables. We test HOFLON on two industrial case studies: a polymerization reactor start-up and a paper-machine grade-change problem, and benchmark it against Implicit Q-Learning (IQL), a leading offline-RL algorithm. In both plants HOFLON not only surpasses IQL but also delivers, on average, better cumulative rewards than the best start-up or grade-change observed in the historical data, demonstrating its potential to automate transition operations beyond current expert capability.

Authors:Liya Huang, Georgios Tzounas
Title: On the Duality Between Quantized Time and States in Dynamic Simulation
Abstract:
This letter introduces a formal duality between discrete-time and quantized-state numerical methods. We interpret quantized state system (QSS) methods as integration schemes applied to a dual form of the system model, where time is seen as a state-dependent variable. This perspective enables the definition of novel QSS-based schemes inspired by classical time-integration techniques. As a proof of concept, we illustrate the idea by introducing a QSS Adams-Bashforth method applied to a test equation. We then move to demonstrate how the proposed approach can achieve notable performance improvements in realistic power system simulations.

Authors:Raaghav Malik, Satpreet H. Singh, Sonja Johnson-Yu, Nathan Wu, Roy Harpaz, Florian Engert, Kanaka Rajan
Title: Dissecting Larval Zebrafish Hunting using Deep Reinforcement Learning Trained RNN Agents
Abstract:
Larval zebrafish hunting provides a tractable setting to study how ecological and energetic constraints shape adaptive behavior in both biological brains and artificial agents. Here we develop a minimal agent-based model, training recurrent policies with deep reinforcement learning in a bout-based zebrafish simulator. Despite its simplicity, the model reproduces hallmark hunting behaviors -- including eye vergence-linked pursuit, speed modulation, and stereotyped approach trajectories -- that closely match real larval zebrafish. Quantitative trajectory analyses show that pursuit bouts systematically reduce prey angle by roughly half before strike, consistent with measurements. Virtual experiments and parameter sweeps vary ecological and energetic constraints, bout kinematics (coupled vs. uncoupled turns and forward motion), and environmental factors such as food density, food speed, and vergence limits. These manipulations reveal how constraints and environments shape pursuit dynamics, strike success, and abort rates, yielding falsifiable predictions for neuroscience experiments. These sweeps identify a compact set of constraints -- binocular sensing, the coupling of forward speed and turning in bout kinematics, and modest energetic costs on locomotion and vergence -- that are sufficient for zebrafish-like hunting to emerge. Strikingly, these behaviors arise in minimal agents without detailed biomechanics, fluid dynamics, circuit realism, or imitation learning from real zebrafish data. Taken together, this work provides a normative account of zebrafish hunting as the optimal balance between energetic cost and sensory benefit, highlighting the trade-offs that structure vergence and trajectory dynamics. We establish a virtual lab that narrows the experimental search space and generates falsifiable predictions about behavior and neural coding.

Authors:Thomas Lee, Andy Sun
Title: CANOPI: Contingency-Aware Nodal Optimal Power Investments with High Temporal Resolution
Abstract:
We present CANOPI, a novel algorithmic framework, for solving the Contingency-Aware Nodal Power Investments problem, a large-scale nonlinear optimization problem that jointly optimizes generation, storage, and transmission expansion. The underlying problem is nonlinear due to the impact of transmission upgrades on impedances, and the problem's large scale arises from the confluence of spatial and temporal resolutions. We propose algorithmic approaches to address these computational challenges. We pose a linear approximation of the overall nonlinear model, and develop a fixed-point algorithm to adjust for the nonlinear impedance feedback effect. We solve the large-scale linear expansion model with a specialized level-bundle method leveraging a novel interleaved approach to contingency constraint generation. We introduce a minimal cycle basis algorithm that improves the numerical sparsity of cycle-based DC power flow formulations, accelerating solve times for the operational subproblems. CANOPI is demonstrated on a 1493-bus Western Interconnection test system built from realistic-geography network data, with hourly operations spanning 52 week-long scenarios and a total possible set of 20 billion individual transmission contingency constraints. Numerical results quantify the reliability and economic benefits of fully incorporating transmission contingencies in integrated planning models and highlight the computational advantages of the proposed methods.

Authors:Abhijeet, Suman Chakravorty
Title: A Sequential Quadratic Programming Perspective on Optimal Control
Abstract:
This paper offers a unified perspective on different approaches to the solution of optimal control problems through the lens of constrained sequential quadratic programming. In particular, it allows us to find the relationships between Newton's method, the iterative LQR (iLQR), and Differential Dynamic Programming (DDP) approaches to solve the problem. It is shown that the iLQR is a principled SQP approach, rather than simply an approximation of DDP by neglecting the Hessian terms, to solve optimal control problems that can be guaranteed to always produce a cost-descent direction and converge to an optimum; while Newton's approach or DDP do not have similar guarantees, especially far from an optimum. Our empirical evaluations on the pendulum and cart-pole swing-up tasks serve to corroborate the SQP-based analysis proposed in this paper.

Authors:Yubo Zhang, Jeremy Johnston, Xiaodong Wang
Title: An Encoder-Decoder Network for Beamforming over Sparse Large-Scale MIMO Channels
Abstract:
We develop an end-to-end deep learning framework for downlink beamforming in large-scale sparse MIMO channels. The core is a deep EDN architecture with three modules: (i) an encoder NN, deployed at each user end, that compresses estimated downlink channels into low-dimensional latent vectors. The latent vector from each user is compressed and then fed back to the BS. (ii) a beamformer decoder NN at the BS that maps recovered latent vectors to beamformers, and (iii) a channel decoder NN at the BS that reconstructs downlink channels from recovered latent vectors to further refine the beamformers. The training of EDN leverages two key strategies: (a) semi-amortized learning, where the beamformer decoder NN contains an analytical gradient ascent during both training and inference stages, and (b) knowledge distillation, where the loss function consists of a supervised term and an unsupervised term, and starting from supervised training with MMSE beamformers, over the epochs, the model training gradually shifts toward unsupervised using the sum-rate objective. The proposed EDN beamforming framework is extended to both far-field and near-field hybrid beamforming scenarios. Extensive simulations validate its effectiveness under diverse network and channel conditions.

Authors:Pol Mestres, Arnau Marzabal, Jorge Cortés
Title: Off-Policy Reinforcement Learning with Anytime Safety Guarantees via Robust Safe Gradient Flow
Abstract:
This paper considers the problem of solving constrained reinforcement learning (RL) problems with anytime guarantees, meaning that the algorithmic solution must yield a constraint-satisfying policy at every iteration of its evolution. Our design is based on a discretization of the Robust Safe Gradient Flow (RSGF), a continuous-time dynamics for anytime constrained optimization whose forward invariance and stability properties we formally characterize. The proposed strategy, termed RSGF-RL, is an off-policy algorithm which uses episodic data to estimate the value functions and their gradients and updates the policy parameters by solving a convex quadratically constrained quadratic program. Our technical analysis combines statistical analysis, the theory of stochastic approximation, and convex analysis to determine the number of episodes sufficient to ensure that safe policies are updated to safe policies and to recover from an unsafe policy, both with an arbitrary user-specified probability, and to establish the asymptotic convergence to the set of KKT points of the RL problem almost surely. Simulations on a navigation example and the cart-pole system illustrate the superior performance of RSGF-RL with respect to the state of the art.

Authors:Panagiotis Kounatidis, Andreas A. Malikopoulos
Title: Combined Learning and Control: A New Paradigm for Optimal Control with Unknown Dynamics
Abstract:
In this paper, we present the combined learning-and-control (CLC) approach, which is a new way to solve optimal control problems with unknown dynamics by unifying model-based control and data-driven learning. The key idea is simple: we design a controller to be optimal for a proxy objective built on an available model while penalizing mismatches with the real system, so that the resulting controller is also optimal for the actual system. Building on the original CLC formulation, we demonstrate the framework to the linear quadratic regulator problem and make three advances: (i) we show that the CLC penalty is a sequence of stage-specific weights rather than a single constant; (ii) we identify when these weights can be set in advance and when they must depend on the (unknown) dynamics; and (iii) we develop a lightweight learning loop that tunes the weights directly from data without abandoning the benefits of a model-based design. We provide a complete algorithm and an empirical study against common baseline methods. The results clarify where prior knowledge suffices and where learning is essential, and they position CLC as a practical, theoretically grounded bridge between classical optimal control and modern learning methods.

Authors:Mohammad Merati, David Castañón
Title: Exhaustive-Serve-Longest Control for Multi-robot Scheduling Systems
Abstract:
We study online task allocation for multi-robot, multi-queue systems with stochastic arrivals and switching delays. Time is slotted; each location can host at most one robot per slot; service consumes one slot; switching between locations incurs a one-slot travel delay; and arrivals are independent Bernoulli processes. We formulate a discounted-cost Markov decision process and propose Exhaustive-Serve-Longest (ESL), a simple real-time policy that serves exhaustively when the current location is nonempty and, when idle, switches to a longest unoccupied nonempty location, and we prove the optimality of this policy. As baselines, we tune a fixed-dwell cyclic policy via a discrete-time delay expression and implement a first-come-first-serve policy. Across server-to-location ratios and loads, ESL consistently yields lower discounted holding cost and smaller mean queue lengths, with action-time fractions showing more serving and restrained switching. Its simplicity and robustness make ESL a practical default for real-time multi-robot scheduling systems.

Authors:Sebastian Otzen, Hannes M. H. Wolf, Christian A. Hans
Title: Data-Driven Optimal Power Flow: A Behavioral Systems Approach
Abstract:
The increasing decentralization of power systems driven by a large number of renewable energy sources poses challenges in power flow optimization. Partially unknown power line properties can render model-based approaches unsuitable. With increasing deployment of sensors, data-driven methods rise as a promising alternative. They offer the flexibility to adapt to varying grid structures and unknown line properties. In this paper, we propose a novel data-driven representation of nonlinear power flow equations for radial grids based on Willems' Fundamental Lemma. The approach allows for direct integration of input/output data into power flow optimisation, enabling cost minimization and constraint enforcement without requiring explicit knowledge of the electrical properties or the topology of the grid. Moreover, we formulate a convex relaxation to ensure compatibility with state-of-the-art solvers. In a numerical case study, we demonstrate that the novel approach performs similar to state-of-the-art methods, without the need for an explicit system identification step.

Authors:Maya Domeshek, Christoph Graf, Burçin Ünel
Title: Coordinated vs. Sequential Transmission Planning
Abstract:
Coordinated planning of generation, storage, and transmission more accurately captures the interactions among these three capacity types necessary to meet electricity demand, at least in theory. However, in practice, U.S. system operators typically follow a sequential planning approach: They first determine future generation and storage additions based on an assumed unconstrained (`copper plate') system. Next, they perform dispatch simulations of this projected generation and storage capacity mix on the existing transmission grid to identify transmission constraint violations. These violations indicate the need for transmission upgrades. We describe a multistage, multi-locational planning model that co-optimizes generation, storage, and transmission investments. The model respects reliability constraints as well as state energy and climate policies. We test the two planning approaches using a current stakeholder-informed 20-zone model of the PJM region, developed for the current FERC Order No. 1920 compliance filing process. In our most conservative model specification, we find that the co-optimized approach estimates 67% lower transmission upgrade needs than the sequential model, leading to total system costs that are .6% lower and similar reliability and climate outcomes. Our sensitivities show larger transmission and cost savings and reliability and climate benefits from co-optimized planning.

Authors:Shumpei Nishida, Kunihisa Okano
Title: Event-Based Control via Sparsity-Promoting Regularization: A Rollout Approach with Performance Guarantees
Abstract:
This paper presents a controller design framework aiming to balance control performance and actuation rate. Control performance is evaluated by an infinite-horizon average cost, and the number of control actions is penalized via sparsity-promoting regularization. Since the formulated optimal control problem has a combinatorial nature, we employ a rollout algorithm to obtain a tractable suboptimal solution. In the proposed scheme, actuation timings are determined through a multistage minimization procedure based on a receding-horizon approach, and the corresponding control inputs are computed online. We establish theoretical performance guarantees with respect to periodic control and prove the stability of the closed-loop system. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated through a numerical example.

Authors:Jie Song, Yang Bai, Mikhail Svinin, Naoki Wakamiya
Title: Autonomous Detection and Coverage of Unknown Target Areas by Multi-Agent Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel coverage control algorithm for multi-agent systems, where each agent has no prior knowledge of the specific region to be covered. The proposed method enables agents to autonomously detect the target area and collaboratively achieve full coverage. Once an agent detects a part of the target region within its sensor range, a dynamically constructed density function is generated to attract nearby agents. By integrating this density-driven mechanism with Centroidal Voronoi Tessellation (CVT), the agents are guided to achieve optimal spatial distribution. Additionally, Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) are employed to ensure collision avoidance and maintain non-overlapping sensor coverage, enhancing both safety and efficiency. Simulation results verify that agents can independently locate and effectively cover the target area.

Authors:Tianjiao Sun, Ningyan Guo, Haozhe Gu, Yanyan Peng, Zhiyong Feng
Title: Integrated Communication and Control for Energy-Efficient UAV Swarms: A Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Approach
Abstract:
The deployment of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarm-assisted communication networks has become an increasingly vital approach for remediating coverage limitations in infrastructure-deficient environments, with especially pressing applications in temporary scenarios, such as emergency rescue, military and security operations, and remote area coverage. However, complex geographic environments lead to unpredictable and highly dynamic wireless channel conditions, resulting in frequent interruptions of air-to-ground (A2G) links that severely constrain the reliability and quality of service in UAV swarm-assisted mobile communications. To improve the quality of UAV swarm-assisted communications in complex geographic environments, we propose an integrated communication and control co-design mechanism. Given the stringent energy constraints inherent in UAV swarms, our proposed mechanism is designed to optimize energy efficiency while maintaining an equilibrium between equitable communication rates for mobile ground users (GUs) and UAV energy expenditure. We formulate the joint resource allocation and 3D trajectory control problem as a Markov decision process (MDP), and develop a multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) framework to enable real-time coordinated actions across the UAV swarm. To optimize the action policy of UAV swarms, we propose a novel multi-agent hybrid proximal policy optimization with action masking (MAHPPO-AM) algorithm, specifically designed to handle complex hybrid action spaces. The algorithm incorporates action masking to enforce hard constraints in high-dimensional action spaces. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach achieves a fairness index of 0.99 while reducing energy consumption by up to 25% compared to baseline methods.

Authors:Arev Hambardzumyan, Rafayel Ghasabyan
Title: Real Time Fatigue Crack Growth Monitoring Using High Precision Control and Data Acquisition Systems
Abstract:
Fatigue cracks may initiate and propagate long before a structural component reaches the end of its nominal life. Detecting and quantifying crack growth in real time is critical for avoiding catastrophic failures in aerospace structures, nuclear reactors and civil infrastructure. This research reviews four widely used crack growth monitoring techniques: digital image correlation (DIC), acoustic emission (AE), compliance based methods and direct current potential drop (DCPD). The research evaluates their working principles, instrumentation, detection thresholds, noise sensitivities and suitability under various environmental conditions. Recent advances in high precision control and data acquisition systems (DAQs) that enable multi sensor data fusion are explored. The goal is to guide selection and integration of monitoring methods in modern structural health monitoring architectures.

Authors:Jessica Jiang, Allison C. Zhuang, Petter Holme, Peter J. Mucha, Alice C. Schwarze
Title: Robustness of 'small' networks
Abstract:
Modeling how networks change under structural perturbations can yield foundational insights into network robustness, which is critical in many real-world applications. The largest connected component is a popular measure of network performance. Percolation theory provides a theoretical framework to establish statistical properties of the largest connected component of large random graphs. However, this theoretical framework is typically only exact in the large-$\nodes$ limit, failing to capture the statistical properties of largest connected components in small networks, which many real-world networks are. We derive expected values for the largest connected component of small $G(\nodes,p)$ random graphs from which nodes are either removed uniformly at random or targeted by highest degree and compare these values with existing theory. We also visualize the performance of our expected values compared to existing theory for predicting the largest connected component of various real-world, small graphs.

Authors:Sahand Tangerami, Nicholas A. Mecholsky, Francesco Sorrentino
Title: Optimizing the Network Topology of a Linear Reservoir Computer
Abstract:
Machine learning has become a fundamental approach for modeling, prediction, and control, enabling systems to learn from data and perform complex tasks. Reservoir computing is a machine learning tool that leverages high-dimensional dynamical systems to efficiently process temporal data for prediction and observation tasks. Traditionally, the connectivity of a reservoir computer (RC) is generated at random, lacking a principled design. Here, we focus on optimizing the topology of a linear RC to improve its performance and interpretability, which we achieve by decoupling the RC dynamics into a number of independent modes. We then proceed to optimize each one of these modes to perform a given task, which corresponds to selecting an optimal RC connectivity in terms of a given set of eigenvalues of the RC adjacency matrix. Simulations on networks of varying sizes show that the optimized RC significantly outperforms randomly constructed reservoirs in both the training and testing phases and also often surpasses nonlinear reservoirs of comparable size. This approach provides both practical performance advantages and theoretical guidelines for designing efficient, task-specific, and analytically transparent RC architectures.

Authors:Ghulam Mohy-ud-din, Yunqi Wang, Rahmat Heidari, Frederik Geth
Title: Stochastic Security Constrained AC Optimal Power Flow Using General Polynomial Chaos Expansion
Abstract:
Addressing the uncertainty introduced by increasing renewable integration is crucial for secure power system operation, yet capturing it while preserving the full nonlinear physics of the grid remains a significant challenge. This paper presents a stochastic security constrained optimal power flow model with chance constraints supporting nonlinear AC power flow equations and non Gaussian uncertainties. We use general polynomial chaos expansion to model arbitrary uncertainties of finite variance, enabling accurate moment computations and robust prediction of system states across diverse operating scenarios. The chance constraints probabilistically limit inequality violations, providing a more flexible representation of controllable variables and the consequent power system operation. Case studies validate the proposed models effectiveness in satisfying operational constraints and capturing uncertainty with high fidelity. Compared to the deterministic formulation, it also uncovers a wider set of unsecure contingencies, highlighting improved uncertainty capture and operational insight.

Authors:Mohamad Chehade, Hao Zhu
Title: NEO-Grid: A Neural Approximation Framework for Optimization and Control in Distribution Grids
Abstract:
The rise of distributed energy resources (DERs) is reshaping modern distribution grids, introducing new challenges in attaining voltage stability under dynamic and decentralized operating conditions. This paper presents NEO-Grid, a unified learning-based framework for volt-var optimization (VVO) and volt-var control (VVC) that leverages neural network surrogates for power flow and deep equilibrium models (DEQs) for closed-loop control. Our method replaces traditional linear approximations with piecewise-linear ReLU networks trained to capture the nonlinear relationship between power injections and voltage magnitudes. For control, we model the recursive interaction between voltage and inverter response using DEQs, allowing direct fixed-point computation and efficient training via implicit differentiation. We evaluated NEO-Grid on the IEEE 33-bus system, demonstrating that it significantly improves voltage regulation performance compared to standard linear and heuristic baselines in both optimization and control settings. Our results establish NEO-Grid as a scalable, accurate, and interpretable solution for learning-based voltage regulation in distribution grids.

Authors:Jaejeong Park, Mahmoud Elfar, Cody Fleming, Yasser Shoukry
Title: Certified Learning-Enabled Noise-Aware Motion Planning for Urban Air Mobility
Abstract:
Urban Air Mobility (UAM) has emerged as a promising solution to alleviate urban congestion and transportation challenges. Nevertheless, the noise generated by eVTOL aircrafts poses a significant barrier to public acceptance and regulatory approval, potentially limiting the operational scope and scalability of UAM systems. Hence, the successful adoption of UAM systems hinges on the ability to predict generated noise levels, and further develop motion planning strategies that comply with community-level noise regulations while maintaining operational efficiency. To this end, this paper proposes a novel noise-aware motion planning framework for UAM systems that ensures compliance with noise regulations. We first develop a certifiable neural network model to accurately predict eVTOL noise propagation patterns in urban environments, providing provable bounds on its correctness. To achieve a desired level of accuracy, we propose an active sampling strategy to efficiently build the dataset used to train and test the noise model. Next, we develop a noise-aware motion planning algorithm that utilizes the noise model to generate eVTOL trajectories that guarantee compliance with community noise regulations. The algorithm exploits the monotonic structure of the noise model to efficiently sample the configuration space, ensuring that the generated trajectories are both noise-compliant and operationally efficient. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework through a number of experiments for Vahana eVTOLs. The results show that the framework can generate noise-compliant flight plans for a fleet of eVTOLs that adhere to community noise regulations while optimizing operational efficiency.

Authors:Jin Chen, Jesus Bautista Villar, Bayu Jayawardhana, Hector Garcia de Marina
Title: Dispersion Formation Control: from Geometry to Distribution
Abstract:
We introduce and develop the concept of dispersion formation control, bridging a gap between shape-assembly studies in physics and biology and formation control theory. In current formation control studies, the control objectives typically focus on achieving desired local geometric properties, such as inter-agent distances, bearings, or relative positions. In contrast, our dispersion formation control approach enables agents to directly regulate the dispersion of their spatial distribution, a global variable associated with a covariance matrix. Specifically, we introduce the notion of covariance similarity to define the target spatial dispersion of agents. Building on this framework, we propose two control strategies: a centralized approach to illustrate the key ideas, and a distributed approach that enables agents to control the global dispersion but using only local information. Our stability analysis demonstrates that both strategies ensure exponential convergence of the agents' distribution to the desired dispersion. Notably, controlling a global variable rather than multiple local ones enhances the resiliency of the system, particularly against malfunctioning agents. Simulations validate the effectiveness of the proposed dispersion formation control.

Authors:Ahmed S. Alahmed, Audun Botterud, Saurabh Amin, Ali T. Al-Awami
Title: Watts and Drops: Co-Scheduling Power and Water in Desalination Plants
Abstract:
We develop a mathematical framework to jointly schedule water and electricity in a profit-maximizing renewable colocated water desalination plant that integrates both thermal and membrane based technologies. The price-taking desalination plant sells desalinated water to a water utility at a given price and engages in bidirectional electricity transactions with the grid, purchasing or selling power based on its net electricity demand. We show that the optimal scheduling policy depends on the plant's internal renewable generation and follows a simple threshold structure. Under the optimal policy, thermal based water output decreases monotonically with renewable output, while membrane based water output increases monotonically. We characterize the structure and intuition behind the threshold policy and examine key special properties.

Authors:Khan Masood Parvez, Sk Md Abidar Rahaman, Ali Shiri Sichani, Hadi AliAkbarpour
Title: AI-Enabled Smart Hygiene System for Real-Time Glucose Detection
Abstract:
This research presents a smart urinary health monitoring system incorporating a coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed slot-loop antenna biosensor designed to analyse various urine samples. The antenna demonstrates distinct resonant frequency shifts when exposed to five specific urine conditions, deviating from its baseline 1.42 GHz operation. These measurable frequency variations enable the antenna to function as an effective microwave sensor for urinary biomarker detection. A potential artificial intelligence-based Convolutional Neural Networks Long Short-Term Memory (CNN-LSTM) framework is also discussed to overcome the limitations of overlapping frequency responses, aiming to improve the accuracy of health condition detection. These components contribute to the development of a smart toilet system that displays real-time health information on a wall-mounted urinal screen, without requiring any user effort or behavioural change.

Authors:Dakota Thompson, Amro M. Farid
Title: A Weighted Least Squares Error Hetero-functional Graph State Estimator of the American Multi-modal Energy System
Abstract:
As one of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century, global climate change demands a host of changes across at least four critical energy infrastructures: the electric grid, the natural gas system, the oil system, and the coal system. In the context of the United States, this paper refers to this system-of-systems as ``The American Multi-Modal Energy System (AMES)". These combined changes necessitate an understanding of the AMES interdependencies, both structurally and behaviorally, to develop and enact effective policies. This work focuses on behavioral analysis methods to provide examples of how to analyze system behavior and the critical matter and energy flows through the system. Building upon past works, two regions of the AMES are modeled, and their behavior is analyzed using Hetero-functional Graph Theory (HFGT). More specifically, the work presents a weighted least square error state estimation model of the AMES. State estimation has played a major role in the operation and development of the American Electric Power System. This work extends the state estimation analysis beyond the single-operand electric grid environment into the heterogeneous environment of the AMES. Employing a data-driven and model-based systems engineering approach in combination with HFGT, a Weighted Least Squares Error Hetero-functional Graph State Estimation (WLSEHFGSE) optimization program is developed to estimate the optimal flows of mass and energy through the AMES. This work is the first to integrate state estimation methods with HFGT. Furthermore, it demonstrates how such a WLSEHFGSE recovers the mass and energy flows in a system-of-systems like the AMES with asset-level granularity.

Authors:Ziliang Lyu, Miroslav Krstic, Kaixin Lu, Yiguang Hong, Lihua Xie
Title: Adaptive Override Control under High-Relative-Degree Nonovershooting Constraints
Abstract:
This paper considers the problem of adaptively overriding unsafe actions of a nominal controller in the presence of high-relative-degree nonovershooting constraints and parametric uncertainties. To prevent the design from being coupled with high-order derivatives of the parameter estimation error, we adopt a modular design approach in which the controller and the parameter identifier are designed separately. The controller module ensures that any safety violations caused by parametric uncertainties remain bounded, provided that the parameter estimation error and its first-order derivative are either bounded or square-integrable. The identifier module, in turn, guarantees that these requirements on the parameter estimation error are satisfied. Both theoretical analysis and simulation results demonstrate that the closed-loop safety violation is bounded by a tunable function of the initial estimation error. Moreover, as time increases, the parameter estimate converges to the true value, and the amount of safety violation decreases accordingly.

Authors:Bai Xue, Luke Ong, Dominik Wagner, Peixin Wang
Title: Refined Barrier Conditions for Finite-Time Safety and Reach-Avoid Guarantees in Stochastic Systems
Abstract:
Providing finite-time probabilistic safety and reach-avoid guarantees is crucial for safety-critical stochastic systems. Existing barrier certificate methods often rely on a restrictive boundedness assumption for auxiliary functions, limiting their applicability. This paper presents refined barrier-like conditions that remove this assumption. Specifically, we establish conditions for deriving upper bounds on finite-time safety probabilities in discrete-time systems and lower bounds on finite-time reach-avoid probabilities in continuous-time systems. This key relaxation significantly expands the class of verifiable systems, especially those with unbounded state spaces, and facilitates the application of advanced optimization techniques, such as semi-definite programming with polynomial functions. The efficacy of our approach is validated through numerical examples.

Authors:M Parimi, Rachit Mehra, S. R. Wagh, Amol Yerudkar, Navdeep Singh
Title: On the Dynamics of Acceleration in First order Gradient Methods
Abstract:
Ever since the original algorithm by Nesterov (1983), the true nature of the acceleration phenomenon has remained elusive, with various interpretations of why the method is actually faster. The diagnosis of the algorithm through the lens of Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) and the corresponding dynamical system formulation to explain the underlying dynamics has a rich history. In the literature, the ODEs that explain algorithms are typically derived by considering the limiting case of the algorithm maps themselves, that is, an ODE formulation follows the development of an algorithm. This obfuscates the underlying higher order principles and thus provides little evidence of the working of the algorithm. Such has been the case with Nesterov algorithm and the various analogies used to describe the acceleration phenomena, viz, momentum associated with the rolling of a Heavy-Ball down a slope, Hessian damping etc. The main focus of our work is to ideate the genesis of the Nesterov algorithm from the viewpoint of dynamical systems leading to demystifying the mathematical rigour behind the algorithm. Instead of reverse engineering ODEs from discrete algorithms, this work explores tools from the recently developed control paradigm titled Passivity and Immersion approach and the Geometric Singular Perturbation theory which are applied to arrive at the formulation of a dynamical system that explains and models the acceleration phenomena. This perspective helps to gain insights into the various terms present and the sequence of steps used in Nesterovs accelerated algorithm for the smooth strongly convex and the convex case. The framework can also be extended to derive the acceleration achieved using the triple momentum method and provides justifications for the non-convergence to the optimal solution in the Heavy-Ball method.

Authors:Yinlong Dai, Andre Keyser, Dylan P. Losey
Title: Prepare Before You Act: Learning From Humans to Rearrange Initial States
Abstract:
Imitation learning (IL) has proven effective across a wide range of manipulation tasks. However, IL policies often struggle when faced with out-of-distribution observations; for instance, when the target object is in a previously unseen position or occluded by other objects. In these cases, extensive demonstrations are needed for current IL methods to reach robust and generalizable behaviors. But when humans are faced with these sorts of atypical initial states, we often rearrange the environment for more favorable task execution. For example, a person might rotate a coffee cup so that it is easier to grasp the handle, or push a box out of the way so they can directly grasp their target object. In this work we seek to equip robot learners with the same capability: enabling robots to prepare the environment before executing their given policy. We propose ReSET, an algorithm that takes initial states -- which are outside the policy's distribution -- and autonomously modifies object poses so that the restructured scene is similar to training data. Theoretically, we show that this two step process (rearranging the environment before rolling out the given policy) reduces the generalization gap. Practically, our ReSET algorithm combines action-agnostic human videos with task-agnostic teleoperation data to i) decide when to modify the scene, ii) predict what simplifying actions a human would take, and iii) map those predictions into robot action primitives. Comparisons with diffusion policies, VLAs, and other baselines show that using ReSET to prepare the environment enables more robust task execution with equal amounts of total training data. See videos at our project website: https://reset2025paper.github.io/

Authors:Shijie Wang, Haichao Gui, Rui Zhong
Title: On Fast Attitude Filtering Using Matrix Fisher Distributions with Stability Guarantee
Abstract:
This paper addresses two interrelated problems of the nonlinear filtering mechanism and fast attitude filtering with the matrix Fisher distribution (MFD) on the special orthogonal group. By analyzing the distribution evolution along Bayes' rule, we reveal two essential properties that enhance the performance of Bayesian attitude filters with MFDs, particularly in challenging conditions, from a theoretical viewpoint. Benefiting from the new understanding of the filtering mechanism associated with MFDs, two closed-form filters with MFDs is then proposed. These filters avoid the burdensome computations in previous MFD-based filters by introducing linearized error systems with right-invariant errors but retaining the two advantageous properties. Moreover, we leverage the two properties and closed-form filtering iteration to prove the almost-global exponential stability of the proposed filter with right-invariant error for the single-axis rotation, which, to our knowledge, is not achieved by existing directional statistics-based filters. Numerical simulations demonstrate that the proposed filters are significantly more accurate than the classic invariant Kalman filter. Besides, they are also as accurate as recent MFD-based Bayesian filters in challenging circumstances with large initial error and measurement uncertainty but consumes far less computation time (about 1/5 to 1/100 of previous MFD-based attitude filters).

Authors:Liam Hallinan, Ioannis Lestas
Title: An Optimal Control Interpretation of Augmented Distributed Optimization Algorithms
Abstract:
Distributed optimization algorithms are used in a wide variety of problems involving complex network systems where the goal is for a set of agents in the network to solve a network-wide optimization problem via distributed update rules. In many applications, such as communication networks and power systems, transient performance of the algorithms is just as critical as convergence, as the algorithms link to physical processes which must behave well. Primal-dual algorithms have a long history in solving distributed optimization problems, with augmented Lagrangian methods leading to important classes of widely used algorithms, which have been observed in simulations to improve transient performance. Here we show that such algorithms can be seen as being the optimal solution to an appropriately formulated optimal control problem, i.e., a cost functional associated with the transient behavior of the algorithm is minimized, penalizing deviations from optimality during algorithm transients. This is shown for broad classes of algorithm dynamics, including the more involved setting where inequality constraints are present. The results presented improve our understanding of the performance of distributed optimization algorithms and can be used as a basis for improved formulations.

Authors:Zhenghua Xu, Dominic Gross, George Alin Raducu, Hesam Khazraj, Nicolaos A. Cutululis
Title: Holistic Grid-Forming Control for HVDC-Connected Offshore Wind Power Plants to Provide Frequency Response
Abstract:
HVDC-connected offshore wind power plants (OWPPs) are expected to provide inertial response and frequency containment reserve (FCR) to help address the frequency control challenges caused by the growing penetration of power electronics in power systems. Initially dominated by communication-based and grid-following (GFL) control, recent efforts have shifted towards incorporating communication-free and grid-forming (GFM) control into HVDC-OWPP systems to enhance their frequency response capability. This paper proposes a holistic GFM control based on dual-port GFM control to improve the coordination across the entire AC-DC-AC dynamics. A frequency response model of a typical HVDC-OWPP system is developed for GFM control design. Then, dual-port GFM control and virtual synchronous generator control are implemented respectively on the HVDC system and OWPP of the typical system, where the asynchronism of onshore and offshore frequencies is revealed. Next, holistic GFM control is proposed to improve the synchronization and DC voltage regulation. Finally, simulations on the delivery of FCR and inertial response are carried out to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed control.

Authors:Yu Yang, Andreas Oliveira, Louis L. Whitcomb, Felipe Pait, Mario Sznaier, Noah J. Cowan
Title: Modeling Adaptive Tracking of Predictable Stimuli in Electric Fish
Abstract:
The weakly electric fish \emph{Eigenmannia virescens} naturally swims back and forth to stay within a moving refuge, tracking its motion using visual and electrosensory feedback. Previous experiments show that when the refuge oscillates as a low-frequency sinusoid (below about 0.5 Hz), the tracking is nearly perfect, but phase lag increases and gain decreases at higher frequencies. Here, we model this nonlinear behavior as an adaptive internal model principle (IMP) system. Specifically, an adaptive state estimator identifies the \emph{a priori} unknown frequency, and feeds this parameter estimate into a closed-loop IMP-based system built around a lightly damped harmonic oscillator. We prove that the closed-loop tracking error of the IMP-based system, where the online adaptive frequency estimate is used as a surrogate for the unknown frequency, converges exponentially to that of an ideal control system with perfect information about the stimulus. Simulations further show that our model reproduces the fish refuge tracking Bode plot across a wide frequency range. These results establish the theoretical validity of combining the IMP with an adaptive identification process and provide a basic framework in adaptive sensorimotor control.

Authors:Peihao Yan, Jie Lu, Huacheng Zeng, Y. Thomas Hou
Title: Near-Real-Time Resource Slicing for QoS Optimization in 5G O-RAN using Deep Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Open-Radio Access Network (O-RAN) has become an important paradigm for 5G and beyond radio access networks. This paper presents an xApp called xSlice for the Near-Real-Time (Near-RT) RAN Intelligent Controller (RIC) of 5G O-RANs. xSlice is an online learning algorithm that adaptively adjusts MAC-layer resource allocation in response to dynamic network states, including time-varying wireless channel conditions, user mobility, traffic fluctuations, and changes in user demand. To address these network dynamics, we first formulate the Quality-of-Service (QoS) optimization problem as a regret minimization problem by quantifying the QoS demands of all traffic sessions through weighting their throughput, latency, and reliability. We then develop a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework that utilizes an actor-critic model to combine the advantages of both value-based and policy-based updating methods. A graph convolutional network (GCN) is incorporated as a component of the DRL framework for graph embedding of RAN data, enabling xSlice to handle a dynamic number of traffic sessions. We have implemented xSlice on an O-RAN testbed with 10 smartphones and conducted extensive experiments to evaluate its performance in realistic scenarios. Experimental results show that xSlice can reduce performance regret by 67% compared to the state-of-the-art solutions. Source code is available on GitHub [1].

Authors:Marco A. Gomez, Christopher D. Cruz-Ancona
Title: Safe Sliding Mode Control in Position for Double Integrator Systems
Abstract:
We address the problem of robust safety control design for double integrator systems. We show that, when the constraints are defined only on position states, it is possible to construct a safe sliding domain from the dynamic of a simple integrator that is already safe. On this domain, the closed-loop trajectories remain robust and safe against uncertainties and disturbances. Furthermore, we design a controller gain that guarantees convergence to the safe sliding domain while avoiding the given unsafe set. The concept is initially developed for first-order sliding mode and is subsequently generalized to an adaptive framework, ensuring that trajectories remain confined to a predefined vicinity of the sliding domain, outside the unsafe region.

Authors:Zhixion Chen, Jiangzhou Wang, Hyundong Shin, Arumugam Nallanathan
Title: Large Language Model-Empowered Decision Transformer for UAV-Enabled Data Collection
Abstract:
The deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for reliable and energy-efficient data collection from spatially distributed devices holds great promise in supporting diverse Internet of Things (IoT) applications. Nevertheless, the limited endurance and communication range of UAVs necessitate intelligent trajectory planning. While reinforcement learning (RL) has been extensively explored for UAV trajectory optimization, its interactive nature entails high costs and risks in real-world environments. Offline RL mitigates these issues but remains susceptible to unstable training and heavily rely on expert-quality datasets. To address these challenges, we formulate a joint UAV trajectory planning and resource allocation problem to maximize energy efficiency of data collection. The resource allocation subproblem is first transformed into an equivalent linear programming formulation and solved optimally with polynomial-time complexity. Then, we propose a large language model (LLM)-empowered critic-regularized decision transformer (DT) framework, termed LLM-CRDT, to learn effective UAV control policies. In LLM-CRDT, we incorporate critic networks to regularize the DT model training, thereby integrating the sequence modeling capabilities of DT with critic-based value guidance to enable learning effective policies from suboptimal datasets. Furthermore, to mitigate the data-hungry nature of transformer models, we employ a pre-trained LLM as the transformer backbone of the DT model and adopt a parameter-efficient fine-tuning strategy, i.e., LoRA, enabling rapid adaptation to UAV control tasks with small-scale dataset and low computational overhead. Extensive simulations demonstrate that LLM-CRDT outperforms benchmark online and offline RL methods, achieving up to 36.7\% higher energy efficiency than the current state-of-the-art DT approaches.

Authors:Yuezhang He, Hongxi Luo, Yuancheng Lin, Carl J. Talsma, Anna Li, Zhenqian Wang, Yujuan Fang, Pei Liu, Jesse D. Jenkins, Eric Larson, Zheng Li
Title: Scaling green hydrogen and CCUS via cement-methanol co-production in China
Abstract:
High costs of green hydrogen and of carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) have hindered policy ambition and slowed real-world deployment, despite their importance for decarbonizing hard-to-abate sectors, including cement and methanol. Given the economic challenges of adopting CCUS in cement and green hydrogen in methanol production separately, we propose a renewable-powered co-production system that couples electrolytic hydrogen and CCUS through molecule exchange. We optimize system configurations using an hourly-resolved, process-based model incorporating operational flexibility, and explore integrated strategies for plant-level deployment and CO2 source-sink matching across China. We find that co-production could reduce CO2 abatement costs to USD 41-53 per tonne by 2035, significantly lower than approximately USD 75 for standalone cement CCUS and over USD 120 for standalone renewable-based methanol. Co-production is preferentially deployed at cement plants in renewable-rich regions, potentially reshaping national CO2 infrastructure planning. This hydrogen-CCUS coupling paradigm could accelerate industrial decarbonization and scaling for other applications.

Authors:Guosong Yang, Daniel Liberzon
Title: Topological Entropy of Nonlinear Time-Varying Systems
Abstract:
Two general upper bounds on the topological entropy of nonlinear time-varying systems are established: one using the matrix measure of the system Jacobian, the other using the largest real part of the eigenvalues of the Jacobian matrix with off-diagonal entries replaced by their absolute values. A general lower bound is constructed using the trace of the Jacobian matrix. For interconnected systems, an upper bound is first derived by adapting one of the general upper bounds, using the matrix measure of an interconnection matrix function. A new upper bound is then developed using the largest real part of the eigenvalues of this function. This new bound is closely related to the individual upper bounds for subsystems and implies each of the two general upper bounds when the system is viewed as one of two suitable interconnections. These entropy bounds all depend only on upper or lower limits of the Jacobian matrix along trajectories.

Authors:Demyan Yarmoshik, Igor Ignashin, Ekaterina Sikacheva, Alexander Gasnikov
Title: Modeling skiers flows via Wardrope equilibrium in closed capacitated networks
Abstract:
We propose an equilibrium model of ski resorts where users are assigned to cycles in a closed network. As queues form on lifts with limited capacity, we derive an efficient way to find waiting times via convex optimization. The equilibrium problem is formulated as a variational inequality, and numerical experiments show that it can be solved using standard algorithms.

Authors:Yutaka Yamamoto, Kaoru Yamamoto
Title: Nonlinear Sampled-data Systems--A Lifting Framework
Abstract:
This short note gives a new framework for dealing with nonlinear sampled-data systems. We introduce a new idea of lifting, which is well known for linear systems, but not successfully generalized to nonlinear systems. This paper introduces a new lifting technique for nonlinear, time-invariant systems, which are different from the linear counterpart as developed in [Bamieh et al. 1991, Yamamoto 1994], etc. The main difficulty is that the direct feedthrough term effective in the linear case cannot be generalized to the nonlinear case. Instead, we will further lift the state trajectory, and obtain an equivalent time-invariant discrete-time system with function-space input and output spaces. The basic framework, as well as the closed-loop equation with a discrete-time controller, is given. As an application of this framework, we give a representation for the Koopman operator derived from the given original nonlinear system.

Authors:Michael Lorenz, Bertram Taetz, Gabriele Bleser-Taetz, Didier Stricker
Title: MinJointTracker: Real-time inertial kinematic chain tracking with joint position estimation and minimal state size
Abstract:
Inertial motion capture is a promising approach for capturing motion outside the laboratory. However, as one major drawback, most of the current methods require different quantities to be calibrated or computed offline as part of the setup process, such as segment lengths, relative orientations between inertial measurement units (IMUs) and segment coordinate frames (IMU-to-segment calibrations) or the joint positions in the IMU frames. This renders the setup process inconvenient. This work contributes to real-time capable calibration-free inertial tracking of a kinematic chain, i.e. simultaneous recursive Bayesian estimation of global IMU angular kinematics and joint positions in the IMU frames, with a minimal state size. Experimental results on simulated IMU data from a three-link kinematic chain (manipulator study) as well as re-simulated IMU data from healthy humans walking (lower body study) show that the calibration-free and lightweight algorithm provides not only drift-free relative but also drift-free absolute orientation estimates with a global heading reference for only one IMU as well as robust and fast convergence of joint position estimates in the different movement scenarios.

Authors:Deepak Mallya, Arpita Sinha, Leena Vachhani
Title: $ε$-Optimal Multi-Agent Patrol using Recurrent Strategy
Abstract:
The multi-agent patrol problem refers to repeatedly visiting different locations in an environment using multiple autonomous agents. For over two decades, researchers have studied this problem in various settings. While providing valuable insights into the problem, the works in existing literature have not commented on the nature of the optimal solutions to the problem. We first show that an $ε$-approximate recurrent patrol strategy exists for every feasible patrol strategy. Then, we establish the existence of a recurrent patrol strategy that is an $ε$-optimal solution to the General Patrol Problem. The factor $ε$ is proportional to the discretisation constant $D$, which can be arbitrarily small and is independent of the number of patrol agents and the size of the environment. This result holds for a variety of problem formulations already studied. We also provide an algorithmic approach to determine an $ε$-approximate recurrent patrol strategy for a patrol strategy created by any method from the literature. We perform extensive simulations in graphs based on real-life environments to validate the claims made in this work.

Authors:Alessandro Riccardi, Luca Laurenti, Bart De Schutter
Title: Partitioning techniques for non-centralized predictive control: A systematic review and novel theoretical insights
Abstract:
The partitioning problem is of central relevance for designing and implementing non-centralized Model Predictive Control (MPC) strategies for large-scale systems. These control approaches include decentralized MPC, distributed MPC, hierarchical MPC, and coalitional MPC. Partitioning a system for the application of non-centralized MPC consists of finding the best definition of the subsystems, and their allocation into groups for the definition of local controllers, to maximize the relevant performance indicators. The present survey proposes a novel systematization of the partitioning approaches in the literature in five main classes: optimization-based, algorithmic, community-detection-based, game-theoretic-oriented, and heuristic approaches. A unified graph-theoretical formalism, a mathematical re-formulation of the problem in terms of mixed-integer programming, the novel concepts of predictive partitioning and multi-topological representations, and a methodological formulation of quality metrics are developed to support the classification and further developments of the field. We analyze the different classes of partitioning techniques, and we present an overview of their strengths and limitations, which include a technical discussion about the different approaches. Representative case studies are discussed to illustrate the application of partitioning techniques for non-centralized MPC in various sectors, including power systems, water networks, wind farms, chemical processes, transportation systems, communication networks, industrial automation, smart buildings, and cyber-physical systems. An outlook of future challenges completes the survey.

Authors:Peng Chen, Jing Liang, Hui Song, Kang-Jia Qiao, Cai-Tong Yue, Kun-Jie Yu, Ponnuthurai Nagaratnam Suganthan, Witold Pedrycz
Title: Multi-objective task allocation for electric harvesting robots: a hierarchical route reconstruction approach
Abstract:
The increasing labor costs in agriculture have accelerated the adoption of multi-robot systems for orchard harvesting. However, efficiently coordinating these systems is challenging due to the complex interplay between makespan and energy consumption, particularly under practical constraints like load-dependent speed variations and battery limitations. This paper defines the multi-objective agricultural multi-electrical-robot task allocation (AMERTA) problem, which systematically incorporates these often-overlooked real-world constraints. To address this problem, we propose a hybrid hierarchical route reconstruction algorithm (HRRA) that integrates several innovative mechanisms, including a hierarchical encoding structure, a dual-phase initialization method, task sequence optimizers, and specialized route reconstruction operators. Extensive experiments on 45 test instances demonstrate HRRA's superior performance against seven state-of-the-art algorithms. Statistical analysis, including the Wilcoxon signed-rank and Friedman tests, empirically validates HRRA's competitiveness and its unique ability to explore previously inaccessible regions of the solution space. In general, this research contributes to the theoretical understanding of multi-robot coordination by offering a novel problem formulation and an effective algorithm, thereby also providing practical insights for agricultural automation.

Authors:Ning Qi, Xiaolong Jin, Kai Hou, Zeyu Liu, Hongjie Jia, Wei Wei
Title: Privacy-Preserving Uncertainty Disclosure for Facilitating Enhanced Energy Storage Dispatch
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel privacy-preserving uncertainty disclosure framework, enabling system operators to release marginal value function bounds to reduce the conservativeness of interval forecast and mitigate excessive withholding, thereby enhancing storage dispatch and social welfare. We develop a risk-averse storage arbitrage model based on stochastic dynamic programming, explicitly accounting for uncertainty intervals in value function training. Real-time marginal value function bounds are derived using a rolling-horizon chance-constrained economic dispatch formulation. We rigorously prove that the bounds reliably cap the true opportunity cost and dynamically converge to the hindsight value. We verify that both the marginal value function and its bounds monotonically decrease with the state of charge (SoC) and increase with uncertainty, providing a theoretical basis for risk-averse strategic behaviors and SoC-dependent designs. An adjusted storage dispatch algorithm is further designed using these bounds. We validate the effectiveness of the proposed framework via an agent-based simulation on the ISO-NE test system. Under 50% renewable capacity and 35% storage capacity, the proposed bounds enhance storage response by 38.91% and reduce the optimality gap to 3.91% through improved interval predictions. Additionally, by mitigating excessive withholding, the bounds yield an average system cost reduction of 0.23% and an average storage profit increase of 13.22%. These benefits further scale with higher prediction conservativeness, storage capacity, and system uncertainty.

Authors:Saman Mazaheri Khamaneh, Tong Wu, Wei Sun, Cong Chen
Title: Real-Time Defense Against Coordinated Cyber-Physical Attacks: A Robust Constrained Reinforcement Learning Approach
Abstract:
Modern power systems face increasing vulnerability to sophisticated cyber-physical attacks beyond traditional N-1 contingency frameworks. Existing security paradigms face a critical bottleneck: efficiently identifying worst-case scenarios and rapidly coordinating defensive responses are hindered by intensive computation and time delays, during which cascading failures can propagate. This paper presents a novel tri-level robust constrained reinforcement learning (RCRL) framework for robust power system security. The framework generates diverse system states through AC-OPF formulations, identifies worst-case N-K attack scenarios for each state, and trains policies to mitigate these scenarios across all operating conditions without requiring predefined attack patterns. The framework addresses constraint satisfaction through Beta-blending projection-based feasible action mapping techniques during training and primal-dual augmented Lagrangian optimization for deployment. Once trained, the RCRL policy learns how to control observed cyber-physical attacks in real time. Validation on IEEE benchmark systems demonstrates effectiveness against coordinated N-K attacks, causing widespread cascading failures throughout the network. The learned policy can successfully respond rapidly to recover system-wide constraints back to normal within 0.21 ms inference times, establishing superior resilience for critical infrastructure protection.

Authors:Yusheng Zheng, Wenxue Liu, Yunhong Che, Ferdinand Grimm, Jingyuan Zhao, Xiaosong Hu, Simona Onori, Remus Teodorescu, Gregory J. Offer
Title: Merging Physics-Based Synthetic Data and Machine Learning for Thermal Monitoring of Lithium-ion Batteries: The Role of Data Fidelity
Abstract:
Since the internal temperature is less accessible than surface temperature, there is an urgent need to develop accurate and real-time estimation algorithms for better thermal management and safety. This work presents a novel framework for resource-efficient and scalable development of accurate, robust, and adaptive internal temperature estimation algorithms by blending physics-based modeling with machine learning, in order to address the key challenges in data collection, model parameterization, and estimator design that traditionally hinder both approaches. In this framework, a physics-based model is leveraged to generate simulation data that includes different operating scenarios by sweeping the model parameters and input profiles. Such a cheap simulation dataset can be used to pre-train the machine learning algorithm to capture the underlying mapping relationship. To bridge the simulation-to-reality gap resulting from imperfect modeling, transfer learning with unsupervised domain adaptation is applied to fine-tune the pre-trained machine learning model, by using limited operational data (without internal temperature values) from target batteries. The proposed framework is validated under different operating conditions and across multiple cylindrical batteries with convective air cooling, achieving a root mean square error of 0.5 °C when relying solely on prior knowledge of battery thermal properties, and less than 0.1 °C when using thermal parameters close to the ground truth. Furthermore, the role of the simulation data quality in the proposed framework has been comprehensively investigated to identify promising ways of synthetic data generation to guarantee the performance of the machine learning model.

Authors:Jorge Ventura, Jaroslav Hrdina, Aleš Návrat, Marek Stodola, Ahmad Eid, Santiago Sanchez-Acevedo, Francisco G. Montoya
Title: Understanding the Geometry of Faulted Power Systems under High Penetration of Inverter-Based Resources via Ellipse Fitting and Geometric Algebra
Abstract:
Power systems with high penetration of inverter-based resources (IBR) present significant challenges for conventional protection schemes, with traditional distance protection methods failing to detect line-to-line faults during asymmetric conditions. This paper presents a methodology for electrical fault detection and classification using ellipse fitting and geometric algebra applied to voltage and current space curves. The approach characterizes electrical faults by fitting ellipses to voltage vector data, enabling fault detection with only a quarter-cycle. The method employs bivector components for line-to-ground fault classification, while ellipse parameters identify line-to-line and three-phase faults. The geometric representation preserves voltage or current curve shapes in three-dimensional space, overcoming Clarke transform limitations when zero-sequence components are present. Validation using simulations and laboratory experiments demonstrates accurate fault identification and magnitude estimation, providing enhanced power system protection capabilities.

Authors:Xiuzhen Ye, Wentao Tang
Title: EDMD-Based Robust Observer Synthesis for Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a data driven Koopman operator based framework for designing robust state observers for nonlinear systems. Based on a finite dimensional surrogate of the Koopman generator, identified via an extended dynamic mode decomposition procedure, a tractable formulation of the observer design is enabled on the data driven model with conic uncertainties. The resulting problem is cast as a semidefinite program with linear matrix inequalities, guaranteeing exponential convergence of the observer with a predetermined rate in a probabilistic sense. The approach bridges the gap between statistical error tolerance and observer convergence certification, and enables an explicit use of linear systems theory for state observation via a data driven linear surrogate model. Numerical studies demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed method.

Authors:Ahmed Rashwan, Keith Briggs, Chris Budd
Title: A neural drift-plus-penalty algorithm for network power allocation and routing
Abstract:
The drift-plus-penalty method is a Lyapunov optimisation technique commonly applied to network routing problems. It reduces the original stochastic planning task to a sequence of greedy optimizations, enabling the design of distributed routing algorithms which stabilize data queues while simultaneously optimizing a specified penalty function. While drift-plus-penalty methods have desirable asymptotic properties, they tend to incur higher network delay than alternative control methods, especially under light network load. In this work, we propose a learned variant of the drift-plus-penalty method that can preserve its theoretical guarantees, while being flexible enough to learn routing strategies directly from a model of the problem. Our approach introduces a novel mechanism for learning routing decisions and employs an optimal transport-based method for link scheduling. Applied to the joint task of transmit-power allocation and data routing, the method achieves consistent improvements over common baselines under a broad set of scenarios.

Authors:Maryam Ghasemzadeh, H M Dilshad Alam Digonta, Anand Balu Nellippallil, Anton van Beek
Title: A Comparative Analysis of Robust and Reliable Designs Using the Compromise Decision Support Problem: A Case Study in Hot Rod Rolling Processes
Abstract:
Design under uncertainty is a challenging problem, as a systems performance can be highly sensitive to variations in input parameters and model uncertainty. A conventional approach to addressing such problems is robust optimization, which seeks to enhance design performance by reducing sensitivity to uncertainty. Alternatively, reliability-based design focuses on optimizing performance while ensuring that failure constraints are satisfied with a specified probability. While both methods are well established, their integration into multi-objective and multi-stakeholder decision-making frameworks remains a challenging problem. In this study, we extend the Compromise Decision Support Problem (cDSP) framework to incorporate reliability-based design considerations and evaluate its performance in comparison to the conventional robust-based cDSP formulation. The developed framework has been validated on a multidisciplinary hot rod rolling process including parametric and model uncertainties. The results compare the predicted performance under robust and reliable scenarios, validating the efficiency of the approach in managing uncertainties for complex, multidisciplinary systems. Specifically, we found that the two methods exhibit markedly different performance when the predicted performance follows a non-normal distribution, a situation that arises in non-linear systems with parametric uncertainty. Based on this insight, we offer guidance to designers on the conditions under which each method is most appropriate.

Authors:Ron F. Del Rosario, Klaudia Krawiecka, Christian Schroeder de Witt
Title: Architecting Resilient LLM Agents: A Guide to Secure Plan-then-Execute Implementations
Abstract:
As Large Language Model (LLM) agents become increasingly capable of automating complex, multi-step tasks, the need for robust, secure, and predictable architectural patterns is paramount. This paper provides a comprehensive guide to the ``Plan-then-Execute'' (P-t-E) pattern, an agentic design that separates strategic planning from tactical execution. We explore the foundational principles of P-t-E, detailing its core components - the Planner and the Executor - and its architectural advantages in predictability, cost-efficiency, and reasoning quality over reactive patterns like ReAct (Reason + Act). A central focus is placed on the security implications of this design, particularly its inherent resilience to indirect prompt injection attacks by establishing control-flow integrity. We argue that while P-t-E provides a strong foundation, a defense-in-depth strategy is necessary, and we detail essential complementary controls such as the Principle of Least Privilege, task-scoped tool access, and sandboxed code execution. To make these principles actionable, this guide provides detailed implementation blueprints and working code references for three leading agentic frameworks: LangChain (via LangGraph), CrewAI, and AutoGen. Each framework's approach to implementing the P-t-E pattern is analyzed, highlighting unique features like LangGraph's stateful graphs for re-planning, CrewAI's declarative tool scoping for security, and AutoGen's built-in Docker sandboxing. Finally, we discuss advanced patterns, including dynamic re-planning loops, parallel execution with Directed Acyclic Graphs (DAGs), and the critical role of Human-in-the-Loop (HITL) verification, to offer a complete strategic blueprint for architects, developers, and security engineers aiming to build production-grade, resilient, and trustworthy LLM agents.

Authors:Shubham Singh, Anoop Jain
Title: Phase-Coordinated Multi-Agent Circular Formation Control with Non-Concentric Boundary Constraints
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of collective circular motion control for unicycle agents, with the objective of achieving phase coordination of their velocity vectors while ensuring that their trajectories remain confined within a prescribed non-concentric circular boundary. To accommodate such nonuniform motion constraints, we build upon our earlier work and extend the use of Mobius transformation to a multi-agent framework. The Mobius transformation maps two nonconcentric circles to concentric ones, thereby converting spatially nonuniform constraints into uniform ones in the transformed plane. Leveraging this property, we introduce the notion of a phase-shifted order parameter, along with the associated concepts of Mobius phase-shift coupled synchronization and balancing, which characterize the phase-coordinated patterns studied in this paper. We establish an equivalence between the unicycle dynamics in the original and transformed planes under the Mobius transformation and its inverse, and show that synchronization is preserved across both planes, whereas balancing is generally not. Distributed control laws are then designed in the transformed plane using barrier Lyapunov functions, under the assumption of an undirected and connected communication topology among agents. These controllers are subsequently mapped back to the original plane to obtain the linear acceleration and turn-rate control inputs applied to the actual agents. Both simulations and experimental results are provided to illustrate the proposed framework.

Authors:Wanja de Sombre, Arash Asadi, Debopam Bhattacherjee, Deepak Vasisht, Andrea Ortiz
Title: SKYLINK: Scalable and Resilient Link Management in LEO Satellite Network
Abstract:
The rapid growth of space-based services has established LEO satellite networks as a promising option for global broadband connectivity. Next-generation LEO networks leverage inter-satellite links (ISLs) to provide faster and more reliable communications compared to traditional bent-pipe architectures, even in remote regions. However, the high mobility of satellites, dynamic traffic patterns, and potential link failures pose significant challenges for efficient and resilient routing. To address these challenges, we model the LEO satellite network as a time-varying graph comprising a constellation of satellites and ground stations. Our objective is to minimize a weighted sum of average delay and packet drop rate. Each satellite independently decides how to distribute its incoming traffic to neighboring nodes in real time. Given the infeasibility of finding optimal solutions at scale, due to the exponential growth of routing options and uncertainties in link capacities, we propose SKYLINK, a novel fully distributed learning strategy for link management in LEO satellite networks. SKYLINK enables each satellite to adapt to the time-varying network conditions, ensuring real-time responsiveness, scalability to millions of users, and resilience to network failures, while maintaining low communication overhead and computational complexity. To support the evaluation of SKYLINK at global scale, we develop a new simulator for large-scale LEO satellite networks. For 25.4 million users, SKYLINK reduces the weighted sum of average delay and drop rate by 29% compared to the bent-pipe approach, and by 92% compared to Dijkstra. It lowers drop rates by 95% relative to k-shortest paths, 99% relative to Dijkstra, and 74% compared to the bent-pipe baseline, while achieving up to 46% higher throughput. At the same time, SKYLINK maintains constant computational complexity with respect to constellation size.

Authors:Sasinee Pruekprasert, Clovis Eberhart
Title: AP-observation Automata for Abstraction-based Verification of Continuous-time Systems (Extended Version)
Abstract:
A key challenge in abstraction-based verification and control under complex specifications such as Linear Temporal Logic (LTL) is that abstract models retain significantly less information than their original systems. This issue is especially true for continuous-time systems, where the system state trajectories are split into intervals of discrete actions, and satisfaction of atomic propositions is abstracted to a whole time interval. To tackle this challenge, this work introduces a novel translation from LTL specifications to AP-observation automata, a particular type of Büchi automata specifically designed for abstraction-based verification. Based on this automaton, we present a game-based verification algorithm played between the system and the environment, and an illustrative example for abstraction-based system verification under several LTL specifications.

Authors:Wenji Cao, Lu Liu, Zehua Ye, Dan Zhang, Gang Feng
Title: Resilient Global Practical Fixed-Time Cooperative Output Regulation of Uncertain Nonlinear Multi-Agent Systems Subject to Denial-of-Service Attacks
Abstract:
This paper investigates the problem of resilient global practical fixed-time cooperative output regulation of uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems subject to denial-of-service attacks. A novel distributed resilient adaptive fixed-time control strategy is proposed, which consists of a novel distributed resilient fixed-time observer with a chain of nonlinear filters and a novel distributed resilient adaptive fixed-time controller. It is shown that the problem of resilient global practical fixed-time cooperative output regulation can be solved by the proposed control strategy. More specifically, the proposed {distributed} control strategy ensures the global boundedness of all the signals in the resulting closed-loop system and the global convergence of the regulated outputs to a {tunable} residual set in a fixed time. A simulation example is finally provided to illustrate the efficacy of the proposed control strategy.

Authors:Yurun Zhang, Wei Yao, Yutian Lan, Hang Shuai, Shanyang Wei, Wei Gan, Chao Duan, Jinyu Wen, Shijie Cheng
Title: Data-knowledge fusion driven frequency security assessment: A robust framework for renewable-dominated power grids
Abstract:
Frequency security is critical for power grids, as deviations can trigger widespread outages and result in substantial economic losses. However, modern renewable-dominated power grids face an increased risk of insecurity due to low inertia and nonlinear frequency responses. To mitigate these risks, robust pre-fault frequency security assessment (FSA) is critical, which enables grid operators to implement preventive control strategies. We propose a data-knowledge fusion framework to achieve intelligent FSA in actual power grids. First, we classify FSA domain knowledge into two distinct categories: (1) physics-guided knowledge directs the neural network pre-training process, ensuring that the fusion model's predictions consistent with frequency response mechanisms, and (2) physics-constrained knowledge establishes quantitative relationship on predictions, which forces them within theoretical ranges defined by domain knowledge. Furthermore, we develop a dual-channel neural network architecture to simultaneously capture both local and global characteristics of the power system. Finally, we introduce a data-knowledge fusion training algorithm that integrates guided learning with constrained network architecture to enhance model reliability and generalization. Case studies on China's Yunnan Provincial Power Grid validate the superior performance of our framework: it reduces average prediction error to 1.26% (a 49.2% reduction over data-driven methods), and maintains 97.60% accuracy in untrained scenarios (3.85% higher than data-driven methods), therefore satisfies the accuracy, reliability, and generalization requirements for actual power grids. The proposed methodology establishes a new paradigm for enhancing robustness of FSA in power grids, with potential application to cross-domain security assessment.

Authors:Armel Koulong, Ali Pakniyat
Title: Distributed Leader-Follower Consensus for Uncertain Multiagent Systems with Time-Triggered Switching of the Communication Network
Abstract:
A distributed adaptive control strategy is developed for heterogeneous multiagent systems in nonlinear Brunovsky form with \({\pd}\)-dimensional $n^{\text{th}}$-order dynamics, operating under time-triggered switching communication topologies. The approach uses repulsive potential functions to ensure agent-agent and obstacle safety, while neural network estimators compensate for system uncertainties and disturbances. A high-order control barrier function framework is then employed to certify the positive invariance of the safe sets and the boundedness of the proposed control inputs. The resulting distributed control and adaptive laws, together with dwell-time requirements for topology transitions, achieve leader-following consensus. This integrated design provides synchronized formation and robust disturbance rejection in evolving network configurations, and its effectiveness is demonstrated through numerical simulations.

Authors:Mehdi Davoudi, Junjie Qin, Xiaojun Lin
Title: Extended Version: Market-Driven Equilibria for Distributed Solar Panel Investment
Abstract:
This study investigates market-driven long-term investment decisions in distributed solar panels by individual investors. We consider a setting where investment decisions are driven by expected revenue from participating in short-term electricity markets over the panel's lifespan. These revenues depend on short-term markets equilibria, i.e., prices and allocations, which are influenced by aggregate invested panel capacity participating in the markets. We model the interactions among investors by a non-atomic game and develop a framework that links short-term markets equilibria to the resulting long-term investment equilibrium. Then, within this framework, we analyze three market mechanisms: (a) a single-product real-time energy market, (b) a product-differentiated real-time energy market that treats solar energy and grid energy as different products, and (c) a contract-based panel market that trades claims or rights to the production of certain panel capacity ex-ante, rather than the realized solar production ex-post. For each, we derive expressions for short-term equilibria and the associated expected revenues, and analytically characterize the corresponding long-term Nash equilibrium aggregate capacity. We compare the solutions of these characterizing equations under different conditions and theoretically establish that the product-differentiated market always supports socially optimal investment, while the single-product market consistently results in under-investment. We also establish that the contract-based market leads to over-investment when the extra valuations of users for solar energy are small. Finally, we validate our theoretical findings through numerical experiments.

Authors:Yu-Wen Chen, Nuno C. Martins, Murat Arcak
Title: Hierarchical Decision-Making in Population Games
Abstract:
This paper introduces a hierarchical framework for population games, where individuals delegate decision-making to proxies that act within their own strategic interests. This framework extends classical population games, where individuals are assumed to make decisions directly, to capture various real-world scenarios involving multiple decision layers. We establish equilibrium properties and provide convergence results for the proposed hierarchical structure. Additionally, based on these results, we develop a systematic approach to analyze population games with general convex constraints, without requiring individuals to have full knowledge of the constraints as in existing methods. We present a navigation application with capacity constraints as a case study.

Authors:Mohammad Hussein Yoosefian Nooshabadi, Laurent Lessard
Title: State Estimation for Linear Systems with Non-Gaussian Measurement Noise via Dynamic Programming
Abstract:
We propose a new recursive estimator for linear dynamical systems under Gaussian process noise and non-Gaussian measurement noise. Specifically, we develop an approximate maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimator using dynamic programming and tools from convex analysis. Our approach does not rely on restrictive noise assumptions and employs a Bellman-like update instead of a Bayesian update. Our proposed estimator is computationally efficient, with only modest overhead compared to a standard Kalman filter. Simulations demonstrate that our estimator achieves lower root mean squared error (RMSE) than the Kalman filter and has comparable performance to state-of-the-art estimators, while requiring significantly less computational power.

Authors:Egor Dogadin, Alexey Peregudin
Title: Optimal Control for Minimizing Inescapable Ellipsoids in Linear Periodically Time-Varying Systems Under Bounded Disturbances
Abstract:
This letter addresses optimal controller design for periodic linear time-varying systems under unknown-but-bounded disturbances. We introduce differential Lyapunov-type equations to describe time-varying inescapable ellipsoids and define an integral-based measure of their size. To minimize this measure, we develop a differential Riccati equation-based approach that provides exact solutions for state-feedback, observer synthesis, and output-feedback control. A key component is a systematic procedure for determining the optimal time-varying parameter, reducing an infinite-dimensional optimization to a simple iterative process. A numerical example validates the method's effectiveness.

Authors:Muratkhan Abdirash, Xiaofan Cui
Title: Decentralized Safety-Critical Control of Resilient DC Microgrids with Large-Signal Stability Guarantees
Abstract:
The increasing penetration of distributed energy resources and power-electronics interfaces in DC microgrids, coupled with rising cyber threats, necessitates primary controllers that are provably safe, cyber-resilient, and practical. The increasing penetration of distributed energy resources and power-electronics interfaces in DC microgrids, coupled with rising cyber threats, necessitates primary controllers that are provably safe, cyber-resilient, and practical. Conventional droop-based methods remain prevalent due to their simplicity, yet their design is largely empirical and conservative, lacking rigorous guarantees. Advanced strategies improve certain aspects, but often sacrifice scalability, robustness, or formal safety. In this work, we propose a Distributed Safety-Critical Controller (DSCC) that systematically integrates global stabilization with formal safety guarantees in a fully decentralized manner. Leveraging control barrier functions and the port-Hamiltonian system theory, the DSCC achieves scalable safe stabilization while preserving real-time implementability. High-fidelity switched-circuit simulations validate the controller's advantages under various contingencies. This framework paves the way for resilient, safety-critical, and scalable control in next-generation DC microgrids.

Authors:Sathwik Chadaga, Eytan Modiano
Title: Drift Plus Optimistic Penalty -- A Learning Framework for Stochastic Network Optimization with Improved Regret Bounds
Abstract:
We consider the problem of joint routing and scheduling in queueing networks, where the edge transmission costs are unknown. At each time-slot, the network controller receives noisy observations of transmission costs only for those edges it selects for transmission. The network controller's objective is to make routing and scheduling decisions so that the total expected cost is minimized. This problem exhibits an exploration-exploitation trade-off, however, previous bandit-style solutions cannot be directly applied to this problem due to the queueing dynamics. In order to ensure network stability, the network controller needs to optimize throughput and cost simultaneously. We show that the best achievable cost is lower bounded by the solution to a static optimization problem, and develop a network control policy using techniques from Lyapunov drift-plus-penalty optimization and multi-arm bandits. We show that the policy achieves a sub-linear regret of order $O(\sqrt{T}\log T)$, as compared to the best policy that has complete knowledge of arrivals and costs. Finally, we evaluate the proposed policy using simulations and show that its regret is indeed sub-linear.

Authors:Yanlin Zhang, Sungyong Chung, Nachuan Li, Dana Monzer, Hani S. Mahmassani, Samer H. Hamdar, Alireza Talebpour
Title: Can the Waymo Open Motion Dataset Support Realistic Behavioral Modeling? A Validation Study with Naturalistic Trajectories
Abstract:
The Waymo Open Motion Dataset (WOMD) has become a popular resource for data-driven modeling of autonomous vehicles (AVs) behavior. However, its validity for behavioral analysis remains uncertain due to proprietary post-processing, the absence of error quantification, and the segmentation of trajectories into 20-second clips. This study examines whether WOMD accurately captures the dynamics and interactions observed in real-world AV operations. Leveraging an independently collected naturalistic dataset from Level 4 AV operations in Phoenix, Arizona (PHX), we perform comparative analyses across three representative urban driving scenarios: discharging at signalized intersections, car-following, and lane-changing behaviors. For the discharging analysis, headways are manually extracted from aerial video to ensure negligible measurement error. For the car-following and lane-changing cases, we apply the Simulation-Extrapolation (SIMEX) method to account for empirically estimated error in the PHX data and use Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) distances to quantify behavioral differences. Results across all scenarios consistently show that behavior in PHX falls outside the behavioral envelope of WOMD. Notably, WOMD underrepresents short headways and abrupt decelerations. These findings suggest that behavioral models calibrated solely on WOMD may systematically underestimate the variability, risk, and complexity of naturalistic driving. Caution is therefore warranted when using WOMD for behavior modeling without proper validation against independently collected data.

Authors:Xin Li, Li Ding, Qiao Lin, Zhen-Wei Yu
Title: Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Decision-Making Strategy Considering User Satisfaction Feedback in Demand Response Program
Abstract:
Demand response providers (DRPs) are intermediaries between the upper-level distribution system operator and the lower-level participants in demand response (DR) programs. Usually, DRPs act as leaders and determine electricity pricing strategies to maximize their economic revenue, while end-users adjust their power consumption following the pricing signals. However, this profit-seeking bi-level optimization model often neglects the satisfaction of end-users participating in DR programs. In addition, the detailed mathematical models underlying user decision-making strategy and satisfaction evaluation mechanism are typically unavailable to DRPs, posing significant challenges to conventional model-based solution methods. To address these issues, this paper designs a user-side satisfaction evaluation mechanism and proposes a multi-branch temporal fusion twin-delayed deep deterministic policy gradient (MBTF-TD3) reinforcement learning algorithm. User satisfaction feedback is incorporated into the reward function via a dynamically adjusted penalty term. The proposed MBTF structure effectively extracts temporal feature dependencies in the time-series observation data, and the dynamically adjusted penalty function successfully enhances the overall satisfaction level of users. Several experiments are conducted to validate the performance and the effectiveness of our proposed solution algorithm.

Authors:Zixuan He, Charalambos D. Charalambous, Photios A. Stavrou
Title: Rollout-Based Approximate Dynamic Programming for MDPs with Information-Theoretic Constraints
Abstract:
This paper studies a finite-horizon Markov decision problem with information-theoretic constraints, where the goal is to minimize directed information from the controlled source process to the control process, subject to stage-wise cost constraints, aiming for an optimal control policy. We propose a new way of approximating a solution for this problem, which is known to be formulated as an unconstrained MDP with a continuous information-state using Q-factors. To avoid the computational complexity of discretizing the continuous information-state space, we propose a truncated rollout-based backward-forward approximate dynamic programming (ADP) framework. Our approach consists of two phases: an offline base policy approximation over a shorter time horizon, followed by an online rollout lookahead minimization, both supported by provable convergence guarantees. We supplement our theoretical results with a numerical example where we demonstrate the cost improvement of the rollout method compared to a previously proposed policy approximation method, and the computational complexity observed in executing the offline and online phases for the two methods.

Authors:Isaac Ronald Ward, Mark Paral, Kristopher Riordan, Mykel J. Kochenderfer
Title: Improving the Resilience of Quadrotors in Underground Environments by Combining Learning-based and Safety Controllers
Abstract:
Autonomously controlling quadrotors in large-scale subterranean environments is applicable to many areas such as environmental surveying, mining operations, and search and rescue. Learning-based controllers represent an appealing approach to autonomy, but are known to not generalize well to `out-of-distribution' environments not encountered during training. In this work, we train a normalizing flow-based prior over the environment, which provides a measure of how far out-of-distribution the quadrotor is at any given time. We use this measure as a runtime monitor, allowing us to switch between a learning-based controller and a safe controller when we are sufficiently out-of-distribution. Our methods are benchmarked on a point-to-point navigation task in a simulated 3D cave environment based on real-world point cloud data from the DARPA Subterranean Challenge Final Event Dataset. Our experimental results show that our combined controller simultaneously possesses the liveness of the learning-based controller (completing the task quickly) and the safety of the safety controller (avoiding collision).

Authors:Dario Ruggiero, Mauro Mancini, Elisa Capello
Title: Adaptive Navigation Strategy for Low-Thrust Proximity Operations in Circular Relative Orbit
Abstract:
This paper presents an adaptive observer-based navigation strategy for spacecraft in Circular Relative Orbit (CRO) scenarios, addressing challenges in proximity operations like formation flight and uncooperative target inspection. The proposed method adjusts observer gains based on the estimated state to achieve fast convergence and low noise sensitivity in state estimation. A Lyapunov-based analysis ensures stability and accuracy, while simulations using vision-based sensor data validate the approach under realistic conditions. Compared to classical observers with time-invariant gains, the proposed method enhances trajectory tracking precision and reduces control input switching, making it a promising solution for autonomous spacecraft localization and control.

Authors:Luca Di Pierno, Robert Hewitt, Stephan Weiss, Roland Brockers
Title: Hybrid Autonomy Framework for a Future Mars Science Helicopter
Abstract:
Autonomous aerial vehicles, such as NASA's Ingenuity, enable rapid planetary surface exploration beyond the reach of ground-based robots. Thus, NASA is studying a Mars Science Helicopter (MSH), an advanced concept capable of performing long-range science missions and autonomously navigating challenging Martian terrain. Given significant Earth-Mars communication delays and mission complexity, an advanced autonomy framework is required to ensure safe and efficient operation by continuously adapting behavior based on mission objectives and real-time conditions, without human intervention. This study presents a deterministic high-level control framework for aerial exploration, integrating a Finite State Machine (FSM) with Behavior Trees (BTs) to achieve a scalable, robust, and computationally efficient autonomy solution for critical scenarios like deep space exploration. In this paper we outline key capabilities of a possible MSH and detail the FSM-BT hybrid autonomy framework which orchestrates them to achieve the desired objectives. Monte Carlo simulations and real field tests validate the framework, demonstrating its robustness and adaptability to both discrete events and real-time system feedback. These inputs trigger state transitions or dynamically adjust behavior execution, enabling reactive and context-aware responses. The framework is middleware-agnostic, supporting integration with systems like F-Prime and extending beyond aerial robotics.

Authors:Pedro Cavestany, Alasdair Ross, Adriano Agnello, Aran Garrod, Nicola C. Amorisco, George K. Holt, Kamran Pentland, James Buchanan
Title: Real-Time Applicability of Emulated Virtual Circuits for Tokamak Plasma Shape Control
Abstract:
Machine learning has recently been adopted to emulate sensitivity matrices for real-time magnetic control of tokamak plasmas. However, these approaches would benefit from a quantification of possible inaccuracies. We report on two aspects of real-time applicability of emulators. First, we quantify the agreement of target displacement from VCs computed via Jacobians of the shape emulators with those from finite differences Jacobians on exact Grad-Shafranov solutions. Good agreement ($\approx$5-10%) can be achieved on a selection of geometric targets using combinations of neural network emulators with $\approx10^5$ parameters. A sample of $\approx10^{5}-10^{6}$ synthetic equilibria is essential to train emulators that are not over-regularised or overfitting. Smaller models trained on the shape targets may be further fine-tuned to better fit the Jacobians. Second, we address the effect of vessel currents that are not directly measured in real-time and are typically subsumed into effective "shaping currents" when designing virtual circuits. We demonstrate that shaping currents can be inferred via simple linear regression on a trailing window of active coil current measurements with residuals of only a few Ampères, enabling a choice for the most appropriate shaping currents at any point in a shot. While these results are based on historic shot data and simulations tailored to MAST-U, they indicate that emulators with few-millisecond latency can be developed for robust real-time plasma shape control in existing and upcoming tokamaks.

Authors:J. L. González, R. L. Moreno, D. Vázquez
Title: Impact of Passive Element Technological Limits on CMOS Low-Noise Amplifier Design
Abstract:
This paper investigates the impact of technological constraints on passive elements in the design of inductively degenerated CMOS low-noise amplifiers (LNAs). A theoretical analysis is combined with circuit simulations in a 130-nm CMOS process at 2.45~GHz to explore how the available inductance and capacitance values limit key design objectives such as maximum gain, minimum power consumption, and transistor sizing. Results show that these limits significantly restrict the achievable design space, particularly for low-power implementations, and highlight the need to incorporate detailed passive-element models into RF integrated circuit design flows.

Authors:Maedeh Izadi, A. T. J. R. Cobbenhagen, R. L. Sommer, A. R. P. Andrien, E. Lefeber, W. P. M. H. Heemels
Title: High-Performance Trajectory Tracking MPC for Quadcopters with Coupled Time-Varying Constraints and Stability Proofs
Abstract:
In this paper, we present a cascade control structure to address the trajectory tracking problem for quadcopters, ensuring uniform global asymptotic stability of the state tracking error dynamics. An MPC strategy based on a 12-dimensional prediction model is proposed for the outer loop, explicitly accounting for time-varying coupled constraints, where multiple variables are interdependent and need to be handled together. The outer-loop controller generates an acceleration reference, which is then converted into attitude and angular velocity references, later tracked by a nonlinear inner-loop controller. Numerical simulations validate the approach, demonstrating enhanced performance in precise and fast tracking by imposing less conservative constraints than existing approaches, while still guaranteeing stability.

Authors:Quang Minh Nguyen, Eytan Modiano
Title: A QoS Framework for Service Provision in Multi-Infrastructure-Sharing Networks
Abstract:
We propose a framework for resource provisioning with QoS guarantees in shared infrastructure networks. Our novel framework provides tunable probabilistic service guarantees for throughput and delay. Key to our approach is a Modified Dirft-plus-Penalty (MDP) policy that ensures long-term stability while capturing short-term probabilistic service guarantees using linearized upper-confidence bounds. We characterize the feasible region of service guarantees and show that our MDP procedure achieves mean rate stability and an optimality gap that vanishes with the frame size over which service guarantees are provided. Finally, empirical simulations validate our theory and demonstrate the favorable performance of our algorithm in handling QoS in multi-infrastructure networks.

Authors:Julian Gerald Dcruz, Argyrios Zolotas, Niall Ross Greenwood, Miguel Arana-Catania
Title: Structured AI Decision-Making in Disaster Management
Abstract:
With artificial intelligence (AI) being applied to bring autonomy to decision-making in safety-critical domains such as the ones typified in the aerospace and emergency-response services, there has been a call to address the ethical implications of structuring those decisions, so they remain reliable and justifiable when human lives are at stake. This paper contributes to addressing the challenge of decision-making by proposing a structured decision-making framework as a foundational step towards responsible AI. The proposed structured decision-making framework is implemented in autonomous decision-making, specifically within disaster management. By introducing concepts of Enabler agents, Levels and Scenarios, the proposed framework's performance is evaluated against systems relying solely on judgement-based insights, as well as human operators who have disaster experience: victims, volunteers, and stakeholders. The results demonstrate that the structured decision-making framework achieves 60.94% greater stability in consistently accurate decisions across multiple Scenarios, compared to judgement-based systems. Moreover, the study shows that the proposed framework outperforms human operators with a 38.93% higher accuracy across various Scenarios. These findings demonstrate the promise of the structured decision-making framework for building more reliable autonomous AI applications in safety-critical contexts.

Authors:Kristian Lindbäck Løvland, Lars Struen Imsland, Bjarne Grimstad
Title: On a closed-loop identification challenge in feedback optimization
Abstract:
Feedback optimization has emerged as an effective strategy for steady-state optimization of dynamical systems. By exploiting models of the steady-state input-output sensitivity, methods of this type are often sample efficient, and their use of feedback ensures that they are robust against model error. Still, this robustness has its limitations, and the dependence on a model may hinder convergence in settings with high model error. We investigate here the effect of a particular type of model error: bias due to identifying the model from closed-loop data. Our main results are a sufficient convergence condition, and a converse divergence condition. The convergence condition requires a matrix which depends on the closed-loop sensitivity and a noise-to-signal ratio of the data generating system to be positive definite. The negative definiteness of the same matrix characterizes an extreme case where the bias due to closed-loop data results in divergence of model-based feedback optimization.

Authors:Rahul Meshram, Kesav Kaza
Title: Lagrangian Relaxation for Multi-Action Partially Observable Restless Bandits: Heuristic Policies and Indexability
Abstract:
Partially observable restless multi-armed bandits have found numerous applications including in recommendation systems, communication systems, public healthcare outreach systems, and in operations research. We study multi-action partially observable restless multi-armed bandits, it is a generalization of the classical restless multi-armed bandit problem -- 1) each bandit has finite states, and the current state is not observable, 2) each bandit has finite actions. In particular, we assume that more than two actions are available for each bandit. We motivate our problem with the application of public-health intervention planning. We describe the model and formulate a long term discounted optimization problem, where the state of each bandit evolves according to a Markov process, and this evolution is action dependent. The state of a bandit is not observable but one of finitely many feedback signals are observable. Each bandit yields a reward, based on the action taken on that bandit. The agent is assumed to have a budget constraint. The bandits are assumed to be independent. However, they are weakly coupled at the agent through the budget constraint. We first analyze the Lagrangian bound method for our partially observable restless bandits. The computation of optimal value functions for finite-state, finite-action POMDPs is non-trivial. Hence, the computation of Lagrangian bounds is also challenging. We describe approximations for the computation of Lagrangian bounds using point based value iteration (PBVI) and online rollout policy. We further present various properties of the value functions and provide theoretical insights on PBVI and online rollout policy. We study heuristic policies for multi-actions PORMAB. Finally, we discuss present Whittle index policies and their limitations in our model.

Authors:Niraj Gohil, Alexander Franke, Nawshad Haque, Amro M. Farid
Title: Spatio-Temporal Life Cycle Analysis of Electrolytic H2 Production in Australia under Time-Varying CO2 Management Schemes
Abstract:
The transition to sustainable energy is critical for addressing global climate change. Hydrogen production, particularly via electrolysis, has emerged as a key solution, offering the potential for low-carbon energy across various sectors. This paper presents a novel approach to enhancing hydrogen production by aligning it with periods of low-carbon intensity on the electricity grid. Leveraging real-time data from the Electricity Mapping database and real-time electricity cost data from the AEMO database, the model dynamically adjusts hydrogen output to minimize both emissions and production costs. Furthermore, the integration of hydrogen tax credits significantly enhances cost-effectiveness, offering a viable pathway for widespread adoption. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) framework is employed to assess the environmental impacts, emphasizing the need for real-time data incorporation to more accurately reflect hydrogen production's carbon footprint. The study concludes that dynamic, real-time operation, coupled with financial incentives, provides a promising method to enhance the sustainability and economic viability of hydrogen production.

Authors:Dario Sanalitro, Marco Finocchiaro, Pasquale Memmolo, Emanuela Cutuli, Maide Bucolo
Title: A Single Subject Machine Learning Based Classification of Motor Imagery EEGs
Abstract:
Motor Imagery-Based Brain-Computer Interfaces (MI-BCIs) are systems that detect and interpret brain activity patterns linked to the mental visualization of movement, and then translate these into instructions for controlling external robotic or domotic devices. Such devices have the potential to be useful in a broad variety of applications. While implementing a system that would help individuals restore some freedom levels, the interpretation of (Electroencephalography) EEG data remains a complex and unsolved problem. In the literature, the classification of left and right imagined movements has been extensively studied. This study introduces a novel pipeline that makes use of machine learning techniques for classifying MI EEG data. The entire framework is capable of accurately categorizing left and imagined motions, as well as rest phases, for a set of 52 subjects who performed a MI task. We trained a within subject model on each individual subject. The methodology has been offline evaluated and compared to four studies that are currently the state-of-the-art regarding the specified dataset. The results show that our proposed framework could be used with MI-BCI systems in light of its failsafe classification performances, i.e. 99.5% in accuracy

Authors:Tianyang Yi, D. Adrian Maldonado, Anirudh Subramanyam
Title: Chance-Constrained DC Optimal Power Flow Using Constraint-Informed Statistical Estimation
Abstract:
Chance-constrained optimization has emerged as a promising framework for managing uncertainties in power systems. This work advances its application to the DC Optimal Power Flow (DC-OPF) model, developing a novel approach to uncertainty modeling and estimation. Current methods typically tackle these problems by first modeling random nodal injections using high-dimensional statistical distributions that scale with the number of buses, followed by deriving deterministic reformulations of the probabilistic constraints. We propose an alternative methodology that exploits the constraint structure to inform the uncertainties to be estimated, enabling significant dimensionality reduction. Rather than learning joint distributions of net-load forecast errors across units, we instead directly model the one-dimensional aggregate system forecast error and two-dimensional line errors weighted by power transfer distribution factors. We evaluate our approach under both Gaussian and non-Gaussian distributions on synthetic and real-world datasets, demonstrating significant improvements in statistical accuracy and optimization performance compared to existing methods.

Authors:Grigory Neustroev, Diego A. Tejada-Arango, German Morales-Espana, Mathijs M. de Weerdt
Title: Hull Clustering with Blended Representative Periods for Energy System Optimization Models
Abstract:
The growing integration of renewable energy sources into power systems requires planning models to account for not only demand variability but also fluctuations in renewable availability during operational periods. Capturing this temporal detail over long planning horizons can be computationally demanding or even intractable. A common approach to address this challenge is to approximate the problem using a reduced set of selected time periods, known as representative periods (RPs). However, using too few RPs can significantly degrade solution quality. In this paper, we propose a novel method -- hull clustering with blended RPs -- that enhances traditional clustering-based RP approaches in two key ways. First, instead of selecting typical cluster centers (e.g., centroids or medoids) as RPs, our method is based on extreme points, which are more likely to be constraint-binding. Second, it represents base periods as weighted combinations of RPs (e.g., convex or conic blends), enabling a more accurate approximation of the full time horizon with fewer RPs. Through two case studies based on data from the European network operators, we demonstrate that hull clustering with blended RPs outperforms traditional RP techniques in both regret and computational efficiency.

Authors:Xinyi Sheng, Dominik Baumann
Title: Beyond expected value: geometric mean optimization for long-term policy performance in reinforcement learning
Abstract:
Reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms typically optimize the expected cumulative reward, i.e., the expected value of the sum of scalar rewards an agent receives over the course of a trajectory. The expected value averages the performance over an infinite number of trajectories. However, when deploying the agent in the real world, this ensemble average may be uninformative for the performance of individual trajectories. Thus, in many applications, optimizing the long-term performance of individual trajectories might be more desirable. In this work, we propose a novel RL algorithm that combines the standard ensemble average with the time-average growth rate, a measure for the long-term performance of individual trajectories. We first define the Bellman operator for the time-average growth rate. We then show that, under multiplicative reward dynamics, the geometric mean aligns with the time-average growth rate. To address more general and unknown reward dynamics, we propose a modified geometric mean with $N$-sliding window that captures the path-dependency as an estimator for the time-average growth rate. This estimator is embedded as a regularizer into the objective, forming a practical algorithm and enabling the policy to benefit from ensemble average and time-average simultaneously. We evaluate our algorithm in challenging simulations, where it outperforms conventional RL methods.

Authors:Haoyu Yin, Xudong Chen, Bruno Sinopoli
Title: On Zero-sum Game Representation for Replicator Dynamics
Abstract:
Replicator dynamics have widely been used in evolutionary game theory to model how strategy frequencies evolve over time in large populations. The so-called payoff matrix encodes the pairwise fitness that each strategy obtains when interacting with every other strategy, and it solely determines the replicator dynamics. If the payoff matrix is unknown, we show in this paper that it cannot be inferred from observed strategy frequencies alone -- distinct payoff matrices can induce the same replicator dynamics. We thus look for a canonical representative of the payoff matrix in the equivalence class. The main result of the paper is to show that for every polynomial replicator dynamics (i.e., the vector field is a polynomial), there always exists a skew-symmetric, polynomial payoff matrix that can induce the given dynamics.

Authors:Jannes Hühnerbein, Jad Wehbeh, Eric C. Kerrigan
Title: Optimistic vs Pessimistic Uncertainty Model Unfalsification
Abstract:
We present a novel, input-output data-driven approach to uncertainty model identification. As the true bounds and distributions of system uncertainties ultimately remain unknown, we depart from the goal of identifying the uncertainty model and instead look for minimal concrete statements that can be made based on an uncertain system model and available input-output data. We refer to this as unfalsifying an uncertainty model. Two different unfalsification approaches are taken. The optimistic approach determines the smallest uncertainties that could explain the given data, while the pessimistic approach finds the largest possible uncertainties suggested by the data. The pessimistic problem is revealed to be a semi-infinite program, which is solved using the local reduction algorithm. It is also shown that the optimistic and pessimistic approaches to uncertainty model unfalsification are mathematical duals. Finally, both approaches are tested using an uncertain linear model with data from a simulated nonlinear system.

Authors:J. L. González, J. C. Cruz, R. L. Moreno, D. Vázquez
Title: A Proposal for Yield Improvement with Power Tradeoffs in CMOS LNAs (English Version)
Abstract:
This paper studies an architecture with digitally controllable gain and power consumption to mitigate the impact of process variations on CMOS low-noise amplifiers (LNAs). A \SI{130}{nm}, \SI{1.2}{V} LNA implementing the proposed architecture is designed based on an analysis of variability in traditional LNAs under different bias currents and on the corresponding effects on the performance of a complete receiver. Two different adjustment strategies are evaluated, both of which are compatible with previously reported built-in self-test (BIST) circuits. Results show that the proposed architecture enables yield enhancement while keeping low-power operation compared with traditional LNAs.

Authors:Sten Elling Tingstad Jacobsen, Balázs Kulcsár, Anders Lindman
Title: Combined Stochastic and Robust Optimization for Electric Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand with Nested Benders Decomposition
Abstract:
The electrification and automation of mobility are reshaping how cities operate on-demand transport systems. Managing Electric Autonomous Mobility-on-Demand (EAMoD) fleets effectively requires coordinating dispatch, rebalancing, and charging decisions under multiple uncertainties, including travel demand, travel time, energy consumption, and charger availability. We address this challenge with a combined stochastic and robust model predictive control (MPC) framework. The framework integrates spatio-temporal Bayesian neural network forecasts with a multi-stage stochastic optimization model, formulated as a large-scale mixed-integer linear program. To ensure real-time applicability, we develop a tailored Nested Benders Decomposition that exploits the scenario tree structure and enables efficient parallelized solution. Stochastic optimization is employed to anticipate demand and infrastructure variability, while robust constraints on energy consumption and travel times safeguard feasibility under worst-case realizations. We evaluate the framework using high-fidelity simulations of San Francisco and Chicago. Compared with deterministic, reactive, and robust baselines, the combined stochastic and robust approach reduces median passenger waiting times by up to 36% and 95th-percentile delays by nearly 20%, while also lowering rebalancing distance by 27% and electricity costs by more than 35%. We also conduct a sensitivity analysis of battery size and vehicle efficiency, finding that energy-efficient vehicles maintain stable performance even with small batteries, whereas less efficient vehicles require larger batteries and greater infrastructure support. Our results emphasize the importance of jointly optimizing predictive control, vehicle capabilities, and infrastructure planning to enable scalable, cost-efficient EAMoD operations.

Authors:Daegyun Choi, Donghoon Kim, Henzeh Leeghim
Title: Fuzzy-Based Control Method for Autonomous Spacecraft Inspection with Minimal Fuel Consumption
Abstract:
This study explores an energy-efficient control strategy for spacecraft inspection using a fuzzy inference system combined with a bio-inspired optimization technique to incorporate learning capability into the control process. The optimized fuzzy controller produces a minimally fuel-consuming force while maintaining reliable inspection within constraints, such as illumination, restricted field of view, thrust limits, and safe regions. The performance of the proposed control strategy is validated through Monte Carlo simulations.

Authors:Hamid Varmazyari, Masoud H. Nazari
Title: A Learning-based Hybrid System Approach for Detecting Contingencies in Distribution Grids with Inverter-Based Resources
Abstract:
This paper presents a machine-learning based Stochastic Hybrid System (SHS) modeling framework to detect contingencies in active distribution networks populated with inverter-based resources (IBRs). In particular, this framework allows detecting unobservable contingencies, which cannot be identified by normal sensing systems. First, a state-space SHS model combining conventional and IRB-based resources is introduced to formulate the dynamic interaction between continuous states of distribution networks and discrete contingency events. This model forms a randomly switching system, where parameters or network topology can change due to contingencies. We consider two contingency classes: (i) physical events, such as line outages, and (ii) measurement anomalies caused by sensor faults. Leveraging multivariate time series data derived from high-frequency sampling of system states and network outputs, a time series-based learning model is trained for real-time contingency detection and classification. Simulation studies, carried out on the IEEE 33-bus distribution system, demonstrate a 96% overall detection accuracy.

Authors:Zhonggang Li, Geert Leus, Raj Thilak Rajan
Title: Fast Multiagent Formation Stabilization with Sparse Universally Rigid Frameworks
Abstract:
Affine formation control (AFC) is a distributed networked control system that has recently received increasing attention in various applications. AFC is typically achieved using a generalized consensus system where the stress matrix, which encodes the graph structure, is used instead of a graph Laplacian. Universally rigid frameworks (URFs) guarantee the existence of the stress matrix and have thus become the guideline for such a network design. In this work, we propose a convex optimization framework to design the stress matrix for AFC without predefining a rigid graph. We aim to find a resulting network with a reduced number of communication links, but still with a fast convergence speed. We show through simulations that our proposed solutions can yield a more sparse graph, while admitting a faster convergence compared to the state-of-the-art solutions.

Authors:Leroy D'Souza, Yash Vardhan Pant, Sebastian Fischmeister
Title: Tractable Stochastic Hybrid Model Predictive Control using Gaussian Processes for Repetitive Tasks in Unseen Environments
Abstract:
Improving the predictive accuracy of a dynamics model is crucial to obtaining good control performance and safety from Model Predictive Controllers (MPC). One approach involves learning unmodelled (residual) dynamics, in addition to nominal models derived from first principles. Varying residual models across an environment manifest as modes of a piecewise residual (PWR) model that requires a) identifying how modes are distributed across the environment and b) solving a computationally intensive Mixed Integer Nonlinear Program (MINLP) problem for control. We develop an iterative mapping algorithm capable of predicting time-varying mode distributions. We then develop and solve two tractable approximations of the MINLP to combine with the predictor in closed-loop to solve the overall control problem. In simulation, we first demonstrate how the approximations improve performance by 4-18% in comparison to the MINLP while achieving significantly lower computation times (upto 250x faster). We then demonstrate how the proposed mapping algorithm incrementally improves controller performance (upto 3x) over multiple iterations of a trajectory tracking control task even when the mode distributions change over time.

Authors:Filippos Fotiadis, Kyriakos G. Vamvoudakis
Title: Input-Output Data-Driven Sensor Selection for Cyber-Physical Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we consider the problem of input-output data-driven sensor selection for unknown cyber-physical systems (CPS). In particular, out of a large set of sensors available for use, we choose a subset of them that maximizes a metric of observability of the CPS. The considered observability metric is related to the $\mathcal{H}_2$ system norm, which quantifies the average output energy of the selected sensors over a finite or an infinite horizon. However, its computation inherently requires knowledge of the unknown matrices of the system, so we draw connections from the reinforcement learning literature and design an input-output data-driven algorithm to compute it in a model-free manner. We then use the derived data-driven metric expression to choose the best sensors of the system in polynomial time, effectively obtaining a provably convergent model-free sensor selection process. Additionally, we show how the proposed data-driven approach can be exploited to select sensors that optimize volumetric measures of observability, while also noting its applicability to the dual problem of actuator selection. Simulations are performed to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Authors:Vineeth K. Bandari, Yeji Lee, Pranathi Adluri, Daniil Karnaushenko, Dmitriy D. Karnaushenko, John S. McCaskill, Oliver G. Schmidt
Title: Modular electronic microrobots with on board sensor-program steered locomotion
Abstract:
True microrobots, in contrast with externally controlled microparticles, must harvest or carry their own source of energy, as well as their own (preferably programmable) microcontroller of actuators for locomotion, using information acquired from their own sensors. Building on recent published work [1], we demonstrate here, for the first time, that microrobotic smartlets, hitherto buoyancy divers, can also be equipped to navigate in 2D on surfaces, with on-board control responding to both sensor information and their internal electronic program. Fabricating modular microrobots, with all dimensions of 1mm and below, has been difficult to achieve because of competing demands for the limited surface area and the challenges of integrating and interconnecting the diverse functionalities of energy harvesting, actuation, sensing, communication, docking and control. A novel high density heterogeneous integration, via soft-substrate micro flip-chip bonding of custom CMOS and LED microchiplets onto fold-up polymer surfaces, compatible with roll-up isotropic ambient light harvesting, now makes this possible. Fabricating electrolytic bubble actuators on multiple cube-faces and connecting them to a custom sensor-controlled on-board microchiplet (lablet), allows the smartlets to locomote on wet surfaces, changing direction in response to both timed programmed control as well as programmed response to locally sensed signals. Such locomoted robotic microcubes can also move to and selectively dock with other modules via patterned surfaces. This is powered by ambient light in natural aqueous media on smooth surfaces.

Authors:Chao Ning, Han Wang, Longyan Li, Yang Shi
Title: Collaborative-Online-Learning-Enabled Distributionally Robust Motion Control for Multi-Robot Systems
Abstract:
This paper develops a novel COllaborative-Online-Learning (COOL)-enabled motion control framework for multi-robot systems to avoid collision amid randomly moving obstacles whose motion distributions are partially observable through decentralized data streams. To address the notable challenge of data acquisition due to occlusion, a COOL approach based on the Dirichlet process mixture model is proposed to efficiently extract motion distribution information by exchanging among robots selected learning structures. By leveraging the fine-grained local-moment information learned through COOL, a data-stream-driven ambiguity set for obstacle motion is constructed. We then introduce a novel ambiguity set propagation method, which theoretically admits the derivation of the ambiguity sets for obstacle positions over the entire prediction horizon by utilizing obstacle current positions and the ambiguity set for obstacle motion. Additionally, we develop a compression scheme with its safety guarantee to automatically adjust the complexity and granularity of the ambiguity set by aggregating basic ambiguity sets that are close in a measure space, thereby striking an attractive trade-off between control performance and computation time. Then the probabilistic collision-free trajectories are generated through distributionally robust optimization problems. The distributionally robust obstacle avoidance constraints based on the compressed ambiguity set are equivalently reformulated by deriving separating hyperplanes through tractable semi-definite programming. Finally, we establish the probabilistic collision avoidance guarantee and the long-term tracking performance guarantee for the proposed framework. The numerical simulations are used to demonstrate the efficacy and superiority of the proposed approach compared with state-of-the-art methods.

Authors:Haitao Tian, Argyrios Zolotas, Miguel Arana-Catania
Title: Convolutional Neural Networks for Accurate Measurement of Train Speed
Abstract:
In this study, we explore the use of Convolutional Neural Networks for improving train speed estimation accuracy, addressing the complex challenges of modern railway systems. We investigate three CNN architectures - single-branch 2D, single-branch 1D, and multiple-branch models - and compare them with the Adaptive Kalman Filter. We analyse their performance using simulated train operation datasets with and without Wheel Slide Protection activation. Our results reveal that CNN-based approaches, especially the multiple-branch model, demonstrate superior accuracy and robustness compared to traditional methods, particularly under challenging operational conditions. These findings highlight the potential of deep learning techniques to enhance railway safety and operational efficiency by more effectively capturing intricate patterns in complex transportation datasets.

Authors:Luis C. Mathias, Atefeh Termehchi, Taufik Abrão, Ekram Hossain
Title: Beamforming Control in RIS-Aided Wireless Communications: A Predictive Physics-Based Approach
Abstract:
Integrating reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) into wireless communication systems is a promising approach for enhancing coverage and data rates by intelligently redirecting signals, through a process known as beamforming. However, the process of RIS beamforming (or passive beamforming) control is associated with multiple latency-inducing factors. As a result, by the time the beamforming is effectively updated, the channel conditions may have already changed. For example, the low update rate of localization systems becomes a critical limitation, as a mobile UE's position may change significantly between two consecutive measurements. To address this issue, this work proposes a practical and scalable physics-based solution that is effective across a wide range of UE movement models. Specifically, we propose a kinematic observer and predictor to enable proactive RIS control. From low-rate position estimates provided by a localizer, the kinematic observer infers the UE's speed and acceleration. These motion parameters are then used by a predictor to estimate the UE's future positions at a higher rate, allowing the RIS to adjust promptly and compensate for inherent delays in both the RIS control and localization systems. Numerical results validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, demonstrating real-time RIS adjustments with low computational complexity, even in scenarios involving rapid UE movement.

Authors:Han Zeng, Haibo Wang, Kan Wang, Xutao Yu, Zaichen Zhang
Title: An Adaptive Environment-Aware Transformer Autoencoder for UAV-FSO with Dynamic Complexity Control
Abstract:
The rise of sixth-generation (6G) wireless networks sets high demands on UAV-assisted Free Space Optical (FSO) communications, where the channel environment becomes more complex and variable due to both atmospheric turbulence and UAV-induced vibrations. These factors increase the challenge of maintaining reliable communication and require adaptive processing methods. Autoencoders are promising as they learn optimal encodings from channel data. However, existing autoencoder designs are generic and lack the specific adaptability and computational flexibility needed for UAV-FSO scenarios. To address this, we propose AEAT-AE (Adaptive Environment-aware Transformer Autoencoder), a Transformer-based framework that integrates environmental parameters into both encoder and decoder via a cross-attention mechanism. Moreover, AEAT-AE incorporates a Deep Q-Network (DQN) that dynamically selects which layers of the Transformer autoencoder to activate based on real-time environmental inputs, effectively balancing performance and computational cost. Simulation results demonstrate that AEAT-AE outperforms conventional methods in bit error rate while maintaining efficient runtime, representing a novel tailored solution for next-generation UAV-FSO communications.

Authors:Yuya Miyaoka, Masaki Inoue, Jos'e M Maestre
Title: Chat-Driven Reconfiguration of Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
Traditional control personalization requires users to understand optimization parameters and provide repetitive numerical feedback, creating significant barriers for non-expert users. To deal with this issue, we propose ChatMPC, a model predictive control framework that enables users to personalize control systems and adapt to environmental changes through natural language interaction. The framework operates in two modes: personalization, where users iteratively adjust control behavior to their preferences, and co-development, where users provide real-time environmental information that complements sensor data. We establish convergence guarantees under different user behavior models, demonstrating exponential convergence for consistent feedback and finite-time convergence with logarithmic interaction complexity for tolerance-based users. We validate ChatMPC through experiments in robot navigation with personalized obstacle avoidance and semi-autonomous driving with conversational obstacle reporting. Both experiments achieve real-time performance and demonstrate effective adaptation to user preferences and environmental changes.

Authors:Elias Mandefro Getie, Hossein Fani, Md Umar Hashmi, Brida V. Mbuwir, Geert Deconinck
Title: Grid-Aware Flexibility Operation of Behind-the-Meter Assets: A review of Objectives and Constraints
Abstract:
The high penetration of distributed energy resources (DERs) in low-voltage distribution networks (LVDNs) often leads to network instability and congestion. Discovering the flexibility potential of behind- the-meter (BTM) assets offers a promising solution to these challenges, providing benefits for both prosumers and grid operators. This review focuses on the objectives and constraints associated with the operation of BTM flexibility resources in LVDNs. We propose a new classification framework for network-aware flexibility modelling that incorporates prosumer objectives, flexibility sources, and both local and grid-level constraints. This review identifies research gaps in prosumer-centric grid considerations, control strategies, flexibility preferences, and scenarios in the use of BTM resources.

Authors:Shili Wu, Yancheng Zhu, Aniruddha Datta, Sean B. Andersson
Title: Multi-agent Robust and Optimal Policy Learning for Data Harvesting
Abstract:
We consider the problem of using multiple agents to harvest data from a collection of sensor nodes (targets) scattered across a two-dimensional environment. These targets transmit their data to the agents that move in the space above them, and our goal is for the agents to collect data from the targets as efficiently as possible while moving to their final destinations. The agents are assumed to have a continuous control action, and we leverage reinforcement learning, specifically Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) with Lagrangian Penalty (LP), to identify highly effective solutions. Additionally, we enhance the controller's robustness by incorporating regularization at each state to smooth the learned policy. We conduct a series of simulations to demonstrate our approach and validate its performance and robustness.

Authors:Maryam Ghasemzadeh, Anton van Beek
Title: NOSTRA: A noise-resilient and sparse data framework for trust region based multi objective Bayesian optimization
Abstract:
Multi-objective Bayesian optimization (MOBO) struggles with sparse (non-space-filling), scarce (limited observations) datasets affected by experimental uncertainty, where identical inputs can yield varying outputs. These challenges are common in physical and simulation experiments (e.g., randomized medical trials and, molecular dynamics simulations) and are therefore incompatible with conventional MOBO methods. As a result, experimental resources are inefficiently allocated, leading to suboptimal designs. To address this challenge, we introduce NOSTRA (Noisy and Sparse Data Trust Region-based Optimization Algorithm), a novel sampling framework that integrates prior knowledge of experimental uncertainty to construct more accurate surrogate models while employing trust regions to focus sampling on promising areas of the design space. By strategically leveraging prior information and refining search regions, NOSTRA accelerates convergence to the Pareto frontier, enhances data efficiency, and improves solution quality. Through two test functions with varying levels of experimental uncertainty, we demonstrate that NOSTRA outperforms existing methods in handling noisy, sparse, and scarce data. Specifically, we illustrate that, NOSTRA effectively prioritizes regions where samples enhance the accuracy of the identified Pareto frontier, offering a resource-efficient algorithm that is practical in scenarios with limited experimental budgets while ensuring efficient performance.

Authors:Rui Zhao, Zhiqiang Zuo, Yijing Wang, Wentao Zhang, Yang Shi
Title: Resilient Control for Networked Switched Systems With/Without ACK: An Active Quantized Framework
Abstract:
This paper deals with the quantized control problem for switched systems under denial-of-service (DoS) attack. Considering the system's defensive capability and the computational resources of quantizers and controllers, four control strategies are proposed. These strategies incorporate different combinations of controllers (active and passive), quantizers (centered on the origin or custom-designed), and network configurations (with or without ACK signals). For each strategy, specific update laws for the encoder and decoder are designed to avoid quantization saturation. Furthermore, the uniformity of encoder and decoder operations is maintained by transmitting additional information to the decoder. To achieve asymptotic stability, sufficient conditions concerning the switching signal and DoS attack constraints are derived by taking into account the asynchronous behaviors. The proposed active quantization strategy with the ACK signal leverages the system model information to compute the control signal in real-time, allowing for possible convergence of the system state despite DoS attack. Additionally, a well-designed switching signal is suggested to further mitigate the impact of DoS attack. A passive quantization strategy with ACK signal is also developed as a simplified version of the active quantized control strategy, providing the foundation for a strategy without ACK signal. Inspired by time-triggered and event-triggered mechanisms, the passive quantization strategy without ACK signal is investigated, with two feasible update laws for the quantizer. Finally, two simulations are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategies.

Authors:Gargi Das, Daegyun Choi, Donghoon Kim
Title: Understanding and Utilizing Dynamic Coupling in Free-Floating Space Manipulators for On-Orbit Servicing
Abstract:
This study proposes a dynamic coupling-informed trajectory optimization algorithm for free-floating space manipulator systems (SMSs). Dynamic coupling between the base and the manipulator arms plays a critical role in influencing the system's behavior. While prior research has predominantly focused on minimizing this coupling, often overlooking its potential advantages, this work investigates how dynamic coupling can instead be leveraged to improve trajectory planning. Singular value decomposition (SVD) of the dynamic coupling matrix is employed to identify the dominant components governing coupling behavior. A quantitative metric is then formulated to characterize the strength and directionality of the coupling and is incorporated into a trajectory optimization framework. To assess the feasibility of the optimized trajectory, a sliding mode control-based tracking controller is designed to generate the required joint torque inputs. Simulation results demonstrate that explicitly accounting for dynamic coupling in trajectory planning enables more informed and potentially more efficient operation, offering new directions for the control of free-floating SMSs.

Authors:Omid Mokhtari, Samuel Chevalier, Mads Almassalkhi
Title: Structure-preserving Optimal Kron-based Reduction of Radial Distribution Networks
Abstract:
Network reduction simplifies complex electrical networks to address computational challenges of large-scale transmission and distribution grids. Traditional network reduction methods are often based on a predefined set of nodes or lines to remain in the reduced network. This paper builds upon previous work on Optimal Kron-based Reduction of Networks (Opti-KRON), which was formulated as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP), to enhance the framework in two aspects. First, the scalability is improved via a cutting plane restriction, tightened Big~M bounds, and a zero-injection node reduction stage. Next, we introduce a radiality-preservation step to identify and recover nodes whose restoration ensures radiality of the reduced network. The model is validated through its application to the 533-bus distribution test system and a 3499-bus realistic test feeder for a set of representative loading scenarios. In the 533-bus system, an 85% reduction was achieved with a maximum voltage error below 0.0025 p.u., while in the 3499-bus feeder, over 94% reduction was obtained with maximum voltage errors below 0.002 p.u. Additionally, we show that the radialization step accelerates the runtime of optimal voltage control problems when applied to Kron-reduced networks.

Authors:Kim Hammar, Tao Li
Title: Online Incident Response Planning under Model Misspecification through Bayesian Learning and Belief Quantization
Abstract:
Effective responses to cyberattacks require fast decisions, even when information about the attack is incomplete or inaccurate. However, most decision-support frameworks for incident response rely on a detailed system model that describes the incident, which restricts their practical utility. In this paper, we address this limitation and present an online method for incident response planning under model misspecification, which we call MOBAL: Misspecified Online Bayesian Learning. MOBAL iteratively refines a conjecture about the model through Bayesian learning as new information becomes available, which facilitates model adaptation as the incident unfolds. To determine effective responses online, we quantize the conjectured model into a finite Markov model, which enables efficient response planning through dynamic programming. We prove that Bayesian learning is asymptotically consistent with respect to the information feedback. Additionally, we establish bounds on misspecification and quantization errors. Experiments on the CAGE-2 benchmark show that MOBAL outperforms the state of the art in terms of adaptability and robustness to model misspecification.

Authors:Xiaohai Hu, Jason Laks, Guoxiao Guo, Xu Chen
Title: Iterative Youla-Kucera Loop Shaping For Precision Motion Control
Abstract:
This paper presents a numerically robust approach to multi-band disturbance rejection using an iterative Youla-Kucera parameterization technique. The proposed method offers precise control over shaping the frequency response of a feedback loop while maintaining numerical stability through a systematic design process. By implementing an iterative approach, we overcome a critical numerical issue in rejecting vibrations with multiple frequency bands. Meanwhile, our proposed modification of the all-stabilizing Youla-Kucera architecture enables intuitive design while respecting fundamental performance trade-offs and minimizing undesired waterbed amplifications. Numerical validation on a hard disk drive servo system demonstrates significant performance improvements, enabling enhanced positioning precision for increased storage density. The design methodology extends beyond storage systems to various high-precision control applications where multi-band disturbance rejection is critical.

Authors:Daniel Baker, Jeremy Wojcik, Sean Phillips
Title: Autonomy at Levels for Spacecraft
Abstract:
Autonomy at Levels is the idea that autonomy should be embedded within and throughout a spacecraft. Using Systems Engineering methods a spacecraft is typically decomposed into systems, subsystems, assemblies, components, and so on. All these decomposition levels within all the spacecraft's systems, could and should have autonomy elements built in. As a result, the "autonomy system" is made of autonomy elements or units that are integrated, distributed and embedded within the whole spacecraft. This is like how the power system would be designed and implemented. Linking control loops and autonomy loops illustrates how to achieve Autonomy at Levels.

Authors:Yaqi Xu, Yan Shi, Jin Tian, Fanzeng Xia, Tongxin Li, Shanzhi Chen, Yuming Ge
Title: DCT-MARL: A Dynamic Communication Topology-Based MARL Algorithm for Connected Vehicle Platoon Control
Abstract:
With the rapid advancement of vehicular communication facilities and autonomous driving technologies, connected vehicle platooning has emerged as a promising approach to improve traffic efficiency and driving safety. Reliable Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) communication is critical to achieving efficient cooperative control. However, in the real-world traffic environment, V2V communication may suffer from time-varying delay and packet loss, leading to degraded control performance and even safety risks. To mitigate the adverse effects of non-ideal communication, this paper proposes a Dynamic Communication Topology based Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (DCT-MARL) algorithm for robust cooperative platoon control. Specifically, the state space is augmented with historical control action and delay to enhance robustness against communication delay. To mitigate the impact of packet loss, a multi-key gated communication mechanism is introduced, which dynamically adjusts the communication topology based on the correlation between vehicles and their current communication status. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed DCT-MARL significantly outperforms state-of-the-art methods in terms of string stability and driving comfort, validating its superior robustness and effectiveness.

Authors:Zhaojun Ruan, Botao Gao, Libao Shi
Title: Efficient and accurate solution of wind-integrated optimal power flow based on enhanced second-order cone relaxation with rolling cutting plane technique
Abstract:
The integration of large-scale renewable energy sources, such as wind power, poses significant challenges for the optimal operation of power systems owing to their inherent uncertainties. This paper proposes a solution framework for wind-integrated optimal power flow (OPF) that leverages an enhanced second-order cone relaxation (SOCR), supported by a rolling cutting plane technique. Initially, the wind generation cost, arising from discrepancies between scheduled and actual wind power outputs, is meticulously modeled using a Gaussian mixture model based on historical wind power data. This modelled wind generation cost is subsequently incorporated into the objective function of the conventional OPF problem. To achieve the efficient and accurate solution for the wind-integrated OPF, effectively managing the constraints associated with AC power flow equations is essential. In this regard, a SOCR, combined with a second-order Taylor series expansion, is employed to facilitate the convex approximation of the AC power flow equations. Additionally, a warm-start strategy, grounded in a proposed rolling cutting plane technique, is devised to reduce relaxation errors and enhance computational efficiency. Finally, the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed solution framework are demonstrated across various case studies. Specifically, the influence of wind power cost is also examined, further highlighting the practical implications of the proposed solution framework.

Authors:Yicheng Lin, Bingxian Wu, Nan Bai, Zhiyong Sun, Yunxiao Ren, Chuanze Chen, Zhisheng Duan
Title: Integrating Uncertainties for Koopman-Based Stabilization
Abstract:
Over the past decades, the Koopman operator has been widely applied in data-driven control, yet its theoretical foundations remain underexplored. This paper establishes a unified framework to address the robust stabilization problem in data-driven control via the Koopman operator, fully accounting for three uncertainties: projection error, estimation error, and process disturbance. It comprehensively investigates both direct and indirect data-driven control approaches, facilitating flexible methodology selection for analysis and control. For the direct approach, considering process disturbances, the lifted-state feedback controller, designed via a linear matrix inequality (LMI), robustly stabilizes all lifted bilinear systems consistent with noisy data. For the indirect approach requiring system identification, the feedback controller, designed using a nonlinear matrix inequality convertible to an LMI, ensures closed-loop stability under worst-case process disturbances. Numerical simulations via cross-validation validate the effectiveness of both approaches, highlighting their theoretical significance and practical utility.

Authors:Evangelos Tsiatsianas, Chairi Kiourt, Konstantinos Chatzilygeroudis
Title: A Comparative Study of Floating-Base Space Parameterizations for Agile Whole-Body Motion Planning
Abstract:
Automatically generating agile whole-body motions for legged and humanoid robots remains a fundamental challenge in robotics. While numerous trajectory optimization approaches have been proposed, there is no clear guideline on how the choice of floating-base space parameterization affects performance, especially for agile behaviors involving complex contact dynamics. In this paper, we present a comparative study of different parameterizations for direct transcription-based trajectory optimization of agile motions in legged systems. We systematically evaluate several common choices under identical optimization settings to ensure a fair comparison. Furthermore, we introduce a novel formulation based on the tangent space of SE(3) for representing the robot's floating-base pose, which, to our knowledge, has not received attention from the literature. This approach enables the use of mature off-the-shelf numerical solvers without requiring specialized manifold optimization techniques. We hope that our experiments and analysis will provide meaningful insights for selecting the appropriate floating-based representation for agile whole-body motion generation.

Authors:Zhentong Shao, Jingtao Qin, Nanpeng Yu
Title: A Neural Column-and-Constraint Generation Method for Solving Two-Stage Stochastic Unit Commitment
Abstract:
Two-stage stochastic unit commitment (2S-SUC) problems have been widely adopted to manage the uncertainties introduced by high penetrations of intermittent renewable energy resources. While decomposition-based algorithms such as column-and-constraint generation has been proposed to solve these problems, they remain computationally prohibitive for large-scale, real-time applications. In this paper, we introduce a Neural Column-and-Constraint Generation (Neural CCG) method to significantly accelerate the solution of 2S-SUC problems. The proposed approach integrates a neural network that approximates the second-stage recourse problem by learning from high-level features of operational scenarios and the first-stage commitment decisions. This neural estimator is embedded within the CCG framework, replacing repeated subproblem solving with rapid neural evaluations. We validate the effectiveness of the proposed method on the IEEE 118-bus system. Compared to the original CCG and a state-of-the-art commercial solver, Neural CCG achieves up to 130.1$\times$ speedup while maintaining a mean optimality gap below 0.096\%, demonstrating its strong potential for scalable stochastic optimization in power system.

Authors:Jinhua He, Tingzhe Pan, Chao Li, Xin Jin, Zijie Meng, Wei Zhou
Title: A Robust Optimization Approach for Demand Response Participation of Fixed-Frequency Air Conditioners
Abstract:
With the continuous increase in the penetration of renewable energy in the emerging power systems, the pressure on system peak regulation has been significantly intensified. Against this backdrop, demand side resources particularly air conditioning loads have garnered considerable attention for their substantial regulation potential and fast response capabilities, making them promising candidates for providing auxiliary peak shaving services. This study focuses on fixed frequency air conditioners (FFACs) and proposes an optimization model and solution method for their participation in demand response (DR) programs. First, a probabilistic response model for FFACs is developed based on the Markov assumption. Second, by sampling this probabilistic model, the aggregate power consumption of an FFAC cluster under decentralized control is obtained. Subsequently, a robust optimization model is formulated to maximize the profit of an aggregator managing the FFAC cluster during DR events, taking into account the aggregated response power. The model explicitly considers temperature uncertainty to ensure user comfort in a robust sense. Finally, leveraging the structure of the proposed model, it is reformulated as a mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) problem and solved using a commercial optimization solver. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed model and solution approach.

Authors:Shuhao Yan, Carsten W. Scherer
Title: Distributional Robustness in Output Feedback Regret-Optimal Control
Abstract:
This paper studies distributionally robust regret-optimal (DRRO) control with purified output feedback for linear systems subject to additive disturbances and measurement noise. These uncertainties (including the initial system state) are assumed to be stochastic and distributed according to an unknown joint probability distribution within a Wasserstein ambiguity set. We design affine controllers to minimise the worst-case expected regret over all distributions in this set. The expected regret is defined as the difference between an expected cost incurred by an affine causal controller and the expected cost incurred by the optimal noncausal controller with perfect knowledge of the disturbance trajectory at the outset. Leveraging the duality theory in distributionally robust optimisation, we derive strong duality results for worst-case expectation problems involving general quadratic objective functions, enabling exact reformulations of the DRRO control problem as semidefinite programs (SDPs). Focusing on one such reformulation, we eliminate certain decision variables. This technique also permits a further equivalent reformulation of the SDP as a distributed optimisation problem, with potential to enhance scalability.

Authors:Michael Fennel, Markus Walker, Dominik Pikos, Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title: HapticGiant: A Novel Very Large Kinesthetic Haptic Interface with Hierarchical Force Control
Abstract:
Research in virtual reality and haptic technologies has consistently aimed to enhance immersion. While advanced head-mounted displays are now commercially available, kinesthetic haptic interfaces still face challenges such as limited workspaces, insufficient degrees of freedom, and kinematics not matching the human arm. In this paper, we present HapticGiant, a novel large-scale kinesthetic haptic interface designed to match the properties of the human arm as closely as possible and to facilitate natural user locomotion while providing full haptic feedback. The interface incorporates a novel admittance-type force control scheme, leveraging hierarchical optimization to render both arbitrary serial kinematic chains and Cartesian admittances. Notably, the proposed control scheme natively accounts for system limitations, including joint and Cartesian constraints, as well as singularities. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of HapticGiant and its control scheme, paving the way for highly immersive virtual reality applications.

Authors:Boris Kriuk, Fedor Kriuk
Title: Shepherd Grid Strategy: Towards Reliable SWARM Interception
Abstract:
Modern unmanned aerial vehicle threats require sophisticated interception strategies that can overcome advanced evasion capabilities and operate effectively in contested environments. Traditional single-interceptor and uncoordinated multi-interceptor approaches suffer from fundamental limitations including inadequate coverage, predictable pursuit patterns, and vulnerability to intelligent evasion maneuvers. This paper introduces the Shepherd Grid Strategy, a new multi-phase coordination framework that employs pack-based behavioral coordination to achieve deterministic target interception through systematic containment and coordinated strike execution. The strategy implements a four-phase operational model consisting of chase, follow, formation, and engagement phases, with dynamic role assignment and adaptive formation geometry that maintains persistent target pressure while preparing optimal strike opportunities. Our approach incorporates three key innovations: adaptive phase transition mechanisms that optimize pursuit behavior based on proximity and mission objectives, dynamic role assignment systems that designate specialized interceptor functions including formation maintenance and strike execution, and predictive formation geometry algorithms that create mobile containment grids adapting to target movement patterns. The simulation experiments demonstrate significant performance improvements over traditional methods, achieving near-perfect interception success rates (over 95%) compared to traditional approaches (65%) and reducing median time-to-intercept.

Authors:Mehdi Zafari, Divyanshu Pandey, Rahman Doost-Mohammady
Title: An Analytical and Experimental Study of Distributed Uplink Beamforming in the Presence of Carrier Frequency Offsets
Abstract:
Realizing distributed multi-user beamforming (D-MUBF) in time division duplex (TDD)-based multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) systems faces significant challenges. One of the most fundamental challenges is achieving accurate over-the-air (OTA) timing and frequency synchronization among distributed access points (APs), particularly due to residual frequency offsets caused by local oscillator (LO) drifts. Despite decades of research on synchronization for MU-MIMO, there are only a few experimental studies that evaluate D-MUBF techniques under imperfect frequency synchronization among distributed antennas. This paper presents an analytical and experimental assessment of D-MUBF methods in the presence of frequency synchronization errors. We provide closed-form expressions for signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) as a function of channel characteristics and statistical properties of carrier frequency offset (CFO) among AP antennas. In addition, through experimental evaluations conducted with the RENEW massive MIMO testbed, we collected comprehensive datasets across various experimental scenarios. These datasets comprise uplink pilot samples for channel and CFO estimation, in addition to uplink multi-user data intended for analyzing D-MUBF techniques. By examining these datasets, we assess the performance of D-MUBF in the presence of CFO and compare the analytical predictions with empirical measurements. Furthermore, we make the datasets publicly available and provide insights on utilizing them for future research endeavors.

Authors:Peng Wang, Peter Luh, Xuesong Lu
Title: Binary Decision Process in Pre-Evacuation Behavior
Abstract:
In crowd evacuation the time interval before decisive movement towards a safe place is defined as the pre-evacuation phase, and it has crucial impact on the total time required for safe egress. This process mainly refers to situation awareness and response to an external stressors, e.g., fire alarm. Due to the complexity of human cognitive process, simulation is used to study this important time interval. In this paper a binary decision process is formulated to simulate pre-evacuation time of many evacuees in a given social context. The model combines classic opinion dynamics with binary phase transition to describe how group pre-evacuation time emerges from individual interaction. The model parameters are quantitatively meaningful to human factors research within socio-psychological background, e.g., whether an individual is stubborn or open-minded, or what kind of the social topology exists among the individuals and how it matters in aggregating individuals into social groups. The modeling framework also describes collective motion of many evacuees in a planar space, and the resulting multi-agent system is partly similar to Vicsek model, and it is meaningful to explore complex crowd behavior in social context.

Authors:Masato Kimura, Hirotaka Kuma, Yikan Liu, Kazunori Matsui, Masahiro Yamamoto, Zhenxing Yang
Title: Threshold dynamics in time-delay systems: polynomial $β$-control in a pressing process and connections to blow-up
Abstract:
This paper addresses a press control problem in straightening machines with small time delays due to system communication. To handle this, we propose a generalized $β$-control method, which replaces conventional linear velocity control with a polynomial of degree $β\ge 1$. The resulting model is a delay differential equation (DDE), for which we derive basic properties through nondimensionalization and analysis. Numerical experiments suggest the existence of a threshold initial velocity separating overshoot and non-overshoot dynamics, which we formulate as a conjecture. Based on this, we design a control algorithm under velocity constraints and confirm its effectiveness. We also highlight a connection between threshold behavior and finite-time blow-up in DDEs. This study provides a practical control strategy and contributes new insights into threshold dynamics and blow-up phenomena in delay systems.

Authors:Yiwei Liu, Ziming Wang, Xin Wang, Yiding Ji
Title: Fixed-Time Voltage Regulation for Boost Converters via Unit-Safe Saturating Functions
Abstract:
This paper explores the voltage regulation challenges in boost converter systems, which are critical components in power electronics due to their ability to step up voltage levels efficiently. The proposed control algorithm ensures fixed-time stability, a desirable property that guarantees system stability within a fixed time frame regardless of initial conditions. To tackle the common chattering issues in conventional fixed-time control methods, a novel class of function families is introduced. State observers and adaptive parameters are utilized to manage the uncertainties associated with unknown load resistance. Furthermore, a new disturbance observer is developed using the proposed function family, and its advantages and limitations are illustrated through comparison with existing designs. Finally, both non-real-time and real-time simulations are conducted to validate the effectiveness and deployability of the proposed control algorithm.

Authors:Hong Zhao, Jin Wei-Kocsis, Adel Heidari Akhijahani, Karen L Butler-Purry
Title: Dual-Head Physics-Informed Graph Decision Transformer for Distribution System Restoration
Abstract:
Driven by recent advances in sensing and computing, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) technologies have shown great potential for addressing distribution system restoration (DSR) under uncertainty. However, their data-intensive nature and reliance on the Markov Decision Process (MDP) assumption limit their ability to handle scenarios that require long-term temporal dependencies or few-shot and zero-shot decision making. Emerging Decision Transformers (DTs), which leverage causal transformers for sequence modeling in DRL tasks, offer a promising alternative. However, their reliance on return-to-go (RTG) cloning and limited generalization capacity restricts their effectiveness in dynamic power system environments. To address these challenges, we introduce an innovative Dual-Head Physics-informed Graph Decision Transformer (DH-PGDT) that integrates physical modeling, structural reasoning, and subgoal-based guidance to enable scalable and robust DSR even in zero-shot or few-shot scenarios. DH-PGDT features a dual-head physics-informed causal transformer architecture comprising Guidance Head, which generates subgoal representations, and Action Head, which uses these subgoals to generate actions independently of RTG. It also incorporates an operational constraint-aware graph reasoning module that encodes power system topology and operational constraints to generate a confidence-weighted action vector for refining DT trajectories. This design effectively improves generalization and enables robust adaptation to unseen scenarios. While this work focuses on DSR, the underlying computing model of the proposed PGDT is broadly applicable to sequential decision making across various power system operations and other complex engineering domains.

Authors:Nathaniel Virgo, Martin Biehl, Manuel Baltieri, Matteo Capucci
Title: A "good regulator theorem" for embodied agents
Abstract:
In a classic paper, Conant and Ashby claimed that "every good regulator of a system must be a model of that system." Artificial Life has produced many examples of systems that perform tasks with apparently no model in sight; these suggest Conant and Ashby's theorem doesn't easily generalise beyond its restricted setup. Nevertheless, here we show that a similar intuition can be fleshed out in a different way: whenever an agent is able to perform a regulation task, it is possible for an observer to interpret it as having "beliefs" about its environment, which it "updates" in response to sensory input. This notion of belief updating provides a notion of model that is more sophisticated than Conant and Ashby's, as well as a theorem that is more broadly applicable. However, it necessitates a change in perspective, in that the observer plays an essential role in the theory: models are not a mere property of the system but are imposed on it from outside. Our theorem holds regardless of whether the system is regulating its environment in a classic control theory setup, or whether it's regulating its own internal state; the model is of its environment either way. The model might be trivial, however, and this is how the apparent counterexamples are resolved.

Authors:Ahmad Farooq, Kamran Iqbal
Title: Integrating Vision Foundation Models with Reinforcement Learning for Enhanced Object Interaction
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel approach that integrates vision foundation models with reinforcement learning to enhance object interaction capabilities in simulated environments. By combining the Segment Anything Model (SAM) and YOLOv5 with a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) agent operating in the AI2-THOR simulation environment, we enable the agent to perceive and interact with objects more effectively. Our comprehensive experiments, conducted across four diverse indoor kitchen settings, demonstrate significant improvements in object interaction success rates and navigation efficiency compared to a baseline agent without advanced perception. The results show a 68% increase in average cumulative reward, a 52.5% improvement in object interaction success rate, and a 33% increase in navigation efficiency. These findings highlight the potential of integrating foundation models with reinforcement learning for complex robotic tasks, paving the way for more sophisticated and capable autonomous agents.

Authors:Zixing Wang, Fulvio Forni
Title: Passive nonlinear FIR filters for data-driven control
Abstract:
We propose a new class of passive nonlinear finite impulse response operators. This class is constructed by the action of finite impulse response filters in a lifted space. This allows for efficient control synthesis through constrained optimization. Closed-loop performance is taken into account through least-squares fitting, based on the theory of virtual reference feedback tuning. Passivity is established through efficient linear constraints, based on sampling in the frequency domain. Because of passivity, this class of operators is particularly suited for the control of physical systems, such as electromechanical systems.

Authors:Davide Previtali, Daniele Masti, Mirko Mazzoleni, Fabio Previdi
Title: A virtual sensor fusion approach for state of charge estimation of lithium-ion cells
Abstract:
This paper addresses the estimation of the State Of Charge (SOC) of lithium-ion cells via the combination of two widely used paradigms: Kalman Filters (KFs) equipped with Equivalent Circuit Models (ECMs) and machine-learning approaches. In particular, a recent Virtual Sensor (VS) synthesis technique is considered, which operates as follows: (i) learn an Affine Parameter-Varying (APV) model of the cell directly from data, (ii) derive a bank of linear observers from the APV model, (iii) train a machine-learning technique from features extracted from the observers together with input and output data to predict the SOC. The SOC predictions returned by the VS are supplied to an Extended KF (EKF) as output measurements along with the cell terminal voltage, combining the two paradigms. A data-driven calibration strategy for the noise covariance matrices of the EKF is proposed. Experimental results show that the designed approach is beneficial w.r.t. SOC estimation accuracy and smoothness.

Authors:Vu Ngoc Son, Pham Van Cuong, Dao Thi My Linh, Le Tieu Nien
Title: Optimization of sliding control parameters for a 3-dof robot arm using genetic algorithm (GA)
Abstract:
This paper presents a method for optimizing the sliding mode control (SMC) parameter for a robot manipulator applying a genetic algorithm (GA). The objective of the SMC is to achieve precise and consistent tracking of the trajectory of the robot manipulator under uncertain and disturbed conditions. However, the system effectiveness and robustness depend on the choice of the SMC parameters, which is a difficult and crucial task. To solve this problem, a genetic algorithm is used to locate the optimal values of these parameters that gratify the capability criteria. The proposed method is efficient compared with the conventional SMC and Fuzzy-SMC. The simulation results show that the genetic algorithm with SMC can achieve better tracking capability and reduce the chattering effect.

Authors:Mark Verhagen, Menno Schellekens, Michael Garstka
Title: TaxSolver: A methodology to design optimal income tax reform
Abstract:
Across the developed world, there are growing calls to streamline and improve ever more complex income tax codes. Executing reform has proven difficult. Even when the desired outcomes of a reform are clear, the tools to design fitting reforms are lacking. To remedy this, we developed \texttt{TaxSolver}: a methodology to help policymakers realize optimal income tax reform. \texttt{TaxSolver} allows policymakers to focus solely on what they aim to achieve with a reform -- like redistributing wealth, incentivizing labor market participation or reducing complexity -- and the guarantees within which reform is acceptable -- like limiting fluctuations in taxpayer incomes, protecting households from falling into poverty or shocks to overall tax revenue. Given these goals and fiscal guarantees, \texttt{TaxSolver} finds the optimal set of tax rules that satisfies all the criteria or shows that the set of demands are not mathematically feasible. We illustrate \texttt{TaxSolver} by reforming various simulated examples of tax codes, including some that reflect the complexity and size of a real-world tax system.

Authors:Boyu Yao, Andrey Bernstein, Yury Dvorkin
Title: Integrating Upstream Supply Chains into Generation Expansion Planning
Abstract:
Rising electricity demand underscores the need for secure and reliable generation expansion planning that accounts for upstream supply chain constraints. Traditional models often overlook limitations in materials, manufacturing capacity, lead times for deployment, and field availability, which can delay availability of planned resources and thus to threaten system reliability. This paper introduces a multi-stage supply chain-constrained generation expansion planning (SC-GEP) model that optimizes long-term investments while capturing material availability, production limits, spatial and temporal constraints, and material reuse from retired assets. A decomposition algorithm efficiently solves the resulting MILP. A Maryland case study shows that supply chain constraints shift technology choices, amplify deployment delays caused by lead times, and prompt earlier investment in shorter lead-time, low-material-intensity options. In the low-demand scenario, supply chain constraints raise investment costs by $1.2 billion. Under high demand, persistent generation and reserve shortfalls emerge, underscoring the need to integrate upstream constraints into long-term planning.

Authors:Zhong Zhang, Niccolò Michelotti, Gonçalo Oliveira Pinho, Francesco Topputo
Title: A Comparative Study of Optimal Control and Neural Networks in Asteroid Rendezvous Mission Analysis
Abstract:
This paper presents a comparative study of the applicability and accuracy of optimal control methods and neural network-based estimators in the context of porkchop plots for preliminary asteroid rendezvous mission design. The scenario considered involves a deep-space CubeSat equipped with a low-thrust engine, departing from Earth and rendezvousing with a near-Earth asteroid within a three-year launch window. A low-thrust trajectory optimization model is formulated, incorporating variable specific impulse, maximum thrust, and path constraints. The optimal control problem is efficiently solved using Sequential Convex Programming (SCP) combined with a solution continuation strategy. The neural network framework consists of two models: one predicts the minimum fuel consumption ($Δv$), while the other estimates the minimum flight time ($Δt$) which is used to assess transfer feasibility. Case results demonstrate that, in simplified scenarios without path constraints, the neural network approach achieves low relative errors across most of the design space and successfully captures the main structural features of the porkchop plots. In cases where the SCP-based continuation method fails due to the presence of multiple local optima, the neural network still provides smooth and globally consistent predictions, significantly improving the efficiency of early-stage asteroid candidate screening. However, the deformation of the feasible region caused by path constraints leads to noticeable discrepancies in certain boundary regions, thereby limiting the applicability of the network in detailed mission design phases. Overall, the integration of neural networks with porkchop plot analysis offers a effective decision-making tool for mission designers and planetary scientists, with significant potential for engineering applications.

Authors:Brennen A. Hill, Mant Koh En Wei, Thangavel Jishnuanandh
Title: Engineered over Emergent Communication in MARL for Scalable and Sample-Efficient Cooperative Task Allocation in a Partially Observable Grid
Abstract:
We compare the efficacy of learned versus engineered communication strategies in a cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) environment. For the learned approach, we introduce Learned Direct Communication (LDC), where agents generate messages and actions concurrently via a neural network. Our engineered approach, Intention Communication, employs an Imagined Trajectory Generation Module (ITGM) and a Message Generation Network (MGN) to formulate messages based on predicted future states. Both strategies are evaluated on their success rates in cooperative tasks under fully and partially observable conditions. Our findings indicate that while emergent communication is viable, the engineered approach demonstrates superior performance and scalability, particularly as environmental complexity increases.

Authors:Zhong Zhang, Francesco Topputo
Title: Neural Approximators for Low-Thrust Trajectory Transfer Cost and Reachability
Abstract:
In trajectory design, fuel consumption and trajectory reachability are two key performance indicators for low-thrust missions. This paper proposes general-purpose pretrained neural networks to predict these metrics. The contributions of this paper are as follows: Firstly, based on the confirmation of the Scaling Law applicable to low-thrust trajectory approximation, the largest dataset is constructed using the proposed homotopy ray method, which aligns with mission-design-oriented data requirements. Secondly, the data are transformed into a self-similar space, enabling the neural network to adapt to arbitrary semi-major axes, inclinations, and central bodies. This extends the applicability beyond existing studies and can generalize across diverse mission scenarios without retraining. Thirdly, to the best of our knowledge, this work presents the current most general and accurate low-thrust trajectory approximator, with implementations available in C++, Python, and MATLAB. The resulting neural network achieves a relative error of 0.78% in predicting velocity increments and 0.63% in minimum transfer time estimation. The models have also been validated on a third-party dataset, multi-flyby mission design problem, and mission analysis scenario, demonstrating their generalization capability, predictive accuracy, and computational efficiency.

Authors:Zhong Zhang, Xiang Guo, Di Wu, Hexi Baoyin, Junfeng Li, Francesco Topputo
Title: Global Optimality in Multi-Flyby Asteroid Trajectory Optimization: Theory and Application Techniques
Abstract:
Designing optimal trajectories for multi-flyby asteroid missions is scientifically critical but technically challenging due to nonlinear dynamics, intermediate constraints, and numerous local optima. This paper establishes a method that approaches global optimality for multi-flyby trajectory optimization under a given sequence. The original optimal control problem with interior-point equality constraints is transformed into a multi-stage decision formulation. This reformulation enables direct application of dynamic programming in lower dimensions, and follows Bellman's principle of optimality. Moreover, the method provides a quantifiable bound on global optima errors introduced by discretization and approximation assumptions, thus ensuring a measure of confidence in the obtained solution. The method accommodates both impulsive and low-thrust maneuver schemes in rendezvous and flyby scenarios. Several computational techniques are introduced to enhance efficiency, including a specialized solution for bi-impulse cases and an adaptive step refinement strategy. The proposed method is validated through three problems: 1) an impulsive variant of the fourth Global Trajectory Optimization competition problem (GTOC4), 2) the GTOC11 problem, and 3) the original low-thrust GTOC4 problem. Each case demonstrates improvements in fuel consumption over the best-known trajectories. These results give evidence of the generality and effectiveness of the proposed method in global trajectory optimization.

Authors:Pallock Halder, Satyajit Mojumder
Title: Physics-guided denoiser network for enhanced additive manufacturing data quality
Abstract:
Modern engineering systems are increasingly equipped with sensors for real-time monitoring and decision-making. However, the data collected by these sensors is often noisy and difficult to interpret, limiting its utility for control and diagnostics. In this work, we propose a physics-informed denoising framework that integrates energy-based model and Fisher score regularization to jointly reduce data noise and enforce physical consistency with a physics-based model. The approach is first validated on benchmark problems, including the simple harmonic oscillator, Burgers' equation, and Laplace's equation, across varying noise levels. We then apply the denoising framework to real thermal emission data from laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) additive manufacturing experiments, using a trained Physics-Informed Neural Network (PINN) surrogate model of the LPBF process to guide denoising. Results show that the proposed method outperforms baseline neural network denoisers, effectively reducing noise under a range of LPBF processing conditions. This physics-guided denoising strategy enables robust, real-time interpretation of low-cost sensor data, facilitating predictive control and improved defect mitigation in additive manufacturing.

Authors:Yi Zhang, Fumiya Iida, Fulvio Forni
Title: Periodic robust robotic rock chop via virtual model control
Abstract:
Robotic cutting is a challenging contact-rich manipulation task where the robot must simultaneously negotiate unknown object mechanics, large contact forces, and precise motion requirements. We introduce a new virtual-model control scheme that enables knife rocking motion for robot manipulators, without pre-planned trajectories or precise information of the environment. Motion is generated through interconnection with virtual mechanisms, given by virtual springs, dampers, and masses arranged in a suitable way. Through analysis and experiments, we demonstrate that the controlled robot behavior settles into a periodic motion. Experiments with a Franka manipulator demonstrate robust cuts with five different vegetables, and sub-millimeter slice accuracy from 1 mm to 6 mm at nearly one cut per second. The same controller survives changes in knife shape and cutting board height, and adaptation to a different humanoid manipulator, demonstrating robustness and platform independence.

Authors:Yijing Zhang, Md-Ferdous Pervej, Andreas F. Molisch
Title: Revenue Optimization in Wireless Video Caching Networks: A Privacy-Preserving Two-Stage Solution
Abstract:
Video caching can significantly improve delivery efficiency and enhance quality of video streaming, which constitutes the majority of wireless communication traffic. Due to limited cache size, caching strategies must be designed to adapt to and dynamic user demand in order to maximize system revenue. The system revenue depends on the benefits of delivering the requested videos and costs for (a) transporting the files to the users and (b) cache replacement. Since the cache content at any point in time impacts the replacement costs in the future, demand predictions over multiple cache placement slots become an important prerequisite for efficient cache planning. Motivated by this, we introduce a novel two-stage privacy-preserving solution for revenue optimization in wireless video caching networks. First, we train a Transformer using privacy-preserving federated learning (FL) to predict multi-slot future demands. Given that prediction results are never entirely accurate, especially for longer horizons, we further combine global content popularity with per-user prediction results to estimate the content demand distribution. Then, in the second stage, we leverage these estimation results to find caching strategies that maximize the long-term system revenue. This latter problem takes on the form of a multi-stage knapsack problem, which we then transform to a integer linear program. Our extensive simulation results demonstrate that (i) our FL solution delivers nearly identical performance to that of the ideal centralized solution and outperforms other existing caching methods, and (ii) our novel revenue optimization approach provides deeper system performance insights than traditional cache hit ratio (CHR)-based optimization approaches.

Authors:Lin Cheng, Bernardo A. Huberman
Title: A Heuristic Method for Simplified Resource Allocation based on Comparative Advantage in Wireless Access Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a heuristic method for simplifying resource allocation in access systems, leveraging the concept of comparative advantage to reduce computational complexity while maintaining near-optimal performance. Using power-division non-orthogonal multiple access (PD-NOMA) as an example, we demonstrate how this approach mitigates the challenge of power allocation in multi-cell networks. Our method reduces the search space for optimization, significantly decreasing computational overhead while ensuring efficient spectrum utilization. In principle, the method reduces the dimensions of search space by half. Extensive analysis and simulations validate its effectiveness, highlighting its potential for practical deployment in next-generation wireless networks. The proposed framework can help streamline resource allocation in complex communication environments, enhancing system performance and scalability.

Authors:Wenqian Jiang, Aditya Rangarajan, Line Roald
Title: Consumer-based Carbon Costs: Integrating Consumer Carbon Preferences in Electricity Markets
Abstract:
An increasing share of consumers care about the carbon footprint of their electricity. This paper proposes to integrate consumer carbon preferences in the electricity market-clearing through consumer-based carbon costs. Specifically, consumers can submit not only bids for power but also assign a cost to the carbon emissions incurred by their electricity use. We start from a centralized market clearing that maximizes social welfare under consideration of generation costs, consumer utility and consumer carbon costs. We then derive an equivalent equilibrium formulation which incorporates a carbon allocation problem and gives rise to a set of carbon-adjusted electricity prices for both consumers and generators. We prove that the carbon-adjusted prices are higher for low-emitting generators and consumers with high carbon costs. Further, we prove that this new paradigm satisfies the same desirable market properties as standard electricity markets based on locational marginal prices, namely revenue adequacy and individual rationality, and demonstrate that a carbon tax on generators is equivalent to imposing a uniform carbon cost on consumers. Using a simplified three-bus system and the RTS-GMLC system, we illustrate that consumer-based carbon costs contribute to greener electricity market clearing both through generation redispatch and reductions in demand.

Authors:Tsuyoshi Idé, Kohei Miyaguchi
Title: Cross-Process Defect Attribution using Potential Loss Analysis
Abstract:
Cross-process root-cause analysis of wafer defects is among the most critical yet challenging tasks in semiconductor manufacturing due to the heterogeneity and combinatorial nature of processes along the processing route. This paper presents a new framework for wafer defect root cause analysis, called Potential Loss Analysis (PLA), as a significant enhancement of the previously proposed partial trajectory regression approach. The PLA framework attributes observed high wafer defect densities to upstream processes by comparing the best possible outcomes generated by partial processing trajectories. We show that the task of identifying the best possible outcome can be reduced to solving a Bellman equation. Remarkably, the proposed framework can simultaneously solve the prediction problem for defect density as well as the attribution problem for defect scores. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework using real wafer history data.

Authors:Lihan Lian, Uduak Inyang-Udoh
Title: Neural Co-state Projection Regulator: A Model-free Paradigm for Real-time Optimal Control with Input Constraints
Abstract:
Learning-based approaches, notably Reinforcement Learning (RL), have shown promise for solving optimal control tasks without explicit system models. However, these approaches are often sample-inefficient, sensitive to reward design and hyperparameters, and prone to poor generalization, especially under input constraints. To address these challenges, we introduce the neural co-state projection regulator (NCPR), a model-free learning-based optimal control framework that is grounded in Pontryagin's Minimum Principle (PMP) and capable of solving quadratic regulator problems in nonlinear control-affine systems with input constraints. In this framework, a neural network (NN) is trained in a self-supervised setting to take the current state of the system as input and predict a finite-horizon trajectory of projected co-states (i.e., the co-state weighted by the system's input gain). Subsequently, only the first element of the NN's prediction is extracted to solve a lightweight quadratic program (QP). This workflow is executed in a feedback control setting, allowing real-time computation of control actions that satisfy both input constraints and first-order optimality conditions. We test the proposed learning-based model-free quadratic regulator on (1) a unicycle model robot reference tracking problem and (2) a pendulum swing-up task. For comparison, reinforcement learning is used on both tasks; and for context, a model-based controller is used in the unicycle model example. Our method demonstrates superior generalizability in terms of both unseen system states and varying input constraints, and also shows improved sampling efficiency.

Authors:Haiyun Zhang, Stefano Dalla Gasperina, Saad N. Yousaf, Toshimitsu Tsuboi, Tetsuya Narita, Ashish D. Deshpande
Title: Human-Exoskeleton Kinematic Calibration to Improve Hand Tracking for Dexterous Teleoperation
Abstract:
Hand exoskeletons are critical tools for dexterous teleoperation and immersive manipulation interfaces, but achieving accurate hand tracking remains a challenge due to user-specific anatomical variability and donning inconsistencies. These issues lead to kinematic misalignments that degrade tracking performance and limit applicability in precision tasks. We propose a subject-specific calibration framework for exoskeleton-based hand tracking that uses redundant joint sensing and a residual-weighted optimization strategy to estimate virtual link parameters. Implemented on the Maestro exoskeleton, our method improves joint angle and fingertip position estimation across users with varying hand geometries. We introduce a data-driven approach to empirically tune cost function weights using motion capture ground truth, enabling more accurate and consistent calibration across participants. Quantitative results from seven subjects show substantial reductions in joint and fingertip tracking errors compared to uncalibrated and evenly weighted models. Qualitative visualizations using a Unity-based virtual hand further confirm improvements in motion fidelity. The proposed framework generalizes across exoskeleton designs with closed-loop kinematics and minimal sensing, and lays the foundation for high-fidelity teleoperation and learning-from-demonstration applications.

Authors:Ruifan Yang, Manxi Wu
Title: Learning with Episodic Hypothesis Testing in General Games: A Framework for Equilibrium Selection
Abstract:
We introduce a new hypothesis testing-based learning dynamics in which players update their strategies by combining hypothesis testing with utility-driven exploration. In this dynamics, each player forms beliefs about opponents' strategies and episodically tests these beliefs using empirical observations. Beliefs are resampled either when the hypothesis test is rejected or through exploration, where the probability of exploration decreases with the player's (transformed) utility. In general finite normal-form games, we show that the learning process converges to a set of approximate Nash equilibria and, more importantly, to a refinement that selects equilibria maximizing the minimum (transformed) utility across all players. Our result establishes convergence to equilibrium in general finite games and reveals a novel mechanism for equilibrium selection induced by the structure of the learning dynamics.

Authors:Alex Durkin, Jasper Stolte, Matthew Jones, Raghuraman Pitchumani, Bei Li, Christian Michler, Mehmet Mercangöz
Title: Safe Deployment of Offline Reinforcement Learning via Input Convex Action Correction
Abstract:
Offline reinforcement learning (offline RL) offers a promising framework for developing control strategies in chemical process systems using historical data, without the risks or costs of online experimentation. This work investigates the application of offline RL to the safe and efficient control of an exothermic polymerisation continuous stirred-tank reactor. We introduce a Gymnasium-compatible simulation environment that captures the reactor's nonlinear dynamics, including reaction kinetics, energy balances, and operational constraints. The environment supports three industrially relevant scenarios: startup, grade change down, and grade change up. It also includes reproducible offline datasets generated from proportional-integral controllers with randomised tunings, providing a benchmark for evaluating offline RL algorithms in realistic process control tasks. We assess behaviour cloning and implicit Q-learning as baseline algorithms, highlighting the challenges offline agents face, including steady-state offsets and degraded performance near setpoints. To address these issues, we propose a novel deployment-time safety layer that performs gradient-based action correction using input convex neural networks (PICNNs) as learned cost models. The PICNN enables real-time, differentiable correction of policy actions by descending a convex, state-conditioned cost surface, without requiring retraining or environment interaction. Experimental results show that offline RL, particularly when combined with convex action correction, can outperform traditional control approaches and maintain stability across all scenarios. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of integrating offline RL with interpretable and safety-aware corrections for high-stakes chemical process control, and lay the groundwork for more reliable data-driven automation in industrial systems.

Authors:Annan Zhang, Miguel Flores-Acton, Andy Yu, Anshul Gupta, Maggie Yao, Daniela Rus
Title: Fluidically Innervated Lattices Make Versatile and Durable Tactile Sensors
Abstract:
Tactile sensing plays a fundamental role in enabling robots to navigate dynamic and unstructured environments, particularly in applications such as delicate object manipulation, surface exploration, and human-robot interaction. In this paper, we introduce a passive soft robotic fingertip with integrated tactile sensing, fabricated using a 3D-printed elastomer lattice with embedded air channels. This sensorization approach, termed fluidic innervation, transforms the lattice into a tactile sensor by detecting pressure changes within sealed air channels, providing a simple yet robust solution to tactile sensing in robotics. Unlike conventional methods that rely on complex materials or designs, fluidic innervation offers a simple, scalable, single-material fabrication process. We characterize the sensors' response, develop a geometric model to estimate tip displacement, and train a neural network to accurately predict contact location and contact force. Additionally, we integrate the fingertip with an admittance controller to emulate spring-like behavior, demonstrate its capability for environment exploration through tactile feedback, and validate its durability under high impact and cyclic loading conditions. This tactile sensing technique offers advantages in terms of simplicity, adaptability, and durability and opens up new opportunities for versatile robotic manipulation.

Authors:Zhongyao Luo, Hao Wu, Zhao Ge, Ming Tang
Title: Real-Time Distributed Optical Fiber Vibration Recognition via Extreme Lightweight Model and Cross-Domain Distillation
Abstract:
Distributed optical fiber vibration sensing (DVS) systems offer a promising solution for large-scale monitoring and intrusion event recognition. However, their practical deployment remains hindered by two major challenges: degradation of recognition accuracy in dynamic conditions, and the computational bottleneck of real-time processing for mass sensing data. This paper presents a new solution to these challenges, through a FPGA-accelerated extreme lightweight model along with a newly proposed knowledge distillation framework. The proposed three-layer depthwise separable convolution network contains only 4141 parameters, which is the most compact architecture in this field to date, and achieves a maximum processing speed of 0.019 ms for each sample covering a 12.5 m fiber length over 0.256 s. This performance corresponds to real-time processing capabilities for sensing fibers extending up to 168.68 km. To improve generalizability under changing environments, the proposed cross-domain distillation framework guided by physical priors is used here to embed frequency-domain insights into the time-domain model. This allows for time-frequency representation learning without increasing complexity and boosts recognition accuracy from 51.93% to 95.72% under unseen environmental conditions. The proposed methodology provides key advancements including a framework combining interpretable signal processing technique with deep learning and a reference architecture for real-time processing and edge-computing in DVS systems, and more general distributed optical fiber sensing (DOFS) area. It mitigates the trade-off between sensing range and real-time capability, bridging the gap between theoretical capabilities and practical deployment requirements. Furthermore, this work reveals a new direction for building more efficient, robust and explainable artificial intelligence systems for DOFS technologies.

Authors:Zhanglin Shangguan, Bo Yang, Qi Li, Wei Xiao, Xingping Guan
Title: HJB-based online safety-embedded critic learning for uncertain systems with self-triggered mechanism
Abstract:
This paper presents a learning-based optimal control framework for safety-critical systems with parametric uncertainties, addressing both time-triggered and self-triggered controller implementations. First, we develop a robust control barrier function (RCBF) incorporating Lyapunov-based compensation terms to rigorously guarantee safety despite parametric uncertainties. Building on this safety guarantee, we formulate the constrained optimal control problem as the minimization of a novel safety-embedded value function, where the RCBF is involved via a Lagrange multiplier that adaptively balances safety constraints against optimal stabilization objectives. To enhance computational efficiency, we propose a self-triggered implementation mechanism that reduces control updates while maintaining dual stability-safety guarantees. The resulting self-triggered constrained Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation is solved through an online safety-embedded critic learning framework, with the Lagrange multiplier computed in real time to ensure safety. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in achieving both safety and control performance.

Authors:Zhongchao Zhou, Yuxi Lu, Yaonan Zhu, Yifan Zhao, Bin He, Liang He, Wenwen Yu, Yusuke Iwasawa
Title: LLMs-guided adaptive compensator: Bringing Adaptivity to Automatic Control Systems with Large Language Models
Abstract:
With rapid advances in code generation, reasoning, and problem-solving, Large Language Models (LLMs) are increasingly applied in robotics. Most existing work focuses on high-level tasks such as task decomposition. A few studies have explored the use of LLMs in feedback controller design; however, these efforts are restricted to overly simplified systems, fixed-structure gain tuning, and lack real-world validation. To further investigate LLMs in automatic control, this work targets a key subfield: adaptive control. Inspired by the framework of model reference adaptive control (MRAC), we propose an LLM-guided adaptive compensator framework that avoids designing controllers from scratch. Instead, the LLMs are prompted using the discrepancies between an unknown system and a reference system to design a compensator that aligns the response of the unknown system with that of the reference, thereby achieving adaptivity. Experiments evaluate five methods: LLM-guided adaptive compensator, LLM-guided adaptive controller, indirect adaptive control, learning-based adaptive control, and MRAC, on soft and humanoid robots in both simulated and real-world environments. Results show that the LLM-guided adaptive compensator outperforms traditional adaptive controllers and significantly reduces reasoning complexity compared to the LLM-guided adaptive controller. The Lyapunov-based analysis and reasoning-path inspection demonstrate that the LLM-guided adaptive compensator enables a more structured design process by transforming mathematical derivation into a reasoning task, while exhibiting strong generalizability, adaptability, and robustness. This study opens a new direction for applying LLMs in the field of automatic control, offering greater deployability and practicality compared to vision-language models.

Authors:Zaar Khizar, Johann Laconte, Roland Lenain, Romuald Aufrere
Title: Feeling the Force: A Nuanced Physics-based Traversability Sensor for Navigation in Unstructured Vegetation
Abstract:
In many applications, robots are increasingly deployed in unstructured and natural environments where they encounter various types of vegetation. Vegetation presents unique challenges as a traversable obstacle, where the mechanical properties of the plants can influence whether a robot can safely collide with and overcome the obstacle. A more nuanced approach is required to assess the safety and traversability of these obstacles, as collisions can sometimes be safe and necessary for navigating through dense or unavoidable vegetation. This paper introduces a novel sensor designed to directly measure the applied forces exerted by vegetation on a robot: by directly capturing the push-back forces, our sensor provides a detailed understanding of the interactions between the robot and its surroundings. We demonstrate the sensor's effectiveness through experimental validations, showcasing its ability to measure subtle force variations. This force-based approach provides a quantifiable metric that can inform navigation decisions and serve as a foundation for developing future learning algorithms.

Authors:Yanbin Li, Canran Xiao, Hongyang He, Shenghai Yuan, Zong Ke, Jiajie Yu, Zixiong Qin, Zhiguo Zhang, Wenzheng Chi, Wei Zhang
Title: DOA: A Degeneracy Optimization Agent with Adaptive Pose Compensation Capability based on Deep Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Particle filter-based 2D-SLAM is widely used in indoor localization tasks due to its efficiency. However, indoor environments such as long straight corridors can cause severe degeneracy problems in SLAM. In this paper, we use Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) to train an adaptive degeneracy optimization agent (DOA) to address degeneracy problem. We propose a systematic methodology to address three critical challenges in traditional supervised learning frameworks: (1) data acquisition bottlenecks in degenerate dataset, (2) inherent quality deterioration of training samples, and (3) ambiguity in annotation protocol design. We design a specialized reward function to guide the agent in developing perception capabilities for degenerate environments. Using the output degeneracy factor as a reference weight, the agent can dynamically adjust the contribution of different sensors to pose optimization. Specifically, the observation distribution is shifted towards the motion model distribution, with the step size determined by a linear interpolation formula related to the degeneracy factor. In addition, we employ a transfer learning module to endow the agent with generalization capabilities across different environments and address the inefficiency of training in degenerate environments. Finally, we conduct ablation studies to demonstrate the rationality of our model design and the role of transfer learning. We also compare the proposed DOA with SOTA methods to prove its superior degeneracy detection and optimization capabilities across various environments.

Authors:Xinming Wang, Zongyi Guo, Jianguo Guo, Jun Yang, Yunda Yan
Title: Enhancing Robustness of Control Barrier Function: A Reciprocal Resistance-based Approach
Abstract:
In this note, a new reciprocal resistance-based control barrier function (RRCBF) is developed to enhance the robustness of control barrier functions for disturbed affine nonlinear systems, without requiring explicit knowledge of disturbance bounds. By integrating a reciprocal resistance-like term into the conventional zeroing barrier function framework, we formally establish the concept of the reciprocal resistance-based barrier function (RRBF), rigorously proving the forward invariance of its associated safe set and its robustness against bounded disturbances. The RRBF inherently generates a buffer zone near the boundary of the safe set, effectively dominating the influence of uncertainties and external disturbances. This foundational concept is extended to formulate RRCBFs, including their high-order variants. To alleviate conservatism in the presence of complex, time-varying disturbances, we further introduce a disturbance observer-based RRCBF (DO-RRCBF), which exploits disturbance estimates to enhance safety guarantees and recover nominal control performance. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is validated through two simulation studies: a second-order linear system illustrating forward invariance in the phase plane, and an adaptive cruise control scenario demonstrating robustness in systems with high relative degree.

Authors:Changwu Liu, Yuan Shen
Title: Global Observer Design for a Class of Linear Observed Systems on Groups
Abstract:
Linear observed systems on groups encode the geometry of a variety of practical state estimation problems. In this paper, we propose a unified observer framework for a class of linear observed systems by restricting a bi-invariant system on a Lie group to its normal subgroup. This structural property powerfully enables a system immersion of the original system into a linear time-varying system. Leveraging the immersion, an observer is constructed by first designing a Kalman-like observer for the immersed system and then reconstructing the group-valued state via optimization. Under a rank condition, global exponential stability (GES) is achieved provided one global optimum of the reconstruction optimization is found, reflecting the topological difficulties inherent to the non-Euclidean state space. Semi-global stability is guaranteed when input biases are jointly estimated. The theory is applied to the GES observer design for two-frame systems, capable of modeling a family of navigation problems. Two non-trivial examples are provided to illustrate implementation details.

Authors:Dennis Benders, Laura Ferranti, Johannes Köhler
Title: A Step-by-step Guide on Nonlinear Model Predictive Control for Safe Mobile Robot Navigation
Abstract:
Designing a model predictive control (MPC) scheme that enables a mobile robot to safely navigate through an obstacle-filled environment is a complicated yet essential task in robotics. In this technical report, safety refers to ensuring that the robot respects state and input constraints while avoiding collisions with obstacles despite the presence of disturbances and measurement noise. This report offers a step-by-step approach to implementing nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) schemes addressing these safety requirements. Numerous books and survey papers provide comprehensive overviews of linear MPC (LMPC), NMPC, and their applications in various domains, including robotics. This report does not aim to replicate those exhaustive reviews. Instead, it focuses specifically on NMPC as a foundation for safe mobile robot navigation. The goal is to provide a practical and accessible path from theoretical concepts to mathematical proofs and implementation, emphasizing safety and performance guarantees. It is intended for researchers, robotics engineers, and practitioners seeking to bridge the gap between theoretical NMPC formulations and real-world robotic applications. This report is not necessarily meant to remain fixed over time. If someone finds an error in the presented theory, please reach out via the given email addresses. We are happy to update the document if necessary.

Authors:Phuoc Sang Nguyen, Ghavameddin Nourbakhsh, Gerard Ledwich
Title: Grid impedance estimation based Kalman Filter
Abstract:
Modern power systems face new operational hurdles due to the increasing adoption of inverter-coupled distributed energy resources, which impact system stability and control. Central to these challenges is the dynamic nature of grid impedance. To address this, a novel real-time estimation algorithm based on the Discrete Fourier Transform is proposed. This algorithm is embedded within an Advanced Angle Estimation Kalman Filter framework that employs a Linear Quadratic Regulator for current control (AAEKF-LQR). The impedance data directly informs and refines the controller's phase angle estimation. Simulation analyses demonstrate robust collaboration between the estimator and controller, sustaining system stability under weak grid conditions. The technique proves capable of delivering swift and accurate impedance updates during grid variations, which is crucial for maintaining stable inverter operation

Authors:Minsoo Kim, Jip Kim
Title: Dispatch-Aware Deep Neural Network for Optimal Transmission Switching: Toward Real-Time and Feasibility Guaranteed Operation
Abstract:
Optimal transmission switching (OTS) improves optimal power flow (OPF) by selectively opening transmission lines, but its mixed-integer formulation increases computational complexity, especially on large grids. To deal with this, we propose a dispatch-aware deep neural network (DA-DNN) that accelerates DC-OTS without relying on pre-solved labels. DA-DNN predicts line states and passes them through a differentiable DC-OPF layer, using the resulting generation cost as the loss function so that all physical network constraints are enforced throughout training and inference. In addition, we adopt a customized weight-bias initialization that keeps every forward pass feasible from the first iteration, which allows stable learning on large grids. Once trained, the proposed DA-DNN produces a provably feasible topology and dispatch pair in the same time as solving the DCOPF, whereas conventional mixed-integer solvers become intractable. As a result, the proposed method successfully captures the economic advantages of OTS while maintaining scalability.

Authors:Yunfeng Li, Junhong Liu, Zhaohui Yang, Guofu Liao, Chuyun Zhang
Title: Clustered Federated Learning for Generalizable FDIA Detection in Smart Grids with Heterogeneous Data
Abstract:
False Data Injection Attacks (FDIAs) pose severe security risks to smart grids by manipulating measurement data collected from spatially distributed devices such as SCADA systems and PMUs. These measurements typically exhibit Non-Independent and Identically Distributed (Non-IID) characteristics across different regions, which significantly challenges the generalization ability of detection models. Traditional centralized training approaches not only face privacy risks and data sharing constraints but also incur high transmission costs, limiting their scalability and deployment feasibility. To address these issues, this paper proposes a privacy-preserving federated learning framework, termed Federated Cluster Average (FedClusAvg), designed to improve FDIA detection in Non-IID and resource-constrained environments. FedClusAvg incorporates cluster-based stratified sampling and hierarchical communication (client-subserver-server) to enhance model generalization and reduce communication overhead. By enabling localized training and weighted parameter aggregation, the algorithm achieves accurate model convergence without centralizing sensitive data. Experimental results on benchmark smart grid datasets demonstrate that FedClusAvg not only improves detection accuracy under heterogeneous data distributions but also significantly reduces communication rounds and bandwidth consumption. This work provides an effective solution for secure and efficient FDIA detection in large-scale distributed power systems.

Authors:Mahyar Mahinzaeim, Kamyar Mehran
Title: An approach to the LQG/LTR design problem with specifications for finite-dimensional SISO control systems
Abstract:
This is an expository paper which discusses an approach to the LQG/LTR design problem for finite-dimensional SISO control systems. The approach is based on the utilisation of weighting augmentation for incorporating design specifications into the framework of the LTR technique for LQG compensator design. The LQG compensator is to simultaneously meet given analytical low- and high-frequency design specifications expressed in terms of desirable sensitivity and controller noise sensitivity functions. The paper is aimed at nonspecialists and, in particular, practitioners in finite-dimensional LQG theory interested in the design of feedback compensators for closed-loop performance and robustness shaping of SISO control systems in realistic situations. The proposed approach is illustrated by a detailed numerical example: the torque control of a current-controlled DC motor with an elastically mounted rotor.

Authors:Kaiqiang Lin, Yijie Mao, Onel Luis Alcaraz López, Mohamed-Slim Alouini
Title: UAV-Enabled Wireless-Powered Underground Communication Networks: A Novel Time Allocation Approach
Abstract:
Wireless-powered underground communication networks (WPUCNs), which allow underground devices (UDs) to harvest energy from wireless signals for battery-free communication, offer a promising solution for sustainable underground monitoring. However, the severe wireless signal attenuation in challenging underground environments and the costly acquisition of channel state information (CSI) make large-scale WPUCNs economically infeasible in practice. To address this challenge, we introduce flexible unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into WPUCNs, leading to UAV-enabled WPUCN systems. In this system, a UAV is first charged by a terrestrial hybrid access point (HAP), then flies to the monitoring area to wirelessly charge UDs. Afterwards, the UAV collects data from the UDs and finally returns to the HAP for data offloading. Based on the proposed UAV-enabled WPUCN system, we first propose its energy consumption model and a hybrid wireless energy transfer (WET) approach (i.e., UDs can harvest energy from both the HAP and the UAV) relying on full-CSI and CSI-free multi-antenna beamforming. Then, we formulate and address a time allocation problem to minimize the energy consumption of UAV, while ensuring that the throughput requirements of all UDs are met and all sensor data is offloaded. Through simulations of a realistic farming scenario, we demonstrate that the proposed hybrid WET approach outperforms other WET approaches, with performance gains influenced by the number of antennas, communication distance, number of UDs, and underground conditions. Additionally, under the optimized time allocation, we found that the proposed hybrid WET approach based on a CSI-free multi-antenna scheme achieves the lowest UAV's energy consumption among all WET mechanisms, thereby enabling sustainable underground monitoring in WPUCNs.

Authors:Frederik Thiele, Felix Biertümpfel, Harald Pfifer
Title: A Robust Periodic Controller for Spacecraft Attitude Tracking
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel approach for robust periodic attitude control of satellites. Respecting the periodicity of the satellite dynamics in the synthesis allows to achieve constant performance and robustness requirements over the orbit. The proposed design follows a mixed sensitivity control design employing a physically motivated weighting scheme. The controller is calculated using a novel structured linear time-periodic output feedback synthesis with guaranteed optimal L2-performance. The synthesis poses a convex optimization problem and avoids grid-wise evaluations of coupling conditions inherent for classical periodic H-infinity-synthesis. Moreover, the controller has a transparent and easy to implement structure. A solar power plant satellite is used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method for periodic satellite attitude control.

Authors:Yu-Ting Lai, Yasamin Foroutani, Aya Barzelay, Tsu-Chin Tsao
Title: Safe Robotic Capsule Cleaning with Integrated Transpupillary and Intraocular Optical Coherence Tomography
Abstract:
Secondary cataract is one of the most common complications of vision loss due to the proliferation of residual lens materials that naturally grow on the lens capsule after cataract surgery. A potential treatment is capsule cleaning, a surgical procedure that requires enhanced visualization of the entire capsule and tool manipulation on the thin membrane. This article presents a robotic system capable of performing the capsule cleaning procedure by integrating a standard transpupillary and an intraocular optical coherence tomography probe on a surgical instrument for equatorial capsule visualization and real-time tool-to-tissue distance feedback. Using robot precision, the developed system enables complete capsule mapping in the pupillary and equatorial regions with in-situ calibration of refractive index and fiber offset, which are still current challenges in obtaining an accurate capsule model. To demonstrate effectiveness, the capsule mapping strategy was validated through five experimental trials on an eye phantom that showed reduced root-mean-square errors in the constructed capsule model, while the cleaning strategy was performed in three ex-vivo pig eyes without tissue damage.

Authors:Leo Semmelmann, Frederik vom Scheidt
Title: The impact of heatwave-driven air conditioning adoption on electricity demand: A spatio-temporal case study for Germany
Abstract:
Intensifying heatwaves driven by climate change are accelerating the adoption of mobile air conditioning (AC) systems. A rapid mass adoption of such AC systems could create additional stress on electricity grids and the power system. This study presents a novel method to estimate the electricity demand from AC systems both at the system level and at high temporal and spatial granularity. We apply the method to a near-future heatwave scenario in Germany in which household AC adoption increases from the current 19% to 35% during a heatwave similar to the one of July 2025. We analyze the effects for 196,428 grid cells of one square kilometer across Germany, by combining weather data, census data, socio-demographic assumptions, mobility patterns, and temperature-dependent AC activation functions. We find that electricity demand of newly purchased mobile AC systems could increase the peak load by over 12.9 GW, with urban hot-spots reaching 5.2 MW per square kilometer. The temporal pattern creates a pronounced afternoon peak that coincides with lower photovoltaic generation, potentially exacerbating power system stability challenges. Our findings underscore the urgency for proactive energy system planning to manage emerging demand peaks.

Authors:Mahmoud Abdelgalil, Tryphon T. Georgiou
Title: On the factorization of matrices into products of positive definite ones
Abstract:
The present work revisits and provides a new approach on a result by Charles Ballantine, on the factorization of a square matrix with positive determinant into a product of positive definite factors. {\em Ballantine-type} factorizations, that bound the number of positive definite factors, proved central in solving a basic, yet elusive control problem--the strong controllability of a linear system via control in the form of state feedback. Ballantine's result transcends control engineering, and highlights the little appreciated fact that rotations can be realized by the successive application of irrotational motions. Our approach is constructive and is based on the theory of optimal mass transport, specifically, it relates successive rotations of Gaussian distributions to corresponding optimal transport maps that constitute the sought factors.

Authors:Lihan Lian, Yuxin Tong, Uduak Inyang-Udoh
Title: Neural Co-state Regulator: A Data-Driven Paradigm for Real-time Optimal Control with Input Constraints
Abstract:
We propose a novel unsupervised learning framework for solving nonlinear optimal control problems (OCPs) with input constraints in real-time. In this framework, a neural network (NN) learns to predict the optimal co-state trajectory that minimizes the control Hamiltonian for a given system, at any system's state, based on the Pontryagin's Minimum Principle (PMP). Specifically, the NN is trained to find the norm-optimal co-state solution that simultaneously satisfies the nonlinear system dynamics and minimizes a quadratic regulation cost. The control input is then extracted from the predicted optimal co-state trajectory by solving a quadratic program (QP) to satisfy input constraints and optimality conditions. We coin the term neural co-state regulator (NCR) to describe the combination of the co-state NN and control input QP solver. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the NCR, we compare its feedback control performance with that of an expert nonlinear model predictive control (MPC) solver on a unicycle model. Because the NCR's training does not rely on expert nonlinear control solvers which are often suboptimal, the NCR is able to produce solutions that outperform the nonlinear MPC solver in terms of convergence error and input trajectory smoothness even for system conditions that are outside its original training domain. At the same time, the NCR offers two orders of magnitude less computational time than the nonlinear MPC.

Authors:Tong Xiao, Reinhild Roden, Matthias Blau, Simon Doclo
Title: Soft-Constrained Spatially Selective Active Noise Control for Open-fitting Hearables
Abstract:
Recent advances in spatially selective active noise control (SSANC) using multiple microphones have enabled hearables to suppress undesired noise while preserving desired speech from a specific direction. Aiming to achieve minimal speech distortion, a hard constraint has been used in previous work in the optimization problem to compute the control filter. In this work, we propose a soft-constrained SSANC system that uses a frequency-independent parameter to trade off between speech distortion and noise reduction. We derive both time- and frequency-domain formulations, and show that conventional active noise control and hard-constrained SSANC represent two limiting cases of the proposed design. We evaluate the system through simulations using a pair of open-fitting hearables in an anechoic environment with one speech source and two noise sources. The simulation results validate the theoretical derivations and demonstrate that for a broad range of the trade-off parameter, the signal-to-noise ratio and the speech quality and intelligibility in terms of PESQ and ESTOI can be substantially improved compared to the hard-constrained design.

Authors:Jikang Deng, Fizza Hassan, Hui Zhou, Saad Al-Ahmadi, Mohamed-Slim Alouini, Daniel B. Da Costa
Title: Native-AI Empowered Scalable Architectures and Solutions for Future Non-Terrestrial Networks: An Overview
Abstract:
As the path toward 6G networks is being charted, the emerging applications have motivated evolutions of network architectures to realize the efficient, reliable, and flexible wireless networks. Among the potential architectures, the non-terrestrial network (NTN) and open radio access network (ORAN) have received increasing interest from both academia and industry. Although the deployment of NTNs ensures coverage, enhances spectral efficiency, and improves the resilience of wireless networks. The high altitude and mobility of NTN present new challenges in the development and operations (DevOps) lifecycle, hindering intelligent and scalable network management due to the lack of native artificial intelligence (AI) capability. With the advantages of ORAN in disaggregation, openness, virtualization, and intelligence, several works propose integrating ORAN principles into the NTN, focusing mainly on ORAN deployment options based on transparent and regenerative systems. However, a holistic view of how to effectively combine ORAN and NTN throughout the DevOps lifecycle is still missing, especially regarding how intelligent ORAN addresses the scalability challenges in NTN. Motivated by this, in this paper, we first provide the background knowledge about ORAN and NTN, outline the state-of-the-art research on ORAN for NTNs, and present the DevOps challenges that motivate the adoption of ORAN solutions. We then propose the ORAN-based NTN framework, discussing its features and architectures in detail. These include the discussion about flexible fronthaul split, RAN intelligent controllers (RICs) enhancement for distributed learning, scalable deployment architecture, and multi-domain service management. Finally, the future research directions, including combinations of the ORAN-based NTN framework and other enabling technologies and schemes, as well as the candidate use cases, are highlighted.

Authors:Yueyue Xu, Yuewei Chen, Lin Wang, Zhaoyang Cheng, Xiaoming Hu
Title: Optimal Honeypot Ratio and Convergent Fictitious-Play Learning in Signaling Games for CPS Defense
Abstract:
Cyber-Physical Systems (CPSs) are facing a fast-growing wave of attacks. To achieve effective proactive defense, this paper models honeypot deployment as a gamma-fixed signaling game in which node liveness serves as the only signal and normal-node signal gamma is exogenously fixed. We define the gamma-perfect Bayesian-Nash equilibrium (gamma-PBNE). Analytical expressions are obtained for all gamma-PBNEs, revealing three distinct equilibrium regimes that depend on the priori honeypot ratio. Furthermore, the optimal honeypot ratio and signaling strategy that jointly maximize the network average utility are obtained. To capture strategic interaction over time, we develop a discrete-time fictitious-play algorithm that couples Bayesian belief updates with empirical best responses. We prove that, as long as the honeypot ratio is perturbed within a non-degenerate neighbourhood of the optimum, every fictitious-play path converges to the defender-optimal gamma-PBNE. Numerical results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method and demonstrate its applicability to CPS defense.

Authors:Sehyun Ryu, Hyun Jong Yang
Title: Standards-Compliant DM-RS Allocation via Temporal Channel Prediction for Massive MIMO Systems
Abstract:
Reducing feedback overhead in beyond 5G networks is a critical challenge, as the growing number of antennas in modern massive MIMO systems substantially increases the channel state information (CSI) feedback demand in frequency division duplex (FDD) systems. To address this, extensive research has focused on CSI compression and prediction, with neural network-based approaches gaining momentum and being considered for integration into the 3GPP 5G-Advanced standards. While deep learning has been effectively applied to CSI-limited beamforming and handover optimization, reference signal allocation under such constraints remains surprisingly underexplored. To fill this gap, we introduce the concept of channel prediction-based reference signal allocation (CPRS), which jointly optimizes channel prediction and DM-RS allocation to improve data throughput without requiring CSI feedback. We further propose a standards-compliant ViViT/CNN-based architecture that implements CPRS by treating evolving CSI matrices as sequential image-like data, enabling efficient and adaptive transmission in dynamic environments. Simulation results using ray-tracing channel data generated in NVIDIA Sionna validate the proposed method, showing up to 36.60% throughput improvement over benchmark strategies.

Authors:Mohammad Alikhani, Reza Kazemi
Title: Contrastive-KAN: A Semi-Supervised Intrusion Detection Framework for Cybersecurity with scarce Labeled Data
Abstract:
In the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, cybersecurity and intrusion detection systems are vital for the secure and reliable operation of IoT and IIoT environments. A key challenge in this domain is the scarcity of labeled cyberattack data, as most industrial systems operate under normal conditions. This data imbalance, combined with the high cost of annotation, hinders the effective training of machine learning models. Moreover, the rapid detection of attacks is essential, especially in critical infrastructure, to prevent large-scale disruptions. To address these challenges, we propose a real-time intrusion detection system based on a semi-supervised contrastive learning framework using the Kolmogorov-Arnold Network (KAN). Our method leverages abundant unlabeled data to effectively distinguish between normal and attack behaviors. We validate our approach on three benchmark datasets, UNSW-NB15, BoT-IoT, and Gas Pipeline, using only 2.20%, 1.28%, and 8% of labeled samples, respectively, to simulate real-world conditions. Experimental results show that our method outperforms existing contrastive learning-based approaches. We further compare KAN with a traditional multilayer perceptron (MLP), demonstrating KAN's superior performance in both detection accuracy and robustness under limited supervision. KAN's ability to model complex relationships, along with its learnable activation functions, is also explored and visualized, offering interpretability and the potential for rule extraction. The method supports multi-class classification and proves effective in safety, critical environments where reliability is paramount.

Authors:Thomas Feys, Liesbet Van der Perre, François Rottenberg
Title: Learning to Quantize and Precode in Massive MIMO Systems for Energy Reduction: a Graph Neural Network Approach
Abstract:
Massive MIMO systems are moving toward increased numbers of radio frequency chains, higher carrier frequencies and larger bandwidths. As such, digital-to-analog converters (DACs) are becoming a bottleneck in terms of hardware complexity and power consumption. In this work, non-linear precoding for coarsely quantized downlink massive MIMO is studied. Given the NP-hard nature of this problem, a graph neural network (GNN) is proposed that directly outputs the precoded quantized vector based on the channel matrix and the intended transmit symbols. The model is trained in a self-supervised manner, by directly maximizing the achievable rate. To overcome the non-differentiability of the objective function, introduced due to the non-differentiable DAC functions, a straight-through Gumbel-softmax estimation of the gradient is proposed. The proposed method achieves a significant increase in achievable sum rate under coarse quantization. For instance, in the single-user case, the proposed method can achieve the same sum rate as maximum ratio transmission (MRT) by using one-bit DAC's as compared to 3 bits for MRT. This reduces the DAC's power consumption by a factor 4-7 and 3 for baseband and RF DACs respectively. This, however, comes at the cost of increased digital signal processing power consumption. When accounting for this, the reduction in overall power consumption holds for a system bandwidth up to 3.5 MHz for baseband DACs, while the RF DACs can maintain a power reduction of 2.9 for higher bandwidths. Notably, indirect effects, which further reduce the power consumption, such as a reduced fronthaul consumption and reduction in other components, are not considered in this analysis.

Authors:David O. Williams Rogers, Dongshik Won, Dongwook Koh, Kyungwoo Hong, Hang Woon Lee
Title: Optimal Design of Satellite Constellation Configurations with Mixed Integer Linear Programming
Abstract:
Designing satellite constellation systems involves complex multidisciplinary optimization in which coverage serves as a primary driver of overall system cost and performance. Among the various design considerations, constellation configuration -- how satellites are placed and distributed in space relative to each other -- predominantly determines the resulting coverage. In constellation configuration design, coverage can be considered either as an objective or a constraint, driven by mission objectives. State-of-the-art literature addresses each situation on a case-by-case basis, applying a unique set of assumptions, modeling, and solution methods. Although such a problem-based methodology is valuable, users often face implementation challenges when performing trade-off studies across different mission scenarios, as each scenario must be handled distinctly. In response, we propose a unifying framework consisting of five mixed-integer linear program formulations that are of practical significance, extensible to more complex mission narratives using additional constraints, and capable of obtaining provably optimal constellation configurations. It can handle various metrics and mission scenarios, such as percent coverage, average or maximum revisit times, fixed number of satellites, spatiotemporally varying coverage requirements, and ground-, aerial-, or space-based, static or mobile targets. The paper presents several add-ons, case studies, and comparative analyses to demonstrate the versatility of the proposed framework.

Authors:Zhentong Shao, Jingtao Qin, Nanpeng Yu
Title: Neural Two-Stage Stochastic Optimization for Solving Unit Commitment Problem
Abstract:
This paper proposes a neural stochastic optimization method for efficiently solving the two-stage stochastic unit commitment (2S-SUC) problem under high-dimensional uncertainty scenarios. The proposed method approximates the second-stage recourse problem using a deep neural network trained to map commitment decisions and uncertainty features to recourse costs. The trained network is subsequently embedded into the first-stage UC problem as a mixed-integer linear program (MILP), allowing for explicit enforcement of operational constraints while preserving the key uncertainty characteristics. A scenario-embedding network is employed to enable dimensionality reduction and feature aggregation across arbitrary scenario sets, serving as a data-driven scenario reduction mechanism. Numerical experiments on IEEE 5-bus, 30-bus, and 118-bus systems demonstrate that the proposed neural two-stage stochastic optimization method achieves solutions with an optimality gap of less than 1%, while enabling orders-of-magnitude speedup compared to conventional MILP solvers and decomposition-based methods. Moreover, the model's size remains constant regardless of the number of scenarios, offering significant scalability for large-scale stochastic unit commitment problems.

Authors:Ali Mohamed Ali, Yaser Raeisi, Plouton Grammatikos, Davide Pavanello, Pierre Roduit, Fabrizio Sossan
Title: Large-Scale Processing and Validation of Grid Data for Assessing the Fair Spatial Distribution of PV Hosting Capacity
Abstract:
The integration of PV systems and increased electrification levels present significant challenges to the traditional design and operation of distribution grids. This paper presents a methodology for extracting, validating, and adapting grid data from a distribution system operator's (DSO) database to facilitate large-scale grid studies, including load flow and optimal power flow analyses. The validation process combines rule-based sanity checks and offline automated power flow analyses to ensure data consistency and detect potential errors in the grid database, allowing for their correction. As a practical application, the paper proposes a method to assess the PV hosting capacity of distribution grids, with a focus on ensuring fairness in their spatial distribution. By incorporating fairness criteria into the analyses, we quantify the costs (in terms of missed revenues from selling PV generation) associated with spatial fairness.

Authors:Nan Li, Qi Sun, Lehan Wang, Xiaofei Xu, Jinri Huang, Chunhui Liu, Jing Gao, Yuhong Huang, Chih-Lin I
Title: Towards AI-Native RAN: An Operator's Perspective of 6G Day 1 Standardization
Abstract:
Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) has become the most certain and prominent feature of 6G mobile networks. Unlike 5G, where AI/ML was not natively integrated but rather an add-on feature over existing architecture, 6G shall incorporate AI from the onset to address its complexity and support ubiquitous AI applications. Based on our extensive mobile network operation and standardization experience from 2G to 5G, this paper explores the design and standardization principles of AI-Native radio access networks (RAN) for 6G, with a particular focus on its critical Day 1 architecture, functionalities and capabilities. We investigate the framework of AI-Native RAN and present its three essential capabilities to shed some light on the standardization direction; namely, AI-driven RAN processing/optimization/automation, reliable AI lifecycle management (LCM), and AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) provisioning. The standardization of AI-Native RAN, in particular the Day 1 features, including an AI-Native 6G RAN architecture, were proposed. For validation, a large-scale field trial with over 5000 5G-A base stations have been built and delivered significant improvements in average air interface latency, root cause identification, and network energy consumption with the proposed architecture and the supporting AI functions. This paper aims to provide a Day 1 framework for 6G AI-Native RAN standardization design, balancing technical innovation with practical deployment.

Authors:Pegah GhafGhanbari, Mircea Lazar, Javad Mohammadpour Velni
Title: Neural Parameter-varying Data-enabled Predictive Control of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jets
Abstract:
Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jets (APPJs) show significant potential for biomedical applications, but their inherent complexity, characterized by nonlinear dynamics and strong sensitivity to operating conditions like tip-to-surface distance, presents considerable challenges for achieving robust and reliable real-time control. To address these issues, this paper presents the Neural Parameter-Varying Data-enabled Predictive Control (NPV-DeePC) framework. By integrating hyper neural networks (hypernets) into the neural Data-enabled Predictive Control (DeePC) paradigm, the proposed method adaptively captures system nonlinearities and parameter variations, updates the neural feature space accordingly, and enables efficient and accurate trajectory prediction and control. The NPV-DeePC framework is validated through extensive simulations involving surface temperature tracking and thermal dose delivery. The results highlight its ability to outperform existing controllers in terms of accuracy and adaptability. The computational efficiency of the NPV-DeePC approach makes it a viable candidate for real-time applications. These findings underscore its potential to advance the safe and precise control of APPJs and provide a scalable solution for other parameter-varying nonlinear systems.

Authors:Xingyu Zhou, Roberto Armellin, Laura Pirovano, Dong Qiao, Xiangyu Li
Title: Maneuver Detection via a Confidence Dominance Maneuver Indicator
Abstract:
Accurate and efficient maneuver detection is critical for ensuring the safety and predictability of spacecraft trajectories. This paper presents a novel maneuver detection approach based on comparing the confidence levels associated with the orbital state estimation and the observation likelihood. First, a confidence-dominance maneuver indicator (CDMI) is proposed by setting a confidence level for the state estimation and computing the maximum likelihood of the observation and its confidence level. The CDMI then flag a maneuver when the observation's confidence level exceeds that of the state estimation, indicating that the observation is unlikely under the no-maneuver hypothesis while maintaining consistency with the prior state estimation confidence. To efficiently compute the maximum likelihood of the observation and obtain the CDMI, a recursive polynomial optimization method is developed, taking advantage of convex optimization and polynomial approximation. In addition, an integrated CDMI approach is developed to eliminate the need to manually select the state confidence level. The integrated CDMI approach maintains high detection accuracy while simultaneously providing an indication of maneuver likelihood, thereby enhancing robustness and practical applicability. The performance of the proposed CDMI-based maneuver detection approaches is evaluated against an optimal control distance metric and two mixture-based approaches. The simulation results demonstrate that the proposed integrated CDMI approach can achieve up to 99.33\% detection accuracy, at least 10% higher than the competing methods, while substantially reducing computational costs.

Authors:Mihails Milehins, Dan B. Marghitu
Title: Incremental Collision Laws Based on the Bouc-Wen Model: Improved Collision Models and Further Results
Abstract:
In the article titled "The Bouc-Wen Model for Binary Direct Collinear Collisions of Convex Viscoplastic Bodies" and published in the Journal of Computational and Nonlinear Dynamics (Volume 20, Issue 6, June 2025), the authors studied mathematical models of binary direct collinear collisions of convex viscoplastic bodies that employed two incremental collision laws based on the Bouc-Wen differential model of hysteresis. It was shown that the models possess favorable analytical properties, and several model parameter identification studies were conducted, demonstrating that the models can accurately capture the nature of a variety of collision phenomena. In this article, the aforementioned models are augmented by modeling the effects of external forces as time-dependent inputs that belong to a certain function space. Furthermore, the range of the parameters under which the models possess favorable analytical properties is extended to several corner cases that were not considered in the prior publication. Finally, the previously conducted model parameter identification studies are extended, and an additional model parameter identification study is provided in an attempt to validate the ability of the augmented models to represent the effects of external forces.

Authors:Ana Rita Ortigoso, Gabriel Vieira, Daniel Fuentes, Luís Frazão, Nuno Costa, António Pereira
Title: HaLert: A Resilient Smart City Architecture for Post-Disaster Based on Wi-Fi HaLow Mesh and SDN
Abstract:
Events such as catastrophes and disasters are, in most cases, unpredictable. Consequently, reusing existing infrastructures to develop alternative communication strategies after disasters is essential to minimise the impact of these events on the population's ability to communicate and promptly receive alerts from authorities. In this context, the emergence of smart cities, characterised by dense and geographically distributed IoT networks, presents significant potential for such reuse. This work proposes HaLert, a resilient architecture for smart cities based on a Wi-Fi HaLow IEEE 802.11s mesh network, whose resources can be readily reallocated to support a emergency communication system to exchange messages (including text, location, image, audio, and video) between citizens, authorities, and between both parties. To facilitate remote monitoring and configuration of the network, the architecture incorporates the SDN (Software-Defined Networking) paradigm, supported by a LoRa controlled flooding mesh network. A prototype was developed based on this architecture and tested in a real urban scenario comprising both indoor and outdoor environments. The results demonstrated that, despite the significant impact of obstacles, lack of line-of-sight, and terrain slopes on the latency (average latency between 15 and 54.8 ms) and throughput (upload bitrates between 134 and 726 Kbps and download bitrates between 117 and 682 Kbps) of the Wi-Fi HaLow network, it remained stable and resilient, successfully providing all functionalities associated with the HaLert architecture. The tests conducted on the LoRa network revealed a high average message success rate of 94.96%.

Authors:Hermann Klein, Max Heinz Herkersdorf, Oliver Nelles
Title: Space-Filling Regularization for Robust and Interpretable Nonlinear State Space Models
Abstract:
The state space dynamics representation is the most general approach for nonlinear systems and often chosen for system identification. During training, the state trajectory can deform significantly leading to poor data coverage of the state space. This can cause significant issues for space-oriented training algorithms which e.g. rely on grid structures, tree partitioning, or similar. Besides hindering training, significant state trajectory deformations also deteriorate interpretability and robustness properties. This paper proposes a new type of space-filling regularization that ensures a favorable data distribution in state space via introducing a data-distribution-based penalty. This method is demonstrated in local model network architectures where good interpretability is a major concern. The proposed approach integrates ideas from modeling and design of experiments for state space structures. This is why we present two regularization techniques for the data point distributions of the state trajectories for local affine state space models. Beyond that, we demonstrate the results on a widely known system identification benchmark.

Authors:Antoine Larbanois, Victor Dachet, Antoine Dubois, Raphaël Fonteneau, Damien Ernst
Title: Ammonia, Methane, Hydrogen and Methanol Produced in Remote Renewable Energy Hubs: a Comparative Quantitative Analysis
Abstract:
Remote renewable energy hubs (RREHs) for synthetic fuel production are engineering systems harvesting renewable energy where it is particularly abundant. They produce transportable synthetic fuels for export to distant load centers. This article aims to evaluate the production costs of different energy carriers, and includes a discussion on advantages and disadvantages in terms of technical performance. To do so, we extend the study of Berger et al., (2021) which focuses on methane (CH4) as energy carrier and introduce three new carriers: ammonia (NH3), hydrogen (H2) and methanol (CH3OH). The four different RREHs are located in the Algerian Sahara desert and must serve to the load center, Belgium, a constant electro-fuel demand of 10 TWh per year. The modelling and optimisation of these systems are performed using the modelling language GBOML (Graph-Based Optimisation Modelling Language). Our findings reveal that the three new RREHs, each with its respective carrier (ammonia, hydrogen, and methanol), are all more cost-effective than the methane-based system. Ammonia demonstrates the most favourable cost-to-energy exported ratio.

Authors:Victor Dachet, Antoine Dubois, Bardhyl Miftari, Raphaël Fonteneau, Damien Ernst
Title: Remote Renewable Energy Hubs: a Taxonomy
Abstract:
Serving the energy demand with renewable energy is hindered by its limited availability near load centres (i.e. places where the energy demand is high). To address this challenge, the concept of Remote Renewable Energy Hubs (RREH) emerges as a promising solution. RREHs are energy hubs located in areas with abundant renewable energy sources, such as sun in the Sahara Desert or wind in Greenland. In these hubs, renewable energy sources are used to synthetise energy molecules. To produce specific energy molecules, a tailored hub configuration must be designed, which means choosing a set of technologies that are interacting with each other as well as defining how they are integrated in their local environment. The plurality of technologies that may be employed in RREHs results in a large diversity of hubs. In order to characterize this diversity, we propose in this paper a taxonomy for accurately defining these hubs. This taxonomy allows to better describe and compare designs of hubs as well as to identify new ones. Thus, it may guide policymakers and engineers in hub design, contributing to cost efficiency and/or improving local integration.

Authors:Doyeong Lim, Yang Liu, Zavier Ndum Ndum, Christian Young, Yassin Hassan
Title: An AI-Driven Thermal-Fluid Testbed for Advanced Small Modular Reactors: Integration of Digital Twin and Large Language Models
Abstract:
This paper presents a multipurpose artificial intelligence (AI)-driven thermal-fluid testbed designed to advance Small Modular Reactor technologies by seamlessly integrating physical experimentation with advanced computational intelligence. The platform uniquely combines a versatile three-loop thermal-fluid facility with a high-fidelity digital twin and sophisticated AI frameworks for real-time prediction, control, and operational assistance. Methodologically, the testbed's digital twin, built upon the System Analysis Module code, is coupled with a Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) neural network. This machine learning model, trained on experimental data, enables faster-than-real-time simulation, providing predictive insights into the system's dynamic behavior. The practical application of this AI integration is showcased through case studies. An AI-driven control framework where the GRU model accurately forecasts future system states and the corresponding control actions required to meet operational demands. Furthermore, an intelligent assistant, powered by a large language model, translates complex sensor data and simulation outputs into natural language, offering operators actionable analysis and safety recommendations. Comprehensive validation against experimental transients confirms the platform's high fidelity, with the GRU model achieving a temperature prediction root mean square error of 1.42 K. This work establishes an integrated research environment at the intersection of AI and thermal-fluid science, showcasing how AI-driven methodologies in modeling, control, and operator support can accelerate the innovation and deployment of next-generation nuclear systems.

Authors:Rachit Mehra, M Parimi, S. R. Wagh, Navdeep M Singh
Title: On the Dynamics of Control
Abstract:
We present a dynamical system approach for the control of a nonlinear dynamical system by defining the control problem in a Fiber bundle framework. The constructive procedure derived results in the generation of a NHIM/NAIM which facilitates the use of tools and ideas from dynamical system theory to analyze and understand the properties associated with the controlled system. The time scale separation, decoupling of system dynamics, and their role in the system behavior are analyzed. An overview of the benefits of the above approach is demonstrated by briefly discussing three main application areas.

Authors:Kanad Sarkar, Austin Lu, Manan Mittal, Yongjie Zhuang, Ryan Corey, Andrew Singer
Title: Latent FxLMS: Accelerating Active Noise Control with Neural Adaptive Filters
Abstract:
Filtered-X LMS (FxLMS) is commonly used for active noise control (ANC), wherein the soundfield is minimized at a desired location. Given prior knowledge of the spatial region of the noise or control sources, we could improve FxLMS by adapting along the low-dimensional manifold of possible adaptive filter weights. We train an auto-encoder on the filter coefficients of the steady-state adaptive filter for each primary source location sampled from a given spatial region and constrain the weights of the adaptive filter to be the output of the decoder for a given state of latent variables. Then, we perform updates in the latent space and use the decoder to generate the cancellation filter. We evaluate how various neural network constraints and normalization techniques impact the convergence speed and steady-state mean squared error. Under certain conditions, our Latent FxLMS model converges in fewer steps with comparable steady-state error to the standard FxLMS.

Authors:James Koch, Ethan King, WoongJo Choi, Megan Ebers, David Garcia, Ken Ross, Keerti Kappagantula
Title: First Contact: Data-driven Friction-Stir Process Control
Abstract:
This study validates the use of Neural Lumped Parameter Differential Equations for open-loop setpoint control of the plunge sequence in Friction Stir Processing (FSP). The approach integrates a data-driven framework with classical heat transfer techniques to predict tool temperatures, informing control strategies. By utilizing a trained Neural Lumped Parameter Differential Equation model, we translate theoretical predictions into practical set-point control, facilitating rapid attainment of desired tool temperatures and ensuring consistent thermomechanical states during FSP. This study covers the design, implementation, and experimental validation of our control approach, establishing a foundation for efficient, adaptive FSP operations.

Authors:Felix Biertümpfel, Peter Seiler, Harald Pfifer
Title: Control Synthesis Along Uncertain Trajectories Using Integral Quadratic Constraints
Abstract:
The paper presents a novel approach to synthesize robust controllers for nonlinear systems along perturbed trajectories. The approach linearizes the system with respect to a reference trajectory. In contrast to existing methods rooted in robust linear time-varying synthesis, the approach accurately includes perturbations that drive the system away from the reference trajectory. Hence, the controller obtained in the linear framework provides a significantly more robust nonlinear performance. The calculation of the controller is derived from robust synthesis approaches rooted in the integral quadratic constraints framework. The feasibility of the approach is demonstrated on a pitch tracker design for a space launcher.

Authors:Zetong Xuan, Yu Wang
Title: Control Synthesis in Partially Observable Environments for Complex Perception-Related Objectives
Abstract:
Perception-related tasks often arise in autonomous systems operating under partial observability. This work studies the problem of synthesizing optimal policies for complex perception-related objectives in environments modeled by partially observable Markov decision processes. To formally specify such objectives, we introduce \emph{co-safe linear inequality temporal logic} (sc-iLTL), which can define complex tasks that are formed by the logical concatenation of atomic propositions as linear inequalities on the belief space of the POMDPs. Our solution to the control synthesis problem is to transform the \mbox{sc-iLTL} objectives into reachability objectives by constructing the product of the belief MDP and a deterministic finite automaton built from the sc-iLTL objective. To overcome the scalability challenge due to the product, we introduce a Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) method that converges in probability to the optimal policy. Finally, a drone-probing case study demonstrates the applicability of our method.

Authors:Mirko Legnini, Julian Berberich
Title: Robust feedback-based quantum optimization: analysis of coherent control errors
Abstract:
The Feedback-based Algorithm for Quantum Optimization (FALQON) is a Lyapunov inspired quantum algorithm proposed to tackle combinatorial optimization problems. In this paper, we examine the robustness of FALQON against coherent control errors, a class of multiplicative errors that affect the control input. We show that the algorithm is asymptotically robust with respect to systematic errors, and we derive robustness bounds for independent errors. Finally, we propose a robust version of FALQON which minimizes a regularized Lyapunov function. Our theoretical results are supported through simulations.

Authors:Yilin Zou, Fanghua Jiang
Title: Re-examining the Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto Pseudospectral Methods for Optimal Control
Abstract:
Pseudospectral methods represent an efficient approach for solving optimal control problems. While Legendre-Gauss-Lobatto (LGL) collocation points have traditionally been considered inferior to Legendre-Gauss (LG) and Legendre-Gauss-Radau (LGR) points in terms of convergence properties, this paper presents a rigorous re-examination of LGL-based methods. We introduce an augmented formulation that enhances the standard LGL collocation approach by incorporating an additional degree of freedom (DOF) into the interpolation structure. We demonstrate that this augmented formulation is mathematically equivalent to the integral formulation of the LGL collocation method. Through analytical derivation, we establish that the adjoint system in both the augmented differential and integral formulations corresponds to a Lobatto IIIB discontinuous collocation method for the costate vector, thereby resolving the previously reported convergence issues. Our comparative analysis of LG, LGR, and LGL collocation methods reveals significant advantages of the improved LGL approach in terms of discretized problem dimensionality and symplectic integration properties. Numerical examples validate our theoretical findings, demonstrating that the proposed LGL-based method achieves comparable accuracy to LG and LGR methods while offering superior computational performance for long-horizon optimal control problems due to the preservation of symplecticity.

Authors:Yilin Zou, Fanghua Jiang
Title: Multi-Revolution Low-Thrust Trajectory Optimization With Very Sparse Mesh Pseudospectral Method
Abstract:
Multi-revolution low-thrust trajectory optimization problems are important and challenging in space mission design. In this paper, an efficient, accurate, and widely applicable pseudospectral method is proposed to solve multi-revolution low-thrust trajectory optimization problems with various objective functions and perturbations. The method is based on the Sundman transformation and pseudospectral method, together with a sparse mesh that is monotonic, near-uniformly spaced, and uniformly scattered on the unit circle. Two methods are proposed to construct the mesh: a deterministic method based on rotation mapping; a stochastic method utilizing autocorrelated random sequences. Core mechanisms ensuring the correctness of the method are analyzed, including the dual roles of mesh points as both integration points in the temporal domain and sampling points in the angular domain, the slow dynamics of the system excluding the fast angle variable, and the nearly commutative vector fields generated by applying different control inputs. The method is demonstrated through a multi-revolution low-thrust orbital rendezvous problem. Results show that the proposed method achieves high accuracy with only a few seconds of computational time for challenging problems.

Authors:Phuoc Sang Nguyen, Ghavameddin Nourbakhsh, Gerard Ledwich
Title: Synchronising DER inverters to weak grid using Kalman filter and LQR current controller
Abstract:
Grid-following (GFL) inverters are commonly used for integrating renewable energy sources into power grids. However, the dynamic performance of GFL models can be significantly impacted by the Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) in a weak grid, leading to instability due to inaccuracies in grid source phase angle estimation. The proposed method in this manuscript replaces the PLL with an Advanced Angle Estimation based Kalman Filter including a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller of the GFL. This method is robust in incorporating grid impedance terms as part of state space models in the Kalman Filter approach to estimate instantaneous phase angle using α-\b{eta} Synchronous Reference Frame equations. The stability performance of the proposed approach is validated through eigenvalue analysis in a two-source case. Additionally, an LQR controller is employed to regulate capacitor voltage, inverter current, and the current at the Point of Common Coupling (PCC). The proposed controller surpasses existing approaches in terms of accuracy and distortion reduction under abrupt grid impedance increases. Moreover, drop compensation is integrated into the Kalman Filter to enhance robustness of the inverter against external oscillation disturbances from a synchronous machine connected to the GFL via the PCC. The results in this paper demonstrate substantial improvement in oscillation damping across a range of frequencies compared with published research works.

Authors:Feng Wang, Shengyu Zhang, Een-Kee Hong, Tony Q. S. Quek
Title: Constellation as a Service: Tailored Connectivity Management in Direct-Satellite-to-Device Networks
Abstract:
Direct-satellite-to-device (DS2D) communication is emerging as a promising solution for global mobile service extension, leveraging the deployment of satellite constellations. However, the challenge of managing DS2D connectivity for multi-constellations becomes outstanding, including high interference and frequent handovers caused by multi-coverage overlap and rapid satellite movement. Moreover, existing approaches primarily operate within single-constellation shell, which inherently limits the ability to exploit the vast potential of multi-constellation connectivity provision, resulting in suboptimal DS2D service performances. To address these challenges, this article proposes a Constellation as a Service (CaaS) framework, which treats the entire multi-constellation infrastructure as a shared resource pool and dynamically forms optimal sub-constellations (SCs) for each DS2D service region. The formation of each SC integrates satellites from various orbits to provide tailored connectivity based on user demands, guided by two innovative strategies: predictive satellite beamforming using generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) and pre-configured handover path for efficient satellite access and mobility management. Simulation results demonstrate that CaaS significantly improves satellite service rates while reducing handover overhead, making it an efficient and continuable solution for managing DS2D connectivity in multi-constellation environments.

Authors:Zhiyi Zhou, Christoph Graf, Yury Dvorkin
Title: Unlocking Transmission Flexibility under Uncertainty: Getting Dynamic Line Ratings into Electricity Markets
Abstract:
Static transmission line ratings may lead to underutilization of line capacity due to overly conservative assumptions. Grid-enhancing technologies (GETs) such as dynamic line ratings (DLRs), which adjust line capacity based on real-time conditions, are a techno-economically viable alternative to increase the utilization of existing power lines. Nonetheless, their adoption has been slow, partly due to the absence of operational tools that effectively account for simultaneous impacts on dispatch and pricing. In this paper, we represent transmission capacity with DLRs as a stock-like resource with time-variant interdependency, which is modeled via an approximation of line temperature evolution process, decoupling the impacts of ambient weather conditions and power flow on transmission line temperature and thus capacity. We integrate DLRs into a multi-period DC optimal power flow problem, with chance constrains addressing correlated uncertainty in DLRs and renewable generation. This yields non-convex problems that we transform into a tractable convex form by linearization. We derive locational marginal energy and ancillary services prices consistent with a competitive equilibrium. Numerical experiments on the 11-zone and 1814-node NYISO systems demonstrate its performance, including impacts on dispatch, pricing, and marginal carbon emissions.

Authors:Hans van Gorp, Davide Belli, Amir Jalalirad, Bence Major
Title: Neural Augmented Kalman Filters for Road Network assisted GNSS positioning
Abstract:
The Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) provides critical positioning information globally, but its accuracy in dense urban environments is often compromised by multipath and non-line-of-sight errors. Road network data can be used to reduce the impact of these errors and enhance the accuracy of a positioning system. Previous works employing road network data are either limited to offline applications, or rely on Kalman Filter (KF) heuristics with little flexibility and robustness. We instead propose training a Temporal Graph Neural Network (TGNN) to integrate road network information into a KF. The TGNN is designed to predict the correct road segment and its associated uncertainty to be used in the measurement update step of the KF. We validate our approach with real-world GNSS data and open-source road networks, observing a 29% decrease in positioning error for challenging scenarios compared to a GNSS-only KF. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first deep learning-based approach jointly employing road network data and GNSS measurements to determine the user position on Earth.

Authors:Yilie Huang, Xun Yu Zhou
Title: Data-Driven Exploration for a Class of Continuous-Time Indefinite Linear--Quadratic Reinforcement Learning Problems
Abstract:
We study reinforcement learning (RL) for the same class of continuous-time stochastic linear--quadratic (LQ) control problems as in \cite{huang2024sublinear}, where volatilities depend on both states and controls while states are scalar-valued and running control rewards are absent. We propose a model-free, data-driven exploration mechanism that adaptively adjusts entropy regularization by the critic and policy variance by the actor. Unlike the constant or deterministic exploration schedules employed in \cite{huang2024sublinear}, which require extensive tuning for implementations and ignore learning progresses during iterations, our adaptive exploratory approach boosts learning efficiency with minimal tuning. Despite its flexibility, our method achieves a sublinear regret bound that matches the best-known model-free results for this class of LQ problems, which were previously derived only with fixed exploration schedules. Numerical experiments demonstrate that adaptive explorations accelerate convergence and improve regret performance compared to the non-adaptive model-free and model-based counterparts.

Authors:Sean Patrick O'Neil, Edmond Jonckheere, Sophie Schirmer
Title: Robustness Analysis for Quantum Systems Controlled by Continuous-Time Pulses
Abstract:
Differential sensitivity techniques originally developed to study the robustness of energy landscape controllers are generalized to the important case of closed quantum systems subject to continuously varying controls. Vanishing sensitivity to parameter variation is shown to coincide with perfect fidelity, as was the case for time-invariant controls. Upper bounds on the magnitude of the differential sensitivity to any parameter variation are derived based simply on knowledge of the system Hamiltonian and the maximum size of the control inputs.

Authors:Yuankai He, Hanlin Chen, Weisong Shi
Title: A Faster and More Reliable Middleware for Autonomous Driving Systems
Abstract:
Ensuring safety in high-speed autonomous vehicles requires rapid control loops and tightly bounded delays from perception to actuation. Many open-source autonomy systems rely on ROS 2 middleware; when multiple sensor and control nodes share one compute unit, ROS 2 and its DDS transports add significant (de)serialization, copying, and discovery overheads, shrinking the available time budget. We present Sensor-in-Memory (SIM), a shared-memory transport designed for intra-host pipelines in autonomous vehicles. SIM keeps sensor data in native memory layouts (e.g., cv::Mat, PCL), uses lock-free bounded double buffers that overwrite old data to prioritize freshness, and integrates into ROS 2 nodes with four lines of code. Unlike traditional middleware, SIM operates beside ROS 2 and is optimized for applications where data freshness and minimal latency outweigh guaranteed completeness. SIM provides sequence numbers, a writer heartbeat, and optional checksums to ensure ordering, liveness, and basic integrity. On an NVIDIA Jetson Orin Nano, SIM reduces data-transport latency by up to 98% compared to ROS 2 zero-copy transports such as FastRTPS and Zenoh, lowers mean latency by about 95%, and narrows 95th/99th-percentile tail latencies by around 96%. In tests on a production-ready Level 4 vehicle running Autoware.Universe, SIM increased localization frequency from 7.5 Hz to 9.5 Hz. Applied across all latency-critical modules, SIM cut average perception-to-decision latency from 521.91 ms to 290.26 ms, reducing emergency braking distance at 40 mph (64 km/h) on dry concrete by 13.6 ft (4.14 m).

Authors:Samuel Oliveira, Mostafa Tavakkoli Anbarani, Gregory Beal, Ilya Kovalenko, Marcelo Teixeira, André B. Leal, Rômulo Meira-Góes
Title: Robust Recovery and Control of Cyber-physical Discrete Event Systems under Actuator Attacks
Abstract:
Critical real-world applications strongly rely on Cyber-physical systems (CPS), but their dependence on communication networks introduces significant security risks, as attackers can exploit vulnerabilities to compromise their integrity and availability. This work explores the topic of cybersecurity in the context of CPS modeled as discrete event systems (DES), focusing on recovery strategies following the detection of cyberattacks. Specifically, we address actuator enablement attacks and propose a method that preserves the system's full valid behavior under normal conditions. Upon detecting an attack, our proposed solution aims to guide the system toward a restricted yet robust behavior, ensuring operational continuity and resilience. Additionally, we introduce a property termed AE-robust recoverability, which characterizes the necessary and sufficient conditions for recovering a system from attacks while preventing further vulnerabilities. Finally, we showcase the proposed solution through a case study based on a manufacturing system.

Authors:Jack Jackman, David Ryan, Arun Narayanan, Pedro Nardelli, Indrakshi Dey
Title: Edge-to-Cloud Computations-as-a-Service in Software-Defined Energy Networks for Smart Grids
Abstract:
Modern power grids face an acute mismatch between where data is generated and where it can be processed: protection relays, EV (Electric Vehicle) charging, and distributed renewables demand millisecond analytics at the edge, while energy-hungry workloads often sit in distant clouds leading to missed real-time deadlines and wasted power. We address this by proposing, to our knowledge, the first-ever SDEN (Software Defined Energy Network) for CaaS (Computations-as-a-Service) that unifies edge, fog, and cloud compute with 5G URLLC (Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communications), SDN (Software Defined Networking), and NFV (Network Functions Virtualization) to co-optimize energy, latency, and reliability end-to-end. Our contributions are threefold: (i) a joint task offloading formulation that couples computation placement with network capacity under explicit URLLC constraints; (ii) a feasibility preserving, lightweight greedy heuristic that scales while closely tracking optimal energy and latency trade-offs; and (iii) a tiered AI (Artificial Intelligence) pipeline-reactive at the edge, predictive in the fog, strategic in the cloud-featuring privacy-preserving, federated GNNs (Graph Neural Networks) for fault detection and microgrid coordination. Unlike prior edge-only or cloud-only schemes, SDEN turns fragmented grid compute into a single, programmable substrate that delivers dependable, energy-aware, real time analytics establishing a first-ever, software defined path to practical, grid-scale CaaS.

Authors:Pedro E. Gória Silva, Eduardo S. Lima, Jules M. Moualeu, Mohamed Korium, Pedro H. J. Nardelli
Title: Visible Light Communication for Vehicular Networks: A Tutorial
Abstract:
The advent of the fifth-generation technology promises to bring about more vertical applications and emerging services that include vehicular networks and intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). To achieve their vision of real-time and safetyapplications, vehicular networks rely on short-range to medium-range communications. One emerging technology that aims to provide reliability and high-data rate in short-range communications is the visible light communications (VLC). Due to its remarkable advantages, some studies have recently investigated the integration of VLC in vehicular networks and ITSs. Despite their attractive features, such networks also face several implementation issues. This paper provides an extended tutorial on the implementation of VLC-based vehicular networks. To begin with, we present the implementation characteristics of these systems and discuss some related issues. The underlying system considers a general structure with transmitters, channels, and receivers based on photodetectors and cameras, as well as standardization efforts and types of topologies. In addition, we discuss the impact of the sun and artificial light sources, flickering, dimming, throughput enhancement, uplink security, and mobility on practical implementation. Finally, we highlight some key challenges and potential solutions and provide some directions for future research investigations that could constitute an advancement toward the development of commercial VLC-based vehicular systems.

Authors:Fabio Marco Monetti, Adam Lundström, Colin de Kwant, Magnus Gyllenskepp, Antonio Maffei
Title: Establishing assembly-oriented modular product architectures through Design for Assembly enhanced Modular Function Deployment
Abstract:
Modular product design has become a strategic enabler for companies seeking to balance product variety, operational efficiency, and market responsiveness, making the alignment between modular architecture and manufacturing considerations increasingly critical. Modular Function Deployment (MFD) is a widely adopted method for defining modular product architectures, yet it lacks systematic support for assembly considerations during early concept and system-level development. This limitation increases the risk of delayed production ramp-up and lifecycle inefficiencies. This paper proposes a set of enhancements to MFD that integrate Design for Assembly (DFA) logic into architectural synthesis. The extended method introduces structured heuristics, assembly-oriented module drivers, a coded interface taxonomy, and quantitative metrics for assessing assembly feasibility and automation readiness. These additions preserve compatibility with standard MFD workflows while enriching decision-making with traceable, production-informed reasoning. An illustrative case study involving a handheld leaf blower demonstrates the method's usability and effectiveness. The redesigned architecture shows reduced assembly effort, simplified interfaces, and increased automation potential. By supporting early-stage evaluation of architectural alternatives through an assembly lens, the method enables faster transition to efficient volume production and provides a foundation for continuous improvement throughout the product lifecycle.

Authors:Ke Ma, Andrey Vlasov, Zeynep B. Simsek, Jinshui Zhang, Yiru Li, Boshuo Wang, David L. K. Murphy, Jessica Y. Choi, Maya E. Clinton, Noreen Bukhari-Parlakturk, Angel V. Peterchev, Stephan M. Goetz
Title: Optimal monophasic, asymmetric electric field pulses for selective transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with minimised power and coil heating
Abstract:
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with asymmetric electric field pulses, such as monophasic, offers directional selectivity for neural activation but requires excessive energy. Previous pulse shape optimisation has been limited to symmetric pulses or heavily constrained variations of conventional waveforms without achieving general optimality in energy efficiency or neural selectivity. We implemented an optimisation framework that incorporates neuron model activation constraints and flexible control of pulse asymmetry. The optimised electric field waveforms achieved up to 92 % and 88 % reduction in energy loss and thus coil heating respectively compared to conventional monophasic pulses and previously improved monophasic-equivalent pulses. In the human experiments, OUR pulses showed similar motor thresholds to monophasic pulses in both AP and PA directions with significantly lower energy loss, particularly in the AP direction. Moreover, there was a significant MEP latency difference of (1.79 +/- 0.41) ms between AP and PA direction with OUR pulses, which suggests directional selectivity. Our framework successfully identified highly energy-efficient asymmetric pulses for directionally-selective neural engagement. These pulses can enable selective rapid-rate repetitive TMS protocols with reduced power consumption and coil heating, with potential benefits for precision and potency of neuro-modulation.

Authors:Dhrumil Bhatt, Siddharth Penumatsa, Vidushi Kumar
Title: Hybrid MAC Protocol with Integrated Multi-Layered Security for Resource-Constrained UAV Swarm Communications
Abstract:
Flying Ad Hoc Networks (FANETs) present unique challenges due to high node mobility, dynamic topologies, and strict resource constraints. Existing routing protocols often optimize for a single metric, such as path length or energy, while neglecting the complex dependencies between network performance, security, and MAC layer efficiency. This paper introduces a novel hardware software co design framework for secure and adaptive UAV swarm communications, featuring an energy aware protocol stack. The architecture employs a multicast, clustered organization where routing decisions integrate dynamic trust scores, historical link quality, and internodal distance. A hybrid MAC protocol combines contention based and scheduled channel access for optimized throughput. Security is ensured through a zero trust model that fuses cryptographic authentication with a behavioral reputation system, alongside hardware accelerated AES GCM encryption. Comparative analysis in an NS 3 simulation environment demonstrates the framework's superiority in packet delivery ratio, latency, resilience, and overhead, providing a scalable foundation for high performance swarm operations.

Authors:Pranav Gupta, Ravi Banavar, Anastasia Bizyaeva
Title: Bounds of Validity for Bifurcations of Equilibria in a Class of Networked Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
Local bifurcation analysis plays a central role in understanding qualitative transitions in networked nonlinear dynamical systems, including dynamic neural network and opinion dynamics models. In this article we establish explicit bounds of validity for the classification of bifurcation diagrams in two classes of continuous-time networked dynamical systems, analogous in structure to the Hopfield and the Firing Rate dynamic neural network models. Our approach leverages recent advances in computing the bounds for the validity of Lyapunov-Schmidt reduction, a reduction method widely employed in nonlinear systems analysis. Using these bounds we rigorously characterize neighborhoods around bifurcation points where predictions from reduced-order models remain reliable. We further demonstrate how these bounds can be applied to an illustrative family of nonlinear opinion dynamics on k-regular graphs, which emerges as a special case of the general framework. These results provide new analytical tools for quantifying the robustness of bifurcation phenomena in dynamics over networked systems and highlight the interplay between network structure and nonlinear dynamical behavior.

Authors:Victor Freire, Marco M. Nicotra
Title: Designing Control Barrier Functions Using a Dynamic Backup Policy
Abstract:
This paper presents a systematic approach to construct control barrier functions for nonlinear control affine systems subject to arbitrary state and input constraints. Taking inspiration from the reference governor literature, the proposed method defines a family of backup policies, parametrized by the equilibrium manifold of the system. The control barrier function is defined on the augmented state-and-reference space: given a state-reference pair, the approach quantifies the distance to constraint violation at any time in the future, should the current backup policy reference remain constant. Sensitivity analysis is then used to compute the (possibly nonsmooth) Jacobian with respect to the augmented state vector. To showcase its simple yet general nature, the proposed method is applied to an inverted pendulum on cart.

Authors:Nicolas Rouger, Luiz Villa, Matthieu Masson, Pauline Kergus, Joseph Kemdeg, Lorenzo Leijnen, Jean Alinei, Adrien Colomb, Ayoub Farah-Hassan, Arnauld Biganzoli
Title: Science ouverte et collaborative pour l'élaboration d'un banc automatisé de caractérisation de pertes en commutation par opposition
Abstract:
The switching losses of power transistors are generally measured using the so-called double pulse method. Measuring the opposition of two switching cells is a complementary method that is more accurate but indirect. However, implementing this method can be more complex and requires calibration steps and comprehensive control, with the added issue of thermal management. In this context, we proposed to address this topic through open and collaborative science, first in the form of a two-day hackathon, followed by monthly open sessions. More than 20 participants contributed to the two-day hackathon, followed by monthly sessions for those wishing to continue working together. This enabled us to set up an automated bench, in open science, including the generation of switching commands, the configuration and control of measuring instruments, and the hardware part. Here we present and share our work and this open approach.

Authors:Han Hu, Wenjie Wan, Feiyu Chen, Xiaoyu Liu, Bo Yu, Kequan Zhao
Title: Critical States Identiffcation in Power System via Lattice Partition and Its Application in Reliability Assessment
Abstract:
With the increasing complexity of power systems,accurately identifying critical states (the states corresponding to minimal cut sets) and assessing system reliability have become crucial tasks. In this paper, a mathematical lattice structure is employed to represent and partition the state space of power system. Based on this structure, a novel recursive method is proposed to efffciently identify critical states by leveraging lattice partitioning and Optimal Power Flow(OPF) calculations. This method not only enables the extension of failure system states,but also calculates the upper and lower bounds of the Loss of Load Probability (LOLP) in a progressively converging manner. Compared to traditional reliability assessment methods such as State Enumeration (SE) and Monte Carlo Simulation (MCS), this approach offers greater accuracy and efffciency. Experiments conducted on the RBTS and RTS79 systems demonstrate that the proposed method accurately identiffes all critical states up to a preset order, which are high-risk states. The contribution of these critical states to LOLP highlights their signiffcance in the system. Moreover, the proposed method achieves the analytical value with signiffcantly fewer OPF calculations in RBTS system, reaching acceptable precision of LOLP up to 100 times faster than SE in both the RBTS and RTS systems.

Authors:Amir Bahador Javadi, Philip Pong
Title: Grid-forming Control of Converter Infinite Bus System: Modeling by Data-driven Methods
Abstract:
This study explores data-driven modeling techniques to capture the dynamics of a grid-forming converter-based infinite bus system, critical for renewable-integrated power grids. Using sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics and deep symbolic regression, models were generated from synthetic data simulating key disturbances in active power, reactive power, and voltage references. Deep symbolic regression demonstrated more accuracy in capturing complex system dynamics, though it required substantially more computational time than sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics. These findings suggest that while deep symbolic regression offers high fidelity, sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics provides a more computationally efficient approach, balancing accuracy and runtime for real-time grid applications.

Authors:Marwan Soliman, Pauline Kergus, Diego Regruto, Luiz Villa, Zohra Kader
Title: Data-Driven Control Of Power Converters
Abstract:
The fundamental role of power converters is to efficiently manage and control the flow of electrical energy, ensuring compatibility between power sources and loads. All these applications of power converters need the design of an appropriate control law. Control of power converters is a challenging problem due to the presence of switching devices which are difficult to handle using traditional control approaches. The objective of this paper is to investigate the use of data-driven techniques, in particular the Virtual References Feedback Tuning (VRFT) method, in the context of power converters feedback control. This study considers a buck \pauline{mode} power converter circuit provided by the OwnTech foundation.

Authors:Manuel R. Arahal, Manuel G. Satué, Kumars Rouzbehi, Francisco Colodro
Title: Weighting Factors Tuning by Direct Feedback in Predictive Control of Multiphase Motors
Abstract:
Predictive Stator Current Control (PSCC) has been proposed for control of multi-phase drives. The flexibility offered by the use of a Cost Function has been used to deal with the increased number of phases. However, tuning of the Weighting Factors constitutes a problem. Intensive trial and error tests are usual in this context. Existing on-line selection methods, on the other hand, require large amounts of data and/or complex optimization procedures. The proposal of this paper is a closed-loop scheme that links Weighting Factors to performance indicators. In this way, optimal Weighting Factors are determined for each operating point. Also, changes in reference values for performance indicators are easily tackled. Unlike previous methods, the proposal carries very little computational burden. A case study is developed for a five-phase induction motor and assessed with real experimentation on a laboratory set-up.

Authors:Manuel R. Arahal, Manuel G. Satué, Kumars Rouzbehi, Juana M. Martínez-Heredia
Title: Single vs Multi Vector Predictive Control of Five-phase Drives
Abstract:
The field of Finite State Model Predictive Control for multiphase drives has produced many contributions. Many variants of FSMPC exist, each aiming at some aspect such as complexity of the cost function, switching frequency, etc. Despite past efforts to compare different techniques, the field is still out of consensus regarding the relative merits of each one. This paper presents a new method to compare FSMPC variants. The method is based on analyzing the modulation, implicit or explicit, used by each variant. In the paper the method is used to compare single-vector state-of-the-art FSMPC with a multi-vector variant designed to cancel xy currents and simplify the cost function. The results show the strengths and weaknesses of each technique. Also, it is found that the trade-offs between figures, previously thought to concern just individual regimes, extend to the whole operating space and also can be pinpoint to each FSMPC variant. Finally, it is shown that the flexibility of the single-vector approach and its better DC-link usage makes it, arguably, superior over the multi-vector variant.

Authors:Paul Mayr, Alessandro Pisano, Stefan Koch, Markus Reichhartinger
Title: Robust Adaptive Boundary Control of a Thermal Process with Thermoelectric Actuators: Theory and Experimental Validation
Abstract:
A sliding-mode-based adaptive boundary control law is proposed for a class of uncertain thermal reaction-diffusion processes subject to matched disturbances. The disturbances are assumed to be bounded, but the corresponding bounds are unknown, thus motivating the use of adaptive control strategies. A boundary control law comprising a proportional and discontinuous term is proposed, wherein the magnitude of the discontinuous relay term is adjusted via a gradient-based adaptation algorithm. Depending on how the adaptation algorithm is parameterized, the adaptive gain can be either a nondecreasing function of time (monodirectional adaptation) or it can both increase and decrease (bidirectional adaptation). The convergence and stability properties of these two solutions are investigated by Lyapunov analyses, and two distinct stability results are derived, namely, asymptotic stability for the monodirectional adaptation and globally uniformly ultimately bounded solutions for the bidirectional adaptation. The proposed algorithms are then specified to address the control problem of stabilizing a desired temperature profile in a metal beam equipped with thermoelectric boundary actuators. Experiments are conducted to investigate the real-world performance of the proposed sliding-mode-based adaptive control, with a particular focus on comparing the monodirectional and bidirectional adaptation laws.

Authors:Jean Pierre Ndabakuranye, Inge W. G. Last, Kay Weng Choy, Peter Thurgood, Jason C. Steel, Genia Burchall, Stella Stylianou, Khashayar Khoshmanesh, Arman Ahnood
Title: A pilot cohort study of a microfluidic-based point-of-care bilirubin measurement system
Abstract:
Objective The concentration of bilirubin in blood or serum is useful for assessing liver function as well as monitoring treatment. This study evaluates the clinical performance of a novel point-of-care (PoC) device for the detection of bilirubin in serum. The PoC device incorporates an integrated miniature optoelectronic sensing module and a microfluidic test cartridge. Methods Patients' serum total bilirubin concentrations, ranging from 2 μmol/L to 480 μmol/L, were measured using the PoC device and the standard laboratory method (n=20). Bland-Altman analysis and regression analysis using Passing-Bablok method were used to benchmark the PoC device against the standard laboratory measurements. The diagnostic capability of the PoC device in categorising the serum samples within clinically relevant bilirubin concentration thresholds of 200, 300, and 450 μmol/L was assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. Results The mean difference between the PoC device and the standard laboratory method was -5.6 μmol/L, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of -45.1 μmol/L to 33.9 μmol/L. The coefficient of determination (R2) was 0.986. The PoC device achieved a detection sensitivity of 90% and specificity of 97% in categorising bilirubin concentrations within bands used in clinical decision-making. Conclusions This study demonstrates that the proposed PoC device is capable of measuring bilirubin levels in patient samples with clinically acceptable accuracy.

Authors:Zijian Zhang, Mingyao Cui
Title: Observation Matrix Design for Densifying MIMO Channel Estimation via 2D Ice Filling
Abstract:
In recent years, densifying multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) has attracted much attention from the communication community. Thanks to the subwavelength antenna spacing, the strong correlations among densifying antennas provide sufficient prior knowledge about channel state information (CSI). This inspires the careful design of observation matrices (e.g., transmit precoders and receive combiners), that exploits the CSI prior knowledge, to boost channel estimation performance. Aligned with this vision, this work proposes to jointly design the combiners and precoders by maximizing the mutual information between the received pilots and densifying MIMO channels. A two-dimensional ice-filling (2DIF) algorithm is proposed to efficiently accomplish this objective. The algorithm is motivated by the fact that the eigenspace of MIMO channel covariance can be decoupled into two sub-eigenspaces, which are associated with the correlations of transmitter antennas and receiver antennas, respectively. By properly setting the precoder and the combiner as the eigenvectors from these two sub-eigenspaces, the 2DIF promises to generate near-optimal observation matrices. Moreover, we further extend the 2DIF method to the popular hybrid combining systems, where a two-stage 2DIF (TS-2DIF) algorithm is developed to handle the analog combining circuits realized by phase shifters. Simulation results demonstrate that, compared to the state-of-the-art schemes, the proposed 2DIF and TS-2DIF methods can achieve superior channel estimation accuracy.

Authors:Filip Bečanović, Kosta Jovanović, Vincent Bonnet
Title: Reliability of Single-Level Equality-Constrained Inverse Optimal Control
Abstract:
Inverse optimal control (IOC) allows the retrieval of optimal cost function weights, or behavioral parameters, from human motion. The literature on IOC uses methods that are either based on a slow bilevel process or a fast but noise-sensitive minimization of optimality condition violation. Assuming equality-constrained optimal control models of human motion, this article presents a faster but robust approach to solving IOC using a single-level reformulation of the bilevel method and yields equivalent results. Through numerical experiments in simulation, we analyze the robustness to noise of the proposed single-level reformulation to the bilevel IOC formulation with a human-like planar reaching task that is used across recent studies. The approach shows resilience to very large levels of noise and reduces the computation time of the IOC on this task by a factor of 15 when compared to a classical bilevel implementation.

Authors:Hamid R. Ossareh, William Shayne, Samuel Chevalier
Title: CPU- and GPU-Based Parallelization of the Robust Reference Governor
Abstract:
Constraint management is a central challenge in modern control systems. A solution is the Reference Governor (RG), which is an add-on strategy to pre-stabilized feedback control systems to enforce state and input constraints by shaping the reference command. While robust formulations of RG exist for linear systems, their extension to nonlinear systems is often computationally intractable. This paper develops a scenario-based robust RG formulation for nonlinear systems and investigates its parallel implementation on multi-core CPUs and CUDA-enabled GPUs. We analyze the computational structure of the algorithm, identify parallelization opportunities, and implement the resulting schemes on modern parallel hardware. Benchmarking on a nonlinear hydrogen fuel cell model demonstrates order-of-magnitude speedups (by as much as three orders of magnitude) compared to sequential implementations.

Authors:Umberto Zucchelli, Miguel Alfonso Mendez, Annafederica Urbano, Sebastien Vincent-Bonnieu, Piotr Wenderski, Francesco Sanfedino
Title: Closed-loop control of sloshing fuel in a spinning spacecraft
Abstract:
New-generation space missions require satellites to carry substantial amounts of liquid propellant, making it essential to analyse the coupled control-structure-propellant dynamics in detail. While Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) offers high-fidelity predictions, its computational cost limits its use in iterative design. Equivalent Mechanical Models (EMMs) provide a faster alternative, though their predictive performance, especially in closed-loop scenarios, remains largely unexplored. This work presents a comparative analysis of a spacecraft under feedback control, using both CFD and a reduced-order sloshing model. Results show good agreement, validating the simplified model for the manoeuvrer considered. This validation enables efficient sensitivity and stability studies, offering a practical tool for early-stage spacecraft design.

Authors:Aniana Cruz, Marko Kuzmanoski, Gabriel Pires
Title: Optimizing BCI Rehabilitation Protocols for Stroke: Exploring Task Design and Training Duration
Abstract:
Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability and the second most common cause of death worldwide. Although acute treatments have advanced, recovery remains challenging and limited. Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have emerged as a promising tool for post-stroke rehabilitation by promoting neuroplasticity. However, clinical outcomes remain variable, and optimal protocols have yet to be established. This study explores strategies to optimize BCI-based rehabilitation by comparing motor imagery of affected hand movement versus rest, instead of the conventional left-versus-right motor imagery. This alternative aims to simplify the task and address the weak contralateral activation commonly observed in stroke patients. Two datasets, one from healthy individuals and one from stroke patients, were used to evaluate the proposed approach. The results showed improved performance using both FBCSP and EEGNet. Additionally, we investigated the impact of session duration and found that shorter training sessions produced better BCI performance than longer sessions.

Authors:Raghav Mishra, Ian R. Manchester
Title: EB-MBD: Emerging-Barrier Model-Based Diffusion for Safe Trajectory Optimization in Highly Constrained Environments
Abstract:
We propose enforcing constraints on Model-Based Diffusion by introducing emerging barrier functions inspired by interior point methods. We show that constraints on Model-Based Diffusion can lead to catastrophic performance degradation, even on simple 2D systems due to sample inefficiency in the Monte Carlo approximation of the score function. We introduce Emerging-Barrier Model-Based Diffusion (EB-MBD) which uses progressively introduced barrier constraints to avoid these problems, significantly improving solution quality, without the need for computationally expensive operations such as projections. We analyze the sampling liveliness of samples each iteration to inform barrier parameter scheduling choice. We demonstrate results for 2D collision avoidance and a 3D underwater manipulator system and show that our method achieves lower cost solutions than Model-Based Diffusion, and requires orders of magnitude less computation time than projection based methods.

Authors:Pedro Pestana, M. Fátima Brilhante
Title: A Digital Pheromone-Based Approach for In/Out-of-Control Classification
Abstract:
In complex production lines, it is essential to have strict, fast-acting rules to determine whether the system is In Control (InC) or Out of Control (OutC). This study explores a bio-inspired method that digitally mimics ant colony behavior to classify InC/OutC states and forecast imminent transitions requiring maintenance. A case study on industrial potato chip frying provides the application context. During each two-minute frying cycle, sequences of eight temperature readings are collected. Each sequence is treated as a digital ant depositing virtual pheromones, generating a Base Score. New sequences, representing new ants, can either reinforce or weaken this score, leading to a Modified Base Score that reflects the system's evolving condition. Signals such as extreme temperatures, large variations within a sequence, or the detection of change-points contribute to a Threat Score, which is added to the Modified Base Score. Since pheromones naturally decay over time unless reinforced, an Environmental Score is incorporated to reflect recent system dynamics, imitating real ant behavior. This score is calculated from the Modified Base Scores collected over the past hour. The resulting Total Score - the sum of the Modified Base Score, Threat Score, and Environmental Score - is used as the main indicator for real-time system classification and forecasting of transitions from InC to OutC. This ant colony optimization-inspired approach provides an adaptive and interpretable framework for process monitoring and predictive maintenance in industrial environments.

Authors:Tiago Silva, António Grilo
Title: A Genetic Algorithm Approach to Anti-Jamming UAV Swarm Behavior
Abstract:
In recent years, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have brought a new true revolution to military tactics. While UAVs already constitute an advantage when operating alone, multi-UAV swarms expand the available possibilities, allowing the UAVs to collaborate and support each other as a team to carry out a given task. This entails the capability to exchange information related with situation awareness and action coordination by means of a suitable wireless communication technology. In such scenario, the adversary is expected to disrupt communications by jamming the communication channel. The latter becomes the Achilles heel of the swarm. While anti-jamming techniques constitute a well covered topic in the literature, the use of intelligent swarm behaviors to leverage those techniques is still an open research issue. This paper explores the use of Genetic Algorithms (GAs) to jointly optimize UAV swarm formation, beam-steering antennas and traffic routing in order to mitigate the effect of jamming in the main coordination channel, under the assumption that a more robust and low data rate channel is used for formation management signaling. Simulation results show the effectiveness of proposed approach. However, the significant computational cost paves the way for further research.

Authors:Ruben Ruiz-Mateos Serrano, Joe G Troughton, Nima Mirkhani, Natalia Martinez, Massimo Mariello, Jordan Tsigarides, Simon Williamson, Juan Sapriza, Ioana Susnoschi Luca, Antonio Dominguez-Alfaro, Estelle Cuttaz, Nicole Thompson, Sydney Swedick, Latifah Almulla, Amparo Guemes
Title: From Neural Sensing to Stimulation: An Interdisciplinary Roadmap for Neurotechnology
Abstract:
Neurotechnologies are transforming how we measure, interpret, and modulate brain-body interactions, integrating real-time sensing, computation, and stimulation to enable precise physiological control. They hold transformative potential across clinical and non-clinical domains, from treating disorders to enhancing cognition and performance. Realizing this potential requires navigating complex, interdisciplinary challenges spanning neuroscience, materials science, device engineering, signal processing, computational modelling, and regulatory and ethical frameworks. This Perspective presents a strategic roadmap for neurotechnology development, created by early-career researchers, highlighting their role at the intersection of disciplines and their capacity to bridge traditional silos. We identify five cross-cutting trade-offs that constrain progress across functionality, scalability, adaptability, and translatability, and illustrate how technical domains influence their resolution. Rather than a domain-specific review, we focus on shared challenges and strategic opportunities that transcend disciplines. We propose a unified framework for collaborative innovation and education, highlight ethical and regulatory priorities, and outline a timeline for overcoming key bottlenecks. By aligning technical development with translational and societal needs, this roadmap aims to accelerate equitable, effective, and future-ready adaptive neurotechnologies, guiding coordinated efforts across the global research and innovation community.

Authors:Carson Hunsberger, David Schwab, Roshan Eapen, Puneet Singla
Title: Comparing Normal Form Representations for Station-Keeping near Cislunar Libration Points
Abstract:
The normal forms provide useful approximations for many trajectories of interest within the circular restricted three-body problem. This paper aims to thoroughly compare two of these forms: the Birkhoff normal form and the resonant normal form, highlighting the strengths of each for the representation of center manifold trajectories. A method of station-keeping is introduced, analogous to Floquet modes, in which the unstable component is minimized at specific points along a trajectory through impulsive maneuvers. Three different formulations of the same station-keeping approach are posed, collectively spanning Lyapunov, vertical, and halo orbits, as well as Lissajous and quasihalo trajectories.

Authors:Lulu Gong, Shreya Saxena
Title: Learning Mixtures of Linear Dynamical Systems (MoLDS) via Hybrid Tensor-EM Method
Abstract:
Mixtures of linear dynamical systems (MoLDS) provide a path to model time-series data that exhibit diverse temporal dynamics across trajectories. However, its application remains challenging in complex and noisy settings, limiting its effectiveness for neural data analysis. Tensor-based moment methods can provide global identifiability guarantees for MoLDS, but their performance degrades under noise and complexity. Commonly used expectation-maximization (EM) methods offer flexibility in fitting latent models but are highly sensitive to initialization and prone to poor local minima. Here, we propose a tensor-based method that provides identifiability guarantees for learning MoLDS, which is followed by EM updates to combine the strengths of both approaches. The novelty in our approach lies in the construction of moment tensors using the input-output data to recover globally consistent estimates of mixture weights and system parameters. These estimates can then be refined through a Kalman EM algorithm, with closed-form updates for all LDS parameters. We validate our framework on synthetic benchmarks and real-world datasets. On synthetic data, the proposed Tensor-EM method achieves more reliable recovery and improved robustness compared to either pure tensor or randomly initialized EM methods. We then analyze neural recordings from the primate somatosensory cortex while a non-human primate performs reaches in different directions. Our method successfully models and clusters different conditions as separate subsystems, consistent with supervised single-LDS fits for each condition. Finally, we apply this approach to another neural dataset where monkeys perform a sequential reaching task. These results demonstrate that MoLDS provides an effective framework for modeling complex neural data, and that Tensor-EM is a reliable approach to MoLDS learning for these applications.

Authors:Nikolaos D. Kouvakas, Fotis N. Koumboulis, Konstantinos G. Tzierakis, John Sigalas, Anastasios Dimakakos
Title: Toward Model Matching for Remotely Controlled Differential Drive Robotic Vehicles
Abstract:
The problem of regulation of the orientation angle of a remotely controlled differential-drive mobile robot with actuator dynamics and network-induced delays is studied. Using a preinstalled two-layer nonlinear control scheme that decouples linear and angular velocities and regulates heading, a third, delay-dependent layer that achieves exact model matching from the orientation angle command to the orientation angle is introduced. The proposed outer loop controller is a delay dependent dynamic measurable output-feedback controller with dynamic proper precompensator. Parameterization yields a simple characteristic quasi-polynomial with coefficients constrained to satisfy stability for all delays up to a computable bound. Computational experiments confirm accurate tracking, fast settling and bounded internal signals and control voltages. The approach offers an analytic design alternative to AI-based tuning for delayed robotic systems.

Authors:Aueaphum Aueawatthanaphisut, Nyi Wunna Tun
Title: Hybrid Quantum-Classical Policy Gradient for Adaptive Control of Cyber-Physical Systems: A Comparative Study of VQC vs. MLP
Abstract:
The comparative evaluation between classical and quantum reinforcement learning (QRL) paradigms was conducted to investigate their convergence behavior, robustness under observational noise, and computational efficiency in a benchmark control environment. The study employed a multilayer perceptron (MLP) agent as a classical baseline and a parameterized variational quantum circuit (VQC) as a quantum counterpart, both trained on the CartPole-v1 environment over 500 episodes. Empirical results demonstrated that the classical MLP achieved near-optimal policy convergence with a mean return of 498.7 +/- 3.2, maintaining stable equilibrium throughout training. In contrast, the VQC exhibited limited learning capability, with an average return of 14.6 +/- 4.8, primarily constrained by circuit depth and qubit connectivity. Noise robustness analysis further revealed that the MLP policy deteriorated gracefully under Gaussian perturbations, while the VQC displayed higher sensitivity at equivalent noise levels. Despite the lower asymptotic performance, the VQC exhibited significantly lower parameter count and marginally increased training time, highlighting its potential scalability for low-resource quantum processors. The results suggest that while classical neural policies remain dominant in current control benchmarks, quantum-enhanced architectures could offer promising efficiency advantages once hardware noise and expressivity limitations are mitigated.

Authors:Yan Rui Tan, Wenqi Liu, Wai Lun Leong, John Guan Zhong Tan, Wayne Wen Huei Yong, Fan Shi, Rodney Swee Huat Teo
Title: GO-Flock: Goal-Oriented Flocking in 3D Unknown Environments with Depth Maps
Abstract:
Artificial Potential Field (APF) methods are widely used for reactive flocking control, but they often suffer from challenges such as deadlocks and local minima, especially in the presence of obstacles. Existing solutions to address these issues are typically passive, leading to slow and inefficient collective navigation. As a result, many APF approaches have only been validated in obstacle-free environments or simplified, pseudo 3D simulations. This paper presents GO-Flock, a hybrid flocking framework that integrates planning with reactive APF-based control. GO-Flock consists of an upstream Perception Module, which processes depth maps to extract waypoints and virtual agents for obstacle avoidance, and a downstream Collective Navigation Module, which applies a novel APF strategy to achieve effective flocking behavior in cluttered environments. We evaluate GO-Flock against passive APF-based approaches to demonstrate their respective merits, such as their flocking behavior and the ability to overcome local minima. Finally, we validate GO-Flock through obstacle-filled environment and also hardware-in-the-loop experiments where we successfully flocked a team of nine drones, six physical and three virtual, in a forest environment.

Authors:Shao-Yi Yu, Jen-Wei Wang, Maya Horii, Vikas Garg, Tarek Zohdi
Title: AD-NODE: Adaptive Dynamics Learning with Neural ODEs for Mobile Robots Control
Abstract:
Mobile robots, such as ground vehicles and quadrotors, are becoming increasingly important in various fields, from logistics to agriculture, where they automate processes in environments that are difficult to access for humans. However, to perform effectively in uncertain environments using model-based controllers, these systems require dynamics models capable of responding to environmental variations, especially when direct access to environmental information is limited. To enable such adaptivity and facilitate integration with model predictive control, we propose an adaptive dynamics model which bypasses the need for direct environmental knowledge by inferring operational environments from state-action history. The dynamics model is based on neural ordinary equations, and a two-phase training procedure is used to learn latent environment representations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach through goal-reaching and path-tracking tasks on three robotic platforms of increasing complexity: a 2D differential wheeled robot with changing wheel contact conditions, a 3D quadrotor in variational wind fields, and the Sphero BOLT robot under two contact conditions for real-world deployment. Empirical results corroborate that our method can handle temporally and spatially varying environmental changes in both simulation and real-world systems.

Authors:Alben Rome Bagabaldo, Jürgen Hackl
Title: Digital Twins for Intelligent Intersections: A Literature Review
Abstract:
Intelligent intersections play a pivotal role in urban mobility, demanding innovative solutions such as digital twins to enhance safety and efficiency. This literature review investigates the integration and application of digital twins for intelligent intersections, a critical area within smart urban traffic systems. The review systematically categorizes existing research into five key thematic areas: (i) Digital Twin Architectures and Frameworks; (ii) Data Processing and Simulation Techniques; (iii) Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Adaptive Traffic Control; (iv) Safety and Protection of Vulnerable Road Users; and (v) Scaling from Localized Intersections to Citywide Traffic Networks. Each theme is explored comprehensively, highlighting significant advancements, current challenges, and critical insights. The findings reveal that multi-layered digital twin architectures incorporating real-time data fusion and AI-driven decision-making enhances traffic efficiency and safety. Advanced simulation techniques combined with sophisticated AI/ML algorithms demonstrate notable improvements in real-time responsiveness and predictive accuracy for traffic management. Additionally, the integration of digital twins has shown substantial promise in safeguarding vulnerable road users through proactive and adaptive safety strategies. Despite these advancements, key challenges persist, including interoperability of diverse data sources, scalability of digital twins for extensive traffic networks, and managing uncertainty within dynamic urban environments. Addressing these challenges will be essential for the future development and deployment of intelligent, adaptive, and sustainable intersection management systems.

Authors:Javier Garcia-Aguilar, Aurelio Garcia-Cerrada, Juan L. Zamora, Emilio Bueno, Elena Saiz, Almudena Muñoz-Babiano, Mohammad E. Zarei
Title: Multi-Loop Design of Virtual Synchronous Machine Control for DFIG-Based Wind Farms
Abstract:
The displacement of synchronous generators by converter-interfaced renewable energy sources obliges wind farms to provide inertia, damping, and voltage support, above all in increasingly weak grid conditions. This paper presents a co-ordinated frequency-domain methodology for tuning all control layers of doubly-fed induction generators (DFIGs) within a wind farm operated as a Virtual Synchronous Machine (VSM). Starting from a full small-signal linearisation that preserves loop-to-loop and machine-to-machine couplings, the procedure reshapes every local open loop to explicit phase-margin targets through a single, prioritised iteration. The resulting controllers provide a step response and stability margins close to those programmed at the design stage, in spite of the cross coupling between control loops. Since controller synthesis relies exclusively on classical loop-shaping tools available in commercial simulation suites, it is readily applicable to industrial-scale projects.

Authors:Albert Solà Vilalta, Ignasi Mañé, F. - Javier Heredia
Title: Optimal participation of energy communities in electricity markets under uncertainty. A multi-stage stochastic programming approach
Abstract:
We propose a multi-stage stochastic programming model for the optimal participation of energy communities in electricity markets. The multi-stage aspect captures the different times at which variable renewable generation and electricity prices are observed. This results in large-scale optimization problem instances containing large scenario trees with 34 stages, to which scenario reduction techniques are applied. Case studies with real data are discussed to analyse proposed regulatory frameworks in Europe. The added value of considering stochasticity is also analysed.

Authors:Patricio Guzmán, Agustín Huerta, Hugo Parada
Title: Rapid stabilization for a wave equation with boundary disturbance
Abstract:
In this paper, we study the rapid stabilization of an unstable wave equation, in which an unknown disturbance is located at the boundary condition. We address two different boundary conditions: Dirichlet- Dirichlet and Dirichlet-Neumann. In both cases, we design a feedback law, located at the same place as the unknown disturbance, that forces the exponential decay of the energy for any desired decay rate while suppressing the effects of the unknown disturbance. For the feedback design, we employ the backstepping method, Lyapunov techniques and the sign multivalued operator. The well-posedness of the closed-loop system, which is a differential inclusion, is shown with the maximal monotone operator theory.

Authors:Ines Akaichi, Giorgos Flouris, Irini Fundulaki, Sabrina Kirrane
Title: Modeling and Managing Temporal Obligations in GUCON Using SPARQL-star and RDF-star
Abstract:
In the digital age, data frequently crosses organizational and jurisdictional boundaries, making effective governance essential. Usage control policies have emerged as a key paradigm for regulating data usage, safeguarding privacy, protecting intellectual property, and ensuring compliance with regulations. A central mechanism for usage control is the handling of obligations, which arise as a side effect of using and sharing data. Effective monitoring of obligations requires capturing usage traces and accounting for temporal aspects such as start times and deadlines, as obligations may evolve over times into different states, such as fulfilled, violated, or expired. While several solutions have been proposed for obligation monitoring, they often lack formal semantics or provide limited support for reasoning over obligation states. To address these limitations, we extend GUCON, a policy framework grounded in the formal semantics of SPAQRL graph patterns, to explicitly model the temporal aspects of an obligation. This extension enables the expressing of temporal obligations and supports continuous monitoring of their evolving states based on usage traces stored in temporal knowledge graphs. We demonstrate how this extended model can be represented using RDF-star and SPARQL-star and propose an Obligation State Manager that monitors obligation states and assess their compliance with respect to usage traces. Finally, we evaluate both the extended model and its prototype implementation.

Authors:X. Tao, P. Chen, M. Tsami, F. Khayati, M. Eckert
Title: Design Process of a Self Adaptive Smart Serious Games Ecosystem
Abstract:
This paper outlines the design vision and planned evolution of Blexer v3, a modular and AI-driven rehabilitation ecosystem based on serious games. Building on insights from previous versions of the system, we propose a new architecture that aims to integrate multimodal sensing, real-time reasoning, and intelligent control. The envisioned system will include distinct modules for data collection, user state inference, and gameplay adaptation. Key features such as dynamic difficulty adjustment (DDA) and procedural content generation (PCG) are also considered to support personalized interventions. We present the complete conceptual framework of Blexer v3, which defines the modular structure and data flow of the system. This serves as the foundation for the next phase: the development of a functional prototype and its integration into clinical rehabilitation scenarios.

Authors:Junsei Ito, Yasuaki Wasa
Title: Data-Driven Adaptive PID Control Based on Physics-Informed Neural Networks
Abstract:
This article proposes a data-driven PID controller design based on the principle of adaptive gain optimization, leveraging Physics-Informed Neural Networks (PINNs) generated for predictive modeling purposes. The proposed control design method utilizes gradients of the PID gain optimization, achieved through the automatic differentiation of PINNs, to apply model predictive control using a cost function based on tracking error and control inputs. By optimizing PINNs-based PID gains, the method achieves adaptive gain tuning that ensures stability while accounting for system nonlinearities. The proposed method features a systematic framework for integrating PINNs-based models of dynamical control systems into closed-loop control systems, enabling direct application to PID control design. A series of numerical experiments is conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method from the control perspectives based on both time and frequency domains.

Authors:Quan Tran, Suresh S. Muknahallipatna, Dongliang Duan, Nga Nguyen
Title: A Diffusion-based Generative Machine Learning Paradigm for Contingency Screening
Abstract:
Contingency screening is a crucial part of electric power systems all the time. Power systems frequently encounter multiple challenging operational dilemmas that could lead to the instability of power systems. Contingency analysis is effort-consuming by utilizing traditional numerical analysis methods. It is commonly addressed by generating a whopping number of possible contingencies or manipulating network parameters to determine the worst scenarios. This paper proposes a novel approach that diverts the nature of contingency analysis from pre-defined scenario screening to proactive-unsupervised screening. The potentially risky scenarios of power systems are generated from learning how the previous ones occurred. In other words, the internal perturbation that initiates contingencies is learned prior to being self-replicated for rendering the worst scenarios. By leveraging the perturbation diffusion technique, a proposed model is built to point out the worst scenarios instead of repeatedly simulating one-by-one scenarios to define the highest-risk ones. Empirical experiments are implemented on the IEEE systems to test and validate the proposed solution.

Authors:Amirmasoud Molaei, Reza Ghabcheloo
Title: Learning to Capture Rocks using an Excavator: A Reinforcement Learning Approach with Guiding Reward Formulation
Abstract:
Rock capturing with standard excavator buckets is a challenging task typically requiring the expertise of skilled operators. Unlike soil digging, it involves manipulating large, irregular rocks in unstructured environments where complex contact interactions with granular material make model-based control impractical. Existing autonomous excavation methods focus mainly on continuous media or rely on specialized grippers, limiting their applicability to real-world construction sites. This paper introduces a fully data-driven control framework for rock capturing that eliminates the need for explicit modeling of rock or soil properties. A model-free reinforcement learning agent is trained in the AGX Dynamics simulator using the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm and a guiding reward formulation. The learned policy outputs joint velocity commands directly to the boom, arm, and bucket of a CAT365 excavator model. Robustness is enhanced through extensive domain randomization of rock geometry, density, and mass, as well as the initial configurations of the bucket, rock, and goal position. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to develop and evaluate an RL-based controller for the rock capturing task. Experimental results show that the policy generalizes well to unseen rocks and varying soil conditions, achieving high success rates comparable to those of human participants while maintaining machine stability. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of learning-based excavation strategies for discrete object manipulation without requiring specialized hardware or detailed material models.

Authors:Roy Siegelmann, Enrique Mallada
Title: Data-driven Practical Stabilization of Nonlinear Systems via Chain Policies: Sample Complexity and Incremental Learning
Abstract:
We propose a method for data-driven practical stabilization of nonlinear systems with provable guarantees, based on the concept of Nonparametric Chain Policies (NCPs). The approach employs a normalized nearest-neighbor rule to assign, at each state, a finite-duration control signal derived from stored data, after which the process repeats. Unlike recent works that model the system as linear, polynomial, or polynomial fraction, we only assume the system to be locally Lipschitz. Our analysis builds on the framework of Recurrent Lyapunov Functions (RLFs), which enable data-driven certification of practical stability using standard norm functions instead of requiring the explicit construction of a classical Lyapunov function. To extend this framework, we introduce the concept of Recurrent Control Lyapunov Functions (R-CLFs), which can certify the existence of an NCP that practically stabilizes an arbitrarily small c-neighborhood of an equilibrium point. We also provide an explicit sample complexity guarantee of O((3/rho)^d log(R/c)) number of trajectories, where R is the domain radius, d the state dimension, and rho a system-dependent constant. The proposed Chain Policies are nonparametric, thus allowing new verified data to be readily incorporated into the policy to either improve convergence rate or enlarge the certified region. Numerical experiments illustrate and validate these properties.

Authors:Sadie Cutler, Ben DeFay, Scott McArt, Kirstin Petersen
Title: Use of Quadcopter Wakes to Supplement Strawberry Pollination
Abstract:
Pollinators are critical to the world's ecosystems and food supply, yet recent studies have found pollination shortfalls in several crops, including strawberry. This is troubling because wild and managed pollinators are currently experiencing declines. One possibility is to try and provide supplemental pollination solutions. These solutions should be affordable and simple for farmers to implement if their use is to be widespread; quadcopters are a great example, already used for monitoring on many farms. This paper investigates a new method for artificial pollination based on wind pollination that bears further investigation. After determining the height where the lateral flow is maximized, we performed field experiments with a quadcopter assisting natural pollinators. Although our results in the field were inconclusive, lab studies show that the idea shows promise and could be adapted for better field results.

Authors:Anoy Saha, Mona Ghassemi
Title: Electrical System Architecture for Aviation Electrification
Abstract:
The electrification of aircraft is reshaping the foundations of aerospace design by positioning electrical systems at the center of propulsion, control, and onboard functionality. This chapter provides an overview of electrical system architectures for electric and hybrid electric aircraft, highlighting both established principles and emerging design strategies. The discussion begins with the motivations for electrification, including reducing environmental impact, improving operational efficiency, and replacing complex pneumatic and hydraulic subsystems with lighter and more reliable electrical alternatives. Aircraft electrical architectures are classified into four major categories: conventional, more electric, all electric, and hybrid electric. A range of system topologies is examined, including direct current (DC), alternating current (AC), hybrid, and distributed configurations. Each is considered in terms of its effectiveness in delivering power, enabling redundancy, supporting fault isolation, and managing thermal performance. Real world examples are presented to demonstrate practical applications, with case studies drawn from the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, the Eviation Alice commuter aircraft, and NASA X57 Maxwell demonstrator. These examples illustrate the ongoing transition from incremental subsystem electrification toward fully integrated architectures that promise higher efficiency and greater sustainability.

Authors:Mohammadjavad Abbaspour, Mukund R. Shukla, Praveen K. Saxena, Shivam Saxena
Title: Optimal Energy Management in Indoor Farming Using Lighting Flexibility and Intelligent Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
Indoor farming enables year-round food production but its reliance on artificial lighting significantly increases energy consumption, peak load charges, and energy costs for growers. Recent studies indicate that plants are able to tolerate interruptions in light, enabling the design of 24-hour lighting schedules (or "recipes") with strategic light modulation in alignment with day-ahead pricing. Thus, we propose an optimal lighting control strategy for indoor farming that modulates light intensity and photoperiod to reduce energy costs. The control strategy is implemented within a model predictive control framework and augmented with transformer-based neural networks to forecast 24-hour ahead solar radiation and electricity prices to improve energy cost reduction. The control strategy is informed by real-world experimentation on lettuce crops to discover minimum light exposure and appropriate dark-light intervals, which are mathematically formulated as constraints to maintain plant health. Simulations for a one-hectare greenhouse, based on real electricity market data from Ontario, demonstrate an annual cost reduction of $318,400 (20.9%), a peak load decrease of 1.6 MW (33.32%), and total energy savings of 1890 MWh (20.2%) against a baseline recipe. These findings highlight the potential of intelligent lighting control to improve the sustainability and economic feasibility of indoor farming.

Authors:Mostafa Emam, Matthias Gerdts
Title: Safety-Oriented Dynamic Path Planning for Automated Vehicles
Abstract:
Ensuring safety in autonomous vehicles necessitates advanced path planning and obstacle avoidance capabilities, particularly in dynamic environments. This paper introduces a bi-level control framework that efficiently augments road boundaries by incorporating time-dependent grid projections of obstacle movements, thus enabling precise and adaptive path planning. The main control loop utilizes Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) for real-time path optimization, wherein homotopy-based constraint relaxation is employed to improve the solvability of the optimal control problem (OCP). Furthermore, an independent backup loop runs concurrently to provide safe fallback trajectories when an optimal trajectory cannot be computed by the main loop within a critical time frame, thus enhancing safety and real-time performance. Our evaluation showcases the benefits of the proposed methods in various driving scenarios, highlighting the real-time applicability and robustness of our approach. Overall, the framework represents a significant step towards safer and more reliable autonomous driving in complex and dynamic environments.

Authors:Chen Chao, Zixiao Ma, Ziang Zhang
Title: Cyber Resilience of Three-phase Unbalanced Distribution System Restoration under Sparse Adversarial Attack on Load Forecasting
Abstract:
System restoration is critical for power system resilience, nonetheless, its growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI)-based load forecasting introduces significant cybersecurity risks. Inaccurate forecasts can lead to infeasible planning, voltage and frequency violations, and unsuccessful recovery of de-energized segments, yet the resilience of restoration processes to such attacks remains largely unexplored. This paper addresses this gap by quantifying how adversarially manipulated forecasts impact restoration feasibility and grid security. We develop a gradient-based sparse adversarial attack that strategically perturbs the most influential spatiotemporal inputs, exposing vulnerabilities in forecasting models while maintaining stealth. We further create a restoration-aware validation framework that embeds these compromised forecasts into a sequential restoration model and evaluates operational feasibility using an unbalanced three-phase optimal power flow formulation. Simulation results show that the proposed approach is more efficient and stealthier than baseline attacks. It reveals system-level failures, such as voltage and power ramping violations that prevent the restoration of critical loads. These findings provide actionable insights for designing cybersecurity-aware restoration planning frameworks.

Authors:Juho Bae, Daegyeong Roh, Han-Lim Choi
Title: Learning Safety-Compatible Observers for Unknown Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a data-driven approach for jointly learning a robust full-state observer and its robustness certificate for systems with unknown dynamics. Leveraging incremental input-to-state stability (delta ISS) notions, we jointly learn a delta ISS Lyapunov function that serves as the robustness certificate and prove practical convergence of the estimation error under standard fidelity assumptions on the learned models. This renders the observer safety-compatible: they can be consumed by certificate-based safe controllers so that, when the controller tolerates bounded estimation error, the controller's certificate remains valid under output feedback. We further extend the approach to interconnected systems via the small-gain theorem, yielding a distributed observer design framework. We validate the approach on a variety of nonlinear systems.

Authors:Burak Karabulut, Carlo Manna, Chris Develder
Title: Generalization of Graph Neural Network Models for Distribution Grid Fault Detection
Abstract:
Fault detection in power distribution grids is critical for ensuring system reliability and preventing costly outages. Moreover, fault detection methodologies should remain robust to evolving grid topologies caused by factors such as reconfigurations, equipment failures, and Distributed Energy Resource (DER) integration. Current data-driven state-of-the-art methods use Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) for temporal modeling and Graph Neural Networks (GNNs) for spatial learning, in an RNN+GNN pipeline setting (RGNN in short). Specifically, for power system fault diagnosis, Graph Convolutional Networks (GCNs) have been adopted. Yet, various more advanced GNN architectures have been proposed and adopted in domains outside of power systems. In this paper, we set out to systematically and consistently benchmark various GNN architectures in an RNN+GNN pipeline model. Specifically, to the best of our knowledge, we are the first to (i) propose to use GraphSAGE and Graph Attention (GAT, GATv2) in an RGNN for fault diagnosis, and (ii) provide a comprehensive benchmark against earlier proposed RGNN solutions (RGCN) as well as pure RNN models (especially Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU)), particularly (iii) exploring their generalization potential for deployment in different settings than those used for training them. Our experimental results on the IEEE 123-node distribution network show that RGATv2 has superior generalization capabilities, maintaining high performance with an F1-score reduction of $\sim$12% across different topology settings. In contrast, pure RNN models largely fail, experiencing an F1-score reduction of up to $\sim$60%, while other RGNN variants also exhibit significant performance degradation, i.e., up to $\sim$25% lower F1-scores.

Authors:Nicolò Dal Fabbro, Milad Mesbahi, Renato Mendes, João Borges de Sousa, George J. Pappas
Title: Long-Term Mapping of the Douro River Plume with Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
We study the problem of long-term (multiple days) mapping of a river plume using multiple autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), focusing on the Douro river representative use-case. We propose an energy - and communication - efficient multi-agent reinforcement learning approach in which a central coordinator intermittently communicates with the AUVs, collecting measurements and issuing commands. Our approach integrates spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression (GPR) with a multi-head Q-network controller that regulates direction and speed for each AUV. Simulations using the Delft3D ocean model demonstrate that our method consistently outperforms both single- and multi-agent benchmarks, with scaling the number of agents both improving mean squared error (MSE) and operational endurance. In some instances, our algorithm demonstrates that doubling the number of AUVs can more than double endurance while maintaining or improving accuracy, underscoring the benefits of multi-agent coordination. Our learned policies generalize across unseen seasonal regimes over different months and years, demonstrating promise for future developments of data-driven long-term monitoring of dynamic plume environments.

Authors:Xiaolong Jia, Nikhil Bajaj
Title: On Architectures for Combining Reinforcement Learning and Model Predictive Control with Runtime Improvements
Abstract:
Model Predictive Control (MPC) faces computational demands and performance degradation from model inaccuracies. We propose two architectures combining Neural Network-approximated MPC (NNMPC) with Reinforcement Learning (RL). The first, Warm Start RL, initializes the RL actor with pre-trained NNMPC weights. The second, RLMPC, uses RL to generate corrective residuals for NNMPC outputs. We introduce a downsampling method reducing NNMPC input dimensions while maintaining performance. Evaluated on a rotary inverted pendulum, both architectures demonstrate runtime reductions exceeding 99% compared to traditional MPC while improving tracking performance under model uncertainties, with RL+MPC achieving 11-40% cost reduction depending on reference amplitude.

Authors:Shradha Bavalatti, Yash Kangralkar, Santosh Pattar, Veena P Badiger
Title: Adaptive Cruise Control in Autonomous Vehicles: Challenges, Gaps, Comprehensive Review, and, Future Directions
Abstract:
The development of Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) has redefined the way of transportation by eliminating the need for human intervention in driving. This revolution is fueled by rapid advancements in adaptive cruise control (ACC), which make AVs capable of interpreting their surroundings and responding intelligently. While AVs offer significant advantages, such as enhanced safety and improved traffic efficiency, they also face several challenges that need to be addressed. Existing survey papers often lack a comprehensive analysis of these challenges and their potential solutions. Our paper stands out by meticulously identifying these gaps in current ACC research and offering impactful future directions to guide researchers in designing next-generation ACC systems. Our survey provides a detailed and systematic review, addressing the limitations of previous studies and proposing innovative approaches to achieve sustainable and fault-resilient urban transportation.

Authors:Juraj Lieskovský, Hijiri Akahane, Aoto Osawa, Jaroslav Bušek, Ikuo Mizuuchi, Tomáš Vyhlídal
Title: Single-Rod Brachiation Robot: Mechatronic Control Design and Validation of Prejump Phases
Abstract:
A complete mechatronic design of a minimal configuration brachiation robot is presented. The robot consists of a single rigid rod with gripper mechanisms attached to both ends. The grippers are used to hang the robot on a horizontal bar on which it swings or rotates. The motion is imposed by repositioning the robot's center of mass, which is performed using a crank-slide mechanism. Based on a non-linear model, an optimal control strategy is proposed, for repositioning the center of mass in a bang-bang manner. Consequently, utilizing the concept of input-output linearization, a continuous control strategy is proposed that takes into account the limited torque of the crank-slide mechanism and its geometry. An increased attention is paid to energy accumulation towards the subsequent jump stage of the brachiation. These two strategies are validated and compared in simulations. The continuous control strategy is then also implemented within a low-cost STM32-based control system, and both the swing and rotation stages of the brachiation motion are experimentally validated.

Authors:Austin J. Lin, Jacques A. de Chalendar, Johanna L. Mathieu
Title: Incomplete Air Mixing Reduces the Efficiency of Commercial Buildings Behaving as Virtual Batteries
Abstract:
Commercial building Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) systems can provide flexibility to the electricity grid. Some researchers have found it convenient to model HVAC systems as virtual batteries. These models also better align with models used by grid planners and operators. However, experiments have shown that HVAC load shifting can be inefficient, and virtual battery models do not capture this inefficiency well. While the models typically use the average room temperature as the system's ``state of charge," they do not capture other factors that affect HVAC power/energy such as airflow and mixing. Here, we develop a new analytical building model to explore how incomplete mixing of supply air into a conditioned space leads to inefficiency in a virtual battery capturing the dynamics of HVAC fan power load shifting. The model qualitatively matches experimental results better than previous models, and shows that, as mixing becomes worse, the virtual battery becomes less efficient. Unfortunately, air mixing is unmeasured/unmeasurable. However, we show that, by closing the loop around measurements of fan power, we can improve the virtual battery's performance without the need for air mixing measurements. For example, in one case, we show a roundtrip efficiency improvement from 0.75 to 0.99.

Authors:Gabriel Diaz, Lucky Li, Wenhao Zhang
Title: Global Convergence of Policy Gradient for Entropy Regularized Linear-Quadratic Control with multiplicative noise
Abstract:
Reinforcement Learning (RL) has emerged as a powerful framework for sequential decision-making in dynamic environments, particularly when system parameters are unknown. This paper investigates RL-based control for entropy-regularized Linear Quadratic control (LQC) problems with multiplicative noises over an infinite time horizon. First, we adapt the Regularized Policy Gradient (RPG) algorithm to stochastic optimal control settings, proving that despite the non-convexity of the problem, RPG converges globally under conditions of gradient domination and near-smoothness. Second, based on zero-order optimization approach, we introduce a novel model free RL algorithm: Sample-Based Regularized Policy Gradient (SB-RPG). SB-RPG operates without knowledge of system parameters yet still retains strong theoretical guarantees of global convergence. Our model leverages entropy regularization to accelerate convergence and address the exploration versus exploitation trade-off inherent in RL. Numerical simulations validate the theoretical results and demonstrate the efficacy of SB-RPG in unknown-parameters environments.

Authors:Bassel Diban, Giovanni Mazzanti
Title: Life Estimation of HVDC Cable Insulation under Load Cycles: from Macroscopic to Microscopic Charge Conduction Modelling
Abstract:
This paper goes one step forward in the life estimation of HVDC cable insulation under load cycles by introducing for the first time a microscopic model of charge conduction and transport i.e., Bipolar Charge Transport BCT model for electric field calculation inside the insulation thickness. The paper firstly includes the development and the validation of BCT model with that found in literature. Then, the parameters of the developed BCT model are optimized using Pulsed Electro-Acoustic PEA space charge measurements. Followed by the integration of the developed, validated and optimized model into the electric field calculation for life estimation of a 500 kV DC-XLPE insulated cable subjected to Type Test load cycles according to Cigre Techical Brochure 852. The developed microscopic model is compared to the macroscopic models already found in the literature. The microscopic model shows a comparable electric field inversion similarly to macroscopic models. However, the behavior of the microscopic model is noticed to be different under heating and cooling load cycles. In hot cable, the maximum electric field stabilizes at different amplitude and position inside the insulation thickness in both models. This investigation has been carried out in the framework of the HEU-NEWGEN research project.

Authors:Víctor Costa da Silva Campos, Mariella Maia Quadros, Luciano Frezzato, Leonardo Mozelli, Anh-Tu Nguyen
Title: Guaranteed Time Control using Linear Matrix Inequalities
Abstract:
This paper presents a synthesis approach aiming to guarantee a minimum upper-bound for the time taken to reach a target set of non-zero measure that encompasses the origin, while taking into account uncertainties and input and state constraints. This approach is based on a harmonic transformation of the Lyapunov function and a novel piecewise quadratic representation of this transformed Lyapunov function over a simplicial partition of the state space. The problem is solved in a policy iteration fashion, whereas the evaluation and improvement steps are formulated as linear matrix inequalities employing the structural relaxation approach. Though initially formulated for uncertain polytopic systems, extensions to piecewise and nonlinear systems are discussed. Three examples illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in different scenarios.

Authors:Jose M. Campos-Salazar, Felipe Santander, Sebastian Larrain
Title: Dynamic Modeling and Control System Analysis for Continuous-Disc Filters in Pulp Mill Operations
Abstract:
Vacuum disc filtration is critical in pulp mills for white liquor clarification and pulp washing, involving tightly coupled dynamics between rotational speed, vacuum pressure, slurry concentration, filtrate flow, and cake thickness. These nonlinear interactions are often regulated using empirical methods, lacking formal modeling and control. This article develops a dynamic, multivariable model of a continuous-disc filter (CD-filter) system based on first principles, simplified to a single representative disc for tractability. A linearized state-space model supports the design of two control strategies: a decentralized PI-based scheme and a centralized model predictive control (MPC). MATLAB-Simulink simulations reveal that MPC outperforms PI in tracking accuracy, overshoot reduction, and disturbance rejection. A 3D efficiency surface illustrates the importance of coordinating inlet flow and solids concentration. Results highlight the need for advanced multivariable control in optimizing CD-filter performance.

Authors:Benjamin Catalano, Keith Paarporn, Sebin Gracy
Title: Game-theoretic Social Distancing in Competitive Bi-Virus SIS Epidemics
Abstract:
Numerous elements drive the spread of infectious diseases in complex real-world networks. Of particular interest is social behaviors that evolve in tandem with the spread of disease. Moreover, recent studies highlight the importance of understanding how multiple strains spread simultaneously through a population (e.g. Delta and Omicron variants of SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, we propose a bi-virus SIS epidemic model coupled with a game-theoretic social distancing behavior model. The behaviors are governed by replicator equations from evolutionary game theory. The prevalence of each strain impacts the choice of an individual to social distance, and, in turn, their behavior affects the spread of each virus in the SIS model. Our analysis identifies equilibria of the system and their local stability properties, which reveal several isolated fixed points with varying levels of social distancing. We find that endemic co-existence is possible only when the reproduction numbers of both strains are equal. Assuming the reproduction number for each virus is the same, we identify suitable parameter regimes that give rise to lines of coexistence equilibria. Moreover, we also identify conditions for local exponential stability of said lines of equilibria. We illustrate our findings with several numerical simulations.

Authors:Yuling Li, Chenxi Li, Kun Liu, Jie Dong, Rolf Johansson
Title: Event-triggered control and communication for single-master multi-slave teleoperation systems with Try-Once-Discard protocol
Abstract:
Single-master multi-slave (SMMS) teleoperation systems can perform multiple tasks remotely in a shorter time, cover large-scale areas, and adapt more easily to single-point failures, thereby effectively encompassing a broader range of applications. As the number of slave manipulators sharing a communication network increases, the limitation of communication bandwidth becomes critical. To alleviate bandwidth usage, the Try-Once-Discard (TOD) scheduling protocol and event-triggered mechanisms are often employed separately. In this paper, we combine both strategies to optimize network bandwidth and energy consumption for SMMS teleoperation systems. Specifically, we propose event-triggered control and communication schemes for a class of SMMS teleoperation systems using the TOD scheduling protocol. Considering dynamic uncertainties, the unavailability of relative velocities, and time-varying delays, we develop adaptive controllers with virtual observers based on event-triggered schemes to achieve master-slave synchronization. Stability criteria for the SMMS teleoperation systems under these event-triggered control and communication schemes are established, demonstrating that Zeno behavior is excluded. Finally, experiments are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Authors:Anjali Jha, Wanqing Chen, Maxim Eckmann, Ian Stockwell, Jianwu Wang, Kai Sun
Title: LLM-Enhanced, Data-Driven Personalized and Equitable Clinician Scheduling: A Predict-then-Optimize Approach
Abstract:
Clinician scheduling remains a persistent challenge due to limited clinical resources and fluctuating demands. This complexity is especially acute in large academic anesthesiology departments as physicians balance responsibilities across multiple clinical sites with conflicting priorities. Further, scheduling must account for individual clinical and lifestyle preferences to ensure job satisfaction and well-being. Traditional approaches, often based on statistical or rule-based optimization models, rely on structured data and explicit domain knowledge. However, these methods often overlook unstructured information, e.g., free-text notes from routinely administered clinician well-being surveys and scheduling platforms. These notes may reveal implicit and underutilized clinical resources. Neglecting such information can lead to misaligned schedules, increased burnout, overlooked staffing flexibility, and suboptimal utilization of available resources. To address this gap, we propose a predict-then-optimize framework that integrates classification-based clinician availability predictions with a mixed-integer programming schedule optimization model. Large language models (LLMs) are employed to extract actionable preferences and implicit constraints from unstructured schedule notes, enhancing the reliability of availability predictions. These predictions then inform the schedule optimization considering four objectives: first, ensuring clinical full-time equivalent compliance, second, reducing workload imbalances by enforcing equitable proportions of shift types, third, maximizing clinician availability for assigned shifts, and fourth, schedule consistency. By combining the interpretive power of LLMs with the rigor of mathematical optimization, our framework provides a robust, data-driven solution that enhances operational efficiency while supporting equity and clinician well-being.

Authors:Wendu Zhang, Heng Wang, Shuangyi Wang, Yuanrui Huang
Title: Dual-Mode Magnetic Continuum Robot for Targeted Drug Delivery
Abstract:
Magnetic continuum robots (MCRs) enable minimally invasive navigation through tortuous anatomical channels, yet axially magnetized designs have largely been limited to bending-only motion. To expand deformation capabilities, this paper presents a simple assembly that embeds permanent magnets radially within the catheter wall, allowing a single externally steered permanent magnet to independently induce either bending or torsion. A physics-based formulation together with finite-element analysis establishes the actuation principles, and benchtop experiments validate decoupled mode control under practical fields. Building on this, a dual-layer blockage mechanism consisting of outer grooves and inner plates leverages torsional shear to achieve on-demand drug release. Finally, an in-phantom intervention experiment demonstrates end-to-end operation: lumen following by bending for target approach, followed by twist-activated release at the site. The resulting compact, cable-free platform combines versatile deformation with precise payload delivery, indicating strong potential for next-generation, site-specific therapies.

Authors:M. Hossein Abedinzadeh, Emrah Akyol
Title: Stability and Robustness of Time-Varying Opinion Dynamics: A Graph-Theoretic Approach
Abstract:
We study the stability of opinion dynamics in the time-varying Friedkin-Johnsen (TVFJ) model, which captures both persistent individual biases and adaptive social influence. We introduce two temporal structures, defected temporal graphs (DTGs) and weakly defected temporal graphs (WDTGs), that serve as graph-theoretic certificates linking stubborn influence and temporal connectivity to contraction of the state-transition matrix. Using these tools, we prove asymptotic stability of TVFJ dynamics under infinitely recurring DTGs, exponential stability in semi-periodic defected networks, and asymptotic stability of a trust-based extension under the weaker condition of recurring WDTGs. We also establish boundedness of the omega-limit set, showing that long-run opinions remain within the convex hull of innate beliefs, and characterize the limit set for periodically switching systems via a p-LTI decomposition with the tight bound that the size of the omega-limit set is at most p. Finally, we show that exponential stability persists under bounded perturbations, ensuring robustness in noisy or imperfect networks. These results unify algebraic contraction tests with interpretable graph-based reasoning, providing scalable and resilient tools for analyzing opinion formation in evolving social and human-AI networks.

Authors:Eman Badr, Abdullah Al Maruf
Title: A Scalable Design Approach to Resilient Architectures for Interconnected Cyber-Physical Systems: Safety Guarantees under Multiple Attacks
Abstract:
Complex, interconnected cyber-physical systems (CPS) are increasingly prevalent in domains such as power systems. Cyber-resilient architectures have been proposed to recover compromised cyber components of CPS. Recent works have studied tuning the recovery times of such architectures to guarantee safety in single-system settings. Extending these designs to interconnected CPS is more challenging, since solutions must account for attacks on multiple subsystems that can occur in any order and potentially infinite possible temporal overlap. This paper aims to address the aforementioned challenge by developing a scalable framework to assign resilient architectures and to inform the tuning of their recovery times. Our approach introduces a scalar index that quantifies the impact of each subsystem on safety under compromised input. These indices aggregate linearly across subsystems, enabling scalable analysis under arbitrary attack orderings and temporal overlaps. We establish a linear inequality relating each subsystem's index and recovery time that guarantees safety and guides resilient architecture assignment. We also propose a segmentation-based approach to strengthen the previously derived conditions. We then present algorithms to compute the proposed indices and to find a cost-optimal architecture assignment with a safety guarantee. We validate the framework through a case study on temperature regulation in interconnected rooms under different attack scenarios.

Authors:Xinyuan Liang, Longhao Qian, Yi Lok Lo, Hugh H. T. Liu
Title: A Robust Neural Control Design for Multi-drone Slung Payload Manipulation with Control Contraction Metrics
Abstract:
This paper presents a robust neural control design for a three-drone slung payload transportation system to track a reference path under external disturbances. The control contraction metric (CCM) is used to generate a neural exponentially converging baseline controller while complying with control input saturation constraints. We also incorporate the uncertainty and disturbance estimator (UDE) technique to dynamically compensate for persistent disturbances. The proposed framework yields a modularized design, allowing the controller and estimator to perform their individual tasks and achieve a zero trajectory tracking error if the disturbances meet certain assumptions. The stability and robustness of the complete system, incorporating both the CCM controller and the UDE compensator, are presented. Simulations are conducted to demonstrate the capability of the proposed control design to follow complicated trajectories under external disturbances.

Authors:Shriram Karpoora Sundara Pandian, Ali Baheri
Title: Density-Ratio Weighted Behavioral Cloning: Learning Control Policies from Corrupted Datasets
Abstract:
Offline reinforcement learning (RL) enables policy optimization from fixed datasets, making it suitable for safety-critical applications where online exploration is infeasible. However, these datasets are often contaminated by adversarial poisoning, system errors, or low-quality samples, leading to degraded policy performance in standard behavioral cloning (BC) and offline RL methods. This paper introduces Density-Ratio Weighted Behavioral Cloning (Weighted BC), a robust imitation learning approach that uses a small, verified clean reference set to estimate trajectory-level density ratios via a binary discriminator. These ratios are clipped and used as weights in the BC objective to prioritize clean expert behavior while down-weighting or discarding corrupted data, without requiring knowledge of the contamination mechanism. We establish theoretical guarantees showing convergence to the clean expert policy with finite-sample bounds that are independent of the contamination rate. A comprehensive evaluation framework is established, which incorporates various poisoning protocols (reward, state, transition, and action) on continuous control benchmarks. Experiments demonstrate that Weighted BC maintains near-optimal performance even at high contamination ratios outperforming baselines such as traditional BC, batch-constrained Q-learning (BCQ) and behavior regularized actor-critic (BRAC).

Authors:Shiva Shakeri, Mehran Mesbahi
Title: Robust Data-Driven Control for Nonlinear Systems Using their Digital Twins and Quadratic Funnels
Abstract:
This paper examines a robust data-driven approach for the safe deployment of systems with nonlinear dynamics using their imperfect digital twins. Our contribution involves proposing a method that fuses the digital twin's nominal trajectory with online, data-driven uncertainty quantification to synthesize robust tracking controllers. Specifically, we derive data-driven bounds to capture the deviations of the actual system from its prescribed nominal trajectory informed via its digital twin. Subsequently, the dataset is used in the synthesis of quadratic funnels -- robust positive invariant tubes around the nominal trajectory -- via linear matrix inequalities built on the time-series data. The resulting controller guarantees constraint satisfaction while adapting to the true system behavior through a segmented learning strategy, where each segment's controller is synthesized using uncertainty information from the previous segment. This work establishes a systematic framework for obtaining safety certificates in learning-based control of nonlinear systems with imperfect models.

Authors:Chuan He, Shuyi Ren, Jingwei Mao, Erik G. Larsson
Title: DeMuon: A Decentralized Muon for Matrix Optimization over Graphs
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose DeMuon, a method for decentralized matrix optimization over a given communication topology. DeMuon incorporates matrix orthogonalization via Newton-Schulz iterations-a technique inherited from its centralized predecessor, Muon-and employs gradient tracking to mitigate heterogeneity among local functions. Under heavy-tailed noise conditions and additional mild assumptions, we establish the iteration complexity of DeMuon for reaching an approximate stochastic stationary point. This complexity result matches the best-known complexity bounds of centralized algorithms in terms of dependence on the target tolerance. To the best of our knowledge, DeMuon is the first direct extension of Muon to decentralized optimization over graphs with provable complexity guarantees. We conduct preliminary numerical experiments on decentralized transformer pretraining over graphs with varying degrees of connectivity. Our numerical results demonstrate a clear margin of improvement of DeMuon over other popular decentralized algorithms across different network topologies.

Authors:Muhammad Faheemur Rahman, Wayne Burleson
Title: Integrated Security Mechanisms for Weight Protection in Memristive Crossbar Arrays
Abstract:
Memristive crossbar arrays enable in-memory computing by performing parallel analog computations directly within memory, making them well-suited for machine learning, neural networks, and neuromorphic systems. However, despite their advantages, non-volatile memristors are vulnerable to security threats (such as adversarial extraction of stored weights when the hardware is compromised. Protecting these weights is essential since they represent valuable intellectual property resulting from lengthy and costly training processes using large, often proprietary, datasets. As a solution we propose two security mechanisms: Keyed Permutor and Watermark Protection Columns; where both safeguard critical weights and establish verifiable ownership (even in cases of data leakage). Our approach integrates efficiently with existing memristive crossbar architectures without significant design modifications. Simulations across 45nm, 22nm, and 7nm CMOS nodes, using a realistic interconnect model and a large RF dataset, show that both mechanisms offer robust protection with under 10% overhead in area, delay and power. We also present initial experiments employing the widely known MNIST dataset; further highlighting the feasibility of securing memristive in-memory computing systems with minimal performance trade-offs.

Authors:Rohan Vitthal Thorat, Juhi Singh, Rajdip Nayek
Title: Safe Reinforcement Learning-Based Vibration Control: Overcoming Training Risks with LQR Guidance
Abstract:
Structural vibrations induced by external excitations pose significant risks, including safety hazards for occupants, structural damage, and increased maintenance costs. While conventional model-based control strategies, such as Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR), effectively mitigate vibrations, their reliance on accurate system models necessitates tedious system identification. This tedious system identification process can be avoided by using a model-free Reinforcement learning (RL) method. RL controllers derive their policies solely from observed structural behaviour, eliminating the requirement for an explicit structural model. For an RL controller to be truly model-free, its training must occur on the actual physical system rather than in simulation. However, during this training phase, the RL controller lacks prior knowledge and it exerts control force on the structure randomly, which can potentially harm the structure. To mitigate this risk, we propose guiding the RL controller using a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controller. While LQR control typically relies on an accurate structural model for optimal performance, our observations indicate that even an LQR controller based on an entirely incorrect model outperforms the uncontrolled scenario. Motivated by this finding, we introduce a hybrid control framework that integrates both LQR and RL controllers. In this approach, the LQR policy is derived from a randomly selected model and its parameters. As this LQR policy does not require knowledge of the true or an approximate structural model the overall framework remains model-free. This hybrid approach eliminates dependency on explicit system models while minimizing exploration risks inherent in naive RL implementations. As per our knowledge, this is the first study to address the critical training safety challenge of RL-based vibration control and provide a validated solution.

Authors:Pengyu Ren, Wei Sun, Yifan Wang, Gareth Harrison
Title: Grid Frequency Stability Support Potential of Data Center: A Quantitative Assessment of Flexibility
Abstract:
The rapid expansion of data center infrastructure is reshaping power system dynamics by significantly increasing electricity demand while also offering potential for fast and controllable flexibility. To ensure reliable operation under such conditions, the frequency secured unit commitment problem must be solved with enhanced modeling of demand side frequency response. In this work, we propose a data-driven linearization framework based on decision tree based constraint learning to embed nonlinear nadir frequency constraints into mixed-integer linear programming. This approach enables tractable optimization of generation schedules and fast frequency response from data centers. Through case studies on both a benchmark system and a 2030 future scenario with higher DC penetration, we demonstrate that increasing the proportion of flexible DC load consistently improves system cost efficiency and supports renewable integration. However, this benefit exhibits diminishing marginal returns, motivating the introduction of the Marginal Flexibility Value metric to quantify the economic value of additional flexibility. The results highlight that as DCs become a larger share of system load, their active participation in frequency response will be increasingly indispensable for maintaining both economic and secure system operations.

Authors:Miha Ožbot, Igor Škrjanc, Vitomir Štruc
Title: A Neuro-Fuzzy System for Interpretable Long-Term Stock Market Forecasting
Abstract:
In the complex landscape of multivariate time series forecasting, achieving both accuracy and interpretability remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces the Fuzzy Transformer (Fuzzformer), a novel recurrent neural network architecture combined with multi-head self-attention and fuzzy inference systems to analyze multivariate stock market data and conduct long-term time series forecasting. The method leverages LSTM networks and temporal attention to condense multivariate data into interpretable features suitable for fuzzy inference systems. The resulting architecture offers comparable forecasting performance to conventional models such as ARIMA and LSTM while providing meaningful information flow within the network. The method was examined on the real world stock market index S\&P500. Initial results show potential for interpretable forecasting and identify current performance tradeoffs, suggesting practical application in understanding and forecasting stock market behavior.

Authors:Pouya Firouzmakan, Suprakash Datta
Title: Enhancing Urban VANETs Stability: A Single-Hop Clustering Strategy in Metropolitan Environments
Abstract:
Vehicular Ad-hoc Networks (VANETs), a subclass of Mobile Ad-hoc Networks (MANETs), are expected to play a crucial role in the future of intelligent transportation systems (ITSs). A key objective of VANETs is to enable efficient and cost-effective communication among vehicles while supporting a large number of network participants and minimizing infrastructure dependency. However, the highly dynamic nature of vehicular networks poses significant challenges to their deployment. Clustering techniques are employed to address these challenges, with a strong emphasis on stability, as they directly influence the routing process and enhance the quality of service (QoS). This paper explores the feasibility of reducing reliance on roadside units (RSUs) in metropolitan areas while improving cluster stability. We propose an efficient clustering algorithm tailored for urban environments, leveraging existing metropolitan infrastructure to compensate for the absence of RSUs. Our approach designates public transportation buses as primary cluster heads (CHs), minimizing reliance on additional infrastructure, while stand-alone vehicles (SAVs) dynamically select additional CHs. Through comprehensive case studies and comparative analysis with existing algorithms, our results demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed method across different transmission ranges (TRs).

Authors:Zamir Martinez, Daniel Zelazo
Title: Formation Control via Rotation Symmetry Constraints
Abstract:
We present a distributed formation control strategy for multi-agent systems based only on rotation symmetry constraints. We propose a potential function that enforces inter-agent \textbf{rotational} symmetries, with its gradient defining the control law driving the agents toward a desired symmetric and planar configuration. We show that only $(n-1)$ edges, the minimal connectivity requirement, are sufficient to implement the control strategy, where $n$ is the number of agents. We further augment the design to address the \textbf{maneuvering problem}, enabling the formation to undergo coordinated translations, rotations, and scalings along a predefined virtual trajectory. Numerical simulations demonstrate the effectiveness and flexibility of the proposed method.

Authors:Islam I. Abdulaal, Abdelrahman W. A. Elsayed, Omar A. M. Abdelraouf
Title: Terahertz Quasi-BIC Metasurfaces for Ultra-Sensitive Biosensing and High-Speed Wireless Communications
Abstract:
Bound states in the continuum (BICs) have emerged as a revolutionary paradigm in terahertz (THz) photonics, enabling metasurfaces with theoretically infinite quality factors (Q-factors) and unprecedented light-matter control. This review synthesizes a decade of progress in THz-BIC research, tracing the evolution from foundational symmetry-protected designs to application-optimized quasi-BICs. We dissect multipolar origins, topological robustness, and symmetry-breaking strategies underpinning high-Q resonances, alongside computational frameworks for predictive design. The timeline highlights key milestones: early dielectric metasurfaces with high Q-factor, flexible biosensors achieving microgram detection limits, and Kerker-conditioned gas spectrometers reducing path lengths by few orders of magnitude. Emerging frontiers in reconfigurable MEMS-BICs and chiral quantum photonics are critically evaluated. Despite breakthroughs, scalability barriers persist for 6G integration, including nano-fabrication tolerances, material loss trade-offs, and dynamic control gaps. This review establishes BIC metasurfaces as pivotal enablers of compact, high-efficiency THz technologies poised to bridge the gap between fundamental discovery and commercialization of THz-based 6G communication and MedTech.

Authors:Aleksandra Knapińska, Marija Furdek
Title: Explainable and Resilient ML-Based Physical-Layer Attack Detectors
Abstract:
Detection of emerging attacks on network infrastructure is a critical aspect of security management. To meet the growing scale and complexity of modern threats, machine learning (ML) techniques offer valuable tools for automating the detection of malicious activities. However, as these techniques become more complex, their internal operations grow increasingly opaque. In this context, we address the need for explainable physical-layer attack detection methods. First, we analyze the inner workings of various classifiers trained to alert about physical layer intrusions, examining how the influence of different monitored parameters varies depending on the type of attack being detected. This analysis not only improves the interpretability of the models but also suggests ways to enhance their design for increased speed. In the second part, we evaluate the detectors' resilience to malicious parameter noising. The results highlight a key trade-off between model speed and resilience. This work serves as a design guideline for developing fast and robust detectors trained on available network monitoring data.

Authors:Ehimare Okoyomon, Arbel Yaniv, Christoph Goebel
Title: Physics-Informed Inductive Biases for Voltage Prediction in Distribution Grids
Abstract:
Voltage prediction in distribution grids is a critical yet difficult task for maintaining power system stability. Machine learning approaches, particularly Graph Neural Networks (GNNs), offer significant speedups but suffer from poor generalization when trained on limited or incomplete data. In this work, we systematically investigate the role of inductive biases in improving a model's ability to reliably learn power flow. Specifically, we evaluate three physics-informed strategies: (i) power-flow-constrained loss functions, (ii) complex-valued neural networks, and (iii) residual-based task reformulation. Using the ENGAGE dataset, which spans multiple low- and medium-voltage grid configurations, we conduct controlled experiments to isolate the effect of each inductive bias and assess both standard predictive performance and out-of-distribution generalization. Our study provides practical insights into which model assumptions most effectively guide learning for reliable and efficient voltage prediction in modern distribution networks.

Authors:Ilyas Bennia, Lotfi Baghli, Ehsan Jamshidpour, Abdelkader Mechernene, Jean-Philippe Martin, Driss Yousfi
Title: Real-Time Power electronics Control and Monitoring with TI F28379D DSC and GUI Composer
Abstract:
This paper details the implementation and experimental validation of a real-time control system for a three-phase induction motor using the Texas Instruments TMS320F28379D microcontroller. The system integrates pulse-width modulation (PWM) generation, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC), digital-to-analog conversion (DAC), and quadrature encoder feedback to facilitate precise control under various strategies. A current sensing solution based on the AMC1301 isolation amplifier and shunt resistor ensures accurate and safe current measurement for feedback loops. Two control algorithms, V/f and Field-Oriented Control (FOC) are implemented and tested. Real-time parameter tuning and data visualization are achieved using GUI Composer, enabling efficient system debugging and interaction. Experimental results demonstrate smooth speed reversal, fast dynamic response, and stable performance under both step and multi-step inputs. While GUI Composer effectively supports general monitoring and control, limitations in signal bandwidth are noted compared to professional-grade platforms. The results confirm the robustness and effectiveness of the implemented control strategies for high-performance induction motor applications.

Authors:Vinish Yogesh, Bert-Jan van Beijnum, Jaap H. Buurke, Chris T. M. Baten
Title: Position estimation based on UWB swarm optimization and comparison against traditional trilateration
Abstract:
Ultra-wideband (UWB) is a promising technology for indoor position estimation for various localization applications of object swarms, such as in 3D analysis of human movement with multiple on-body sensors or a swarm of drones in an indoor environment. However, most UWB-only position estimation methods are based on a star topology, where the position of a mobile node is estimated using distances from several fixed anchors. These approaches ignore the valuable inter-node distance estimates, possible in a fully-connected 'Swarm' topology, which could provide more redundancy in the set of available distance estimates used for the position estimation. This would improve the accuracy and consistency of the position estimates. Also, published studies do not analyze how input measurement errors affect the final position estimates, which makes it difficult to assess the reliability under varying conditions. Therefore, this study first proposes a UWB swarm optimization-based position estimation method that utilizes all available internode distances to enhance accuracy and compare against the traditional trilateration method that utilizes the star configuration. All validations were done with synthetic UWB data, to enable testing all input error situations. The comprehensive error sensitivity analysis was conducted to evaluate its robustness under varying noise conditions. The proposed method consistently outperformed trilateration, with position estimation error around 5.7 cm for realistic UWB distance input estimates, while for higher noise conditions, the proposed method had errors around 6 cm lower than the trilateration method, which had position estimation errors around 19 cm. This study demonstrates the general potential of the Swarm optimization-based method for position estimation as a more accurate and consistent alternative to traditional star-based trilateration methods.

Authors:Maryam Babazadeh, Naim Bajcinca
Title: Model-Free Dynamic Consensus in Multi-Agent Systems: A Q-Function Perspective
Abstract:
This paper presents a new method for achieving dynamic consensus in linear discrete-time homogeneous multi-agent systems (MAS) with marginally stable or unstable dynamics. The guarantee of consensus in this setting involves a set of constraints based on the graph's spectral properties, complicating the design of the coupling gains. This challenge intensifies for large-scale systems with diverse graph Laplacian spectra. The proposed approach reformulates the dynamic consensus problem with a prescribed convergence rate using a state-action value function framework inspired by optimal control theory. Specifically, a synthetic linear quadratic regulation (LQR) formulation is introduced to encode the consensus objective, enabling its translation into a convex semidefinite programming (SDP) problem. The resulting SDP is applicable in both model-based and model-free settings for jointly designing the local feedback and coupling gains. To handle the inherent non-convex feasibility conditions, a convex-concave decomposition strategy is employed. Adaptation of the method in a completely model-free set-up eliminates the need for system identification or knowledge of the agents' dynamics. Instead, it relies on input-state data collection and offers an entirely data-driven equivalent SDP formulation. Finally, a new algorithm balancing feasibility, convergence rate, robustness, and energy efficiency, is established to provide design flexibility. Numerical simulations validate the method's effectiveness in various scenarios.

Authors:Afsaneh Mollasalehi, Armin Farhadi
Title: Solar and Wind Power Forecasting: A Comparative Review of LSTM, Random Forest, and XGBoost Models
Abstract:
Rising global energy demand from population growth raises concerns about the sustainability of fossil fuels. Consequently, the energy sector has increasingly transitioned to renewable energy sources like solar and wind, which are naturally abundant. However, the periodic and unpredictable nature of these resources pose significant challenges for power system reliability. Accurate forecasting is essential to ensure grid stability and optimize energy management. But due to the high variability in weather conditions which directly affected wind and solar energy, achieving precise predictions remains difficult. Advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly in Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL), offer promising solutions to improve forecasting accuracy. The study highlights three widely used algorithms for solar and wind energy prediction: Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Random Forest (RF), and Extreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost). These models are capable of learning complex patterns from historical and environmental data, enabling more accurate forecasts and contributing to the enhanced efficiency and reliability of renewable energy systems. This review aims to provide an overview on RF, XGBoost, and LSTM by conducting a comparative analysis across three essential criteria: research prevalence, model complexity, and computational execution time.

Authors:Raheel Ali, Rayid Ali
Title: Toward a Robust Biomimetic Hybrid Battery: Bridging Biology, Electrochemistry and Data-Driven Control
Abstract:
Electric vehicles and renewable energy systems need batteries that charge quickly, last many years and still store a lot of energy, but current chemistries struggle to deliver all three. Inspired by electric fish that deliver bursts of current and birds that sleep with half their brains, we propose a hybrid battery concept called SwiftPulse. It combines sodium-ion cells that provide energy with niobium-oxide cells that accept high-power pulses. A pulse-based charger and a battery-management strategy rotate clusters of cells into rest so they can recover. We derive simple models of energy density, diffusion and capacity fade to show that a pack made mostly of sodium-ion modules with a smaller fraction of niobium-oxide modules could exceed 175 Wh per kg, endure more than ten thousand charge-discharge cycles and recharge to eighty percent in less than ten minutes. Simulations suggest that pulsed charging reduces ion buildup at the surface and slows degradation. We outline a roadmap for cell-level and module-level experiments and suggest integrating machine learning to adapt pulse parameters and rest scheduling. By blending ideas from biology, electrochemistry and data-driven control, this work points toward batteries that are safer, faster to charge and longer lasting.

Authors:Arjun Sadananda, Ravi Banavar, Kavi Arya
Title: Robust Orientation Estimation with TRIAD-aided Manifold EKF
Abstract:
The manifold extended Kalman filter (Manifold EKF) has found extensive application for attitude determination. Magnetometers employed as sensors for such attitude determination are easily prone to disturbances by their sensitivity to calibration and external magnetic fields. The TRIAD (Tri-Axial Attitude Determination) algorithm is well known as a sub-optimal attitude estimator. In this article, we incorporate this sub-optimal feature of the TRIAD in mitigating the influence of the magnetometer reading in the pitch and roll axis determination in the Manifold EKF algorithm. We substantiate our results with experiments.

Authors:Yunpeng Xiao, Hui Guo, Wenqi Wu, Xiuli Wang, Xifan Wang
Title: Incorporating flexibility and resilience demand into capacity market considering the guidance on generation investment
Abstract:
The capacity market provides economic guidance for generation investment and ensures the adequacy of generation capability for power systems. With the rapidly increasing proportion of renewable energy, the adequacy of flexibility and resilience becomes more crucial for the secure operation of power systems. In this context, this paper incorporates the flexibility and resilience demand into the capacity market by formulating the capacity demand curves for ramping capability, inertia and recovery capabilities besides the generation capability. The guidance on generation investment of the capacity market is also taken into account by solving the generation investment equilibrium among generation companies with a Nash Cournot model employing an equivalent quadratic programming formulation. The overall problem is established as a trilevel game and an iterative algorithm is devised to formulate the capacity demand curves in the upper level based on Genco's investment acquired from the middle and lower levels. The case study further demonstrates that to incorporate flexibility and resilience demand into the capacity market could stimulate proper generation investment and ensure the adequacy of flexibility and resilience in power systems.

Authors:Rounak Bhattacharya, Vrithik R. Guthikonda, Ashwin P. Dani
Title: Safe Task Space Synchronization with Time-Delayed Information
Abstract:
In this paper, an adaptive controller is designed for the synchronization of the trajectory of a robot with unknown kinematics and dynamics to that of the current human trajectory in the task space using the delayed human trajectory information. The communication time delay may be a result of various factors that arise in human-robot collaboration tasks, such as sensor processing or fusion to estimate trajectory/intent, network delays, or computational limitations. The developed adaptive controller uses Barrier Lyapunov Function (BLF) to constrain the Cartesian coordinates of the robot to ensure safety, an ICL-based adaptive law to account for the unknown kinematics, and a gradient-based adaptive law to estimate unknown dynamics. Barrier Lyapunov-Krasovskii (LK) functionals are used for the stability analysis to show that the synchronization and parameter estimation errors remain semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB). The simulation results based on a human-robot synchronization scenario with time delay are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the designed synchronization controller with safety constraints.

Authors:Yi Hu, Zheyuan Cheng
Title: Generative Modeling and Decision Fusion for Unknown Event Detection and Classification Using Synchrophasor Data
Abstract:
Reliable detection and classification of power system events are critical for maintaining grid stability and situational awareness. Existing approaches often depend on limited labeled datasets, which restricts their ability to generalize to rare or unseen disturbances. This paper proposes a novel framework that integrates generative modeling, sliding-window temporal processing, and decision fusion to achieve robust event detection and classification using synchrophasor data. A variational autoencoder-generative adversarial network is employed to model normal operating conditions, where both reconstruction error and discriminator error are extracted as anomaly indicators. Two complementary decision strategies are developed: a threshold-based rule for computational efficiency and a convex hull-based method for robustness under complex error distributions. These features are organized into spatiotemporal detection and classification matrices through a sliding-window mechanism, and an identification and decision fusion stage integrates the outputs across PMUs. This design enables the framework to identify known events while systematically classifying previously unseen disturbances into a new category, addressing a key limitation of supervised classifiers. Experimental results demonstrate state-of-the-art accuracy, surpassing machine learning, deep learning, and envelope-based baselines. The ability to recognize unknown events further highlights the adaptability and practical value of the proposed approach for wide-area event analysis in modern power systems.

Authors:Nizhum Rahman, Trachette L. Jackson
Title: A Hybrid Optimal Velocity Drag Model for Traffic Flow Dynamics
Abstract:
We develop a Hybrid Optimal Velocity-Drag (OVD) model that combines the behavioral structure of the classical Optimal Velocity Model (OVM) with a drag-based saturation law motivated by Newtonian mechanics. The model retains the OVM principle that desired speed depends on headway, but replaces the linear relaxation law with a formulation that enforces bounded accelerations and smooth convergence to equilibrium. After reviewing the OVM framework and its stability properties, we introduce the OVD dynamics and derive the dispersion relation from a linear stability analysis of uniform flow. This analysis shows that the OVD formulation preserves the instability mechanisms responsible for stop-and-go waves, while avoiding the unrealistic acceleration predictions of the classical OVM. We also illustrate the model using desired velocity functions of hyperbolic tangent type, a common choice in the OVM literature, and highlight applications to large-scale traffic simulation and empirical data studies. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the OVD model enforces bounded accelerations while preserving the nonlinear instabilities of the classical OVM, providing a physically grounded and interpretable foundation for advancing traffic flow research.

Authors:D. Roncagliolo, M. Gallo, D. Kaza, F. D'Agostino, A. Chiarelli, F. Silvestro
Title: A Preliminary Assessment of Shipboard Power System Architectures for LVDC Integration
Abstract:
The adoption of low-voltage direct current sections within grid architectures is emerging as a promising design option in the naval sector. This paper presents a preliminary comparative assessment of three different grid topologies, using an existing MVAC-LVAC shipboard power system as a reference: a conventional MVAC-LVAC radial distribution with an additional LVDC section, a full LVDC radial distribution and a zonal LVDC distribution. Each architecture includes typical elements such as synchronous generators, propulsion motors, energy storage system units, extra propulsive loads, and pulse power loads. The analysis exploits five key performance indicators: weight, volume, technology readiness level, average system interruption duration index, and pulsed power loads interruption index.

Authors:Ethan Fulcher, J. Diego Caporale, Yifeng Zhang, John Ruck, Feifei Qian
Title: Effect of Gait Design on Proprioceptive Sensing of Terrain Properties in a Quadrupedal Robot
Abstract:
In-situ robotic exploration is an important tool for advancing knowledge of geological processes that describe the Earth and other Planetary bodies. To inform and enhance operations for these roving laboratories, it is imperative to understand the terramechanical properties of their environments, especially for traversing on loose, deformable substrates. Recent research suggested that legged robots with direct-drive and low-gear ratio actuators can sensitively detect external forces, and therefore possess the potential to measure terrain properties with their legs during locomotion, providing unprecedented sampling speed and density while accessing terrains previously too risky to sample. This paper explores these ideas by investigating the impact of gait on proprioceptive terrain sensing accuracy, particularly comparing a sensing-oriented gait, Crawl N' Sense, with a locomotion-oriented gait, Trot-Walk. Each gait's ability to measure the strength and texture of deformable substrate is quantified as the robot locomotes over a laboratory transect consisting of a rigid surface, loose sand, and loose sand with synthetic surface crusts. Our results suggest that with both the sensing-oriented crawling gait and locomotion-oriented trot gait, the robot can measure a consistent difference in the strength (in terms of penetration resistance) between the low- and high-resistance substrates; however, the locomotion-oriented trot gait contains larger magnitude and variance in measurements. Furthermore, the slower crawl gait can detect brittle ruptures of the surface crusts with significantly higher accuracy than the faster trot gait. Our results offer new insights that inform legged robot "sensing during locomotion" gait design and planning for scouting the terrain and producing scientific measurements on other worlds to advance our understanding of their geology and formation.

Authors:Anirud Nandakumar, Chayan Banerjee, Lelitha Devi Vanajakshi
Title: Reinforcement Learning Based Traffic Signal Design to Minimize Queue Lengths
Abstract:
Efficient traffic signal control (TSC) is crucial for reducing congestion, travel delays, pollution, and for ensuring road safety. Traditional approaches, such as fixed signal control and actuated control, often struggle to handle dynamic traffic patterns. In this study, we propose a novel adaptive TSC framework that leverages Reinforcement Learning (RL), using the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm, to minimize total queue lengths across all signal phases. The challenge of efficiently representing highly stochastic traffic conditions for an RL controller is addressed through multiple state representations, including an expanded state space, an autoencoder representation, and a K-Planes-inspired representation. The proposed algorithm has been implemented using the Simulation of Urban Mobility (SUMO) traffic simulator and demonstrates superior performance over both traditional methods and other conventional RL-based approaches in reducing queue lengths. The best performing configuration achieves an approximately 29% reduction in average queue lengths compared to the traditional Webster method. Furthermore, comparative evaluation of alternative reward formulations demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed queue-based approach, showcasing the potential for scalable and adaptive urban traffic management.

Authors:Yazdan Batmani, Saber Omidi
Title: On Suboptimal Safety-Critical Tracking Controller Design
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel framework for safety-critical optimal trajectory tracking in nonlinear systems based on the state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE) methodology. By embedding barrier states into the system dynamics, the proposed strategy simultaneously ensures safety and tracking requirements, even in scenarios where these objectives may be inherently conflicting. A discounted pseudo-quadratic cost function is formulated to achieve a suboptimal trade-off between tracking accuracy, control effort, and safety objective. We present two distinct controller designs: one utilizing a single barrier state to enforce overall safety constraints, and another employing multiple barrier states to individually tuning the system's conservatism with respect to each safety constraint, providing enhanced flexibility in tuning the system's conservatism toward individual constraints. We establish sufficient conditions to ensure the solvability of the associated Riccati equations. The proposed safe controller is well-suited for real-time implementation in practical systems, given its reasonable computational requirements and compatibility with widely available embedded microprocessors. This is supported by simulation studies involving a mechanical system and a mobile robot collision avoidance scenario, where the safe SDRE controller consistently maintained safety while achieving trajectory tracking objectives in challenging conditions. Additionally, experimental results on a cable-driven parallel robot further demonstrate the practical applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method in real-world control tasks.

Authors:Junjie Xiao, Lu Wang, Xiong Du, Pedro Rodriguez, Zian Qin
Title: Mitigation of Active Power Oscillation in Multi-VSG Grids: An Impedance-Based Perspective
Abstract:
Active power oscillations frequently arise in inverter-dominated power systems with multiple converters operating under Virtual Synchronous Generator control, posing risks to system stability and protection coordination. While various mitigation strategies have been proposed, many rely on prior knowledge of system parameters, offer limited damping performance, or involve complex models that lack physical interpretability, making them difficult to apply in practice. To address these challenges, this paper first introduces a physically intuitive RLC equivalent circuit model to explain the root causes of APOs in both stand-alone and grid-connected modes. By mapping inertia, damping, and feeder impedance to capacitive, resistive, and inductive elements, respectively, the model reveals how mismatches among converters lead to inter-unit oscillations characterized by LC resonance. Building on this insight, we propose two mode-specific mitigation strategies: in SA mode, a graph theory based impedance control ensures proportional reactive power sharing and effectively suppresses APOs; and in GC mode, adaptive inertia and damping control with feedforward filtering is designed to reshape transient power dynamics while preserving frequency stability. The proposed methods are validated through extensive simulations and real-time hardware-in-the-loop experiments, demonstrating their effectiveness in suppressing oscillations and enhancing the robustness of multi-converter power systems.

Authors:Vikrant J. Gokhale, Brian P. Downey
Title: A comprehensive equivalent circuit model for high overtone bulk acoustic resonators (HBARs)
Abstract:
This paper presents a new and comprehensive equivalent circuit model for high overtone bulk acoustic resonators (HBARs). HBARs demonstrate several very sharp resonance modes distributed nearly periodically over a very wide frequency range. This spectrum response of HBARs offers unique advantages but poses significant modeling challenges. The proposed circuit incorporates and models the unique physical components of the HBAR: piezoelectric transducer, substrate (a perfectly periodic multimode cavity), piezoelectric coupling, and critically, the imperfectly matched transducer-substrate interface which imparts characteristic aperiodicity to the HBAR mode spectrum. By judicious use of fixed, periodic, or tightly constrained virtual lumped-element branches, and sets of branches, the model retains clear and intuitive links to the physical device, while reducing the complexity needed for fitting dense, broadband datasets. We demonstrate the validity and power of this model by simultaneously fitting measured data for 61 modes of a GaN/NbN/sapphire HBAR over a span of 1 GHz, and extracting modal parameters such as quality factors and coupling coefficients. We show that this new model is compact and yet scalable: by leveraging the inherent internal relationships in an HBAR, the model can be easily expanded to include multiple transducer overtones and envelopes, multiple distinct transducers, and spurious modes. In addition to fitting measured datasets, the new model can also be used to easily analyze various perturbations to the nominal state of the HBAR. We expect the new model to be useful for the design of classical HBAR-based oscillators, filters, and sensors, and for the integration of HBARs into quantum circuits.

Authors:Mariana Álvarez, Alexander Alegría, Andrés Rivera, Sebastián Pedersen
Title: A Crime/S.I.R. optimal control problem
Abstract:
This paper presents and discusses a mathematical model inspired by control theory to derive optimal public policies for minimizing costs associated with the reduction and control of criminal activity in a population. Specifically, we analyze the optimal control problem \begin{equation*} \min G(u_1, u_2, u_3) = \int_{0}^{t_{\text{F}}} \left( I(t) - R(t) + \frac{B_1}{2} u_1^2(t) + \frac{B_2}{2} u_2^2(t) + \frac{B_3}{2} u_3^2(t) \right) \, dt. \end{equation*} where $I=I(t)$ and $R=R(t)$ satisfies the system of equations \begin{equation*} \left\{ \begin{aligned} \dot{S} &= Λ- (1-u_1)SI - μS + ((1+u_3)γ_2)I + ρΩR,\\ \dot{I} &= (1-u_1)SI - (μ+ δ_1)I - ((1+u_2)γ_1)I - ((1+u_3)γ_2)I + (1-Ω)ρR,\\ \dot{R} &= ((1+u_2)γ_1)I - (μ+ δ_2 + ρ)R. \end{aligned} \right. \end{equation*} Our approach assumes that the social and economic effects of criminal behavior can be modeled by a dynamic SIR-type system, which serves as a constraint on a cost functional associated with the strategies implemented by government and law enforcement authorities to reduce criminal behavior. Using optimal control theory, the proposed controls, i.e., preventive policies (such as community and social cohesion programs), are expected to have a significant and positive impact on crime reduction, generating opportunities for the most disadvantaged sectors of Cali society and contributing to long-term security. Given that resources to address this problem are limited, this research aims to determine an optimal combination of public interventions and policies that minimize criminality at the lowest possible economic cost, using an SIR model, tools from variational calculus, and optimal control theory.

Authors:Amir Eshaghi Chaleshtori, Abdollah Aghaie
Title: An enhanced statistical feature fusion approach using an improved distance evaluation algorithm and weighted K-nearest neighbor for bearing fault diagnosis
Abstract:
Bearings are among the most failure-prone components in rotating machinery, and their condition directly impacts overall performance. Therefore, accurately diagnosing bearing faults is essential for ensuring system stability. However, detecting such malfunctions in noisy environments, where data is collected from multiple sensors, necessitates the extraction and selection of informative features. This paper proposes an improved distance evaluation algorithm combined with a weighted K-nearest neighbor (KNN) classifier for bearing fault diagnosis. The process begins with extracting and integrating statistical features of vibration across the time, frequency, and time-frequency domains. Next, the improved distance evaluation algorithm assigns weights to the extracted features, retaining only the most informative ones by eliminating insensitive features. Finally, the selected features are used to train the weighted KNN classifier. To validate the proposed method, we employ bearing data from the University of Ottawa. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach in accurately identifying bearing faults.

Authors:Ali Kafili Gavgani, Amin Talaeizadeh, Aria Alasty, Hossein Nejat Pishkenari, Esmaeil Najafi
Title: Next-Generation Aerial Robots -- Omniorientational Strategies: Dynamic Modeling, Control, and Comparative Analysis
Abstract:
Conventional multi-rotors are under-actuated systems, hindering them from independently controlling attitude from position. In this study, we present several distinct configurations that incorporate additional control inputs for manipulating the angles of the propeller axes. This addresses the mentioned limitations, making the systems "omniorientational". We comprehensively derived detailed dynamic models for all introduced configurations and validated by a methodology using Simscape Multibody simulations. Two controllers are designed: a sliding mode controller for robust handling of disturbances and a novel PID-based controller with gravity compensation integrating linear and non-linear allocators, designed for computational efficiency. A custom control allocation strategy is implemented to manage the input-non-affine nature of these systems, seeking to maximize battery life by minimizing the "Power Consumption Factor" defined in this study. Moreover, the controllers effectively managed harsh disturbances and uncertainties. Simulations compare and analyze the proposed configurations and controllers, majorly considering their power consumption. Furthermore, we conduct a qualitative comparison to evaluate the impact of different types of uncertainties on the control system, highlighting areas for potential model or hardware improvements. The analysis in this study provides a roadmap for future researchers to design omniorientational drones based on their design objectives, offering practical insights into configuration selection and controller design. This research aligns with the project SAC-1, one of the objectives of Sharif AgRoLab.

Authors:Dahlia Saba, Dominic Groß
Title: Frequency Domain Stability Conditions for Hybrid AC/DC Systems
Abstract:
In this article, we investigate small-signal frequency and DC voltage stability of hybrid AC/DC power systems that combine AC and DC transmission, conventional machine- based generation, and converter-interfaced generation. The main contributions of this work are a compact frequency domain representation of hybrid AC/DC systems and associated stability conditions that can be divided into conditions on the individual bus dynamics and conditions on each DC network. The bus- level conditions apply to a wide range of technologies (e.g., synchronous generators, synchronous condensers, grid-forming renewables and energy storage). Moreover, the system-level conditions establish that hybrid AC/DC systems combining a wide range of devices are stable independently of the network topology provided that the frequency response of converters on each DC network is sufficiently coherent relative to the network coupling strength. Additionally, we develop and validate a novel reduced- order damper winding model for multi-machine systems.

Authors:Tasnia Noboni, Tuhin Das
Title: Adaptive Altitude Control of a Tethered Multirotor Autogyro under Varying Wind Speeds using Differential Rotor Braking
Abstract:
A tethered multirotor autogyro can function as an unmanned aerial vehicle for energy-efficient and prolonged deployment, as it uses the available wind energy to sustain flight. This article presents an adaptive altitude control strategy for such a device. At a constant wind speed, the equilibrium altitude can be approximated by a quadratic function of the pitch angle. The proposed adaptive control estimates the coefficients of this quadratic function. The estimates are used for altitude control and to attain the maximum altitude (and minimum horizontal drift) for a given wind speed. A feedback controller based on regenerative differential rotor braking is used as the actuation to modulate the autogyro's pitch angle. Implementation of the controller using a control-oriented, higher-order dynamic model demonstrates the controller's capability to regulate the altitude and maintain stable flights under varying wind speeds. Based on the system's maximum altitude tracking performance, the adaptive control is adjusted to improve performance under substantial changes in wind speeds.

Authors:M. O. Aibinu, A. Shoukat, F. M. Mahomed
Title: Fractional Logistic Growth with Memory Effects: A Tool for Industry-Oriented Modeling
Abstract:
The logistic growth model is a classical framework for describing constrained growth phenomena, widely applied in areas such as population dynamics, epidemiology, and resource management. This study presents a generalized extension using Atangana-Baleanu in Caputo sense (ABC)-type fractional derivatives. Proportional time delay is also included, allowing the model to capture memory-dependent and nonlocal dynamics not addressed in classical formulations. Free parameters provide flexibility for modeling complex growth in industrial, medical, and social systems. The Hybrid Sumudu Variational (HSV) method is employed to efficiently obtain semi-analytical solutions. Results highlight the combined effects of fractional order and delay on system behavior. This approach demonstrates the novelty of integrating ABC-type derivatives, proportional delay, and HSV-based solutions for real-world applications.

Authors:Yankai Wang, Ti Chen
Title: Koopman-Operator-Based Model Predictive Control for Drag-free Satellite
Abstract:
This paper presents a data-driven modelling method for nonlinear dynamics of drag-free satellite based on Koopman operator theory, and a model predictive controller is designed based on the identified model. The nonlinear dynamics of drag-free satellite are identified and controlled based on Sparse Identification of Nonlinear Dynamics (SINDy). Using the manually constructed nonlinear function dictionary as observables, the system approximation is obtained by SINDy algorithm, and a linear Model Predictive Control (MPC) controller is designed for test mass capture based on the SINDy model. Finally, the effectiveness of MPC control is verified by numerical examples.

Authors:Ali Azarbahram, Shenyu Liu, Gian Paolo Incremona
Title: Distributed Koopman Operator Learning from Sequential Observations
Abstract:
This paper presents a distributed Koopman operator learning framework for modeling unknown nonlinear dynamics using sequential observations from multiple agents. Each agent estimates a local Koopman approximation based on lifted data and collaborates over a communication graph to reach exponential consensus on a consistent distributed approximation. The approach supports distributed computation under asynchronous and resource-constrained sensing. Its performance is demonstrated through simulation results, validating convergence and predictive accuracy under sensing-constrained scenarios and limited communication.

Authors:André Fonte, Pedro Santos, Paulo Oliveira
Title: Control and Navigation of a 2-D Electric Rocket
Abstract:
This work addresses the control and navigation of a simulated two-dimensional electric rocket. The model provides a simplified framework that neglects actuator dynamics and aerodynamic effects while capturing the complexities of underactuation and state coupling. Trajectory tracking is achieved through a modularized and layered control architecture, with employement of a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) and Lyapunov theory. Full-state estimation is achieved through Kalman filtering techniques, part of the navigation module. The solutions are thoroughly evaluated in a custom-built MATLAB/Simulink testbed, simulating real-world conditions while maintaining a simplified setup. The results reveal limitations along the lateral axis, whose resolution is suggested for future work.

Authors:Teruki Kato, Ryotaro Shima, Kenji Kashima
Title: Modeling and Control of Deep Sign-Definite Dynamics with Application to Hybrid Powertrain Control
Abstract:
Deep learning is increasingly used for complex, large-scale systems where first-principles modeling is difficult. However, standard deep learning models often fail to enforce physical structure or preserve convexity in downstream control, leading to physically inconsistent predictions and discontinuous inputs owing to nonconvexity. We introduce sign constraints--sign restrictions on Jacobian entries--that unify monotonicity, positivity, and sign-definiteness; additionally, we develop model-construction methods that enforce them, together with a control-synthesis procedure. In particular, we design exactly linearizable deep models satisfying these constraints and formulate model predictive control as a convex quadratic program, which yields a unique optimizer and a Lipschitz continuous control law. On a two-tank system and a hybrid powertrain, the proposed approach improves prediction accuracy and produces smoother control inputs than existing methods.

Authors:Zicheng Huang, Wangzhi Zhou, Yuanqiu Mo
Title: An early termination strategy for the distributed biased min-consensus protocol under disturbances
Abstract:
The distributed biased min-consensus (DBMC) protocol is an iterative scheme that solves the shortest path problem asymptotically, requiring only local information exchange between neighboring nodes. By appropriately designing the gain function, prior work [1] proposed a DBMC-based system that ensures convergence within a pre-specified time interval. However, this guarantee assumes the absence of disturbances. In this paper, we study the DBMC-based system under disturbances affecting the edge weights. We first establish rigorous error bounds on the resulting state estimates. Building on this analysis, we then propose a practical early termination strategy to prevent potential singularities, specifically, unbounded gain, that may arise in the presence of disturbances, while still ensuring that the shortest paths are correctly identified.Simulations are performed to validate and illustrate the theoretical results.

Authors:Sabin Diaconescu, Florin Stoican, Bogdan D. Ciubotaru, Sorin Olaru
Title: Zonotope-Based Elastic Tube Model Predictive Control
Abstract:
Tube-based Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a widely adopted robust control framework for constrained linear systems under additive disturbance. The paper is focused on reducing the numerical complexity associated with the tube parameterization, described as a sequence of elastically-scaled zonotopic sets. A new class of scaled-zonotope inclusion conditions is proposed, alleviating the need for a priori specification of certain set-containment constraints and achieving significant reductions in complexity. A comprehensive complexity analysis is provided for both the polyhedral and the zonotopic setting, illustrating the trade-off between an enlarged domain of attraction and the required computational effort. The proposed approach is validated through extensive numerical experiments.

Authors:Devesh Nath, Haoran Yin, Glen Chou
Title: Formal Safety Verification and Refinement for Generative Motion Planners via Certified Local Stabilization
Abstract:
We present a method for formal safety verification of learning-based generative motion planners. Generative motion planners (GMPs) offer advantages over traditional planners, but verifying the safety and dynamic feasibility of their outputs is difficult since neural network verification (NNV) tools scale only to a few hundred neurons, while GMPs often contain millions. To preserve GMP expressiveness while enabling verification, our key insight is to imitate the GMP by stabilizing references sampled from the GMP with a small neural tracking controller and then applying NNV to the closed-loop dynamics. This yields reachable sets that rigorously certify closed-loop safety, while the controller enforces dynamic feasibility. Building on this, we construct a library of verified GMP references and deploy them online in a way that imitates the original GMP distribution whenever it is safe to do so, improving safety without retraining. We evaluate across diverse planners, including diffusion, flow matching, and vision-language models, improving safety in simulation (on ground robots and quadcopters) and on hardware (differential-drive robot).

Authors:Dehinde Molade, Dave Ormrod, Mamello Thinyane, Nalin Arachchilage, Jill Slay
Title: SoK: A Systematic Review of Malware Ontologies and Taxonomies and Implications for the Quantum Era
Abstract:
The threat of quantum malware is real and a growing security concern that will have catastrophic scientific and technological impacts, if not addressed early. If weaponised or exploited especially by the wrong hands, malware will undermine highly sophisticated critical systems supported by next-generation quantum architectures, for example, in defence, communications, energy, and space. This paper explores the fundamental nature and implications of quantum malware to enable the future development of appropriate mitigations and defences, thereby protecting critical infrastructure. By conducting a systematic literature review (SLR) that draws on knowledge frameworks such as ontologies and taxonomies to explore malware, this provides insights into how malicious behaviours can be translated into attacks on quantum technologies, thereby providing a lens to analyse the severity of malware against quantum technologies. This study employs the European Competency Framework for Quantum Technologies (CFQT) as a guide to map malware behaviour to several competency layers, creating a foundation in this emerging field.

Authors:Jichi Wang, Eduardo D. Sontag, Domitilla Del Vecchio
Title: Modular Machine Learning with Applications to Genetic Circuit Composition
Abstract:
In several applications, including in synthetic biology, one often has input/output data on a system composed of many modules, and although the modules' input/output functions and signals may be unknown, knowledge of the composition architecture can significantly reduce the amount of training data required to learn the system's input/output mapping. Learning the modules' input/output functions is also necessary for designing new systems from different composition architectures. Here, we propose a modular learning framework, which incorporates prior knowledge of the system's compositional structure to (a) identify the composing modules' input/output functions from the system's input/output data and (b) achieve this by using a reduced amount of data compared to what would be required without knowledge of the compositional structure. To achieve this, we introduce the notion of modular identifiability, which allows recovery of modules' input/output functions from a subset of the system's input/output data, and provide theoretical guarantees on a class of systems motivated by genetic circuits. We demonstrate the theory on computational studies showing that a neural network (NNET) that accounts for the compositional structure can learn the composing modules' input/output functions and predict the system's output on inputs outside of the training set distribution. By contrast, a neural network that is agnostic of the structure is unable to predict on inputs that fall outside of the training set distribution. By reducing the need for experimental data and allowing module identification, this framework offers the potential to ease the design of synthetic biological circuits and of multi-module systems more generally.

Authors:Jinshui Zhang, Stefan M Goetz
Title: Four-Transistor Bipolar Series-Parallel Module Structure for Cascaded Bridge and Modular Multilevel Circuits
Abstract:
With their great scalability and flexibility, cascaded-bridge and modular multilevel converters have enabled a variety of energy applications, such as offshore wind power, high-voltage dc power transmission, power-quality management, and cutting-edge medical instrumentation. The incorporation of parallel connectivity between modules equips systems with advantages such as sensorless balancing, switched-capacitor energy exchange, and reduced impedance. However, existing topologies require many individual switches -- eight transistors per module. Efforts to use fewer switches, instead, have previously compromised their functionality. We propose a new module topology, named the direction-selective parallel (DiSeP) structure, which requires only four transistors per module -- the same as an H bridge -- but can achieve bidirectional equilibration, bipolar module output, and inter-module switched-capacitor features. This topology is highly attractive for existing converters with cascaded bridge elements, as the addition of only four diodes enables key features such as sensorless balancing and inter-module energy exchange. Thus, the module can outcompete H bridges in their applications, as it adds parallel modes without any additional transistors. Compared to double-H bridges (CH2B), it saves as many as half of the transistors. We elaborate on its working principles and key design considerations. We validate our theories on an experimental prototype with six modules. This prototype attains a total voltage harmonic distortion plus noise (THD+N) of 10.3% and a peak efficiency of 96.3%. Furthermore, the modules achieve autonomous sensorless balancing under open-loop control.

Authors:Abhinav Sinha, Rohit V. Nanavati
Title: Robust Near-Optimal Nonlinear Target Enclosing Guidance
Abstract:
This paper proposes a nonlinear optimal guidance law that enables a pursuer to enclose a target within arbitrary geometric patterns, which extends beyond conventional circular encirclement. The design operates using only relative state measurements and formulates a target enclosing guidance law in which the vehicle's lateral acceleration serves as the steering control, making it well-suited for aerial vehicles with turning constraints. Our approach generalizes and extends existing guidance strategies that are limited to target encirclement and provides a degree of optimality. At the same time, the exact information of the target's maneuver is unnecessary during the design. The guidance law is developed within the framework of a state-dependent Riccati equation (SDRE), thereby providing a systematic way to handle nonlinear dynamics through a pseudo-linear representation to design locally optimal feedback guidance commands through state-dependent weighting matrices. While SDRE ensures near-optimal performance in the absence of strong disturbances, we further augment the design to incorporate an integral sliding mode manifold to compensate when disturbances push the system away from the nominal trajectory, and demonstrate that the design provides flexibility in the sense that the (possibly time-varying) stand-off curvature could also be treated as unknown. Simulations demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.

Authors:Michael Ruderman, Elia Brescia, Paolo Roberto Massenio, Giuseppe Leonardo Cascella, David Naso
Title: Robust Synchronous Reference Frame Phase-Looked Loop (PLL) with Feed-Forward Frequency Estimation
Abstract:
Synchronous reference frame phase-looked loop (SRF-PLL) techniques are widely used for interfacing and control applications in the power systems and energy conversion at large. Since a PLL system synchronizes its output with an exogenous harmonic signal, often 3-phases voltage or current, the locking of the frequency and phase angle depends on the performance of the feedback loop with at least two integrator terms, and on the distortions of the measured input quantities. For the conventional SRF-PLL with a proportional-integral (PI) control in feedback, we are providing a robust design which maximizes the phase margin and uses the normalization scheme for yielding the loop insensitive to the input amplitude variations. The main improvement in the transient behavior and also in tracking of frequency ramps is achieved by using the robust feed-forward frequency estimator, which is model-free and suitable for the noisy and time-varying harmonic signals. The proposed feed-forward-feedback SRF-PLL scheme is experimentally evaluated on the 3-phases harmonic currents from standard PMSM drives with varying angular speeds and loads. Both, the tracked angular frequency and locked phase angle are assessed as performance metrics of the robust SRF-PLL scheme with feedforwarding.

Authors:Chenxu Ke, Congling Tian, Kaichen Xu, Ye Li, Lingcong Bao
Title: A Fast Initialization Method for Neural Network Controllers: A Case Study of Image-based Visual Servoing Control for the multicopter Interception
Abstract:
Reinforcement learning-based controller design methods often require substantial data in the initial training phase. Moreover, the training process tends to exhibit strong randomness and slow convergence. It often requires considerable time or high computational resources. Another class of learning-based method incorporates Lyapunov stability theory to obtain a control policy with stability guarantees. However, these methods generally require an initially stable neural network control policy at the beginning of training. Evidently, a stable neural network controller can not only serve as an initial policy for reinforcement learning, allowing the training to focus on improving controller performance, but also act as an initial state for learning-based Lyapunov control methods. Although stable controllers can be designed using traditional control theory, designers still need to have a great deal of control design knowledge to address increasingly complicated control problems. The proposed neural network rapid initialization method in this paper achieves the initial training of the neural network control policy by constructing datasets that conform to the stability conditions based on the system model. Furthermore, using the image-based visual servoing control for multicopter interception as a case study, simulations and experiments were conducted to validate the effectiveness and practical performance of the proposed method. In the experiment, the trained control policy attains a final interception velocity of 15 m/s.

Authors:Franz Rußwurm, Jean Lévine, Stefan Streif
Title: On the Boundary of the Robust Admissible Set in State and Input Constrained Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we consider nonlinear control systems subject to bounded disturbances and to both state and input constraints. We introduce the definition of robust admissible set - the set of all initial states from which the state and input constraints can be satisfied for all times against all admissible disturbances. We focus on its boundary that can be decomposed into the usable part on the state constraint boundary and the barrier, interior to the state constraints. We show that, at the intersection of these two components, the boundary of the admissible set must be tangent to the state constraints and separate the interior of the robust admissible set and its complement. Moreover, we prove that the barrier must satisfy a saddle-point principle on a Hamiltonian, in the spirit of Pontryagin's maximum principle, thus providing a direct computational tool. Lastly, we illustrate our results by calculating the robust admissible set for an adaptive cruise control example.

Authors:Darin Jeff, Eytan Modiano
Title: Optimal Service Mode Assignment in a Simple Computation Offloading System: Extended Version
Abstract:
We consider a simple computation offloading model where jobs can either be fully processed in the cloud or be partially processed at a local server before being sent to the cloud to complete processing. Our goal is to design a policy for assigning jobs to service modes, i.e., full offloading or partial offloading, based on the state of the system, in order to minimize delay in the system. We show that when the cloud server is idle, the optimal policy is to assign the next job in the system queue to the cloud for processing. However, when the cloud server is busy, we show that, under mild assumptions, the optimal policy is of a threshold type, that sends the next job in the system queue to the local server if the queue exceeds a certain threshold. Finally, we demonstrate this policy structure through simulations.

Authors:Svyatoslav Covanov, Cedric Pradalier
Title: Reversible Kalman Filter for state estimation with Manifold
Abstract:
This work introduces an algorithm for state estimation on manifolds within the framework of the Kalman filter. Its primary objective is to provide a methodology enabling the evaluation of the precision of existing Kalman filter variants with arbitrary accuracy on synthetic data, something that, to the best of our knowledge, has not been addressed in prior work. To this end, we develop a new filter that exhibits favorable numerical properties, thereby correcting the divergences observed in previous Kalman filter variants. In this formulation, the achievable precision is no longer constrained by the small-velocity assumption and is determined solely by sensor noise. In addition, this new filter assumes high precision on the sensors, which, in real scenarios require a detection step that we define heuristically, allowing one to extend this approach to scenarios, using either a 9-axis IMU or a combination of odometry, accelerometer, and pressure sensors. The latter configuration is designed for the reconstruction of trajectories in underwater environments.

Authors:Paul Hamelbeck, Johannes Schiffer
Title: Lipschitz-Based Robustness Certification for Recurrent Neural Networks via Convex Relaxation
Abstract:
Robustness certification against bounded input noise or adversarial perturbations is increasingly important for deployment recurrent neural networks (RNNs) in safety-critical control applications. To address this challenge, we present RNN-SDP, a relaxation based method that models the RNN's layer interactions as a convex problem and computes a certified upper bound on the Lipschitz constant via semidefinite programming (SDP). We also explore an extension that incorporates known input constraints to further tighten the resulting Lipschitz bounds. RNN-SDP is evaluated on a synthetic multi-tank system, with upper bounds compared to empirical estimates. While incorporating input constraints yields only modest improvements, the general method produces reasonably tight and certifiable bounds, even as sequence length increases. The results also underscore the often underestimated impact of initialization errors, an important consideration for applications where models are frequently re-initialized, such as model predictive control (MPC).

Authors:Paul Bannmüller, Périne Cunat, Ali Rajaei, Jochen Cremer
Title: Addressing Model Inaccuracies in Transmission Network Reconfiguration via Diverse Alternatives
Abstract:
The ongoing energy transition places significant pressure on the transmission network due to increasing shares of renewables and electrification. To mitigate grid congestion, transmission system operators need decision support tools to suggest remedial actions, such as transmission network reconfigurations or redispatch. However, these tools are prone to model inaccuracies and may not provide relevant suggestions with regard to important unmodeled constraints or operator preferences. We propose a human-in-the-loop modeling-to-generate alternatives (HITL-MGA) approach to address these shortcomings by generating diverse topology reconfiguration alternatives. Case studies on the IEEE 57-bus and IEEE 118-bus systems show the method can leverage expert feedback and improve the quality of the suggested remedial actions.

Authors:Xiaoyu Wang, Yan Rui Tan, William Leong, Sunan Huang, Rodney Teo, Cheng Xiang
Title: GPS Denied IBVS-Based Navigation and Collision Avoidance of UAV Using a Low-Cost RGB Camera
Abstract:
This paper proposes an image-based visual servoing (IBVS) framework for UAV navigation and collision avoidance using only an RGB camera. While UAV navigation has been extensively studied, it remains challenging to apply IBVS in missions involving multiple visual targets and collision avoidance. The proposed method achieves navigation without explicit path planning, and collision avoidance is realized through AI-based monocular depth estimation from RGB images. Unlike approaches that rely on stereo cameras or external workstations, our framework runs fully onboard a Jetson platform, ensuring a self-contained and deployable system. Experimental results validate that the UAV can navigate across multiple AprilTags and avoid obstacles effectively in GPS-denied environments.

Authors:Ryunosuke Numata, Toshimichi Saito
Title: A Fundamental Study for Multiobjective Optimization Problems in Nonlinear Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
Multiobjective optimization problems are important in analysis and application of nonlinear dynamical systems. As a first step, this paper studies a biobjective optimization problem in a simple nonlinear switched dynamical system: a piecewise linear system based on a boost converter with photovoltaic input. The piecewise linearity enables us to analyze the nonlinear dynamics exactly. In the biobjective optimization problem, the first objective evaluates stability of circuit operation and the second objective evaluates average input power. A main task is analysis of a trade-off between the two objectives. Using the piecewise exact solutions, the two objectives are formulated theoretically. Using the theoretical formulae, the existence of a trade-off between the two objectives is clarified exactly. Relationship between the trade-off and parameters is also considered. The results provide fundamental information to analyze multiobjective optimization problems in various nonlinear systems and to realize their engineering applications.

Authors:Salim Oyinlola, Peter Olabisi Oluseyi
Title: Machine Learning for Campus Energy Resilience: Clustering and Time-Series Forecasting in Intelligent Load Shedding
Abstract:
The growing demand for reliable electricity in universities necessitates intelligent energy management. This study proposes a machine learning-based load shedding framework for the University of Lagos, designed to optimize distribution and reduce waste. The methodology followed three main stages. First, a dataset of 3,648 hourly records from 55 buildings was compiled to develop building-level consumption models. Second, Principal Component Analysis was applied for dimensionality reduction, and clustering validation techniques were used to determine the optimal number of demand groups. Mini-Batch K-Means was then employed to classify buildings into high-, medium-, and low-demand clusters. Finally, short-term load forecasting was performed at the cluster level using multiple statistical and deep learning models, including ARIMA, SARIMA, Prophet, LSTM, and GRU. Results showed Prophet offered the most reliable forecasts, while Mini-Batch K-Means achieved stable clustering performance. By integrating clustering with forecasting, the framework enabled a fairer, data-driven load shedding strategy that reduces inefficiencies and supports climate change mitigation through sustainable energy management.

Authors:Aharon Rips, Oron Sabag
Title: Communication over LQG Control Systems: A Convex Optimization Approach to Capacity
Abstract:
We study communication over control systems, where a controller-encoder selects inputs to a dynamical system in order to simultaneously regulate the system and convey a message to an observer that has access to the system's output measurements. This setup reflects implicit communication, as the controller embeds a message in the control signal. The capacity of a control system is the maximal reliable rate of the embedded message subject to a closed-loop control-cost constraint. We focus on linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control systems, in which the dynamical system is given by a state-space model with Gaussian noise, and the control cost is a quadratic function of the system inputs and system states. Our main result is a convex optimization upper bound on the capacity of LQG systems. In the case of scalar systems, we prove that the upper bound yields the exact LQG system capacity. The upper bound also recovers all known results, including LQG control, feedback capacity of Gaussian channels with memory, and the LQG system capacity with a state-feedback. For vector LQG control systems, we provide a sufficient condition for tightness of the upper bound, based on the Riccati equation. Numerical simulations indicate the upper bound tightness in all tested examples, suggesting that the upper bound may be equal to the LQG system capacity in the vector case as well.

Authors:Abedou Abdelhadi, Mameche Omar
Title: Prescribed-Time Observer Is Naturally Robust Against Disturbances and Uncertainties
Abstract:
This paper addresses the robustness of a prescribed-time observer for a class of nonlinear systems in the presence of disturbances and unmodeled dynamics. It is proven and demonstrated through simulations that the proposed observer completely rejects the effects of arbitrarily large bounded disturbances and unmodeled dynamics, enabling accurate estimation of both the states and the disturbances. Furthermore, a comparison with the standard high-gain observer is provided to highlight the superiority of the prescribed-time observer in reducing the peaking phenomenon and improving estimation accuracy.

Authors:Duc Cuong Nguyen, Quang Huy Dao, Phuong Nam Dao
Title: A model free approach for continuous-time optimal tracking control with unknown user-define cost and constrained control input via advantage function
Abstract:
This paper presents a pioneering approach to solving the linear quadratic regulation (LQR) and linear quadratic tracking (LQT) problems with constrained inputs using a novel off-policy continuous-time Q-learning framework. The proposed methodology leverages a novel concept of the Advantage function for linear continuous systems, enabling solutions to be obtained without the need for prior knowledge of the reward matrix weights, state resetting, or assuming the existence of a predefined admissible controller. This framework includes multiple algorithms (Algs) tailored to address these control problems under model-free conditions, without requiring any knowledge about system dynamics. Two distinct implementation methods are explored: the first processes state and input data over a fixed time interval, making it well-suited for LQR problems, while the second method operates over multiple intervals, offering a practical solution for tracking problems with constrained inputs. The convergence of the proposed algorithms is verified theoretically. Finally, the simulation results of the F-16 aircraft system are presented for the two problems to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Authors:Le Gong, Longxiu Huang
Title: Randomized Space-Time Sampling for Affine Graph Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
This paper investigates the problem of dynamical sampling for graph signals influenced by a constant source term. We consider signals evolving over time according to a linear dynamical system on a graph, where both the initial state and the source term are bandlimited. We introduce two random space-time sampling regimes and analyze the conditions under which stable recovery is achievable. While our framework extends recent work on homogeneous dynamics, it addresses a fundamentally different setting where the evolution includes a constant source term. This results in a non-orthogonal-diagonalizable system matrix, rendering classical spectral techniques inapplicable and introducing new challenges in sampling design, stability analysis, and joint recovery of both the initial state and the forcing term. A key component of our analysis is the spectral graph weighted coherence, which characterizes the interplay between the sampling distribution and the graph structure. We establish sampling complexity bounds ensuring stable recovery via the Restricted Isometry Property (RIP), and develop a robust recovery algorithm with provable error guarantees. The effectiveness of our method is validated through extensive experiments on both synthetic and real-world datasets.

Authors:Angela Ni, Wentao Tang
Title: Data-Driven Observer Synthesis for Autonomous Limit Cycle Systems through Estimation of Koopman Eigenfunctions
Abstract:
The signal of system states needed for feedback controllers is estimated by state observers. One state observer design is the Kazantzis-Kravaris/Luenberger (KKL) observer, a generalization of the Luenberger observer for linear systems. The main challenge in applying the KKL design is constructing an injective mapping of the states, which requires solving PDEs based on a first-principles model. This paper proposes a data-driven, Koopman operator-based method for the construction of KKL observers for planar limit cycle systems. Specifically, for such systems, the KKL injective mapping is guaranteed to be a linear combination of Koopman eigenfunctions. Hence, the determination of such an injection is reduced to a least-squares regression problem, and the inverse of the injective mapping is then approximated using kernel ridge regression. The entire synthesis procedure uses solely convex optimization. We apply the proposed approach to the Brusselator system, demonstrating accurate estimations of the system states.

Authors:Yanzhi Qian, Jing Jiang, Jingze Ding, Xiaoshao Dan, Hongyun Chu
Title: 6DMA-Assisted Secure Wireless Communications
Abstract:
Six-dimensional movable antenna (6DMA) has been widely studied for capacity enhancement, but its potential for physical layer security (PLS) remains largely unexplored. By adjusting both three-dimensional (3D) positions and 3D rotations of distributed antenna surfaces, 6DMA can increase spatial degrees of freedom (DoFs). The extra DoFs enable dynamic shaping of legitimate channels and suppresses eavesdropping channels, thereby offering unique advantages in enhancing secrecy performance. Motivated by this, this letter proposes a novel 6DMA-assisted secure wireless communication system, where the base station (BS) is equipped with 6DMA to enhance secrecy performance. Specifically, to simultaneously serve multiple legitimate users and counter cooperative interception by multiple eavesdroppers (Eves), we formulate a sum secrecy rate (SSR) maximization problem by jointly optimizing the transmit and artificial noise (AN) beamformers, as well as the 3D positions and 3D rotations of antenna surfaces. To solve this non-convex problem, we propose an alternating optimization (AO) algorithm that decomposes the original problem into two subproblems and solves them iteratively to obtain a high-quality suboptimal solution. Simulation results demonstrate the superior secrecy performance over partially movable and conventional fixed-position antenna systems.

Authors:Yinghao Wu, Shuhong Hou, Haowen Zheng, Yichen Li, Weiyi Lu, Xun Zhou, Yitian Shao
Title: TranTac: Leveraging Transient Tactile Signals for Contact-Rich Robotic Manipulation
Abstract:
Robotic manipulation tasks such as inserting a key into a lock or plugging a USB device into a port can fail when visual perception is insufficient to detect misalignment. In these situations, touch sensing is crucial for the robot to monitor the task's states and make precise, timely adjustments. Current touch sensing solutions are either insensitive to detect subtle changes or demand excessive sensor data. Here, we introduce TranTac, a data-efficient and low-cost tactile sensing and control framework that integrates a single contact-sensitive 6-axis inertial measurement unit within the elastomeric tips of a robotic gripper for completing fine insertion tasks. Our customized sensing system can detect dynamic translational and torsional deformations at the micrometer scale, enabling the tracking of visually imperceptible pose changes of the grasped object. By leveraging transformer-based encoders and diffusion policy, TranTac can imitate human insertion behaviors using transient tactile cues detected at the gripper's tip during insertion processes. These cues enable the robot to dynamically control and correct the 6-DoF pose of the grasped object. When combined with vision, TranTac achieves an average success rate of 79% on object grasping and insertion tasks, outperforming both vision-only policy and the one augmented with end-effector 6D force/torque sensing. Contact localization performance is also validated through tactile-only misaligned insertion tasks, achieving an average success rate of 88%. We assess the generalizability by training TranTac on a single prism-slot pair and testing it on unseen data, including a USB plug and a metal key, and find that the insertion tasks can still be completed with an average success rate of nearly 70%. The proposed framework may inspire new robotic tactile sensing systems for delicate manipulation tasks.

Authors:Victor V. Puche, Kashish Verma, Matteo Fumagalli
Title: Underground Multi-robot Systems at Work: a revolution in mining
Abstract:
The growing global demand for critical raw materials (CRMs) has highlighted the need to access difficult and hazardous environments such as abandoned underground mines. These sites pose significant challenges for conventional machinery and human operators due to confined spaces, structural instability, and lack of infrastructure. To address this, we propose a modular multi-robot system designed for autonomous operation in such environments, enabling sequential mineral extraction tasks. Unlike existing work that focuses primarily on mapping and inspection through global behavior or central control, our approach incorporates physical interaction capabilities using specialized robots coordinated through local high-level behavior control. Our proposed system utilizes Hierarchical Finite State Machine (HFSM) behaviors to structure complex task execution across heterogeneous robotic platforms. Each robot has its own HFSM behavior to perform sequential autonomy while maintaining overall system coordination, achieved by triggering behavior execution through inter-robot communication. This architecture effectively integrates software and hardware components to support collaborative, task-driven multi-robot operation in confined underground environments.

Authors:Yukta Pareek, Abdul Malik Al Mardhouf Al Saadi, Amrita Basak, Satadru Dey
Title: Real-Time Thermal State Estimation and Forecasting in Laser Powder Bed Fusion
Abstract:
Laser Powder Bed Fusion (L-PBF) is a widely adopted additive manufacturing process for fabricating complex metallic parts layer by layer. Effective thermal management is essential to ensure part quality and structural integrity, as thermal gradients and residual stresses can lead to defects such as warping and cracking. However, existing experimental or computational techniques lack the ability to forecast future temperature distributions in real time, an essential capability for proactive process control. This paper presents a real-time thermal state forecasting framework for L-PBF, based on a physics-informed reduced-order thermal model integrated with a Kalman filtering scheme. The proposed approach efficiently captures inter-layer heat transfer dynamics and enables accurate tracking and forecasting of spatial and temporal temperature evolution. Validation across multiple part geometries using measured data demonstrates that the method reliably estimates and forecasts peak temperatures and cooling trends. By enabling predictive thermal control, this framework offers a practical and computationally efficient solution for thermal management in L-PBF, paving the way toward closed-loop control in L-PBF.

Authors:Xinyi Yi, Ioannis Lestas
Title: On-Policy Reinforcement-Learning Control for Optimal Energy Sharing and Temperature Regulation in District Heating Systems
Abstract:
We address the problem of temperature regulation and optimal energy sharing in district heating systems (DHSs) where the demand and system parameters are unknown. We propose a temperature regulation scheme that employs data-driven on-policy updates that achieve these objectives. In particular, we show that the proposed control scheme converges to an optimal equilibrium point of the system, while also having guaranteed convergence to an optimal LQR control policy, thus providing good transient performance. The efficiency of our approach is also demonstrated through extensive simulations.

Authors:Anup Marahatta, Shafiuzzaman Khadem, Sandipan Patra
Title: Five-Level Common-Ground Inverter Topology Using an Integrated Charge-Pump and Switched-Capacitor Network
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel five-level common-ground (CG) inverter topology designed for transformerless residential photovoltaic (PV) applications.

Authors:Florian Hilgemann, Egke Chatzimoustafa, Peter Jax
Title: Data-Driven Uncertainty Modeling for Robust Feedback Active Noise Control in Headphones
Abstract:
Active noise control (ANC) has become popular for reducing noise and thus enhancing user comfort in headphones. While feedback control offers an effective way to implement ANC, it is restricted by uncertainty of the controlled system that arises, e.g., from differing wearing situations. Widely used unstructured models which capture these variations tend to overestimate the uncertainty and thus restrict ANC performance. As a remedy, this work explores uncertainty models that provide a more accurate fit to the observed variations in order to improve ANC performance for over-ear and in-ear headphones. We describe the controller optimization based on these models and implement an ANC prototype to compare the performances associated with conventional and proposed modeling approaches. Extensive measurements with human wearers confirm the robustness and indicate a performance improvement over conventional methods. The results allow to safely increase the active attenuation of ANC headphones by several decibels.

Authors:Max Studt, Georg Schildbach
Title: Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning with Low-Level MPC for Multi-Agent Control
Abstract:
Achieving safe and coordinated behavior in dynamic, constraint-rich environments remains a major challenge for learning-based control. Pure end-to-end learning often suffers from poor sample efficiency and limited reliability, while model-based methods depend on predefined references and struggle to generalize. We propose a hierarchical framework that combines tactical decision-making via reinforcement learning (RL) with low-level execution through Model Predictive Control (MPC). For the case of multi-agent systems this means that high-level policies select abstract targets from structured regions of interest (ROIs), while MPC ensures dynamically feasible and safe motion. Tested on a predator-prey benchmark, our approach outperforms end-to-end and shielding-based RL baselines in terms of reward, safety, and consistency, underscoring the benefits of combining structured learning with model-based control.

Authors:Karthik Elamvazhuthi, Sachin Shivakumar
Title: Uniform Sampling from the Reachable Set Using Optimal Transport
Abstract:
Finding the reachable set of a system has a wide range of applications, but is a fundamental challenge in control theory, especially when controls are bounded. Although one can simply integrate the system samples forward in time by applying random admissible control to approximate the reachable set, the samples typically cluster near an attractor (if one is present) -- yielding a poor representation of the reachable set. A better representation can be found by applying controls that specifically lead to a uniform terminal state distribution, however, finding such controls is non-trivial. To find such controls, one must solve an Optimal Transport (OT) problem with uniform measure as the target distribution, which is difficult since the reachable set is not know \emph{a priori}. We can overcome this difficulty by softening the terminal measure constraint via the introduction of a $L_2$-entropy function in the objective and can further reduce this infinite-dimensional regularized OT to a finite-dimensional particle-based optimal control problem by using a nonlocal kernel regularization of the entropy. This leads to a hierarchy of optimization problems whose solutions converge to the original reachability sampling OT problem, as proved by $Γ$-convergence. The effectiveness of this entropy-regularized particle-based approach for uniform sampling of reachable set is demonstrated using numerical examples.

Authors:Reza Pirayeshshirazinezhad, Nima Fathi
Title: Explainable AI-Enhanced Supervisory Control for Robust Multi-Agent Robotic Systems
Abstract:
We present an explainable AI-enhanced supervisory control framework for multi-agent robotics that combines (i) a timed-automata supervisor for safe, auditable mode switching, (ii) robust continuous control (Lyapunov-based controller for large-angle maneuver; sliding-mode controller (SMC) with boundary layers for precision and disturbance rejection), and (iii) an explainable predictor that maps mission context to gains and expected performance (energy, error). Monte Carlo-driven optimization provides the training data, enabling transparent real-time trade-offs. We validated the approach in two contrasting domains, spacecraft formation flying and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Despite different environments (gravity/actuator bias vs. hydrodynamic drag/currents), both share uncertain six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) rigid-body dynamics, relative motion, and tight tracking needs, making them representative of general robotic systems. In the space mission, the supervisory logic selects parameters that meet mission criteria. In AUV leader-follower tests, the same SMC structure maintains a fixed offset under stochastic currents with bounded steady error. In spacecraft validation, the SMC controller achieved submillimeter alignment with 21.7% lower tracking error and 81.4% lower energy consumption compared to Proportional-Derivative PD controller baselines. At the same time, in AUV tests, SMC maintained bounded errors under stochastic currents. These results highlight both the portability and the interpretability of the approach for safety-critical, resource-constrained multi-agent robotics.

Authors:Federico Taschin, Abderrahmane Lazaraq, Ozan K. Tonguz, Inci Ozgunes
Title: The Distribution Shift Problem in Transportation Networks using Reinforcement Learning and AI
Abstract:
The use of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in smart transportation networks has increased significantly in the last few years. Among these ML and AI approaches, Reinforcement Learning (RL) has been shown to be a very promising approach by several authors. However, a problem with using Reinforcement Learning in Traffic Signal Control is the reliability of the trained RL agents due to the dynamically changing distribution of the input data with respect to the distribution of the data used for training. This presents a major challenge and a reliability problem for the trained network of AI agents and could have very undesirable and even detrimental consequences if a suitable solution is not found. Several researchers have tried to address this problem using different approaches. In particular, Meta Reinforcement Learning (Meta RL) promises to be an effective solution. In this paper, we evaluate and analyze a state-of-the-art Meta RL approach called MetaLight and show that, while under certain conditions MetaLight can indeed lead to reasonably good results, under some other conditions it might not perform well (with errors of up to 22%), suggesting that Meta RL schemes are often not robust enough and can even pose major reliability problems.

Authors:Joseph Uguet, Nicola Tollin, Jordi Morató
Title: Post crisis Strategies: Antifragility Principles as Catalysts for Urban Evolution Towards Sustainability
Abstract:
Urban crises reveal the true essence of cities: their ability to either withstand disorder or collapse under its pressure. This article explores how antifragility principles can transforms urban disruption into levers for reinforcement and innovation. While resilience seeks to restore a lost balance, antifragility goes further: it pushes cities to improve through shocks. Across a critical analysis of post-crisis strategies and the identification of fifteen fundamental theoretical principles, this work proposes a new framework, structuring a proactive and evolutionary approach to urban development. Medellín, Singapore and Fukushima already illustrate this dynamic, showing that adversity can catalyse profound transformations. By integrating institutional flexibility, strategic diversity and self-organization, antifragility poses itself as an alternative to the limits of resilience. Can this model really redefine the way cities adapt to crises? This article paves the way for a decisive reflection to rethink urban planning in an uncertain world.

Authors:Haechan Pyon, Gyunghoon Park
Title: A Nonlinear Scaling-based Design of Control Lyapunov-barrier Function for Relative Degree 2 Case and its Application to Safe Feedback Linearization
Abstract:
In this paper we address the problem of control Lyapunov-barrier function (CLBF)-based safe stabilization for a class of nonlinear control-affine systems. A difficulty may arise for the case when a constraint has the relative degree larger than 1, at which computing a proper CLBF is not straightforward. Instead of adding an (possibly non-existent) control barrier function (CBF) to a control Lyapunov function (CLF), our key idea is to simply scale the value of the CLF on the unsafe set, by utilizing a sigmoid function as a scaling factor. We provide a systematic design method for the CLBF, with a detailed condition for the parameters of the sigmoid function to satisfy. It is also seen that the proposed approach to the CLBF design can be applied to the problem of task-space control for a planar robot manipulator with guaranteed safety, for which a safe feedback linearization-based controller is presented.

Authors:Tomáš Masopust, Jakub Večeřa
Title: On the Complexity of the Secret Protection Problem for Discrete-Event Systems
Abstract:
The secret protection problem (SPP) seeks to synthesize a minimum-cost policy ensuring that every execution from an initial state to a secret state includes a sufficient number of protected events. Previous work showed that the problem is solvable in polynomial time under the assumptions that transitions are uniquely labeled and that the clearance level for every event is uniformly set to one. When these assumptions are relaxed, the problem was shown to be weakly NP-hard, leaving the complexity of the uniform variant open. In this paper, we close this gap by proving that the uniform secret protection problem is NP-hard, even if all parameters are restricted to binary values. Moreover, we strengthen the existing results by showing that the general problem becomes NP-hard as soon as the uniqueness constraint on event labels is removed. We further propose a formulation of SPP as an Integer Linear Programming (ILP) problem. Our empirical evaluation demonstrates the scalability and effectiveness of the ILP-based approach on relatively large systems. Finally, we examine a variant of SPP in which only distinct protected events contribute to clearance and show that its decision version is $Σ_{2}^{P}$-complete.

Authors:Patrick Vincent N. Lubenia, Taposh Banerjee
Title: Quickest Change Detection with Cost-Constrained Experiment Design
Abstract:
In the classical quickest change detection problem, an observer performs a single experiment to monitor a stochastic process. The goal in the classical problem is to detect a change in the statistical properties of the process, with the minimum possible delay, subject to a constraint on the rate of false alarms. This paper considers the case where, at each observation time, the decision-maker must choose between multiple experiments with varying information qualities and costs. The change can be detected using any of the experiments. The goal here is to detect the change with the minimum delay, subject to constraints on the rate of false alarms and the fraction of time each experiment is performed before the time of change. The constraint on the fraction of time can be used to control the overall cost of using the system of experiments. An algorithm called the two-experiment cumulative sum (2E-CUSUM) algorithm is first proposed to solve the problem when there are only two experiments. The algorithm for the case of multiple experiments, starting with three experiments, is then designed iteratively using the 2E-CUSUM algorithm. Two key ideas used in the design are the scaling of undershoots and the truncation of tests. The multiple-experiment algorithm can be designed to satisfy the constraints and can achieve the delay performance of the experiment with the highest quality within a constant. The important concept of data efficiency, where the observer has the choice of not performing any experiment, is explored as well.

Authors:Yixun Wen, Yulong Gao, Boli Chen
Title: Distributionally Robust Equilibria over the Wasserstein Distance for Generalized Nash Game
Abstract:
Generalized Nash equilibrium problem (GNEP) is fundamental for practical applications where multiple self-interested agents work together to make optimal decisions. In this work, we study GNEP with shared distributionally robust chance constraints (DRCCs) for incorporating inevitable uncertainties. The DRCCs are defined over the Wasserstein ball, which can be explicitly characterized even with limited sample data. To determine the equilibrium of the GNEP, we propose an exact approach to transform the original computationally intractable problem into a deterministic formulation using the Nikaido-Isoda function. Specifically, we show that when all agents' objectives are quadratic in their respective variables, the equilibrium can be obtained by solving a typical mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem, where the integer and continuous variables are decoupled in both the objective function and the constraints. This structure significantly improves computational tractability, as demonstrated through a case study on the charging station pricing problem.

Authors:Vinay C K, Vikas Vazhayil, Madhav rao
Title: Characterizing Human Limb Movements Using An In-House Multi-Channel Non-Invasive Surface-EMG System
Abstract:
Electromyography (EMG) signals are obtained from muscle cell activity. The recording and analysis of EMG signals has several applications. The EMG is of diagnostic importance for treating patients suffering from neurological and neuromuscular disorders. Conventional methods involve placement of invasive electrodes within the muscles to record EMG signals. The goal is to showcase the usage of surface based EMG signals to characterize all possible human limb movements. An in-house non-invasive EMG signal acquisition system that offers characterization of human limb actions is a suitable candidate for motor impairment studies and easily extendable to design bionics control specifically for neuromuscular disorder patients. An in-house 8-channel surface-EMG signal acquisition system was designed, fabricated, and employed for characterizing specific movements of upper and lower limb. The non-invasive acquisition system captures the compound electromuscular activity generated from the group of muscles. The EMG acquisition system was designed as a modular structure where the front end analog circuit designs were replicated for all 8 channels, and were designed to function independently. Support vector machine (SVM) as classifier models were developed offline to successfully characterize different human limb actions. The in house built 8 channel acquisition system with ML classifier models were utilized to successfully characterize movements at various joints of the upper and lower limb including fingers, wrist, elbow, shoulder, knee, and ankle individually.

Authors:Chenghao Wan, Conner Cremers, Ariana B. Höfelmann, Zhennan Ru, Calvin H. Lin, Kesha N. Tamakuwala, Dolly Mantle, Pinak Mohapatra, Juan Rivas-Davila, Matthew W. Kanan, Jonathan A. Fan
Title: Scale Up Analysis of Inductively Heated Metamaterial Reactors
Abstract:
Inductively heated metamaterial reactors, which utilize an open cell lattice baffle structure as a heating susceptor for magnetic induction, are promising candidates for scaled electrified thermochemical reactor operation due to their ability to support volumetric heating profiles and enhanced heat transfer properties. In this work, we present a systematic scale up analysis of inductive metamaterial reactors where we utilize a combination of analytic modeling, numerical simulations, and experiments to project the capabilities and performance of scaled reactors. We use reverse water gas shift as a model reaction system and show that for reactor configurations featuring a uniform metamaterial susceptor, the total system efficiency increases with scale. However, the throughput of these scaled reactors is limited by radial temperature gradients. We further show this bottleneck can be overcome by tailoring the radial effective conductivity profile of the susceptor, which can enable scaled reactors with nearly ideal plug flow-like capabilities. These concepts provide a pathway towards scaled electrified thermochemical reactors with optimal chemical conversion capabilities.

Authors:Sean Anderson, Chris Darken, João Hespanha
Title: Zero-sum turn games using Q-learning: finite computation with security guarantees
Abstract:
This paper addresses zero-sum ``turn'' games, in which only one player can make decisions at each state. We show that pure saddle-point state-feedback policies for turn games can be constructed from dynamic programming fixed-point equations for a single value function or Q-function. These fixed-points can be constructed using a suitable form of Q-learning. For discounted costs, convergence of this form of Q-learning can be established using classical techniques. For undiscounted costs, we provide a convergence result that applies to finite-time deterministic games, which we use to illustrate our results. For complex games, the Q-learning iteration must be terminated before exploring the full-state, which can lead to policies that cannot guarantee the security levels implied by the final Q-function. To mitigate this, we propose an ``opponent-informed'' exploration policy for selecting the Q-learning samples. This form of exploration can guarantee that the final Q-function provides security levels that hold, at least, against a given set of policies. A numerical demonstration for a multi-agent game, Atlatl, indicates the effectiveness of these methods.

Authors:Saad Rahman, Doyal Sarker, Tri Ngo, Roger Bergua, Daniel Zalkind, Jason Jonkman, Tuhin Das
Title: Modeling and Verification of Lumped-Parameter, Multibody Structural Dynamics for Offshore Wind Turbines
Abstract:
This paper presents the modeling and verification of multibody structural dynamics for offshore wind turbines. The flexible tower and support structure of a monopile-based offshore wind turbine are modeled using an acausal, lumped-parameter, multibody approach that incorporates structural flexibility, soil-structure interaction, and hydrodynamic models. Simulation results are benchmarked against alternative modeling approaches, demonstrating the model's ability to accurately capture both static and dynamic behaviors under various wind and wave conditions while maintaining computational efficiency. This work provides a valuable tool for analyzing key structural characteristics of wind turbines, including eigenfrequencies, mode shapes, damping, and internal forces.

Authors:Piotr Łaszkiewicz, Maria Carvalho, Cláudia Soares, Pedro Lourenço
Title: The impact of modeling approaches on controlling safety-critical, highly perturbed systems: the case for data-driven models
Abstract:
This paper evaluates the impact of three system models on the reference trajectory tracking error of the LQR optimal controller, in the challenging problem of guidance and control of the state of a system under strong perturbations and reconfiguration. We compared a smooth Linear Time Variant system learned from data (DD-LTV) with state of the art Linear Time Variant (LTV) system identification methods, showing its superiority in the task of state propagation. Moreover, we have found that DD-LTV allows for better performance in terms of trajectory tracking error than the standard solutions of a Linear Time Invariant (LTI) system model, and comparable performance to a linearized Linear Time Variant (L-LTV) system model. We tested the three approaches on the perturbed and time varying spring-mass-damper systems.

Authors:Boliang Lin, Xiang Li, Yuxue Gu, Dishen Lu
Title: Location and allocation problem of high-speed train maintenance bases
Abstract:
Maintenance bases are crucial for the safe and stable operation of high-speed trains, necessitating significant financial investment for their construction and operation. Planning the location and task allocation of these bases in the vast high-speed railway network is a complex combinatorial optimization problem. This paper explored the strategic planning of identifying optimal locations for maintenance bases, introducing a bi-level programming model. The upper-level objective was to minimize the annualized total cost, including investment for new or expanding bases and total maintenance costs, while the lower-level focused on dispatching high-speed trains to the most suitable base for maintenance tasks, thereby reducing maintenance operation dispatch costs under various investment scenarios. A case study of the Northwest China high-speed rail network demonstrated the application of this model, and included the sensitivity analysis reflecting maintenance policy reforms. The results showed that establishing a new base in Hami and expanding Xi'an base could minimize the total annualized cost during the planning period, amounting to a total of 2,278.15 million RMB. This paper offers an optimization method for selecting maintenance base locations that ensures reliability and efficiency in maintenance work as the number of trains increases in the future.

Authors:Xuyuan Kang, Xiao Wang, Jingjing An, Da Yan
Title: A novel approach of day-ahead cooling load prediction and optimal control for ice-based thermal energy storage (TES) system in commercial buildings
Abstract:
Thermal energy storage (TES) is an effective method for load shifting and demand response in buildings. Optimal TES control and management are essential to improve the performance of the cooling system. Most existing TES systems operate on a fixed schedule, which cannot take full advantage of its load shifting capability, and requires extensive investigation and optimization. This study proposed a novel integrated load prediction and optimized control approach for ice-based TES in commercial buildings. A cooling load prediction model was developed and a mid-day modification mechanism was introduced into the prediction model to improve the accuracy. Based on the predictions, a rule-based control strategy was proposed according to the time-of-use tariff; the mid-day control adjustment mechanism was introduced in accordance with the mid-day prediction modifications. The proposed approach was applied in the ice-based TES system of a commercial complex in Beijing, and achieved a mean absolute error (MAE) of 389 kW and coefficient of variance of MAE of 12.5%. The integrated prediction-based control strategy achieved an energy cost saving rate of 9.9%. The proposed model was deployed in the realistic building automation system of the case building and significantly improved the efficiency and automation of the cooling system.

Authors:Jorge Vicente-Martinez, Edgar Ramirez-Laboreo
Title: A hybrid dynamic model and parameter estimation method for accurately simulating overhead cranes with friction
Abstract:
This paper presents a new approach to accurately simulating 3D overhead cranes with friction. Nonlinear friction dynamics have a significant impact on these systems, however, accurately modeling this phenomenon in simulations is a significant challenge. Traditional methods often rely on imprecise approximations of friction or require excessive computational times for reliable results. To address this, we present a hybrid dynamical model that features a trade-off between high-fidelity friction modeling and computational efficiency. Furthermore, we present a step-by-step algorithm for the comprehensive estimation of all unknown system parameters, including friction. This methodology is based on Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) and Least Squares (LS) estimations. Finally, experimental validation with a laboratory crane confirms the effectiveness of the proposed modeling and estimation approach.

Authors:Santanu Banerjee, Goutam Sen, Siddhartha Mukhopadhyay
Title: Rich Vehicle Routing Problem in Disaster Management enabling Temporally-causal Transhipments across Multi-Modal Transportation Network
Abstract:
A rich vehicle routing problem is considered, allowing multiple trips of heterogeneous vehicles stationed at geographically distributed vehicle depots having access to different modes of transportation. The problem arises from the real-world requirement of optimizing the disaster response time by minimizing the makespan of vehicular routes. Multiple diversely-functional vertices are considered, including Transhipment Ports as inter-modal resource transfer stations. Both simultaneous and split pickup and delivery are considered, for multiple cargo types, along with Vehicle-Cargo and Transhipment Port-Cargo compatibilities. The superiority of the proposed cascaded minimization approach is demonstrated over the existing makespan minimization approaches through our developed Mixed-Integer Linear Programming formulation. To solve the problem quickly for practical implementation in a Disaster Management-specific Decision Support System, an extensive Heuristic Algorithm is devised which utilizes Decision Tree based structuring of possible routes; the Decision Tree approach helps to inherently capture the compatibility issues, while also explore the solution space through stochastic weights. Preferential generation of small route elements is performed, which are integrated into route clusters; we consider multiple different logical integration approaches, as well as shuffling the logics to simultaneously produce multiple independent solutions. Finally, perturbations of the different solutions are done to find better neighbouring solutions. The computational performance of the PSR-GIP Heuristic, on our created novel datasets, indicates that it is able to give good solutions swiftly for practical problems involving large integer instances that the MILP is unable to solve.

Authors:Jaume Banus, Augustin C. Ogier, Roger Hullin, Philippe Meyer, Ruud B. van Heeswijk, Jonas Richiardi
Title: Spatiotemporal graph neural process for reconstruction, extrapolation, and classification of cardiac trajectories
Abstract:
We present a probabilistic framework for modeling structured spatiotemporal dynamics from sparse observations, focusing on cardiac motion. Our approach integrates neural ordinary differential equations (NODEs), graph neural networks (GNNs), and neural processes into a unified model that captures uncertainty, temporal continuity, and anatomical structure. We represent dynamic systems as spatiotemporal multiplex graphs and model their latent trajectories using a GNN-parameterized vector field. Given the sparse context observations at node and edge levels, the model infers a distribution over latent initial states and control variables, enabling both interpolation and extrapolation of trajectories. We validate the method on three synthetic dynamical systems (coupled pendulum, Lorenz attractor, and Kuramoto oscillators) and two real-world cardiac imaging datasets - ACDC (N=150) and UK Biobank (N=526) - demonstrating accurate reconstruction, extrapolation, and disease classification capabilities. The model accurately reconstructs trajectories and extrapolates future cardiac cycles from a single observed cycle. It achieves state-of-the-art results on the ACDC classification task (up to 99% accuracy), and detects atrial fibrillation in UK Biobank subjects with competitive performance (up to 67% accuracy). This work introduces a flexible approach for analyzing cardiac motion and offers a foundation for graph-based learning in structured biomedical spatiotemporal time-series data.

Authors:Alireza Shooshtari, Antonio Pepiciello, José Luis Domínguez-García
Title: Grid-informed Sharing Coefficients in Renewable Energy Communities
Abstract:
The role of energy communities in grid operations is highly dependent on the spatial distribution of their participants. In particular, when local energy producers and consumers are concentrated in different feeders, economic incentives from energy communities have the potential to affect local grid congestion. To address this challenge, we propose a feeder-aware allocation strategy that reflects grid topology in energy sharing. This strategy prioritizes energy sharing within the same feeder, thus incentivizing local generation-demand balance and improving grid operation. Different sharing coefficients are tested, such as equal, proportional, and rank-based, in both static and dynamic formulations. The proposed strategy is tested on data from a real energy community, whose participants are assumed to be distributed across four feeders. The analysis is carried out from the perspectives of the community as a whole, individual feeders, and single participants. Simulation results show that the feeder-aware strategy, in addition to promoting local energy balance, leads to higher and more stable revenues for most participants.

Authors:Liuxun Xue, Shu Sun, Hangsong Yan
Title: Spatial Correlation and Degrees of Freedom in Arched HMIMO Arrays: A Closed-Form Analysis
Abstract:
This paper presents a closed-form analysis of spatial correlation and degrees of freedom (DoF) for arched holographic multiple-input multiple-output (HMIMO) arrays, which can be viewed as a special form of fluid antenna systems (FAS) when their geometry is fluidically adaptable. Unlike traditional planar configurations, practical HMIMO surfaces may exhibit curvature, significantly influencing their spatial characteristics and performance. We derive exact correlation expressions for both arched uniform linear arrays and arched uniform rectangular arrays, capturing curvature effects under far field propagation. Our results reveal that isotropic scattering results in DoF being dominated by the maximum span of the HMIMO array, such that shape effects are weakened, and bending does not significantly reduce the available spatial DoF. Numerical simulations validate the accuracy of the closed-form formulas and demonstrate the robustness of DoF against curvature variations, supporting flexible array designs. These findings offer fundamental insights into geometry-aware optimization for next-generation HMIMO/FAS systems and pave the way for practical implementations of curved HMIMO arrays.

Authors:Trung Kien La, Eric Guiffo Kaigom
Title: Deep Learning for Model-Free Prediction of Thermal States of Robot Joint Motors
Abstract:
In this work, deep neural networks made up of multiple hidden Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) and Feedforward layers are trained to predict the thermal behavior of the joint motors of robot manipulators. A model-free and scalable approach is adopted. It accommodates complexity and uncertainty challenges stemming from the derivation, identification, and validation of a large number of parameters of an approximation model that is hardly available. To this end, sensed joint torques are collected and processed to foresee the thermal behavior of joint motors. Promising prediction results of the machine learning based capture of the temperature dynamics of joint motors of a redundant robot with seven joints are presented.

Authors:Taehun Kim, Guntae Kim, Cheolmin Jeong, Chang Mook Kang
Title: MAPS: A Mode-Aware Probabilistic Scheduling Framework for LPV-Based Adaptive Control
Abstract:
This paper proposes Mode-Aware Probabilistic Scheduling (MAPS), a novel adaptive control framework tailored for DC motor systems experiencing varying friction. MAPS uniquely integrates an Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) estimator with a Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) based control strategy, leveraging real-time mode probability estimates to perform probabilistic gain scheduling. A key innovation of MAPS lies in directly using the updated mode probabilities as the interpolation weights for online gain synthesis in the LPV controller, thereby tightly coupling state estimation with adaptive control. This seamless integration enables the controller to dynamically adapt control gains in real time, effectively responding to changes in frictional operating modes without requiring explicit friction model identification. Validation on a Hardware-in-the-Loop Simulation (HILS) environment demonstrates that MAPS significantly enhances both state estimation accuracy and reference tracking performance compared to Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) controllers relying on predefined scheduling variables. These results establish MAPS as a robust, generalizable solution for friction-aware adaptive control in uncertain, time-varying environments, with practical real-time applicability.

Authors:Scott Jones, Liyou Zhou, Sebastian W. Pattinson
Title: Pre-trained Visual Representations Generalize Where it Matters in Model-Based Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
In visuomotor policy learning, the control policy for the robotic agent is derived directly from visual inputs. The typical approach, where a policy and vision encoder are trained jointly from scratch, generalizes poorly to novel visual scene changes. Using pre-trained vision models (PVMs) to inform a policy network improves robustness in model-free reinforcement learning (MFRL). Recent developments in Model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) suggest that MBRL is more sample-efficient than MFRL. However, counterintuitively, existing work has found PVMs to be ineffective in MBRL. Here, we investigate PVM's effectiveness in MBRL, specifically on generalization under visual domain shifts. We show that, in scenarios with severe shifts, PVMs perform much better than a baseline model trained from scratch. We further investigate the effects of varying levels of fine-tuning of PVMs. Our results show that partial fine-tuning can maintain the highest average task performance under the most extreme distribution shifts. Our results demonstrate that PVMs are highly successful in promoting robustness in visual policy learning, providing compelling evidence for their wider adoption in model-based robotic learning applications.

Authors:Devin Hunter, Chinwendu Enyioha
Title: Hybrid State Estimation of Uncertain Nonlinear Dynamics Using Neural Processes
Abstract:
Various neural network architectures are used in many of the state-of-the-art approaches for real-time nonlinear state estimation in dynamical systems. With the ever-increasing incorporation of these data-driven models into the estimation domain, models with reliable margins of error are required -- especially for safety-critical applications. This paper discusses a novel hybrid, data-driven state estimation approach based on the physics-informed attentive neural process (PI-AttNP), a model-informed extension of the attentive neural process (AttNP). We augment this estimation approach with the regression-based split conformal prediction (CP) framework to obtain quantified model uncertainty with probabilistic guarantees. After presenting the algorithm in a generic form, we validate its performance in the task of grey-box state estimation of a simulated under-actuated six-degree-of-freedom quadrotor with multimodal Gaussian sensor noise and several external perturbations typical to quadrotors. Further, we compare outcomes with state-of-the-art data-driven methods, which provide significant evidence of the physics-informed neural process as a viable novel approach for model-driven estimation.

Authors:Nacira Agram, Fred Espen Benth, Giulia Pucci, Jan Rems
Title: A Deep Learning Approach to Renewable Capacity Installation under Jump Uncertainty
Abstract:
We study a stochastic model for the installation of renewable energy capacity under demand uncertainty and jump driven dynamics. The system is governed by a multidimensional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck (OU) process driven by a subordinator, capturing abrupt variations in renewable generation and electricity load. Installation decisions are modeled through control actions that increase capacity in response to environmental and economic conditions. We consider two distinct solution approaches. First, we implement a structured threshold based control rule, where capacity is increased proportionally when the stochastic capacity factor falls below a fixed level. This formulation leads to a nonlinear partial integro-differential equation (PIDE), which we solve by reformulating it as a backward stochastic differential equation with jumps. We extend the DBDP solver in \cite{hure2020deep} to the pure jump setting, employing a dual neural network architecture to approximate both the value function and the jump sensitivity. Second, we propose a fully data driven deep control algorithm that directly learns the optimal feedback policy by minimizing the expected cost functional using neural networks. This approach avoids assumptions on the form of the control rule and enables adaptive interventions based on the evolving system state. Numerical experiments highlight the strengths of both methods. While the threshold based BSDE approach offers interpretability and tractability, the deep control strategy achieves improved performance through flexibility in capacity allocation. Together, these tools provide a robust framework for decision support in long term renewable energy expansion under uncertainty.

Authors:Siying Huang, Yifen Mu, Ge Chen
Title: Private Markovian Equilibrium in Stackelberg Markov Games for Smart Grid Demand Response
Abstract:
The increasing integration of renewable energy introduces a great challenge to the supply and demand balance of the power grid. To address this challenge, this paper formulates a Stackelberg Markov game (SMG) between an aggregator and multiple users, where the aggregator sets electricity prices and users make demand and storage decisions. Considering that users' storage levels are private information, we introduce private states and propose the new concepts of private Markovian strategies (PMS) and private Markovian equilibrium (PME). We establish the existence of a pure PME in the lower-level Markov game and prove that it can be computed in polynomial time. Notably, computing equilibrium in general Markov games is hard, and polynomial-time algorithms are rarely available. Based on these theoretical results, we develop a scalable solution framework combining centralized and decentralized algorithms for the lower-level PME computation with upper-level pricing optimization. Numerical simulations with up to 50 users based on real data validate the effectiveness and scalability of the proposed methods, whereas prior studies typically consider no more than 5 users.

Authors:An Nguyen, Hung Pham, Cuong Do
Title: A Cost-Optimization Model for EV Charging Stations Utilizing Solar Energy and Variable Pricing
Abstract:
This paper presents a cost optimization framework for electric vehicle (EV) charging stations that leverages on-site photovoltaic (PV) generation and explicitly accounts for electricity price uncertainty through a Bertsimas--Sim robust formulation. The model is formulated as a linear program that satisfies vehicle energy demands, respects charging and grid capacity constraints, and minimizes procurement cost. Evaluations on real charging data from the Caltech ACN dataset show average savings of about 12\% compared to a first-come--first-served baseline, with peak monthly reductions up to 19.2\%. A lightweight sensitivity analysis indicates that a modest $\sim$5\% increase in nominal cost can reduce worst-case exposure by 14\%. Computational tests confirm real-time feasibility, with instances of up to 50 concurrent EVs solved in under 5 seconds on a standard laptop. The proposed method provides a practical, grid-friendly, and scalable solution for future EV charging operations.

Authors:Quan Nguyen, Christine Holland, Siddharth Sridhar
Title: Design and Optimization of EV Charging Infrastructure with Battery in Commercial Buildings
Abstract:
The installation of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in buildings is inevitable, as states push for increased EV adoption to support decarbonization efforts. This transition could force the need for grid infrastructure upgrades and enhanced controls to support reliable power delivery to end-use loads, and overall economic operation. This paper evaluates strategies that address these needs on two fronts: i) optimal sizing of service transformers and battery energy storage systems (BESS), and ii) optimized coordination between EV charging, BESS operation, and building demand. These strategies are applied to a school campus setting, consisting of building and EV charging loads, to provide an illustration of energy management in commercial buildings with EV fleets. A rolling-window optimization approach is applied to determine i) optimal sizing of the service transformer and BESS and ii) optimal control of EV charging and BESS charge/discharge schedules. The design and control strategies are validated in a 20-year time horizon with an annually increasing number of EVs (buses and vans). In addition, an economic analysis is also carried out to show the costs and benefits of each design as a medium- and long-term investment.

Authors:Yuwen Ma, Yongqiang Wang, Sarah K. Spurgeon, Boli Chen
Title: Distributed Finite-Horizon Optimal Control for Consensus with Differential Privacy Guarantees
Abstract:
This paper addresses the problem of privacy-preserving consensus control for multi-agent systems (MAS) using differential privacy. We propose a novel distributed finite-horizon linear quadratic regulator (LQR) framework, in which agents share individual state information while preserving the confidentiality of their local pairwise weight matrices, which are considered sensitive data in MAS. Protecting these matrices effectively safeguards each agent's private cost function and control preferences. Our solution injects consensus error-dependent Laplace noise into the communicated state information and employs a carefully designed time-dependent scaling factor in the local cost functions. {This approach guarantees bounded consensus and achieves rigorous $ε$-differential privacy for the weight matrices without relying on specific noise distribution assumptions.} Additionally, we analytically characterize the trade-off between consensus accuracy and privacy level, offering clear guidelines on how to enhance consensus performance through appropriate scaling of the LQR weight matrices and the privacy budget.

Authors:Moddassir Khan Nayeem, Fuhad Ahmed Opu, Omar Abbaas, Sara Abu-Aridah
Title: Finite dominating sets for the refueling station location problem in fleet operations
Abstract:
This study considers a set of routes used by public transportation vehicles and dedicated distribution fleets in a general network. We aim to optimally locate alternative fuel refueling stations in the network to serve these dedicated routes. Deviations from prescribed routes for refueling purposes are allowed. Unlike most related literature, our approach considers all points in the network as candidate refueling station locations. We derive coverage constraints for any candidate location to serve a given route. Then we develop an exact algorithm to establish a finite dominating set (FDS) of candidate locations guaranteed to include an optimal solution to the problem. This set can be used in a mathematical model to minimize the number of stations required to cover all flows in the network. Numerical experiments on realistic networks are presented to illustrate the proposed methodology and to demonstrate its scalability and sensitivity to changes in parameter values.

Authors:Adam Janiak, Damian Kowalczyk, Maciej Lichtenstein
Title: Parallel/Distributed Tabu Search for Scheduling Microprocessor Tasks in Hybrid Flowshop
Abstract:
The paper deals with the makespan minimization in the hybrid flow shop scheduling problem with multiprocessor tasks. The hybrid flow shop (HFS) generalizes the classical flow shop processor configuration by replacing each processor (processing stage) by some number of identical parallel processors. Similarly, the multiprocessor tasks generalize the classical assumption, by allowing a task to require more than one processor simultaneously for its processing. In this work we present the algorithm for solving the problem based on the tabu search technique. The proposed algorithm uses parallel and distributed mechanisms for neighborhood evaluation and well balances heterogeneous network environment.

Authors:Lin Franklin Feng, Yue Hu, Xu Kuang
Title: Prioritizing Recurrent Services
Abstract:
We study optimal scheduling in multi-class queueing systems with reentrance, where jobs may return for additional service after completion. Such reentrance creates feedback loops that fundamentally alter congestion dynamics and challenge classical scheduling results. We model two distinct dimensions of the reentrance behavior, the probability of return and the speed of return, and show that their product, the effective return rate, is the key statistic that governs optimal priorities. Our main result establishes a dichotomy: when the effective return rate of the smaller job class (the class with lower expected total workload) is lower, a fixed priority rule is optimal; when it is higher, fixed rules are suboptimal and the optimal policy must be state dependent. This characterization clarifies how reentrance changes the externalities that jobs impose on one another and provides structural guidance for designing scheduling policies.

Authors:Connor Ligeikis, Heath Hofmann, Jeff Scruggs
Title: Large-Scale Self-Powered Vibration Control: Theory and Experiment
Abstract:
A self-powered system is a control technology that powers itself by harvesting energy from exogenous disturbances. This article details the design and experimental validation of a prototype self-powered vibration control system, for larger-scale applications (i.e., power flows above 1W and forces on the order of 1kN.) The prototype consists of a linear ballscrew coupled with a permanent-magnet synchronous machine. A custom three-phase inverter is used to control power flow, and a custom half-bridge DC-DC power converter is used to facilitate power flow to and from a storage capacitor. Due to parasitics in the control hardware, feedback laws for self-powered systems must adhere to a feasibility condition tighter than mere passivity. This article implements a tractable control design approach that accounts for this feasibility constraint. The control design is validated via hardware-in-the-loop experiments pertaining to a stochastically-excited tuned vibration absorber.

Authors:Rohan Tan Bhowmik, Youn Soo Jung, Juan Aguilera, Mary Prunicki, Kari Nadeau
Title: California Wildfire Inventory (CAWFI): An Extensive Dataset for Predictive Techniques based on Artificial Intelligence
Abstract:
Due to climate change and the disruption of ecosystems worldwide, wildfires are increasingly impacting environment, infrastructure, and human lives globally. Additionally, an exacerbating climate crisis means that these losses would continue to grow if preventative measures are not implemented. Though recent advancements in artificial intelligence enable wildfire management techniques, most deployed solutions focus on detecting wildfires after ignition. The development of predictive techniques with high accuracy requires extensive datasets to train machine learning models. This paper presents the California Wildfire Inventory (CAWFI), a wildfire database of over 37 million data points for building and training wildfire prediction solutions, thereby potentially preventing megafires and flash fires by addressing them before they spark. The dataset compiles daily historical California wildfire data from 2012 to 2018 and indicator data from 2012 to 2022. The indicator data consists of leading indicators (meteorological data correlating to wildfire-prone conditions), trailing indicators (environmental data correlating to prior and early wildfire activity), and geological indicators (vegetation and elevation data dictating wildfire risk and spread patterns). CAWFI has already demonstrated success when used to train a spatio-temporal artificial intelligence model, predicting 85.7% of future wildfires larger than 300,000 acres when trained on 2012-2017 indicator data. This dataset is intended to enable wildfire prediction research and solutions as well as set a precedent for future wildfire databases in other regions.

Authors:Bhagyashri Telsang, Seddik Djouadi, Charalambos D. Charalambous
Title: General Decentralized Stochastic Optimal Control via Change of Measure: Applications to the Witsenhausen Counterexample
Abstract:
In this paper we present global and person-by-person (PbP) optimality conditions for general decentralized stochastic dynamic optimal control problems, using a discrete-time version of Girsanov's change of measure. The PbP optimality conditions are applied to the Witsenhausen counterexample to show that the two strategies satisfy two coupled nonlinear integral equations. Further, we prove a fixed point theorem in a function space, establishing existence and uniqueness of solutions to the integral equations. We also provide numerical solutions of the two integral equations using the Gauss Hermite Quadrature scheme, and include a detail comparison to other numerical methods of the literature. The numerical solutions confirm Witsehausen's observation that, for certain choices of parameters, linear or affine strategies are optimal, while for other choices of parameters nonlinear strategies outperformed affine strategies.

Authors:Davood Keshavarzi, Alexander Koehler, Stefan M. Goetz
Title: A Highly Compact Direct-Injection Power-Flow Controller and Line-Voltage Regulator with Shared Magnetics and Partial-Power Conversion for Full-Power Control
Abstract:
An increasing integration of photovoltaic units, electric vehicle chargers, heat pumps, and energy storage systems challenges low-voltage power grids and can cause voltage range violation, loss of stability, (local) overload of lines, and power management problems. Research suggested universal power-flow control (UPFC) to solve power management problems. In contrast to bulky, slow, and costly conventional UPFCs with their shunt and series transformers, this paper presents a highly compact and current-dense power-flow controller, which can serve between different feeders in the low-voltage power grids. The enabler is a systematic combination of silicon car-bide (SiC) with silicon (Si) transistors and a strict partial-power topology built around a multi-active bridge. The circuit links an active-front-end converter as a shunt stage through a multi-active-bridge converter bidirectionally with low-voltage series-injection modules floating with their respective phases. The topology can use small power to control high currents through the low-voltage series-injection modules. The multi-active bridge serves as a multi-input-output power router that exchanges energy between all elements. We assess the design as well as the implementation considerations of the proposed power-flow controller mathematically and verify its performance in simulation and real systems.

Authors:Muhammad Fazlur Rahman, Joost Ellerbroek, Jacco Hoekstra
Title: Uncertainty Quantification on State-Based Conflict Detection and Resolution Algorithms
Abstract:
This study investigates how navigation uncertainty affects conflict detection and resolution (CD&R) for uncrewed aircraft in U-space. Position and velocity errors are modelled as zero-mean Gaussian noise consistent with ADS-L accuracy, and propagated through conflict metrics using Monte Carlo and analytical approximations. Under uncertainty, state-based detection becomes probabilistic. The probability of detection depends on both the level of uncertainty and the encounter geometry, and falls below 50% when the nominal intrusion time equals the look-ahead. Operationally, detection is re-evaluated over time as the encounter develops, yielding multiple observations with varying probabilities. Two resolution algorithms are compared: Modified Voltage Potential (MVP) and Velocity Obstacle (VO). MVP proves more robust under uncertainty because it explicitly maximises distance at the closest point of approach (CPA). By maximising CPA distance, MVP maintains an outward push and avoids reversal behaviour during the manoeuvre, whereas VO performance degrades at low relative speeds and shallow angles. BlueSky simulations confirm these effects: MVP achieves higher intrusion-prevention rates and larger post-resolution miss distances across conflict scenarios, with its advantage most pronounced at low relative velocity. The findings highlight the importance of maximising CPA distance as a conflict resolution strategy. Moreover, the look-ahead horizon and protected zone can be tuned to achieve a desired target level of safety.

Authors:Zahra Hashemi, Dipankar Maity
Title: A Linear Programming Framework for Optimal Event-Triggered LQG Control
Abstract:
This letter explores intelligent scheduling of sensor-to-controller communication in networked control systems, particularly when data transmission incurs a cost. While the optimal controller in a standard linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) setup can be computed analytically, determining the optimal times to transmit sensor data remains computationally and analytically challenging. We show that, through reformulation and the introduction of auxiliary binary variables, the scheduling problem can be cast as a computationally efficient mixed-integer linear program (MILP). This formulation not only simplifies the analysis but also reveals structural insights and provides clear decision criteria at each step. Embedding the approach within a model predictive control (MPC) framework enables dynamic adaptation, and we prove that the resulting scheduler performs at least as well as any deterministic strategy (e.g., periodic strategy). Simulation results further demonstrate that our method consistently outperforms traditional periodic scheduling.

Authors:Johan Cederbladh, Loek Cleophas, Eduard Kamburjan, Lucas Lima, Rakshit Mittal, Hans Vangheluwe
Title: Reasonable Experiments in Model-Based Systems Engineering
Abstract:
With the current trend in Model-Based Systems Engineering towards Digital Engineering and early Validation & Verification, experiments are increasingly used to estimate system parameters and explore design decisions. Managing such experimental configuration metadata and results is of utmost importance in accelerating overall design effort. In particular, we observe it is important to 'intelligent-ly' reuse experiment-related data to save time and effort by not performing potentially superfluous, time-consuming, and resource-intensive experiments. In this work, we present a framework for managing experiments on digital and/or physical assets with a focus on case-based reasoning with domain knowledge to reuse experimental data efficiently by deciding whether an already-performed experiment (or associated answer) can be reused to answer a new (potentially different) question from the engineer/user without having to set up and perform a new experiment. We provide the general architecture for such an experiment manager and validate our approach using an industrial vehicular energy system-design case study.

Authors:Jiaxing Cao, Yuzhou Gao, Jiwei Huang
Title: A Service-Oriented Adaptive Hierarchical Incentive Mechanism for Federated Learning
Abstract:
Recently, federated learning (FL) has emerged as a novel framework for distributed model training. In FL, the task publisher (TP) releases tasks, and local model owners (LMOs) use their local data to train models. Sometimes, FL suffers from the lack of training data, and thus workers are recruited for gathering data. To this end, this paper proposes an adaptive incentive mechanism from a service-oriented perspective, with the objective of maximizing the utilities of TP, LMOs and workers. Specifically, a Stackelberg game is theoretically established between the LMOs and TP, positioning TP as the leader and the LMOs as followers. An analytical Nash equilibrium solution is derived to maximize their utilities. The interaction between LMOs and workers is formulated by a multi-agent Markov decision process (MAMDP), with the optimal strategy identified via deep reinforcement learning (DRL). Additionally, an Adaptively Searching the Optimal Strategy Algorithm (ASOSA) is designed to stabilize the strategies of each participant and solve the coupling problems. Extensive numerical experiments are conducted to validate the efficacy of the proposed method.

Authors:Saptarshi Purkayastha, Hrishikesh Bhagwat, Keerthika Sunchu, Orlando Hoilett, Eddy Odari, Reuben Thuo, Martin Wafula, Celia Kariuki, Sherri Bucher
Title: Development of AI-integrated infrastructure with biomedical device and mobile app for neonatal vital monitoring during and in between kangaroo care sessions
Abstract:
Premature infant mortality remains a critical challenge in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), with continuous vital sign monitoring being essential for early detection of life-threatening conditions. This paper presents an integrated system combining NeoWarm, a novel biomedical device, with NeoRoo, a mobile application, and NeoSmartML, a machine learning infrastructure, to enable comprehensive vital sign monitoring during Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC). Our power-optimized device achieves 6-6.5 days of continuous operation on a single charge, while the mobile application implements an offline-first architecture with efficient data synchronization. The optical character recognition pipeline demonstrates promising accuracy (F1 scores 0.78-0.875) for automated vital sign extraction from existing NICU monitors. Experimental validation shows the system's feasibility for deployment in resource-constrained settings, though further optimization of heart rate and temperature detection, along with the risk classification foundation model is needed.

Authors:Xicheng Wang, Yun. Feng, Dmitry Grishchenko, Pavel Kudinov, Ruifeng Tian, Sichao Tan
Title: Data-driven optimization of sparse sensor placement in thermal hydraulic experiments
Abstract:
Thermal-Hydraulic (TH) experiments provide valuable insight into the physics of heat and mass transfer and qualified data for code development, calibration and validation. However, measurements are typically collected from sparsely distributed sensors, offering limited coverage over the domain of interest and phenomena of interest. Determination of the spatial configuration of these sensors is crucial and challenging during the pre-test design stage. This paper develops a data-driven framework for optimizing sensor placement in TH experiments, including (i) a sensitivity analysis to construct datasets, (ii) Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD) for dimensionality reduction, and (iii) QR factorization with column pivoting to determine optimal sensor configuration under spatial constraints. The framework is demonstrated on a test conducted in the TALL-3D Lead-bismuth eutectic (LBE) loop. In this case, the utilization of optical techniques, such as Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV), are impractical. Thereby the quantification of momentum and energy transport relies heavily on readings from Thermocouples (TCs). The test section was previously instrumented with many TCs determined through a manual process combining simulation results with expert judgement. The proposed framework provides a systematic and automated approach for sensor placement. The resulting TCs exhibit high sensitivity to the variation of uncertain input parameters and enable accurate full field reconstruction while maintaining robustness against measurement noise.

Authors:Sarvan Gill, Daniela Constantinescu
Title: Off Policy Lyapunov Stability in Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Traditional reinforcement learning lacks the ability to provide stability guarantees. More recent algorithms learn Lyapunov functions alongside the control policies to ensure stable learning. However, the current self-learned Lyapunov functions are sample inefficient due to their on-policy nature. This paper introduces a method for learning Lyapunov functions off-policy and incorporates the proposed off-policy Lyapunov function into the Soft Actor Critic and Proximal Policy Optimization algorithms to provide them with a data efficient stability certificate. Simulations of an inverted pendulum and a quadrotor illustrate the improved performance of the two algorithms when endowed with the proposed off-policy Lyapunov function.

Authors:Safa Mohammed Sali, Hoach The Nguyen, Ameena Saad Al-Sumaiti
Title: High-Gain Voltage-Multiplier Coupled Quadratic Boost Converter: A New Design for Small Scale PV Integration
Abstract:
This paper introduces a single-switch high-gain voltage-multiplier coupled quadratic boost converter (HGVM-QBC), developed from the conventional quadratic boost converter (QBC). The proposed topology is designed to achieve higher voltage gain, lower semiconductor voltage stress, and continuous current operation, making it particularly suitable for small-scale photovoltaic (PV) systems. By incorporating a voltage multiplier cell into the QBC, the converter significantly improves voltage boosting capability while mitigating stress on switching devices. In this configuration, the output voltage is obtained by combining the voltages across multiple output capacitors, thereby enhancing the overall voltage level. A detailed comparative study with recently reported converter topologies demonstrates the superior gain and reduced device stress offered by the HGVM-QBC. The design is validated through MATLAB/Simulink simulations, which confirm improved performance in terms of gain and voltage stress. Furthermore, an experimental prototype achieves an output of 151 Vdc from a 12 Vdc input at a 55% duty cycle, corresponding to a gain of 12.59. These results establish the HGVM-QBC as an efficient and reliable solution for PV applications that demand high voltage output from low input sources.

Authors:Suzhou Huang, Jian Hu
Title: Taming Spontaneous Stop-and-Go Traffic Waves: A Bifurcation Perspective of A Dynamical Map
Abstract:
We consider a discrete-time dynamical system in a car-following context. The system was recently introduced to parsimoniously model human driving behavior based on utility maximization. The parameters of the model were calibrated using vehicle trajectory data from the Sugiyama experiment. It was shown that such a system can accurately reproduce the observed collective phenomena of a more elaborate experiment by Tadaki et al. Once the heterogeneity and noise are switched off, the model defines a map of the corresponding discrete-time dynamical system. We first perform a bifurcation analysis of the map by studying the stability of its limit solutions: a free-flow fixed point and a stop-and-go quasi-periodic orbit. When the vehicle density is varied, our model displays a bifurcation diagram qualitatively similar to those found in a class of optimal velocity models based on an ordinary differential equation approach, including regimes where one or both of the limit solutions are stable. In a 2D bifurcation diagram we further demonstrate that imposing a vehicle density-dependent speed advisory can dissipate the stop-and-go quasi-periodic orbit. This in turn lays the mathematical foundation for a simple, yet effective proposal [1] to tame stop-and-go waves, improving traffic flow and smoothness simultaneously via variable speed advisory.

Authors:Yasir Ali, Tayyab Manzoor, Huan Yang, Asif Ali, Yuanqing Xia
Title: Towards Efficient and Secure Cloud Control Systems: Advances, Challenges, and Future Directions
Abstract:
Networked Control Systems (NCSs) have been instrumental in realizing fully connected and responsive intelligent environments within the context of real-time virtual control and management. However, traditional NCSs face considerable challenges in handling the vast amounts of data generated by large-scale control applications, particularly in terms of data acquisition, storage, and computational processing. To address these challenges, the emergence of cloud computing and advancements in control theory have empowered the new paradigm known as Cloud Control Systems (CCSs). Recently, CCSs have received substantial attention from industries for their potential properties, such as large-scale data management, complex computations, and data-centric optimized decisions. This study presents an extensive review of recent progress in CCSs spanning over multiple studies published between 2012 and 2025. Specifically, the focus is on providing a taxonomy of the current findings in CCS research, encompassing various perspectives, such as its efficient implementations in industrial automation, security and privacy considerations, and cloud-based control techniques. Each category is examined in depth through selected state-of-the-art analyses of different approaches and contrasting methodologies. Furthermore, we discuss future directions aimed at designing more efficient and practical CCSs. The insights gained from this study can help researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers in their domain for effective CCS design and deployment.

Authors:Ayan Biswas, Jimmy Jin
Title: Implementation of a 8-bit Wallace Tree Multiplier
Abstract:
Wallace tree multipliers are a parallel digital multiplier architecture designed to minimize the worst-case time complexity of the circuit depth relative to the input size [1]. In particular, it seeks to perform long multiplication in the binary sense, reducing as many partial products per stage as possible through full and half adders circuits, achieving O(log(n)) where n = bit length of input. This paper provides an overview of the design, progress and methodology in the final project of ECE 55900, consisting of the schematic and layout of a Wallace tree 8-bit input multiplier on the gpdk45 technology in Cadence Virtuoso, as well as any design attempts prior to the final product. This also includes our endeavors in designing the final MAC (Multiply Accumulate) unit with undefined targets, which we chose to implement as a 16 bit combinational multiply-add.

Authors:Chloe Ngo, Christian Parkinson, Weinan Wang
Title: Optimal Control of an SIR Model with Noncompliance as a Social Contagion
Abstract:
We propose and study a compartmental model for epidemiology with human behavioral effects. Specifically, our model incorporates governmental prevention measures aimed at lowering the disease infection rate, but we split the population into those who comply with the measures and those who do not comply and therefore do not receive the reduction in infectivity. We then allow the attitude of noncompliance to spread as a social contagion parallel to the disease. We derive the reproductive ratio for our model and provide stability analysis for the disease-free equilibria. We then propose a control scenario wherein a policy-maker with access to control variables representing disease prevention mandates, treatment efforts, and educational campaigns aimed at encouraging compliance minimizes a cost functional incorporating several cost concerns. We characterize optimal controls via the Pontryagin optimality principle and present simulations which demonstrate the behavior of the control maps in several different parameter regimes.

Authors:Diana Vieira Fernandes, Soummya Kar, Carlos Santos Silva
Title: Decentralized Local Voltage Control for Active Distribution Networks
Abstract:
Distribution networks face challenges from the increasing deployment of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) and the emergence of bidirectional power flows. We propose a decentralized Volt/VAr control method based on a saddle-point reformulation and consensus+innovation (C+I) updates. Each agent at a controllable bus computes and enforces its own set-points using only neighbor communication. Our method embeds passive buses directly, preserves network physics through a linearized Jacobian model, and avoids any supervisory nodes. Simulation results on a modified CIGRE low-voltage network show voltage stability improvement within operational limits, indicating the viability of a fully decentralized (edge-based) Volt/VAr control solution.

Authors:Ueli Schilt, Somesh Vijayananda, Sarah Schneeberger, Manuel Meyer, Santhosh Iyyakkunnel, Pascal Marc Vecsei, Philipp Schuetz
Title: How can a geothermal storage system be optimally integrated into a local district? A case study
Abstract:
Achieving net-zero targets requires the phase-out of fossil-based heating. A major challenge is the seasonal mismatch between renewable heat supply and demand. District heating networks often dispose of excess heat in summer and rely on fossil backups in winter. Large-scale thermal energy storage offers a solution by storing surplus summer heat for use during winter, thus reducing the need for fossil fuels. This study investigates the feasibility of a large-scale thermal storage system at a power production site that supplies a large district heating network in the city of Bern, Switzerland. Specifically, the study examines the potential of a geothermal storage system to offset fossil fuel heat generation in winter by utilising heat stored during the summer months. Using a Python-based multi-energy system model, we simulate the optimal operation of the geothermal storage system with respect to cost and emissions, considering both supply and demand on an hourly basis over one year. Multi-objective optimisation is applied to generate a Pareto-optimal front. The results show that the geothermal storage system eliminates the requirement of 8 GWh of gas-powered heat supply and increases the waste heat utilisation by 20%, therefore lowering emissions. This effect is further increased when combined with an expansion of the district heating network, as individual, emission-heavy heaters are replaced by low-emission heat from the district heating network. The findings presented in this study can prove useful when evaluating similar systems across Switzerland.

Authors:Hassan Yazdani, Ali Maleki, Saeed Lotfifard, Ali Saberi
Title: Multivariable Current Controller for Enhancing Dynamic Response and Grid Synchronization Stability of IBRs
Abstract:
This paper develops a multivariable current control strategy for inverter-based resources (IBRs) based on optimal control theory to enhance their dynamic performance and grid synchronization stability. The structure of the implemented multiple-input, multiple-output (MIMO) controller closely resembles that of the commonly used conventional single-input, single-output (SISO) PI controllers for IBRs. As a result, it requires only minor adjustments to conventional vector current control schemes, thereby facilitating its straightforward adoption. Time-domain simulations and analytical analysis demonstrate the superior performance of the developed method under various conditions and use case scenarios, such as weak power systems and uncertain parameters.

Authors:Phillippe K. Phanivong, Duncan S. Callaway
Title: A Linear Pricing Mechanism for Load Management in Day-Ahead Retail Energy Markets
Abstract:
Regulators and utilities have been exploring hourly retail electricity pricing, with several existing programs providing day-ahead hourly pricing schedules. At the same time, customers are deploying distributed energy resources and smart energy management systems that have significant flexibility and can optimally follow price signals. In aggregate, these optimally controlled loads can create congestion management issues for distribution system operators (DSOs). In this paper, we describe a new linear pricing mechanism for day-ahead retail electricity pricing that provides a signal for customers to follow to mitigate over-consumption while still consuming energy at hours that are preferential for system performance. We show that by broadcasting a linear price designed for price-signal control of cost-optimizing loads, we can shape customer load profiles to provide congestion management without the need for bi-directional communication or customer bidding programs.

Authors:Jonas Birgersson, Marc A. Weiss, Jimmy Chen, Daniel Kammen, Tomas Kåberger, Franklin Carrero-Martínez, Joakim Wernberg, Michael Menser, Newsha K. Ajami
Title: EnergyNet Explained: Internetification of Energy Distribution
Abstract:
In developing EnergyNet we have leveraged and are extending lessons from telecom's shift from a centralized, circuit-switched phone system to decentralized, packet-switched data networks. EnergyNet utilizes 1) an Energy Router that enforces galvanic separation and utilizes software-controlled energy flows over a DC backplane, 2) Energy Local and Wide Area Networks (ELAN/EWAN) based on DC microgrids that interconnect through an open Energy Protocol (EP), and 3) a control plane comprised of the Energy Router Operating System (EROS) and EP Server which is managed at operator scale through an Energy Network Management System (ENMS). We distinguish the architectural contribution (Tier-1 including components, interfaces, and operating model) from expected outcomes contingent on adoption (Tier-2). The latter includes local-first autonomy with global interoperability, near-real-time operation with local buffering, removal of EV-charging bottlenecks, freed grid capacity for data centers and industrial electrification, as well as a trend toward low, predictable, fixed-cost clean energy. Evidence from early municipal demonstrators illustrates feasibility and migration paths. The contribution is a coherent, open, and testable blueprint for software-defined, decentralized energy distribution, aligning power-systems engineering with networking principles and offering a practical route from legacy, synchronous grids to resilient, digitally routed energy distribution systems.

Authors:Badr Al Faiya, Stephen McArthur, Ivana Kockar
Title: Partitioning and Self-organization of Distributed Generation in Large Distribution Networks
Abstract:
Distribution networks will experience more installations of distributed generation (DG) that is unpredictable and stochastic in nature. Greater distributed control and intelligence will allow challenges such as voltage control to be handled effectively. The partitioning of power networks into smaller clusters provides a method to split the control problem into manageable sub-problems. This paper presents a community detection-based partitioning technique for distribution networks considering local DGs, allowing them to be grouped and controlled in a distributed manner by using local signals and measurements. This method also allows each community to control the voltage using only neighboring DGs, and for each community to self-organize to reflect varying DG conditions and to maintain stable control. Simulations demonstrate that the partitioning of the large distribution network is effective, and each community is able to self-organize and to regulate the voltage independently using only its local DGs.

Authors:Muzaffar Habib, Adnan Maqsood, Adnan Fayyaz ud Din
Title: Fault Tolerant Control of a Quadcopter using Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
This study presents a novel reinforcement learning (RL)-based control framework aimed at enhancing the safety and robustness of the quadcopter, with a specific focus on resilience to in-flight one propeller failure. Addressing the critical need of a robust control strategy for maintaining a desired altitude for the quadcopter to safe the hardware and the payload in physical applications. The proposed framework investigates two RL methodologies Dynamic Programming (DP) and Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG), to overcome the challenges posed by the rotor failure mechanism of the quadcopter. DP, a model-based approach, is leveraged for its convergence guarantees, despite high computational demands, whereas DDPG, a model-free technique, facilitates rapid computation but with constraints on solution duration. The research challenge arises from training RL algorithms on large dimensions and action domains. With modifications to the existing DP and DDPG algorithms, the controllers were trained not only to cater for large continuous state and action domain and also achieve a desired state after an inflight propeller failure. To verify the robustness of the proposed control framework, extensive simulations were conducted in a MATLAB environment across various initial conditions and underscoring its viability for mission-critical quadcopter applications. A comparative analysis was performed between both RL algorithms and their potential for applications in faulty aerial systems.

Authors:K. P. Sunny, Rakesh R. Warier
Title: Prescribed-Time Event-Triggered Control for Matrix-Scaled Networks
Abstract:
This article proposes a distributed control method for matrix-scaled multi-agent networks aimed at achieving convergence within a user-defined time frame. The control law of each individual agent relies only on information from neighboring agents and is updated at discrete intervals determined by state-dependent triggering functions, reducing the frequency of agent interactions. To this end, first, the controller is augmented with a time-varying gain. Then, the dynamics of the closed-loop system over the finite-time interval is transformed into an infinite-time frame using time scaling. Lyapunov-based analysis is employed to derive suitable triggering conditions that guarantee the asymptotic convergence of the time-transformed system, thereby ensuring the prescribed-time convergence of the original system.

Authors:Sungjun Eom, Gyunghoon Park
Title: Differential Dynamic Programming for the Optimal Control Problem with an Ellipsoidal Target Set and Its Statistical Inference
Abstract:
This work addresses an extended class of optimal control problems where a target for a system state has the form of an ellipsoid rather than a fixed, single point. As a computationally affordable method for resolving the extended problem, we present a revised version of the differential dynamic programming (DDP), termed the differential dynamic programming with ellipsoidal target set (ETS-DDP). To this end, the problem with an ellipsoidal target set is reformulated into an equivalent form with the orthogonal projection operator, yielding that the resulting cost functions turn out to be discontinuous at some points. As the DDP usually requires the differentiability of cost functions, in the ETS-DDP formulation we locally approximate the (nonsmooth) cost functions to smoothed ones near the path generated at the previous iteration, by utilizing the explicit form of the orthogonal projection operator. Moreover, a statistical inference method is also presented for designing the ellipsoidal target set, based on data on admissible target points collected by expert demonstrations. Via a simulation on autonomous parking of a vehicle, it is seen that the proposed ETS-DDP efficiently derives an admissible state trajectory while running much faster than the point-targeted DDP, at the expense of optimality.

Authors:Tran Trung Duc, Vu Duc Minh, Nguyen Ngoc Doanh, Pham Gia Nguyen, Laurent El Ghaoui, Ha Minh Hoang
Title: Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Station-based or Route-based Charging Options
Abstract:
The Electric Vehicle Routing Problem with Time Windows and Station-based or Route-based Charging Options addresses fleet optimization incorporating both conventional charging stations and continuous wireless charging infrastructure. This paper extends Schneider et al.'s foundational EVRP-TW model with arc-based dynamic wireless charging representation, partial coverage modeling, and hierarchical multi-objective optimization prioritizing fleet minimization. Computational experiments on Schneider benchmark instances demonstrate substantial operational benefits, with distance and time improvements ranging from 0.7% to 35.9% in secondary objective components. Analysis reveals that 20% wireless coverage achieves immediate benefits, while 60% coverage delivers optimal performance across all test instances for infrastructure investment decisions.

Authors:Khue Nong Thuc, Khoa Tran Nguyen Anh, Tai Nguyen Huy, Du Nguyen Hao Hong, Khanh Dinh Ba
Title: A smart fridge with AI-enabled food computing
Abstract:
The Internet of Things (IoT) plays a crucial role in enabling seamless connectivity and intelligent home automation, particularly in food management. By integrating IoT with computer vision, the smart fridge employs an ESP32-CAM to establish a monitoring subsystem that enhances food management efficiency through real-time food detection, inventory tracking, and temperature monitoring. This benefits waste reduction, grocery planning improvement, and household consumption optimization. In high-density inventory conditions, capturing partial or layered images complicates object detection, as overlapping items and occluded views hinder accurate identification and counting. Besides, varied angles and obscured details in multi-layered setups reduce algorithm reliability, often resulting in miscounts or misclassifications. Our proposed system is structured into three core modules: data pre-processing, object detection and management, and a web-based visualization. To address the challenge of poor model calibration caused by overconfident predictions, we implement a variant of focal loss that mitigates over-confidence and under-confidence in multi-category classification. This approach incorporates adaptive, class-wise error calibration via temperature scaling and evaluates the distribution of predicted probabilities across methods. Our results demonstrate that robust functional calibration significantly improves detection reliability under varying lighting conditions and scalability challenges. Further analysis demonstrates a practical, user-focused approach to modern food management, advancing sustainable living goals through reduced waste and more informed consumption.

Authors:Aiping Zhong, Wanlin Lu, Langwen Zhang, Ziyang Bao
Title: Adaptive Event-Triggered MPC for Linear Parameter-Varying Systems with State Delays, Actuator Saturation and Disturbances
Abstract:
This paper proposes a unified adaptive event-triggered model predictive control (ETMPC) scheme for linear parameter-varying (LPV) systems subject to state delays, actuator saturation, and external disturbances. In existing studies, only a limited number of ETMPC methods have attempted to address either state delays or actuator saturation, and even these few methods typically lack co-design optimization between adaptive event-triggering mechanisms and the control law. To overcome these limitations, this paper presents a Lyapunov-Krasovskii-based adaptive ETMPC strategy that enables the co-design optimization of both the triggering mechanism and the controller. Specifically, the event-triggering parameter matrix is adaptively optimized by embedding an internal adaptive variable within the Lyapunov-Krasovskii-like function. Furthermore, the actuator saturation nonlinearity is transformed into a convex hull representation. The infinite-horizon robust optimization problem is reformulated as a convex optimization problem with linear matrix inequality (LMI) constraints. Invariant set constraints are introduced to ensure recursive feasibility, and mean-square input-to-state stability (ISS) under multiple uncertainties is rigorously established. Simulations on an industrial electric heating system validate the proposed method's effectiveness in reducing communication load.

Authors:Qian Zuo, Shujie Wu, Yuzhe Qian
Title: Anti-Disturbance Hierarchical Sliding Mode Controller for Deep-Sea Cranes with Adaptive Control and Neural Network Compensation
Abstract:
To address non-linear disturbances and uncertainties in complex marine environments, this paper proposes a disturbance-resistant controller for deep-sea cranes. The controller integrates hierarchical sliding mode control, adaptive control, and neural network compensation techniques. By designing a global sliding mode surface, the dynamic coordination between the driving and non-driving subsystems is achieved, ensuring overall system stability. The subsystem surfaces reduce oscillations and enhance tracking accuracy. Adaptive control dynamically adjusts system parameters, enhancing robustness against external uncertainties, while the neural network compensates for time-varying disturbances through real-time learning. The stability of the control scheme is verified on the basis of Lyapunov theory. The simulation results demonstrate that, compared to traditional PID control, the proposed controller exhibits significant advantages in trajectory tracking accuracy, response speed, and disturbance rejection.

Authors:Xiemin Mo, Tao Liu
Title: Distributed Frequency Control for Multi-Area Power Systems Considering Transient Frequency Safety
Abstract:
High penetration of renewable energy sources intensifies frequency fluctuations in multi-area power systems, challenging both stability and operational safety. This paper proposes a novel distributed frequency control method that ensures transient frequency safety and enforces generation capacity constraints, while achieving steady-state frequency restoration and optimal economic operation. The method integrates a feedback optimization (FO)-based controller and a safety corrector. The FO-based controller generates reference setpoints by solving an optimization problem, driving the system to the steady state corresponding to the optimal solution of this problem. The safety corrector then modifies these references using control barrier functions to maintain frequencies within prescribed safe bounds during transients while respecting capacity constraints. The proposed method combines low computational burden with improved regulation performance and enhanced practical applicability. Theoretical analysis establishes optimality, asymptotic stability, and transient frequency safety for the closed-loop system. Simulation studies show that, compared with conventional FO-based schemes, the method consistently enforces frequency safety and capacity limits, achieves smaller frequency deviations and faster recovery, thereby demonstrating its practical effectiveness and advantages.

Authors:Timothy Everett Adams, James Richard Forbes
Title: Design of Input-Output Observers for a Population of Systems with Bounded Frequency-Domain Variation using $DK$-iteration
Abstract:
This paper proposes a linear input-output observer design methodology for a population of systems in which each observer uses knowledge of the linear time-invariant dynamics of the particular device. Observers are typically composed of a known model of the system and a correction mechanism to produce an estimate of the state. The proposed design procedure characterizes the variation within the population in the frequency domain and synthesizes a single robust correction filter. The correction filter is compatible with all system models that satisfy the variation characterization such that a given level of estimation performance is guaranteed. This is accomplished by posing a robust performance problem using the observer error dynamics and solving it using $DK$-iteration. The design procedure is experimentally demonstrated on a flexible joint robotic manipulator with varied joint stiffnesses. It is shown that the proposed method that uses a single correction filter achieves comparable estimation performance to a method that uses a correction gain tailored toward each joint stiffness configuration.

Authors:Anton Kolonin, Vladimir Kryukov
Title: Computational Concept of the Psyche (in Russian)
Abstract:
The article provides an overview of approaches to modeling the human psyche in the perspective of building an artificial one. Based on the review, a concept of cognitive architecture is proposed, where the psyche is considered as an operating system of a living or artificial subject, including a space of needs that determines its life meanings in connection with stimuli from the external world, and intelligence as a decision-making system for actions in relation to this world in order to satisfy these needs. Based on the concept, a computational formalization is proposed for creating artificial intelligence systems through learning from experience in the space of a space of needs, taking into account their biological or existential significance for an intelligent agent. Thus, the problem of building general artificial intelligence as a system for making optimal decisions in the space of agent-specific needs under conditions of uncertainty is formalized, with maximization of success in achieving goals, minimization of existential risks and maximization of energy efficiency. A minimal experimental implementation of the model is also provided.

Authors:Juan D. Gil, Ehecatl Antonio Del Rio Chanona, José L. Guzmán, Manuel Berenguel
Title: Reinforcement learning meets bioprocess control through behaviour cloning: Real-world deployment in an industrial photobioreactor
Abstract:
The inherent complexity of living cells as production units creates major challenges for maintaining stable and optimal bioprocess conditions, especially in open Photobioreactors (PBRs) exposed to fluctuating environments. To address this, we propose a Reinforcement Learning (RL) control approach, combined with Behavior Cloning (BC), for pH regulation in open PBR systems. This represents, to the best of our knowledge, the first application of an RL-based control strategy to such a nonlinear and disturbance-prone bioprocess. Our method begins with an offline training stage in which the RL agent learns from trajectories generated by a nominal Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controller, without direct interaction with the real system. This is followed by a daily online fine-tuning phase, enabling adaptation to evolving process dynamics and stronger rejection of fast, transient disturbances. This hybrid offline-online strategy allows deployment of an adaptive control policy capable of handling the inherent nonlinearities and external perturbations in open PBRs. Simulation studies highlight the advantages of our method: the Integral of Absolute Error (IAE) was reduced by 8% compared to PID control and by 5% relative to standard off-policy RL. Moreover, control effort decreased substantially-by 54% compared to PID and 7% compared to standard RL-an important factor for minimizing operational costs. Finally, an 8-day experimental validation under varying environmental conditions confirmed the robustness and reliability of the proposed approach. Overall, this work demonstrates the potential of RL-based methods for bioprocess control and paves the way for their broader application to other nonlinear, disturbance-prone systems.

Authors:Francesco Simone, Marco Bortolini, Giovanni Mazzuto, Giulio di Gravio, Riccardo Patriarca
Title: Human-Hardware-in-the-Loop simulations for systemic resilience assessment in cyber-socio-technical systems
Abstract:
Modern industrial systems require updated approaches to safety management, as the tight interplay between cyber-physical, human, and organizational factors has driven their processes toward increasing complexity. In addition to dealing with known risks, managing system resilience acquires great value to address complex behaviors pragmatically. This manuscript starts from the System-Theoretic Accident Model and Processes (STAMP) as a modelling initiative for such complexity. The STAMP can be natively integrated with simulation-based approaches, which however fail to realistically represent human behaviors and their influence on the system performance. To overcome this limitation, this paper proposes a Human-Hardware-in-the-Loop (HHIL) modeling and simulation framework aimed at supporting a more realistic and comprehensive assessments of systemic resilience. The approach is tested on an experimental oil and gas plant experiencing cyber-attacks, where two personas of operators (experts and novices) work. This research provides a mean to quantitatively assess how variations in operator behavior impact the overall system performance, offering insights into how resilience should be understood and implemented in complex socio-technical systems at large.

Authors:Sri Satish Krishna Chaitanya Bulusu, Mikko Sillanpää
Title: Information-Theoretic Bounds and Task-Centric Learning Complexity for Real-World Dynamic Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
Dynamic nonlinear systems exhibit distortions arising from coupled static and dynamic effects. Their intertwined nature poses major challenges for data-driven modeling. This paper presents a theoretical framework grounded in structured decomposition, variance analysis, and task-centric complexity bounds. The framework employs a directional lower bound on interactions between measurable system components, extending orthogonality in inner product spaces to structurally asymmetric settings. This bound supports variance inequalities for decomposed systems. Key behavioral indicators are introduced along with a memory finiteness index. A rigorous power-based condition establishes a measurable link between finite memory in realizable systems and the First Law of Thermodynamics. This offers a more foundational perspective than classical bounds based on the Second Law. Building on this foundation, we formulate a `Behavioral Uncertainty Principle,' demonstrating that static and dynamic distortions cannot be minimized simultaneously. We identify that real-world systems seem to resist complete deterministic decomposition due to entangled static and dynamic effects. We also present two general-purpose theorems linking function variance to mean-squared Lipschitz continuity and learning complexity. This yields a model-agnostic, task-aware complexity metric, showing that lower-variance components are inherently easier to learn. These insights explain the empirical benefits of structured residual learning, including improved generalization, reduced parameter count, and lower training cost, as previously observed in power amplifier linearization experiments. The framework is broadly applicable and offers a scalable, theoretically grounded approach to modeling complex dynamic nonlinear systems.

Authors:Yifan Wang, Wenhua Li, Zhenlong Wang, Xinrui Zhang, Jianfeng Sun, Qianfu Xia, Zhongtao Gou, Jiangang Rong, Tao Ye
Title: First-Principle Modeling Framework of Boost Converter Dynamics for Precise Energy Conversions in Space
Abstract:
Boost converters are essential for modern electrification and intelligent technologies. However, conventional Boost converter models relying on steady-state assumptions fail to accurately predict transient behaviors during input voltage and load fluctuations, which cause significant output voltage overshoots and instability, resulting in failures of electrical systems, thereby restricting their use in space. This study introduces a first-principle modeling framework that derives precise dynamic equations for Boost converters by incorporating non-ideal component coupling. As compared to the most accurate existing Boost converter model, the proposed models reduce steady-state and dynamic-state errors between experimental and simulated output voltages by factors of 11.0 (from 20.9% to 1.9%) and 15.4 (from 77.1% to 5.0%) under input voltage variations, and by factors of 10.2 (from 15.3% to 1.5%) and 35.1 (from 42.1% to 1.2%) under load changes, respectively. Consequently, a reliable Boost converter is accordingly designed and on-orbit deployed for precise energy conversions.

Authors:Tahmin Mahmud, Euzeli Cipriano Dos Santos
Title: DNN-based Digital Twin Framework of a DC-DC Buck Converter using Spider Monkey Optimization Algorithm
Abstract:
Component ageing is a critical concern in power electronic converter systems (PECSs). It directly impacts the reliability, performance, and operational lifespan of converters used across diverse applications, including electric vehicles (EVs), renewable energy systems (RESs) and industrial automation. Therefore, understanding and monitoring component ageing is crucial for developing robust converters and achieving long-term system reliability. This paper proposes a data-driven digital twin (DT) framework for DC-DC buck converters, integrating deep neural network (DNN) with the spider monkey optimization (SMO) algorithm to monitor and predict component degradation. Utilizing a low-power prototype testbed along with empirical and synthetic datasets, the SMO+DNN approach achieves the global optimum in 95% of trials, requires 33% fewer iterations, and results in 80% fewer parameter constraint violations compared to traditional methods. The DNN model achieves $R^2$ scores above 0.998 for all key degradation parameters and accurately forecasts time to failure ($t_{failure}$). In addition, SMO-tuned degradation profile improves the converter's performance by reducing voltage ripple by 20-25% and inductor current ripple by 15-20%.

Authors:Karolina Skrivankova, Mark Handley, Stephen Hailes
Title: 20 Years in Life of a Smart Building: A retrospective
Abstract:
Operating an intelligent smart building automation system in 2025 is met with many challenges: hardware failures, vendor obsolescence, evolving security threats and more. None of these have been comprehensibly addressed by the industrial building nor home automation industries, limiting feasibility of operating large, truly smart automation deployments. This paper introduces KaOS, a distributed control platform for constructing robust and evolvable smart building automation systems using affordable, off-the-shelf IoT hardware. Supporting control applications and distributed system operations by leveraging containerisation and managed resource access, KaOS seeks to achieve flexibility, security, and fault tolerance without sacrificing cost-effectiveness. Initial evaluation confirms the practical feasibility of our approach, highlighting its potential to sustainably maintain and incrementally evolve building control functionalities over extended timeframes.

Authors:Runjiao Bao, Lin Zhang, Tianwei Niu, Haoyu Yuan, Shoukun Wang
Title: Hybrid A* Path Planning with Multi-Modal Motion Extension for Four-Wheel Steering Mobile Robots
Abstract:
Four-wheel independent steering (4WIS) systems provide mobile robots with a rich set of motion modes, such as Ackermann steering, lateral steering, and parallel movement, offering superior maneuverability in constrained environments. However, existing path planning methods generally assume a single kinematic model and thus fail to fully exploit the multi-modal capabilities of 4WIS platforms. To address this limitation, we propose an extended Hybrid A* framework that operates in a four-dimensional state space incorporating both spatial states and motion modes. Within this framework, we design multi-modal Reeds-Shepp curves tailored to the distinct kinematic constraints of each motion mode, develop an enhanced heuristic function that accounts for mode-switching costs, and introduce a terminal connection strategy with intelligent mode selection to ensure smooth transitions between different steering patterns. The proposed planner enables seamless integration of multiple motion modalities within a single path, significantly improving flexibility and adaptability in complex environments. Results demonstrate significantly improved planning performance for 4WIS robots in complex environments.

Authors:Mohammad Rasoul Narimani, Katherine R. Davis, Daniel K. Molzahn
Title: Certifying the Nonexistence of Feasible Path Between Power System Operating Points
Abstract:
By providing the optimal operating point that satisfies both the power flow equations and engineering limits, the optimal power flow (OPF) problem is central to the operation of electric power systems. While extensive research efforts have focused on reliably computing high-quality OPF solutions, assessing the feasibility of transitioning between operating points remains challenging since the feasible spaces of OPF problems may consist of multiple disconnected components. It is not possible to transition between operating points in different disconnected components without violating OPF constraints. To identify such situations, this paper introduces an algorithm for certifying the infeasibility of transitioning between two operating points within an OPF feasible space. As an indication of potential disconnectedness, the algorithm first seeks an infeasible point on the line connecting a pair of feasible points. The algorithm then certifies disconnectedness by using convex relaxation and bound tightening techniques to show that all points on the plane that is normal to this line are infeasible. Using this algorithm, we provide the first certifications of disconnected feasible spaces for a variety of OPF test cases.

Authors:Songlin Jin, Yuanbo Nie, Morgan Jones
Title: Feedback Linearisation with State Constraints
Abstract:
Feedback Linearisation (FBL) is a widely used technique that applies feedback laws to transform input-affine nonlinear dynamical systems into linear dynamical systems, allowing for the use of linear controller design methods such as pole placement. However, for problems with state constraints, controlling the linear system induced by FBL can be more challenging than controlling the original system. This is because simple state constraints in the original nonlinear system become complex nonlinear constraints in the FBL induced linearised system, thereby diminishing the advantages of linearisation. To avoid increasing the complexity of state constraints under FBL, this paper introduces a method to first augment system dynamics to capture state constraints before applying FBL. We show that our proposed augmentation method leads to ill-defined relative degrees at state constraint boundaries. However, we show that ill-defined relative degrees can be overcome by using a switching FBL controller. Numerical experiments illustrate the capabilities of this method for handling state constraints within the FBL framework.

Authors:Angela Fontan, Silun Zhang
Title: Collective decision-making dynamics in hypernetworks
Abstract:
This work describes a collective decision-making dynamical process in a multiagent system under the assumption of cooperative higher-order interactions within the community, modeled as a hypernetwork. The nonlinear interconnected system is characterized by saturated nonlinearities that describe how agents transmit their opinion state to their neighbors in the hypernetwork, and by a bifurcation parameter representing the community's social effort. We show that the presence of higher-order interactions leads to the unfolding of a pitchfork bifurcation, introducing an interval for the social effort parameter in which the system exhibits bistability. With equilibrium points representing collective decisions, this implies that, depending on the initial conditions, the community will either remain in a deadlock state (with the origin as the equilibrium point) or reach a nontrivial decision. A numerical example is given to illustrate the results.

Authors:Eya Guizani, Julian Berberich
Title: Model predictive quantum control: A modular approach for efficient and robust quantum optimal control
Abstract:
Model predictive control (MPC) is one of the most successful modern control methods. It relies on repeatedly solving a finite-horizon optimal control problem and applying the beginning piece of the optimal input. In this paper, we develop a modular framework for improving efficiency and robustness of quantum optimal control (QOC) via MPC. We first provide a tutorial introduction to basic concepts of MPC from a QOC perspective. We then present multiple MPC schemes, ranging from simple approaches to more sophisticated schemes which admit stability guarantees. This yields a modular framework which can be used 1) to improve efficiency of open-loop QOC and 2) to improve robustness of closed-loop quantum control by incorporating feedback. We demonstrate these benefits with numerical results, where we benchmark the proposed methods against competing approaches.

Authors:Matthieu Mesnage, Sophie Villenave, Bertrand Massot, Matthieu Blanchard, Pierre Raimbaud, Guillaume Lavoué, Claudine Gehin
Title: StimulHeat: a Low-Energy Wearable Thermal Feedback Device Using Peltier Elements with Heat Flow Controlled Loop for Hand Interactions in Virtual Reality
Abstract:
Nowadays, the majority of wearable thermal feedback systems designed for use in virtual reality applications are not compatible or not integrated to standard controllers and are based on temperature control. The objectives of the present work is to enable integration with existing controllers, in this case Valve Index controllers, and to propose an alternative approach to managing thermal stimulation with Peltier modules by controlling heat flow instead of temperature. We introduce StimulHeat as a wireless, low power thermal feedback system, based on the continuous relationship between heat and current injection in thermoelectric device (TED). First, we designed an optimized TED driver capable of injecting a continuous, bidirectional current into the TED, thereby driving it as a heater or cooler. Subsequently, this driver was implemented in an electronic board to include temperature and heat flow control loops, as well as Bluetooth Low Energy interface for remote control. A mechanical integration was conducted, in the form of a controller extension which is non-intrusive and can be clipped to Valve Index controllers to enclose the TED, temperature sensors and electronics. Finally, we present a user study validating StimulHeat for use in Virtual Reality, utilizing a Unity-built virtual environment with our open-source package.

Authors:Saeideh Mansouri, Mohamed Shamekh, Simon Indola, Petri Mahonen
Title: Estimating Cellular Network Delays in Finnish Railways: A Machine Learning Enhanced Approach
Abstract:
There is growing interest in using public cellular networks for specialized communication applications, replacing standalone sector-specific networks. One such application is transitioning from the aging GSM-R railway network to public 4G and 5G networks. Finland is modernizing its railway communication system through the Digirail project, leveraging public cellular networks. To evaluate network performance, a nationwide measurement campaign was conducted in two modes: Best Quality and Packet Replication. However, Best Quality mode introduces artificial delays, making it unsuitable for real-world assessments. In this paper, railway network delays are modeled using machine learning based on measurements from the Packet Replication mode. The best-performing model is then employed to generate a dataset estimating network delays across Finland's railway network. This dataset provides a more accurate representation of network performance. Machine learning based network performance prediction is shown to be feasible, and the results indicate that Finland's public cellular network can meet the stringent performance requirements of railway network control.

Authors:Yuwei Zhou, Sigrún Andradóttir, Seong-Hee Kim, Chuljin Park
Title: Indifference-Zone Relaxation Procedures for Finding Feasible Systems
Abstract:
We consider the problem of finding feasible systems with respect to stochastic constraints when system performance is evaluated through simulation. Our objective is to solve this problem with high computational efficiency and statistical validity. Existing indifference-zone (IZ) procedures introduce a fixed tolerance level, which denotes how much deviation the decision-maker is willing to accept from the threshold in the constraint. These procedures are developed under the assumption that all systems' performance measures are exactly the tolerance level away from the threshold, leading to unnecessary simulations. In contrast, IZ-free procedures, which eliminate the tolerance level, perform well when systems' performance measures are far from the threshold. However, they may significantly underperform compared to IZ procedures when systems' performance measures are close to the threshold. To address these challenges, we propose the Indifference-Zone Relaxation (IZR) procedure, IZR introduces a set of relaxed tolerance levels and utilizes two subroutines for each level: one to identify systems that are clearly feasible and the other to exclude those that are clearly infeasible. We also develop the IZR procedure with estimation (IZE), which introduces two relaxed tolerance levels for each system and constraint: one matching the original tolerance level and the other based on an estimate of the system's performance measure. By employing different tolerance levels, these procedures facilitate early feasibility determination with statistical validity. We prove that IZR and IZE determine system feasibility with the desired probability and show through experiments that they significantly reduce the number of observations required compared to an existing procedure.

Authors:Dieter Schwarzmann, Simon Käser
Title: On the Effect of Sampling-Time Jitter
Abstract:
This brief, aimed at practitioners, offers an analysis of the effect of sampling-time jitter, i. e., the error produced by execution-time inaccuracies. We propose reinterpreting jitter-afflicted linear time-invariant systems through equivalent jitter-free analogs. By constructing a perceived system that absorbs the effects of timing perturbations into its dynamics, we find an affine scaling of jitter. We examine both measurement and implementation scenarios, demonstrating that the presence of jitter effectively scales the system matrices. Moreover, we observe that, in the Laplace domain, jitter can be interpreted as a frequency scaling.

Authors:Vinay Kammarchedu, Heshmat Asgharian, Hossein Chenani, Aida Ebrahimi
Title: Active Dual-Gated Graphene Transistors for Low-Noise, Drift-Stable, and Tunable Chemical Sensing
Abstract:
Graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs) are among the most promising platforms for ultrasensitive chemical and biological sensing due to their high carrier mobility, large surface area, and low intrinsic noise. However, conventional single-gate GFET sensors in liquid environments suffer from severe limitations, including signal drift, charge trapping, and insufficient signal amplification. Here, we introduce a dual-gate GFET architecture that integrates a high-k hafnium dioxide local back gate with an electrolyte top gate, coupled with real-time feedback biasing. This design enables capacitive signal amplification while simultaneously suppressing gate leakage and low-frequency noise. By systematically evaluating seven distinct operational modes, we identify the Dual Mode Fixed configuration as optimal, achieving up to 20x signal gain, > 15x lower drift compared with gate-swept methods, and up to 7x higher signal to noise ratio across a diverse range of analytes, including neurotransmitters, volatile organic compounds, environmental contaminants, and proteins. We further demonstrate robust, multiplexed detection using a PCB-integrated GFET sensor array, underscoring the scalability and practicality of the platform for portable, high-throughput sensing in complex environments. Together, these advances establish a versatile and stable sensing technology capable of real-time, label-free detection of molecular targets under ambient and physiological conditions, with broad applicability in health monitoring, food safety, agriculture, and environmental screening.

Authors:Venkatraman Renganathan, Sei Zhen Khong
Title: Distance Between Stochastic Linear Systems
Abstract:
While the existing stochastic control theory is well equipped to handle dynamical systems with stochastic uncertainties, a paradigm shift using distance measure based decision making is required for the effective further exploration of the field. As a first step, a distance measure between two stochastic linear time invariant systems is proposed here, extending the existing distance metrics between deterministic linear dynamical systems. In the frequency domain, the proposed distance measure corresponds to the worst-case point-wise in frequency Wasserstein distance between distributions characterising the uncertainties using inverse stereographic projection on the Riemann sphere. For the time domain setting, the proposed distance corresponds to the gap metric induced type-q Wasserstein distance between the distributions characterising the uncertainty of plant models. Apart from providing lower and upper bounds for the proposed distance measures in both frequency and time domain settings, it is proved that the former never exceeds the latter. The proposed distance measures will facilitate the provision of probabilistic guarantees on system robustness and controller performances.

Authors:Sampath Kumar Mulagaleti, Andrea Del Prete
Title: Sample Efficient Certification of Discrete-Time Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Control Invariant (CI) sets are instrumental in certifying the safety of dynamical systems. Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) are effective tools to compute such sets, since the zero sublevel sets of CBFs are CI sets. However, computing CBFs generally involves addressing a complex robust optimization problem, which can be intractable. Scenario-based methods have been proposed to simplify this computation. Then, one needs to verify if the CBF actually satisfies the robust constraints. We present an approach to perform this verification that relies on Lipschitz arguments, and forms the basis of a certification algorithm designed for sample efficiency. Through a numerical example, we validated the efficiency of the proposed procedure.

Authors:Gang Liu, Ningjie Li, Cen Chen
Title: ShieldMMU: Detecting and Defending against Controlled-Channel Attacks in Shielding Memory System
Abstract:
Intel SGX and hypervisors isolate non-privileged programs from other software, ensuring confidentiality and integrity. However, side-channel attacks continue to threaten Intel SGX's security, enabling malicious OS to manipulate PTE present bits, induce page faults, and steal memory access traces. Despite extensive research, existing defenses focus on detection or rely on impractical solutions. This paper presents ShieldMMU, a comprehensive solution for mitigating controlled channel attacks, balancing compatibility, performance, and usability. Leveraging a Merkle Tree-inspired Defense Tree (DD-Tree), ShieldMMU protects PTE integrity by detecting, locating, and restoring attacked PTEs. It identifies MMU page table lookup events and side-channel attacks, promptly restoring PTE parameters to prevent page fault traps and ensure secure non-privileged application operation within SGX. Our experiments confirm ShieldMMU's enhanced security and acceptable latency performance.

Authors:Ad-Deen Mahbub, Md Ragib Shaharear
Title: Real-Time Buoyancy Estimation for AUV Simulations Using Convex Hull-Based Submerged Volume Calculation
Abstract:
Accurate real-time buoyancy modeling is essential for high-fidelity Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) simulations, yet NVIDIA Isaac Sim lacks a native buoyancy system, requiring external solutions for precise underwater physics. This paper presents a novel convex hull-based approach to dynamically compute the submerged volume of an AUV in real time. By extracting mesh geometry from the simulation environment and calculating the hull portion intersecting the water level along the z-axis, our method enhances accuracy over traditional geometric approximations. A cross-sectional area extension reduces computational overhead, enabling efficient buoyant force updates that adapt to orientation, depth, and sinusoidal wave fluctuations (+-0.3 m). Tested on a custom AUV design for SAUVC 2025, this approach delivers real-time performance and scalability, improving simulation fidelity for underwater robotics research without precomputed hydrodynamic models.

Authors:Ignacio Rubio Scola, Omar Alejandro Garcia Alcantara, Steven Sandoval, Eduardo Steed Espinoza Quesada, Hernan Haimovich, Luis Rodolfo Garcia Carrillo
Title: Globally Asymptotically Stable Trajectory Tracking of Underactuated UAVs using Geometric Algebra
Abstract:
This paper employs Geometric Algebra (GA) tools to model the dynamics of objects in 3-dimensional space, serving as a proof of concept to facilitate control design for trajectory tracking in underactuated systems. For control purposes, the model is structured as a cascade system, where a rotational subsystem drives a translational one. The rotational subsystem is linear, while the translational subsystem follows a linear-plus-perturbation form, thereby reducing the complexity of control design. A control strategy requiring only simple operations, no memory, and no iterative search loops is presented to illustrate the main features of the GA model. By employing GA to model both translations and rotations, a singularity-free and geometrically intuitive representation can be achieved through the use of the geometric product. Closed-loop stability is rigorously established using input-to-state stability methods. Numerical simulations of a quad tilt-rotorcraft performing trajectory tracking in a windy environment validate the controller's stability and performance.

Authors:Md Mhamud Hussen Sifat, Md Maruf, Md Rokunuzzaman
Title: Cost-Optimized Systems Engineering for IoT-Enabled Robot Nurse in Infectious Pandemic Management
Abstract:
The utilization of robotic technology has gained traction in healthcare facilities due to progress in the field that enables time and cost savings, minimizes waste, and improves patient care. Digital healthcare technologies that leverage automation, such as robotics and artificial intelligence, have the potential to enhance the sustainability and profitability of healthcare systems in the long run. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for cyber-physical robots to automate check-ups and medication administration. A robot nurse is controlled by the Internet of Things (IoT) and can serve as an automated medical assistant while also allowing supervisory control based on custom commands. This system helps reduce infection risk and improves outcomes in pandemic settings. This research presents a test case with a nurse robot that can assess a patient's health status and take action accordingly. We also evaluate the system's performance in medication administration, health-status monitoring, and life-cycle considerations.

Authors:Babak Azkaei, Kishor Chandra Joshi, George Exarchakos
Title: Machine Learning-Driven Anomaly Detection for 5G O-RAN Performance Metrics
Abstract:
The ever-increasing reliance of critical services on network infrastructure coupled with the increased operational complexity of beyond-5G/6G networks necessitate the need for proactive and automated network fault management. The provision for open interfaces among different radio access network\,(RAN) elements and the integration of AI/ML into network architecture enabled by the Open RAN\,(O-RAN) specifications bring new possibilities for active network health monitoring and anomaly detection. In this paper we leverage these advantages and develop an anomaly detection framework that proactively detect the possible throughput drops for a UE and minimize the post-handover failures. We propose two actionable anomaly detection algorithms tailored for real-world deployment. The first algorithm identifies user equipment (UE) at risk of severe throughput degradation by analyzing key performance indicators (KPIs) such as resource block utilization and signal quality metrics, enabling proactive handover initiation. The second algorithm evaluates neighbor cell radio coverage quality, filtering out cells with anomalous signal strength or interference levels. This reduces candidate targets for handover by 41.27\% on average. Together, these methods mitigate post-handover failures and throughput drops while operating much faster than the near-real-time latency constraints. This paves the way for self-healing 6G networks.

Authors:Martin Goubej, Lauria Clarke, Martin Hrabačka, David Tolar
Title: Vibration Damping in Underactuated Cable-suspended Artwork -- Flying Belt Motion Control
Abstract:
This paper presents a comprehensive refurbishment of the interactive robotic art installation Standards and Double Standards by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer. The installation features an array of belts suspended from the ceiling, each actuated by stepper motors and dynamically oriented by a vision-based tracking system that follows the movements of exhibition visitors. The original system was limited by oscillatory dynamics, resulting in torsional and pendulum-like vibrations that constrained rotational speed and reduced interactive responsiveness. To address these challenges, the refurbishment involved significant upgrades to both hardware and motion control algorithms. A detailed mathematical model of the flying belt system was developed to accurately capture its dynamic behavior, providing a foundation for advanced control design. An input shaping method, formulated as a convex optimization problem, was implemented to effectively suppress vibrations, enabling smoother and faster belt movements. Experimental results demonstrate substantial improvements in system performance and audience interaction. This work exemplifies the integration of robotics, control engineering, and interactive art, offering new solutions to technical challenges in real-time motion control and vibration damping for large-scale kinetic installations.

Authors:Boyin Zheng, Yahui Hao, Lu Liu
Title: Target Enclosing Control for Nonholonomic Multi-Agent Systems with Connectivity Maintenance and Collision Avoidance
Abstract:
This article addresses the moving target enclosing control problem for nonholonomic multi-agent systems with guaranteed network connectivity and collision avoidance. We propose a novel control scheme to handle distance constraints imposed by the agents' limited interaction ranges and collision-free thresholds. By leveraging a Henneberg construction method, we innovatively formulate the target enclosing requirements within an isostatic distance-based formation framework, facilitating the integration of distance constraints. Compared with existing results, our approach ensures the positive definiteness of the underlying rigidity matrix and does not require controlling the target's motion. To eliminate the occurrences of control singularities caused by nonholonomic constraints, we propose a fixed-time angular control law using barrier Lyapunov functions. Additionally, we develop a linear velocity control law using the prescribed performance control approach and transformed error constraints. We rigorously prove that our control laws enable the multi-agent system to asymptotically achieve the desired angular formation pattern around a moving target while satisfying the established distance constraints. Finally, a simulation example is provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Authors:Christian Doh Dinga, Sander van Rijn, Laurens de Vries, Milos Cvetkovic
Title: On the Smart Coordination of Flexibility Scheduling in Multi-carrier Integrated Energy Systems
Abstract:
Coordinating the interactions between flexibility assets in multi-carrier integrated energy systems (MIES) can lead to an efficient integration of variable renewable energy resources, and a cost-efficient energy transition. However, the proliferation of flexibility assets and their participation in active demand response increases the complexity of coordinating these interactions. This paper introduces different approaches to model the coordination of flexibility scheduling in MIES. We propose a market auction-inspired model coupling approach to address the challenges of preserving the autonomy and privacy of flexibility providers, and the issue of scalability. We benchmark our approach against co-optimization and an iterative price-response method by conducting experiments with varying problem sizes and computing infrastructure. We show that our approach scales well and is suitable for modeling flexibility in large-scale energy systems in a more realistic way. From an optimality standpoint, the flexibility dispatch schedules and electricity prices are ``near-optimal". Our methodology is implemented as a new open-source software, which offers several practical applications. For example, flexibility providers and network operators can couple their models to simulate the interaction between their systems without disclosing confidential information; policy regulators can use it to investigate new market design and regulations to optimize the utilization of flexibility in MIES.

Authors:Yash Vyas, Matteo Bottin
Title: Forbal: Force Balanced 2-5 Degree of Freedom Robot Manipulator Built from a Five Bar Linkage
Abstract:
A force balanced manipulator design based on the closed chain planar five bar linkage is developed and experimentally validated. We present 2 variants as a modular design: Forbal-2, a planar 2-DOF manipulator, and its extension to 5-DOF spatial motion called Forbal-5. The design considerations in terms of geometric, kinematic, and dynamic design that fulfill the force balance conditions while maximizing workspace are discussed. Then, the inverse kinematics of both variants are derived from geometric principles. We validate the improvements from force balancing the manipulator through comparative experiments with counter mass balanced and unbalanced configurations. The results show how the balanced configuration yields a reduction in the average reaction moments of up to 66%, a reduction of average joint torques of up to 79%, as well as a noticeable reduction in position error for Forbal-2. For Forbal-5, which has a higher end effector payload mass, the joint torques are reduced up to 84% for the balanced configuration. Experimental results validate that the balanced manipulator design is suitable for applications where the reduction of joint torques and reaction forces/moments helps achieve millimeter level precision.

Authors:B. G. Odunlami, M. Netto, Y. Susuki
Title: Hybrid dynamical systems modeling of power systems
Abstract:
The increasing integration of renewable energy sources has introduced complex dynamic behavior in power systems that challenge the adequacy of traditional continuous-time modeling approaches. These developments call for modeling frameworks that can capture the intricate interplay between continuous dynamics and discrete events characterizing modern grid operations. Hybrid dynamical systems offer a rigorous foundation for representing such mixed dynamics and have emerged as a valuable tool in power system analysis. Despite their potential, existing studies remain focused on isolated applications or case-specific implementations, offering limited generalizability and guidance for model selection. This paper addresses that gap by providing a comprehensive overview of hybrid modeling approaches relevant to power systems. It critically examines key formalisms, including hybrid automata, switched systems, and piecewise affine models, evaluating their respective strengths, limitations, and suitability across control, stability, and system design tasks. In doing so, the paper identifies open challenges and outlines future research directions to support the systematic application of hybrid methods in renewable-rich, converter-dominated power systems

Authors:Ashutossh Gupta, Vassilis Kekatos, Ruoyu Yang, Dionysios Aliprantis, Steve Pekarek
Title: Frequency-Domain Characterization of Load Demand from Electrified Highways
Abstract:
Electrified roadways (ER) equipped with dynamic wireless power transfer (DWPT) capabilities can patently extend the driving range and reduce the battery size of electric vehicles (EVs). However, due to the spatial arrangement of the transmitter coils in the ER, the DWPT load exhibits frequency content that could excite power system frequency dynamics. In this context, this work aims to study the spectrum of DWPT loads under different traffic conditions. We develop statistical models for EVs moving at constant speeds to identify the location and magnitude of DWPT load harmonics. Our analysis reveals that the fundamental frequency is dependent on the ER coil spacing and the average EV speed. In the worst-case yet unlikely scenario that EVs move in a synchronized fashion, the amplitude of harmonics scales with the number of EVs. On the contrary, when EVs move freely, harmonics scale with the square root of the number of EVs. Platoon formations can accentuate harmonics. We also show that for higher-order harmonics, the spectral content around harmonics decreases in magnitude and increases in bandwidth. Despite the simplified models, our analysis offers valuable insights for ER planners and grid operators. Numerical tests using a traffic simulator corroborate some of these insights.

Authors:Andrea Zanelli, Dirk Schmidt, Matthias Resch, Marco Giovanelli, Martin Geidl, Walter Sattinger
Title: On the Effect of Tap Changers and Nonlinear Loads on Voltage Stability
Abstract:
On 21 June 2024, a severe incident happened in the South-Eastern part of the Continental European power system. After a voltage collapse, large parts of Albania, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Croatia suffered from a blackout [1]. The initial tripping of two transmission lines resulted in a voltage collapse in these countries. Investigations have shown that a) transformers with on-load tap changers (OLTC) and b) nonlinear loads, in particular air conditioning systems, played a significant role in this event. Motivated by this, we carry out an assessment of the effect of OLTC on voltage stability in the presence of nonlinear loads. By doing this we hope to further shed some light on the potential instability mechanisms that can be triggered in scenarios like the above-mentioned blackout.

Authors:Jorge L. González-Rios, Juan C. Cruz Hurtado, Robson L. Moreno, Diego Vázquez
Title: 2.4-GHz Integrated CMOS Low-Noise Amplifier (English Version)
Abstract:
This paper presents the analysis, design, fabrication, and measurement of an integrated low-noise amplifier (LNA) implemented using a 130 nm CMOS technology, operating in the 2.4 GHz band. The LNA is a crucial component in the performance of receivers, particularly in integrated receivers. The proposed LNA was designed to meet the specifications of the IEEE 802.15.4 standard. Post-layout simulation results, including pads with electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, are as follows: gain of 10.7 dB, noise figure of 2.7 dB, third-order input intercept point (IIP3) of 0.9 dBm, input and output impedance matching better than -20 dB with respect to 50~$Ω$ terminations, with a power consumption of 505 $μ$W powered from a 1.2 V supply. The obtained results fall within the range of those recently reported for the same topology and operating frequency. The measured scattering parameters (S-parameters) are consistent with the simulation results. This work contributes to the development of a new research line in Cuba on the design of radio-frequency (RF) integrated circuits.

Authors:Khalid Daud Khattak, Muhammad A. Choudhry
Title: Selection of Optimal Number and Location of PMUs for CNN Based Fault Location and Identification
Abstract:
In this paper, we present a data-driven Forward Selection with Neighborhood Refinement (FSNR) algorithm to determine the number and placement of Phasor Measurement Units (PMUs) for maximizing deep-learning-based fault diagnosis performance. Candidate PMU locations are ranked via a cross-validated Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier, and each selection is refined through local neighborhood exploration to produce a near-optimal sensor set. The resulting PMU subset is then supplied to a 1D Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for faulted-line localization and fault-type classification from time-series measurements. Evaluation on modified IEEE 34- and IEEE 123-bus systems demonstrates that the proposed FSNR-SVM method identifies a minimal PMU configuration that achieves the best overall CNN performance, attaining over 96 percent accuracy in fault location and over 99 percent accuracy in fault-type classification on the IEEE 34 system, and approximately 94 percent accuracy in fault location and around 99.8 percent accuracy in fault-type classification on the IEEE 123 system.

Authors:Shen Chen, Jisong Wang, Dejun Liu, Jiaxi Ying, Shuai Wang
Title: Comprehensive Analysis and Exclusion Hypothesis of $α$-Approximation Method for Discretizing Analog Systems
Abstract:
A popular method for designing digital models is transforming the transfer function of the corresponding analog models from continuous domain (s-domain) into discrete domain (z-domain) using the s-to-z transformation. The alpha-approximation is a generalized form of these transformations. When alpha is set to 0.5, the result is the well-known Tustin transformation or bi-linear transformation. In this paper, we provided a comprehensive analysis of the alpha-approximation method, including mathematical interpretation, stability analysis and distortion analysis. Through mathematical interpretation, we revealed that it can be derived by numerically integrating the error function We defined this as the hexagonal approximation. We demonstrated that the stable range of alpha was [0.5, 1] by doing stability analysis. Through distortion analysis, we found that minimizing amplitude and phase distortion simultaneously seemed impossible by regulating alpha alone. Finally, We proposed an exclusion hypothesis hypothesizing that there is no single parameter alpha to minimize the amplitude distortion and phase distortion simultaneously across all frequency points within the Nyquist frequency range. This paper demonstrates that designing parameter alpha involves balancing amplitude and phase distortion.

Authors:A. Javeed, D. P. Kouri, D. Ridzal, J. D. Steinman, I. M. Ross
Title: A Million-Point Fast Trajectory Optimization Solver
Abstract:
One might argue that solving a trajectory optimization problem over a million grid points is preposterous. How about solving such a problem at an incredibly fast computational time? On a small form-factor processor? Algorithmic details that make possible this trifecta of breakthroughs are presented in this paper. The computational mathematics that deliver these advancements are: (i) a Birkhoff-theoretic discretization of optimal control problems, (ii) matrix-free linear algebra leveraging Krylov-subspace methods, and (iii) a near-perfect Birkhoff preconditioner that helps achieve $\mathcal{O}(1)$ iteration speed with respect to the grid size,~$N$. A key enabler of this high performance is the computation of Birkhoff matrix-vector products at $\mathcal{O}(N\log(N))$ time using fast Fourier transform techniques that eliminate traditional computational bottlenecks. A numerical demonstration of this unprecedented scale and speed is illustrated for a practical astrodynamics problem.

Authors:Songyan Li, Hongchang Li
Title: Targeted-Subharmonic-Eliminating Pulse Density Modulation for Wireless Power Transfer System
Abstract:
This letter proposes a targeted-subharmonic-eliminating pulse density modulation (TSE-PDM) method for SS- compensated WPT systems. By designing a noise transfer function with notch characteristics, the subharmonic components which excite current abnormal oscillations were eliminated. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the TSE-PDM in suppressing current abnormal oscillations. The proposed method is easy to implement in either primary or secondary side of the WPT system and exhibits a certain tolerance to deviations in NTF design, representing the most straightforward method for abnormal oscillation suppression in PDM controlled WPT systems.

Authors:Yijun Chen, Farhad Farokhi, Yutong Bu, Nicholas Kah Yean Low, Jarra Horstman, Julian Greentree, Robin Evans, Andrew Melatos
Title: Using Gaussian Mixtures to Model Evolving Multi-Modal Beliefs Across Social Media
Abstract:
We use Gaussian mixtures to model formation and evolution of multi-modal beliefs and opinion uncertainty across social networks. In this model, opinions evolve by Bayesian belief update when incorporating exogenous factors (signals from outside sources, e.g., news articles) and by non-Bayesian mixing dynamics when incorporating endogenous factors (interactions across social media). The modeling enables capturing the richness of behavior observed in multi-modal opinion dynamics while maintaining interpretability and simplicity of scalar models. We present preliminary results on opinion formation and uncertainty to investigate the effect of stubborn individuals (as social influencers). This leads to a notion of centrality based on the ease with which an individual can disrupt the flow of information across the social network.

Authors:Chung-Han Hsieh, Rong Gan
Title: Is Noisy Data a Blessing in Disguise? A Distributionally Robust Optimization Perspective
Abstract:
Noisy data are often viewed as a challenge for decision-making. This paper studies a distributionally robust optimization (DRO) that shows how such noise can be systematically incorporated. Rather than applying DRO to the noisy empirical distribution, we construct ambiguity sets over the \emph{latent} distribution by centering a Wasserstein ball at the noisy empirical distribution in the observation space and taking its inverse image through a known noise kernel. We validate this inverse-image construction by deriving a tractable convex reformulation and establishing rigorous statistical guarantees, including finite-sample performance and asymptotic consistency. Crucially, we demonstrate that, under mild conditions, noisy data may be a ``blessing in disguise." Our noisy-data DRO model is less conservative than its direct counterpart, leading to provably higher optimal values and a lower price of ambiguity. In the context of fair resource allocation problems, we demonstrate that this robust approach can induce solutions that are structurally more equitable. Our findings suggest that managers can leverage uncertainty by harnessing noise as a source of robustness rather than treating it as an obstacle, producing more robust and strategically balanced decisions.

Authors:Maryam Mahdi Alhusseini, Mohammad Reza Feizi Derakhshi
Title: AI-Enhanced Intelligent NIDS Framework: Leveraging Metaheuristic Optimization for Robust Attack Detection and Prevention
Abstract:
In todays rapidly evolving digital landscape, safeguarding network infrastructures against cyberattacks has become a critical priority. This research presents an innovative AI-driven real-time intrusion detection framework designed to enhance network security, particularly in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), Cloud Computing (CC), and Internet of Things (IoT) environments. The system employs classical machine learning models, Logistic Regression, decision trees, and K-Nearest Neighbors, optimized through the novel Energy Valley Optimization (EVO) method using the NSL-KDD dataset. Feature selection significantly reduced the number of input features from 42 to 18, while maintaining strong detection capabilities. The proposed system achieved 98.95 percent. accuracy with Decision Tree, 98.47 percent with K-Nearest Neighbors, and 88.84 percent with Logistic Regression. Moreover, high precision, recall, and F1-scores were attained across all classifiers while substantially reducing training and testing times, making the framework highly suitable for real-time applications. To ensure fair detection across diverse attack types, dataset balancing via Downsampling was applied to address class imbalance challenges. This investigation focuses on the significance of advancing IDSs. in cloud computing and WSNs. Overall, this work advances secure communications by delivering a scalable, low-latency, and high-accuracy intrusion detection solution aligned with the latest trends in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and real-time digital networks.

Authors:Ruohan Huang, Zining Cao
Title: Controller synthesis method for multi-agent system based on temporal logic specification
Abstract:
Controller synthesis is a theoretical approach to the systematic design of discrete event systems. It constructs a controller to provide feedback and control to the system, ensuring it meets specified control specifications. Traditional controller synthesis methods often use formal languages to describe control specifications and are mainly oriented towards single-agent and non-probabilistic systems. With the increasing complexity of systems, the control requirements that need to be satisfied also become more complex. Based on this, this paper proposes a controller synthesis method for semi-cooperative semi-competitive multi-agent probabilistic discrete event systems to solve the controller synthesis problem based on temporal logic specifications. The controller can ensure the satisfaction of specifications to a certain extent. The specification is given in the form of a linear temporal logic formula. This paper designs a controller synthesis algorithm that combines probabilistic model checking. Finally, the effectiveness of this method is verified through a case study.

Authors:Baris Ata, Yaosheng Xu
Title: Dynamic control of stochastic matching systems in heavy traffic: An effective computational method for high-dimensional problems
Abstract:
Bipartite matching systems arise in many settings where agents or tasks from two distinct sets must be paired dynamically under compatibility constraints. We consider a high-dimensional bipartite matching system under uncertainty and seek an effective dynamic control policy that maximizes the expected discounted total value generated by the matches minus the congestion-related costs. To derive a tractable approximation, we focus attention on balanced, high-volume systems, i.e., the heavy-traffic regime, and derive an approximating Brownian control problem. We then develop a computational method that relies on deep neural network technology for solving this problem. To show the effectiveness of the policy derived from our computational method, we compare it to the benchmark policies available in the extant literature in the context of the original matching problem. In the test problems attempted thus far, our proposed policy outperforms the benchmarks, and its derivation is computationally feasible for dimensions up to 100 or more.

Authors:Oluwatomisin I. Dada, Neil D. Lawrence
Title: Revisiting Deep AC-OPF
Abstract:
Recent work has proposed machine learning (ML) approaches as fast surrogates for solving AC optimal power flow (AC-OPF), with claims of significant speed-ups and high accuracy. In this paper, we revisit these claims through a systematic evaluation of ML models against a set of simple yet carefully designed linear baselines. We introduce OPFormer-V, a transformer-based model for predicting bus voltages, and compare it to both the state-of-the-art DeepOPF-V model and simple linear methods. Our findings reveal that, while OPFormer-V improves over DeepOPF-V, the relative gains of the ML approaches considered are less pronounced than expected. Simple linear baselines can achieve comparable performance. These results highlight the importance of including strong linear baselines in future evaluations.

Authors:Jinshui Zhang, Stefan M. Goetz
Title: High-Power Wide-Bandwidth High-Quality Modular Pulse Synthesizer with Adaptive Voltage Asymmetry in Medical Power Electronics
Abstract:
Noninvasive brain stimulation can write signals into neurons but requires power electronics with exceptionally high power in the mega-volt-ampere range and kilohertz usable bandwidth. Whereas oscillator circuits offered only one or very few pulse shapes, modular cascaded power electronics solved a long-standing problem for the first time and enabled arbitrary software-based synthesis of the temporal shape of stimuli. However, synthesizing arbitrary stimuli with a high output quality requires a large number of modules. We propose an alternative solution that achieves high-resolution pulse shaping with fewer modules by implementing high-power wide-bandwidth voltage asymmetry. Rather than equal voltage steps, our system strategically assigns different voltages to each module to achieve a near-exponential improvement in resolution. The module voltage sequence does also not use just a simple binary pattern other work might suggest but adapts it to the output. Additionally, we introduce a switched-capacitor charging mechanism that allows the modules to charge to different voltages through a single dc power supply. We validated our design in a head-to-head comparison with the state of the art on experimental prototypes. Our three-module prototype reduces total voltage distortion by 13.4% compared to prior art with three modules, and by 4.5% compared to prior art with six -- twice as many -- modules. This paper is the first asymmetric multilevel circuit as a high-precision high-power synthesizer, as well as the first to adaptively optimize asymmetric voltage sequence in modular power electronics.

Authors:Riya Kinnarkar, Mansur Arief
Title: Optimized Renewable Energy Planning MDP for Socially-Equitable Electricity Coverage in the US
Abstract:
Traditional power grid infrastructure presents significant barriers to renewable energy integration and perpetuates energy access inequities, with low-income communities experiencing disproportionately longer power outages. This study develops a Markov Decision Process (MDP) framework to optimize renewable energy allocation while explicitly addressing social equity concerns in electricity distribution. The model incorporates budget constraints, energy demand variability, and social vulnerability indicators across eight major U.S. cities to evaluate policy alternatives for equitable clean energy transitions. Numerical experiments compare the MDP-based approach against baseline policies including random allocation, greedy renewable expansion, and expert heuristics. Results demonstrate that equity-focused optimization can achieve 32.9% renewable energy penetration while reducing underserved low-income populations by 55% compared to conventional approaches. The expert policy achieved the highest reward, while the Monte Carlo Tree Search baseline provided competitive performance with significantly lower budget utilization, demonstrating that fair distribution of clean energy resources is achievable without sacrificing overall system performance and providing ways for integrating social equity considerations with climate goals and inclusive access to clean power infrastructure.

Authors:Djamila Rekioua, Saloua Belaid, Pierre-Olivier Logerais, Toufik Rekioua, Zahra Mokrani, Khoudir Kakouche, Adel Oubelaid, Faika Zaouche
Title: Supervision of a Photovoltaic/Batteries System for Stand Alone Applications
Abstract:
Our paper is focused on optimal and control of an isolated photovoltaic system with batteries. The control is made by the application of a power management control (PMC). Batteries are kept safe from deep discharges and overloads by the PMC, maintaining a continuous supply to the load. The ease, with which this method can be implemented, as well as its effectiveness without imposing a large computing strain on the user, is noteworthy. The batteries and PV panels in the system under study are connected to a bidirectional converter enabling the batteries to be charged and drained in accordance with weather conditions. The simulation results, clearly highlight good performance of the proposed control across two different profiles.

Authors:Guangdi Hu, Keyi Liao, Jian Ye, Feng Guo
Title: Adaptive Dead-Zone Dual Sliding Mode Observer for Reliable Electrochemical Model-Based SOC Estimation
Abstract:
Accurate state of charge (SOC) estimation is critical for ensuring the safety, reliability, and efficiency of lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and energy storage systems. Electrochemical models provide high fidelity for SOC estimation but introduce challenges due to parameter variations, nonlinearities, and computational complexity. To address these issues, this paper proposes an adaptive dead-zone dual sliding mode observer(SMO) based on an improved electrochemical single-particle model. The algorithm integrates a state observer for SOC estimation and a parameter observer for online parameter adaptation. A Lyapunov-derived adaptive dead-zone is introduced to ensure stability, activating parameter updates only when the terminal voltage error lies within a rigorously defined bound. The proposed method was validated under constant-current and UDDS dynamic conditions. Results demonstrate that the adaptive dead-zone dual SMO achieves superior accuracy compared with conventional dual SMO and equivalent circuit model-based EKF methods, maintaining SOC estimation errors within 0.2% under correct initialization and below 1% under a 30% initial SOC error, with rapid convergence. Computational efficiency analysis further shows that the adaptive dead-zone dual sliding mode observer reduces execution time compared with the conventional dual SMO by limiting unnecessary parameter updates, highlighting its suitability for real-time battery management applications. Moreover, robustness under battery aging was confirmed using a cycle-aging model, where the adaptive dead-zone dual SMO maintained stable SOC estimation despite parameter drift. These findings indicate that the proposed method offers a reliable, accurate, and computationally efficient solution for SOC estimation.

Authors:Katherine B. Adams, Justin J. Boutilier, Qinyang He, Yonatan Mintz
Title: Finite-Time Guarantees for Multi-Agent Combinatorial Bandits with Nonstationary Rewards
Abstract:
We study a sequential resource allocation problem where a decision maker selects subsets of agents at each period to maximize overall outcomes without prior knowledge of individual-level effects. Our framework applies to settings such as community health interventions, targeted digital advertising, and workforce retention programs, where intervention effects evolve dynamically. Agents may exhibit habituation (diminished response from frequent selection) or recovery (enhanced response from infrequent selection). The technical challenge centers on nonstationary reward distributions that lead to changing intervention effects over time. The problem requires balancing two key competing objectives: heterogeneous individual rewards and the exploration-exploitation tradeoff in terms of learning for improved future decisions as opposed to maximizing immediate outcomes. Our contribution introduces the first framework incorporating this form of nonstationary rewards in the combinatorial multi-armed bandit literature. We develop algorithms with theoretical guarantees on dynamic regret and demonstrate practical efficacy through a diabetes intervention case study. Our personalized community intervention algorithm achieved up to three times as much improvement in program enrollment compared to baseline approaches, validating the framework's potential for real-world applications. This work bridges theoretical advances in adaptive learning with practical challenges in population-level behavioral change interventions.

Authors:Haoyang Shi, Xing Zhang, Sitong Li, Minghang Li, Xinming Lu, Shaoxiang Xu, Guoquan Wang
Title: MegaCacheX: Towards Cost-Effective Hierarchical Collaborative Content Caching in Emerging Mega-Constellations
Abstract:
Significant latency in global content delivery primarily arises from insufficient terrestrial infrastructure. Deploying space-based content delivery networks within emerging mega-constellations provides an effective means to bridge the digital divide. However, space-based caching faces constraints from physical-layer dynamics, including dynamic topologies, time-varying inter-satellite link conditions, and limited onboard energy. In addition, existing mechanisms often lack fine-grained content categorization and global optimization. This paper proposes MegaCacheX, a cost-effective hierarchical framework for collaborative content distribution that achieves "Earth-independence" by providing cloud services directly from space. Specifically, data centers in Sun-synchronous orbit act as primary content sources, while caching nodes in mega-constellations and ground stations collaboratively form a distributed edge layer. MegaCacheX optimizes caching strategies by integrating content popularity, regional user distribution, and satellite trajectory predictions. Multi-tier caching nodes serve as service anchors, enabling seamless content delivery with low latency. A prototype implemented on a microservices-based, containerized testbed demonstrates that MegaCacheX reduces global content access latency by about 36% compared to baseline approaches, while maintaining cost efficiency.

Authors:Ching-Yi Lin, Sahil Shah
Title: Systolic Array-based Architecture for Low-Bit Integerized Vision Transformers
Abstract:
Transformer-based models are becoming more and more intelligent and are revolutionizing a wide range of human tasks. To support their deployment, AI labs offer inference services that consume hundreds of GWh of energy annually and charge users based on the number of tokens processed. Under this cost model, minimizing power consumption and maximizing throughput have become key design goals for the inference hardware. While graphics processing units (GPUs) are commonly used, their flexibility comes at the cost of low operational intensity and limited efficiency, especially under the high query-per-model ratios of modern inference services. In this work, we address these challenges by proposing a low-bit, model-specialized accelerator that strategically selects tasks with high operation (OP) reuse and minimal communication overhead for offloading. Our design incorporates multiple systolic arrays with deep, fine-grained pipelines and array-compatible units that support essential operations in multi-head self-attention (MSA) module. At the accelerator-level, each self-attention (SA) head is pipelined within a single accelerator to increase data reuse and further minimize bandwidth. Our 3-bit integerized model achieves 96.83% accuracy on CIFAR-10 and 77.81% top-1 accuracy on ImageNet. We validate the hardware design on a 16nm FPGA (Alveo U250), where it delivers 13,568 GigaOps/second (GOPs/s) and 219.4 GOPs/s/W. Compared to a same-technology GPU (GTX 1080), our design offers 1.50x higher throughput and 4.47x better power efficiency. Even against a state-of-the-art GPU (RTX 5090), we still achieve 20% better power efficiency despite having 87% lower throughput.

Authors:Siyuan Lu, Kangwei Xu, Peng Xie, Rui Wang, Yuanqing Cheng
Title: Testing and Fault Tolerance Techniques for CNT-Based FPGAs
Abstract:
As the semiconductor manufacturing process technology node shrinks into the nanometer-scale, the CMOS-based Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) face big challenges in scalability of performance and power consumption. Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) serves as a promising candidate for Cu interconnects thanks to the superior conductivity. Moreover, Carbon Nanotube Field Transistor (CNFET) also emerges as a prospective alternative to the conventional CMOS device because of high power efficiency and large noise margin. The combination of MWCNT and CNFET enables the promising CNT-based FPGAs. However, the MWCNT interconnects exhibit significant process variations due to immature fabrication process, leading to delay faults. Also, the non-ideal CNFET fabrication process may generate a few metallic CNTs (m-CNTs), rendering correlated faulty blocks. In this article, we propose a ring oscillator (RO) based testing technique to detect delay faults due to the process variation of MWCNT interconnects. Furthermore, we propose an effective testing technique for the carry chains in CLBs, and an improved circuit design based on the lookup table (LUT) is applied to speed up the fault testing of CNT-based FPGAs. In addition, we propose a testing algorithm to detect m-CNTs in CLBs. Finally, we propose a redundant spare row sharing architecture to improve the yield of CNT-based FPGA further. Experimental results show that the test time for a 6-input LUT can be reduced by 35.49% compared with conventional testing, and the proposed algorithm can achieve a high test coverage with little overhead. The proposed redundant architecture can repair the faulty segment effectively and efficiently.

Authors:Xianyue Peng, Shenyang Chen, H. Michael Zhang
Title: A Hierarchical Signal Coordination and Control System Using a Hybrid Model-based and Reinforcement Learning Approach
Abstract:
Signal control in urban corridors faces the dual challenge of maintaining arterial traffic progression while adapting to demand variations at local intersections. We propose a hierarchical traffic signal coordination and control scheme that integrates model-based optimization with reinforcement learning. The system consists of: (i) a High-Level Coordinator (HLC) that selects coordination strategies based on observed and predicted demand; (ii) a Corridor Coordinator that derives phase constraints from the selected strategy-either Max-Flow Coordination (MFC) or Green-Wave Coordination (GWC); and (iii) Hybrid Signal Agents (HSAs) that determine signal phases via reinforcement learning with action masking to enforce feasibility. Hierarchical reinforcement learning with Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) is used to train HSA and HLC policies. At the lower level, three HSA policies-MFC-aware, GWC-aware, and pure agent control (PAC) are trained in conjunction with their respective coordination strategies. At the higher level, the HLC is trained to dynamically switch strategies using a multi-objective reward balancing corridor-level and network-wide performance. The proposed scheme was developed and evaluated on a SUMO-RLlib platform. Case results show that hybrid MFC maximizes throughput under heavy demand; hybrid GWC consistently minimizes arterial stops and maintains progression across diverse traffic conditions but can reduce network-wide efficiency; and PAC improves network-wide travel time in moderate demand but is less effective under heavy demand. The hierarchical design enables adaptive strategy selection, achieving robust performance across all demand levels.

Authors:Junkai Wang, Yuxuan Zhao, Mi Zhou, Fumin Zhang
Title: Learning Robust Regions of Attraction Using Rollout-Enhanced Physics-Informed Neural Networks with Policy Iteration
Abstract:
The region of attraction is a key metric of the robustness of systems. This paper addresses the numerical solution of the generalized Zubov's equation, which produces a special Lyapunov function characterizing the robust region of attraction for perturbed systems. To handle the highly nonlinear characteristic of the generalized Zubov's equation, we propose a physics-informed neural network framework that employs a policy iteration training scheme with rollout to approximate the viscosity solution. In addition to computing the optimal disturbance during the policy improvement process, we incorporate neural network-generated value estimates as anchor points to facilitate the training procedure to prevent singularities in both low- and high-dimensional systems. Numerical simulations validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Authors:Aboozar Heydaribeni, Hamzeh Beyranvand
Title: Performance Analysis of Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using O-RIS and Fiber Optic Backhaul (Extended version)
Abstract:
This Letter presents a novel hybrid underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) system that integrates underwater optical access points (UOAPs) with a passive optical network (PON)-based fiber-optic backhaul to provide a resilient backbone. A hard switching mechanism is employed between direct and optical reconfigurable intelligent surface (O-RIS)-assisted links to ensure reliable connectivity. Unlike previous studies, the proposed system is evaluated under both active and multiple passive O-RIS configurations. To enhance reliability, the Selection Combining (SC) and Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) schemes are applied. Analytical and simulation results demonstrate that optimal O-RIS placement significantly enhances system performance. However, in the linear regime, placing it too close to the receiver causes degradation due to increased path loss and beam jitter in an identical water type. Moreover, increasing the number of O-RIS elements within practical limits further improves overall system performance and enhances adaptability to variations in the underwater channel.

Authors:Weicheng Liu, Di Liu, Songyan Zhang, Chao Lu
Title: Linear Power System Modeling and Analysis Across Wide Operating Ranges: A Hierarchical Neural State-Space Equation Approach
Abstract:
Developing a unified small-signal model for modern, large-scale power systems that remains accurate across a wide range of operating ranges presents a formidable challenge. Traditional methods, spanning mechanistic modeling, modal identification, and deep learning, have yet to fully overcome persistent limitations in accuracy, universal applicability, and interpretability. In this paper, a novel hierarchical neural state-space equation approach is proposed to overcome these obstacles, achieving strong representation, high interpretability, and superior adaptability to both system scale and varying operating points. Specifically, we first introduce neural state-space equations integrated with virtual state observers to accurately characterize the dynamics of power system devices, even in the presence of unmeasurable states. Subsequently, a hierarchical architecture is designed to handle the modeling complexity across a wide range of operating conditions, flexibly decoupling device and grid models to effectively mitigate the curse of dimensionality. Finally, a set of spatiotemporal data transformations and a multi-stage training strategy with a multi-objective loss function is employed to enhance the models efficiency and generalization. Numerical results on the two-machine three-bus system and the Guangdong Power Grid verify the superior performance of the proposed method, presenting it as a powerful new tool for small-signal stability analysis.

Authors:Shreesh Mahapatra, Bhargav Jha, Michael R. Dorothy, Shaunak D. Bopardikar
Title: Deception in Asymmetric Information Homicidal Chauffeur Game
Abstract:
The classic Homicidal Chauffeur game is a pursuit-evasion game played in an unbounded planar environment between a pursuer constrained to move with fixed speed on curves with bounded curvature, and a slower evader with fixed speed but with simple kinematics. We introduce a new variant of this game with asymmetric information in which the evader has the ability to choose its speed among a finite set of choices that is unknown to the pursuer a priori. Therefore the pursuer is required to estimate the evader's maximum speed based on the observations so far. This formulation leads to the question of whether the evader can exploit this asymmetry by moving deceptively by first picking a slower speed to move with and then switching to a faster speed when a specified relative configuration is attained to increase the capture time as compared to moving with the maximum speed at all times. Our contributions are as follows. First, we derive optimal feedback Nash equilibrium strategies for the complete information case of this game in which the evader is allowed to vary its speed in a given interval. Second, for the version with asymmetric information, we characterize regions of initial player locations in the game space from which the evader does not have any advantage in using deceptive strategies. Finally, we provide numerical evidence of regions in the game space from which the evader can increase the capture time by moving deceptively.

Authors:Yaojie Cai, Georgia Pierrou, Xiaozhe Wang, Geza Joos
Title: A Data-Driven Forced Oscillation Locating Method for Power Systems with Inverter-Based Resources
Abstract:
Forced Oscillations (FO) stemming from external periodic disturbances threaten power system security and stability. The increasing penetration of Inverter-Based Resources(IBRs) further introduces FO, leading to new challenges in identifying and locating FO sources in modern power systems. In this paper, a novel data-driven method for locating FO in power systems with IBRs is proposed. Unlike previous works, a unified representation of FO originating from IBRs is considered, which further facilitates the development of the FO locating algorithm. Leveraging on Sparse Identification for a Nonlinear Dynamical (SINDy), a purely data-driven methodology is developed for locating the source of FO by interpreting the proposed model from measurements. Numerical results on the WECC 240-bus system validate the performance of the proposed approach in successfully locating FO in the presence of IBRs.

Authors:Arya Honarpisheh, Mario Sznaier
Title: Frequency Response Identification of Low-Order Systems: Finite-Sample Analysis
Abstract:
This paper proposes a frequency-domain system identification method for learning low-order systems. The identification problem is formulated as the minimization of the l2 norm between the identified and measured frequency responses, with the nuclear norm of the Loewner matrix serving as a regularization term. This formulation results in an optimization problem that can be efficiently solved using standard convex optimization techniques. We derive an upper bound on the sampled-frequency complexity of the identification process and subsequently extend this bound to characterize the identification error over all frequencies. A detailed analysis of the sample complexity is provided, along with a thorough interpretation of its terms and dependencies. Finally, the efficacy of the proposed method is demonstrated through an example, along with numerical simulations validating the growth rate of the sample complexity bound.

Authors:Yi Li, Xin Li
Title: Stability Optimization and Analysis of Energy Flow Networks versus Different Centrality Measurement
Abstract:
Optimizing the stability and control performance of complex networks often hinges on effectively identifying critical nodes for targeted intervention. Due to their inherent complexity and high dimensionality, large-scale energy flow networks, prevalent in domains like power grids, transportation, and financial systems, present unique challenges in selecting optimal nodes for resource allocation. While numerous centrality measurements, such as Katz centrality, eigenvector centrality, closeness centrality, betweenness centrality, and PageRank, have been proposed to evaluate node importance, the impact of different centrality metrics on stability outcomes remains inadequately understood. Moreover, networks manifest diverse structural characteristics-including small-world, scale-free, and random graph properties-which further complicates the optimization problem. This paper systematically investigates how various node centrality measurements influence control stability across representative complex network structures. A unified energy-flow dynamical model is developed, and performance metrics such as the L1 norm are employed to quantify the network stability implications of employing different centrality metrics. Extensive numerical simulations over statistically generated network ensembles reveal significant variances in stability outcomes, highlighting the crucial role of centrality selection. The findings underscore the sensitivity of energy-flow stability to seemingly minor changes in topological node rankings, providing practical insights for enhancing control efficiency and robustness in real-world networked systems.

Authors:David Baxter, Aldo Terán Espinoza, Antonio Terán Espinoza, Amy Loutfi, John Folkesson, Peter Sigray, Stephanie Lowry, Jakob Kuttenkeuler
Title: Relative Navigation and Dynamic Target Tracking for Autonomous Underwater Proximity Operations
Abstract:
Estimating a target's 6-DoF motion in underwater proximity operations is difficult because the chaser lacks target-side proprioception and the available relative observations are sparse, noisy, and often partial (e.g., Ultra-Short Baseline (USBL) positions). Without a motion prior, factor-graph maximum a posteriori estimation is underconstrained: consecutive target states are weakly linked and orientation can drift. We propose a generalized constant-twist motion prior defined on the tangent space of Lie groups that enforces temporally consistent trajectories across all degrees of freedom; in SE(3) it couples translation and rotation in the body frame. We present a ternary factor and derive its closed-form Jacobians based on standard Lie group operations, enabling drop-in use for trajectories on arbitrary Lie groups. We evaluate two deployment modes: (A) an SE(3)-only representation that regularizes orientation even when only position is measured, and (B) a mode with boundary factors that switches the target representation between SE(3) and 3D position while applying the same generalized constant-twist prior across representation changes. Validation on a real-world dynamic docking scenario dataset shows consistent ego-target trajectory estimation through USBL-only and optical relative measurement segments with an improved relative tracking accuracy compared to the noisy measurements to the target. Because the construction relies on standard Lie group primitives, it is portable across state manifolds and sensing modalities.

Authors:Austin Braniff, Yuhe Tian
Title: Reinforcement Learning-based Control via Y-wise Affine Neural Networks (YANNs)
Abstract:
This work presents a novel reinforcement learning (RL) algorithm based on Y-wise Affine Neural Networks (YANNs). YANNs provide an interpretable neural network which can exactly represent known piecewise affine functions of arbitrary input and output dimensions defined on any amount of polytopic subdomains. One representative application of YANNs is to reformulate explicit solutions of multi-parametric linear model predictive control. Built on this, we propose the use of YANNs to initialize RL actor and critic networks, which enables the resulting YANN-RL control algorithm to start with the confidence of linear optimal control. The YANN-actor is initialized by representing the multi-parametric control solutions obtained via offline computation using an approximated linear system model. The YANN-critic represents the explicit form of the state-action value function for the linear system and the reward function as the objective in an optimal control problem (OCP). Additional network layers are injected to extend YANNs for nonlinear expressions, which can be trained online by directly interacting with the true complex nonlinear system. In this way, both the policy and state-value functions exactly represent a linear OCP initially and are able to eventually learn the solution of a general nonlinear OCP. Continuous policy improvement is also implemented to provide heuristic confidence that the linear OCP solution serves as an effective lower bound to the performance of RL policy. The YANN-RL algorithm is demonstrated on a clipped pendulum and a safety-critical chemical-reactive system. Our results show that YANN-RL significantly outperforms the modern RL algorithm using deep deterministic policy gradient, especially when considering safety constraints.

Authors:Min-Seung Ko, Hao Zhu
Title: Wide-Area Power System Oscillations from Large-Scale AI Workloads
Abstract:
This paper develops a new dynamic power profiling approach for modeling AI-centric datacenter loads and analyzing their impact on grid operations, particularly their potential to induce wide-area grid oscillations. We characterize the periodic stochastic power fluctuations inherent to large-scale AI workloads during both the training and fine-tuning stages, driven by the state-of-the-art GPU computing architecture designs. These sustained, large power fluctuations, unlike conventional load ramping, act as persistent forcing inputs capable of interacting with and amplifying local and inter-area oscillation modes. Using the WECC 179-bus system as a test case, we examine the amplitude and variability of oscillatory responses under different factors, ranging from system strength, penetration level, fluctuation frequency range, individual datacenter size, to geographical deployment. Simulation results show that, notably, narrower fluctuation bands, larger single-site capacities, or dispersed siting can intensify oscillations across multiple modes. Our models and numerical studies provide a quantitative basis for integrating AI-dominant electricity demands into grid oscillation studies, and further support the development of new planning and operational measures to power the continuous AI load growth.

Authors:Yuhao Zheng, Ting You, Kejia Peng, Chang Liu
Title: A Joint Delay-Energy-Security Aware Framework for Intelligent Task Scheduling in Satellite-Terrestrial Edge Computing Network
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose a two-stage optimization framework for secure task scheduling in satellite-terrestrial edge computing networks (STECNs). The framework jointly considers secure user association and task offloading to balance transmission delay, energy consumption, and physical-layer security. To address the inherent complexity, we decouple the problem into two stages. In the first stage, a secrecy-aware user association strategy is designed by discretizing artificial noise (AN) power ratios and identifying feasible links that satisfy secrecy constraints, resulting in a set of candidate secure associations. In the second stage, we formulate a delay-energy-aware task scheduling problem as an integer linear program and solve it using a heuristic Mayfly Algorithm (MA) to obtain low-complexity, high-quality solutions. Extensive simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed framework in achieving secure and efficient task scheduling under dynamic satellite environments.

Authors:Zhong Guo, Prabir Barooah
Title: A Central Chilled Water Plant Model for Designing Learning-Based Controllers
Abstract:
We describe a framework of modeling a central chilled water plant (CCWP) that consists of an aggregate cooling coil, a number of heterogeneous chillers and cooling towers, and a chilled water-based thermal energy storage system. We improve upon existing component models from the open literature using a constrained optimization-based framework to ensure that the models respect capacities of all the heat exchangers (cooling coils, chillers, and cooling towers) irrespective of the inputs provided. As a result, the proposed model has a wider range of validity compared to existing models; the latter can produce highly erroneous outputs when inputs are not within normal operating range. This feature is essential for training learning-based controllers that can choose inputs beyond normal operating conditions and is lacking in currently available models. The overall plant model is implemented in Matlab and is made publicly available. Simulation of a CCWP with closed loop control is provided as an illustration.

Authors:Alvaro Detailleur, Dalim Wahby, Guillaume Ducard, Christopher Onder
Title: Synthesis and SOS-based Stability Verification of a Neural-Network-Based Controller for a Two-wheeled Inverted Pendulum
Abstract:
This work newly establishes the feasibility and practical value of a sum of squares (SOS)-based stability verification procedure for applied control problems utilizing neural-network-based controllers (NNCs). It successfully verifies closed-loop stability properties of a NNC synthesized using a generalizable procedure to imitate a robust, tube-based model predictive controller (MPC) for a two-wheeled inverted pendulum demonstrator system. This is achieved by first developing a state estimator and control-oriented model for the two-wheeled inverted pendulum. Next, this control-oriented model is used to synthesize a baseline linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) and a robust, tube-based MPC, which is computationally too demanding for real-time execution on the demonstrator system's embedded hardware. The generalizable synthesis procedure generates an NNC imitating the robust, tube-based MPC. Via an SOS-based stability verification procedure, a certificate of local asymptotic stability and a relevant inner estimate of the region of attraction (RoA) are obtained for the closed-loop system incorporating this NNC. Finally, experimental results on the physical two-wheeled inverted pendulum demonstrate that the NNC both stabilizes the system, and improves the control performance compared to the baseline LQR in both regulation and reference-tracking tasks.

Authors:Philip Bilfinger, Markus Schreiber, Philipp Rosner, Kareem Abo Gamra, Jan Schöberl, Cristina Grosu, Markus Lienkamp
Title: Why we need a standardized state of health definition for electric vehicle battery packs -- a proposal for energy- and capacity-based metrics
Abstract:
Range and performance are key customer-relevant properties of electric vehicles. Both degrade over time due to battery aging, thus impacting business decisions throughout a vehicle's lifecycle, such as efficient utilization and asset valuation. For practical assessment, aging is often simplified into a single figure of merit - the state of health - typically defined by the battery pack's remaining capacity or energy. However, no standardized method for measuring the state of health at the vehicle level has been established, leaving both academia and industry without a clear consensus. Ultimately, standardization is crucial to increase transparency and build confidence in the long-term reliability of electric vehicles' battery packs. In this article, we propose a standard measurement procedure for assessing the capacity- and energy-based state of health, leveraging onboard charging to enable reproducibility and scalability. Additionally, we demonstrate how differential voltage analysis can provide deeper insights into battery aging at the vehicle level.

Authors:Xinhao Yan, Bo Chen, Hailong Huang
Title: Locally Differentially Private Multi-Sensor Fusion Estimation With System Intrinsic Randomness
Abstract:
This paper focuses on the privacy-preserving multi-sensor fusion estimation (MSFE) problem with differential privacy considerations. Most existing research efforts are directed towards the exploration of traditional differential privacy, also referred to as centralized differential privacy (CDP). It is important to note that CDP is tailored to protect the privacy of statistical data at fusion center such as averages and sums rather than individual data at sensors, which renders it inappropriate for MSFE. Additionally, the definitions and assumptions of CDP are primarily applicable for large-scale systems that require statistical results mentioned above. Therefore, to address these limitations, this paper introduces a more recent advancement known as \emph{local differential privacy (LDP)} to enhance the privacy of MSFE. We provide some rigorous definitions about LDP based on the intrinsic properties of MSFE rather than directly presenting the assumptions under CDP. Subsequently, the LDP is proved to be realized with system intrinsic randomness, which is useful and has never been considered before. Furthermore, the Gaussian mechanism is designed when the intrinsic randomness is insufficient. The lower bound of the covariance for extra injected Gaussian noises is determined by integrating system information with privacy budgets. Moreover, the optimal fusion estimators under intrinsic and extra disturbances are respectively designed in the linear minimum variance sense. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed methods is verified through numerical simulations, encompassing both one-dimensional and high-dimensional scenarios.

Authors:Ravi Raj Shrestha, Zhi Zhou, Limon Barua, Nazib Siddique, Karthikeyan Balasubramaniam, Yan Zhou, Lusha Wang
Title: Smart Charging Impact Analysis using Clustering Methods and Real-world Distribution Feeders
Abstract:
The anticipated widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) necessitates a critical evaluation of existing power distribution infrastructures, as EV integration imposes additional stress on distribution networks that can lead to component overloading and power quality degradation. Implementing smart charging mechanisms can mitigate these adverse effects and defer or even avoid upgrades. This study assesses the performance of two smart charging strategies - Time of Use (TOU) pricing and Load Balancing (LB) on seven representative real-world feeders identified using k-means clustering. A time series-based steady-state load flow analysis was conducted on these feeders to simulate the impact of EV charging under both strategies across four different EV enrollment scenarios and three representative days to capture seasonal load characteristics. A grid upgrade strategy has been proposed to strengthen the power grid to support EV integration with minimal cost. Results demonstrate that both TOU and LB strategies effectively manage the additional EV load with reduced upgrade requirement and cost to existing infrastructure compared to the case without smart charging strategies and LB outperforms TOU when the customer enrollment levels are high. These findings support the viability of smart charging in facilitating EV integration while maintaining distribution network reliability and reducing investment cost.

Authors:Ricus Husmann, Sven Weishaupt, Harald Aschemann
Title: Recursive Gaussian Process Regression with Integrated Monotonicity Assumptions for Control Applications
Abstract:
In this paper, we present an extension to the recursive Gaussian Process (RGP) regression that enables the satisfaction of inequality constraints and is well suited for a real-time execution in control applications. The soft inequality constraints are integrated by introducing an additional extended Kalman Filter (EKF) update step using pseudo-measurements. The sequential formulation of the algorithm and several developed heuristics ensure both the performance and a low computational effort of the algorithm. A special focus lies on an efficient consideration of monotonicity assumptions for GPs in the form of inequality constraints. The algorithm is statistically validated in simulations, where the possible advantages in comparison with the standard RGP algorithm become obvious. The paper is concluded with a successful experimental validation of the developed algorithm for the monotonicity-preserving learning of heat transfer values for the control of a vapor compression cycle evaporator, leveraging a previously published partial input output linearization (IOL).

Authors:Evanns Morales-Cuadrado, Luke Baird, Yorai Wardi, Samuel Coogan
Title: Lightweight Tracking Control for Computationally Constrained Aerial Systems with the Newton-Raphson Method
Abstract:
We investigate the performance of a lightweight tracking controller, based on a flow version of the Newton-Raphson method, applied to a miniature blimp and a mid-size quadrotor. This tracking technique has been shown to enjoy theoretical guarantees of performance and has been applied with success in simulation studies and on mobile robots with simple motion models. This paper investigates the technique through real-world flight experiments on aerial hardware platforms subject to realistic deployment and onboard computational constraints. The technique's performance is assessed in comparison with the established control frameworks of feedback linearization for the blimp, and nonlinear model predictive control for both quadrotor and blimp. The performance metrics under consideration are (i) root mean square error of flight trajectories with respect to target trajectories, (ii) algorithms' computation times, and (iii) CPU energy consumption associated with the control algorithms. The experimental findings show that the Newton-Raphson flow-based tracking controller achieves comparable or superior tracking performance to the baseline methods with substantially reduced computation time and energy expenditure.

Authors:J. J. H. van Gemert, V. Breschi, D. R. Yntema, K. J. Keesman, M. Lazar
Title: Scalable Sensor Placement for Cyclic Networks with Observability Guarantees: Application to Water Distribution Networks
Abstract:
Optimal sensor placement is essential for state estimation and effective network monitoring. As known in the literature, this problem becomes particularly challenging in large-scale undirected or bidirected cyclic networks with parametric uncertainties, such as water distribution networks (WDNs), where pipe resistance and demand patterns are often unknown. Motivated by the challenges of cycles, parametric uncertainties, and scalability, this paper proposes a sensor placement algorithm that guarantees structural observability for cyclic and acyclic networks with parametric uncertainties. By leveraging a graph-based strategy, the proposed method efficiently addresses the computational complexities of large-scale networks. To demonstrate the algorithm's effectiveness, we apply it to several EPANET benchmark WDNs. Most notably, the developed algorithm solves the sensor placement problem with guaranteed structured observability for the L-town WDN with 1694 nodes and 124 cycles in under 0.1 seconds.

Authors:Eugene T. Hamzezadeh, Andrew J. Petruska
Title: Observed Control -- Linearly Scalable Nonlinear Model Predictive Control with Adaptive Horizons
Abstract:
This work highlights the duality between state estimation methods and model predictive control. A predictive controller, observed control, is presented that uses this duality to efficiently compute control actions with linear time-horizon length scalability. The proposed algorithms provide exceptional computational efficiency, adaptive time horizon lengths, and early optimization termination criteria. The use of Kalman smoothers as the backend optimization framework provides for a straightforward implementation supported by strong theoretical guarantees. Additionally, a formulation is presented that separates linear model predictive control into purely reactive and anticipatory components, enabling any-time any-horizon observed control while ensuring controller stability for short time horizons. Finally, numerical case studies confirm that nonlinear filter extensions, i.e., the extended Kalman filter and unscented Kalman filter, effectively extend observed control to nonlinear systems and objectives.

Authors:Eléa Prat, Richard Martin Lusby, Pierre Pinson
Title: Sufficient A Priori Conditions for the Linear Relaxation of the Energy Storage Scheduling Problem
Abstract:
When modeling energy storage systems, an essential question is how to account for the physical infeasibility of simultaneous charge and discharge. The use of complementarity constraints or of binary variables is common, but these formulations do not scale well. Alternatively, assumptions such as perfect efficiencies or positive prices are often used to justify the choice of a linear model. In this paper, we establish new a priori conditions that guarantee the existence of an optimal solution without simultaneous charge and discharge when solving the linear relaxation of the storage scheduling problem. They are based on the characteristics of the storage system, in particular, the duration of charge. They can be valid for negative prices and with inefficiencies, thereby enlarging the set of conditions for which the complementarity constraints can be relaxed. We prove mathematically the validity of these conditions and illustrate them with practical examples. We also introduce a refined mixed-integer linear equivalent, in which the number of binary variables can be drastically reduced.

Authors:Lin Wang, I-Hong Hou
Title: Understanding the Fundamental Trade-Off Between Age of Information and Throughput in Unreliable Wireless Networks
Abstract:
This paper characterizes the fundamental trade-off between throughput and Age of Information (AoI) in wireless networks where multiple devices transmit status updates to a central base station over unreliable channels. To address the complexity introduced by stochastic transmission successes, we propose the throughput-AoI capacity region, which defines all feasible throughput-AoI pairs achievable under any scheduling policy. Using a second-order approximation that incorporates both mean and temporal variance, we derive an outer bound and a tight inner bound for the throughput-AoI capacity region. Furthermore, we propose a simple and low complexity scheduling policy and prove that it achieves every interior point within the tight inner bound. This establishes a systematic and theoretically grounded framework for the joint optimization of throughput and information freshness in practical wireless communication scenarios. To validate our theoretical framework and demonstrate the utility of the throughput-AoI capacity region, extensive simulations are implemented. Simulation results demonstrate that our proposed policy significantly outperforms conventional methods across various practical network optimization scenarios. The findings highlight our approach's effectiveness in optimizing both throughput and AoI, underscoring its applicability and robustness in practical wireless networks.

Authors:Melvin H. Friedman, Brian L. Mark, Nathan H. Gartner
Title: Euclidean Approach to Green-Wave Theory Applied to Traffic Signal Networks
Abstract:
Travel on long arterials with signalized intersections can be inefficient if not coordinated properly. As the number of signals increases, coordination becomes more challenging and traditional progression schemes tend to break down. Long progressions save travel time and fuel, reduce pollution and traffic accidents by providing a smoother flow of traffic. This paper introduces a green-wave theory that can be applied to a network of intersecting arterial roads. It enables uninterrupted flow on arbitrary long signalized arterials using a Road-to-Traveler-Feedback Device. The approach is modelled after Euclid. We define concepts such as RGW-roads (roads where vehicles traveling at the recommended speed make all traffic signals), green-arrows (representing vehicle platoons), real nodes (representing signalized intersections where RGW-roads intersect) and virtual nodes, green-wave speed, blocks, etc. - the analogue of Euclid's postulates. We then use geometric reasoning to deduce results: green-arrow lengths have a maximum value, are restricted to discrete lengths, and green-arrow laws of motion imply that select existing arterial roads can be converted to RGW-roads. The signal timings and offsets that are produced have been shown to be effective using a simulation model developed previously called RGW-SIM.

Authors:Yu Kawano, Fulvio Forni
Title: Design of MIMO Lur'e oscillators via dominant system theory with application in multi-agent rhythm synchronization
Abstract:
This paper presents a new design framework for dynamic output-feedback controllers for Lur'e oscillation in a multiple-input multiple-output setting. We first revisit and extend dominant system theory to state-dependent rates, with the goal of deriving conditions based on linear matrix inequalities. Then, we introduce a separation principle for Lur'e oscillator design, which allows for the independent design of a state-feedback oscillator and an observer. Our proposed control synthesis is demonstrated through the rhythm synchronization in multi-agent systems, illustrating how networks of stable, heterogeneous linear agents can be driven into phase-locked rhythmic behavior.

Authors:Agostino Capponi, Garud Iyengar, Bo Yang, Daniel Bienstock
Title: Virtual Trading in Multi-Settlement Electricity Markets
Abstract:
In the Day-Ahead (DA) market, suppliers sell and load-serving entities (LSEs) purchase energy commitments, with both sides adjusting for imbalances between contracted and actual deliveries in the Real-Time (RT) market. We develop a supply function equilibrium model to study how virtual trading-speculating on DA-RT price spreads without physical delivery-affects market efficiency. Without virtual trading, LSEs underbid relative to actual demand in the DA market, pushing DA prices below expected RT prices. Virtual trading narrows, and in the limit of large number traders can eliminates, this price gap. However, it does not induce quantity alignment: DA-cleared demand remains below true expected demand, as price alignment makes the LSE indifferent between markets and prompts it to reduce DA bids to avoid over-purchasing. Renewable energy suppliers cannot offset these strategic distortions. We provide empirical support to our main model implications using data from the California and New York Independent System Operators.

Authors:Jinhua He, Zechun Hu
Title: Probabilistic Forecasting Method for Offshore Wind Farm Cluster under Typhoon Conditions: a Score-Based Conditional Diffusion Model
Abstract:
Offshore wind power (OWP) exhibits significant fluctuations under typhoon conditions, posing substantial challenges to the secure operation of power systems. Accurate forecasting of OWP is therefore essential. However, the inherent scarcity of historical typhoon data and stochasticity of OWP render traditional point forecasting methods particularly difficult and inadequate. To address this challenge and provide grid operators with the comprehensive information necessary for decision-making, this study proposes a score-based conditional diffusion model (SCDM) for probabilistic forecasting of OWP during typhoon events. First, a knowledge graph algorithm is employed to embed historical typhoon paths as vectors. Then, a deterministic network is constructed to predict the wind power under typhoon conditions based on these vector embeddings. Finally, to better characterize prediction errors, a denoising network is developed. At the core of this approach is a mean-reverting stochastic differential equation (SDE), which transforms complex error distributions into a standard Gaussian, enabling the sampling of forecasting errors using a reverse-time SDE. The probabilistic forecasting results are reconstructed by combining deterministic forecasts with sampled errors. The proposed method is evaluated using real-world data from a cluster of 9 offshore wind farms. Results demonstrate that under typhoon conditions, our approach outperforms baseline models for both deterministic and probabilistic metrics, verifying the effectiveness of the approach.

Authors:Matthew D. Osburn, Cameron K. Peterson, John L. Salmon
Title: Systematic Constraint Formulation and Collision-Free Trajectory Planning Using Space-Time Graphs of Convex Sets
Abstract:
In this paper, we create optimal, collision-free, time-dependent trajectories through cluttered dynamic environments. The many spatial and temporal constraints make finding an initial guess for a numerical solver difficult. Graphs of Convex Sets (GCS) and the recently developed Space-Time Graphs of Convex Sets (ST-GCS) enable us to generate minimum distance collision-free trajectories without providing an initial guess to the solver. We also explore the derivation of general GCS-compatible constraints and document an intuitive strategy for adapting general constraints to the framework. We show that ST-GCS produces equivalent trajectories to the standard GCS formulation when the environment is static, as well as globally optimal trajectories in cluttered dynamic environments.

Authors:Xiaowei Tan, Weizhong Jiang, Bi Zhang, Wanxin Chen, Yiwen Zhao, Ning Li, Lianqing Liu, Xingang Zhao
Title: A Shank Angle-Based Control System Enables Soft Exoskeleton to Assist Human Non-Steady Locomotion
Abstract:
Exoskeletons have been shown to effectively assist humans during steady locomotion. However, their effects on non-steady locomotion, characterized by nonlinear phase progression within a gait cycle, remain insufficiently explored, particularly across diverse activities. This work presents a shank angle-based control system that enables the exoskeleton to maintain real-time coordination with human gait, even under phase perturbations, while dynamically shaping assistance profiles to match the biological ankle moment patterns across walking, running, stair negotiation tasks. The control system consists of an assistance profile online generation method and a model-based feedforward control method. The assistance profile is formulated as a dual-Gaussian model with the shank angle as the independent variable. Leveraging only IMU measurements, the model parameters are updated online each stride to adapt to inter- and intra-individual biomechanical variability. The profile tracking control employs a human-exoskeleton kinematics and stiffness model as a feedforward component, reducing reliance on historical control data due to the lack of clear and consistent periodicity in non-steady locomotion. Three experiments were conducted using a lightweight soft exoskeleton with multiple subjects. The results validated the effectiveness of each individual method, demonstrated the robustness of the control system against gait perturbations across various activities, and revealed positive biomechanical and physiological responses of human users to the exoskeleton's mechanical assistance.

Authors:Imran Pervez, Omar Knio
Title: Integrated Learning and Optimization to Control Load Demand and Wind Generation for Minimizing Ramping Cost in Real-Time Electricity Market
Abstract:
We developed a new integrated learning and optimization (ILO) methodology to predict context-aware unknown parameters in economic dispatch (ED), a crucial problem in power systems solved to generate optimal power dispatching decisions to serve consumer load. The ED formulation in the current study consists of load and renewable generation as unknown parameters in its constraints predicted using contextual information (e.g., prior load, temperature). The ILO framework train a neural network (NN) to estimate ED parameters by minimizing an application-specific regret function which is a difference between ground truth and NN-driven decisions favouring better ED decisions. We thoroughly analyze the feasible region of ED formulation to understand the impact of load and renewable learning together on the ED decisions. Corresponding to that we developed a new regret function to capture real-time electricity market operations where differences in predicted and true loads are corrected by ramping generators in real-time but at a higher cost than the market price. The proposed regret function when minimized using ILO framework train the NN to guide the load and renewable predictions to generate ED decisions favouring minimum generator ramping costs. This is unlike conventional sequential learning and optimization (SLO) framework which train NN to accurately estimate load and renewable instead of better ED decisions. The combined training of load and renewable using ILO is a new concept and lead to significantly improved ramping costs when compared with SLO based training of load and renewable and SLO trained load with 100% accurate renewable proving its decision-focused capability.

Authors:Stefan Haag, Bharanidhar Duraisamy, Felix Govaers, Wolfgang Koch, Martin Fritzsche, Juergen Dickmann
Title: Offline Auto Labeling: BAAS
Abstract:
This paper introduces BAAS, a new Extended Object Tracking (EOT) and fusion-based label annotation framework for radar detections in autonomous driving. Our framework utilizes Bayesian-based tracking, smoothing and eventually fusion methods to provide veritable and precise object trajectories along with shape estimation to provide annotation labels on the detection level under various supervision levels. Simultaneously, the framework provides evaluation of tracking performance and label annotation. If manually labeled data is available, each processing module can be analyzed independently or combined with other modules to enable closed-loop continuous improvements. The framework performance is evaluated in a challenging urban real-world scenario in terms of tracking performance and the label annotation errors. We demonstrate the functionality of the proposed approach for varying dynamic objects and class types

Authors:Nafisa Anjum, Robiul Hasan
Title: Performance Benchmarking of Machine Learning Models for Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber Prediction
Abstract:
This study presents a polarization-insensitive ultra-broadband terahertz metamaterial absorber based on vanadium dioxide (VO2) and evaluates machine learning methods for predicting its absorption performance. The structure consists of a VO2 metasurface, a MF2 dielectric spacer, and a gold ground plane. It achieves more than 90% absorption between 5.72 and 11.11 THz, covering a 5.38 THz bandwidth with an average absorptance of 98.15%. A dataset of 9,018 samples was generated from full-wave simulations by varying patch width, dielectric thickness, and frequency. Six regression models were trained: Linear Regression, Support Vector Regression, Decision Tree, Random Forest, XGBoost, and Bagging. Performance was measured using adjusted R2, MAE, MSE, and RMSE. Ensemble models achieved the best results, with Bagging reaching an adjusted R2 of 0.9985 and RMSE of 0.0146. The workflow offers a faster alternative to exhaustive simulations and can be applied to other metamaterial designs, enabling efficient evaluation and optimization.

Authors:Jimin Choi, Max Z. Li
Title: Autonomous Air-Ground Vehicle Operations Optimization in Hazardous Environments: A Multi-Armed Bandit Approach
Abstract:
Hazardous environments such as chemical spills, radiological zones, and bio-contaminated sites pose significant threats to human safety and public infrastructure. Rapid and reliable hazard mitigation in these settings often unsafe for humans, calling for autonomous systems that can adaptively sense and respond to evolving risks. This paper presents a decision-making framework for autonomous vehicle dispatch in hazardous environments with uncertain and evolving risk levels. The system integrates a Bayesian Upper Confidence Bound (BUCB) sensing strategy with task-specific vehicle routing problems with profits (VRPP), enabling adaptive coordination of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for hazard sensing and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) for cleaning. Using VRPP allows selective site visits under resource constraints by assigning each site a visit value that reflects sensing or cleaning priorities. Site-level hazard beliefs are maintained through a time-weighted Bayesian update. BUCB scores guide UAV routing to balance exploration and exploitation under uncertainty, while UGV routes are optimized to maximize expected hazard reduction under resource constraints. Simulation results demonstrate that our framework reduces the number of dispatch cycles to resolve hazards by around 30% on average compared to baseline dispatch strategies, underscoring the value of uncertainty-aware vehicle dispatch for reliable hazard mitigation.

Authors:Mohammad Hossein Nejati Amiri, Fawaz Annaz, Mario De Oliveira, Florimond Gueniat
Title: Deep Reinforcement Learning with Local Interpretability for Transparent Microgrid Resilience Energy Management
Abstract:
Renewable energy integration into microgrids has become a key approach to addressing global energy issues such as climate change and resource scarcity. However, the variability of renewable sources and the rising occurrence of High Impact Low Probability (HILP) events require innovative strategies for reliable and resilient energy management. This study introduces a practical approach to managing microgrid resilience through Explainable Deep Reinforcement Learning (XDRL). It combines the Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) algorithm for decision-making with the Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME) method to improve the transparency of the actor network's decisions. A case study in Ongole, India, examines a microgrid with wind, solar, and battery components to validate the proposed approach. The microgrid is simulated under extreme weather conditions during the Layla cyclone. LIME is used to analyse scenarios, showing the impact of key factors such as renewable generation, state of charge, and load prioritization on decision-making. The results demonstrate a Resilience Index (RI) of 0.9736 and an estimated battery lifespan of 15.11 years. LIME analysis reveals the rationale behind the agent's actions in idle, charging, and discharging modes, with renewable generation identified as the most influential feature. This study shows the effectiveness of integrating advanced DRL algorithms with interpretable AI techniques to achieve reliable and transparent energy management in microgrids.

Authors:Shurui Guan, Keqiang Li, Haoyu Yang, Yihe Chen, Hanxiao Ren, Yugong Luo
Title: Robust Integrated Priority and Speed Control based on Hierarchical Stochastic Optimization to Promote Bus Schedule Adherence along Signalized Arterial
Abstract:
In intelligent transportation systems (ITS), adaptive transit signal priority (TSP) and dynamic bus control systems have been independently developed to maintain efficient and reliable urban bus services. However, those two systems could potentially lead to conflicting decisions due to the lack of coordination. Although some studies explore the integrated control strategies along the arterial, they merely rely on signal replanning to address system uncertainties. Therefore, their performance severely deteriorates in real-world intersection settings, where abrupt signal timing variation is not always applicable in consideration of countdown timers and pedestrian signal design. In this study, we propose a robust integrated priority and speed control strategy based on hierarchical stochastic optimization to enhance bus schedule adherence along the arterial. In the proposed framework, the upper level ensures the coordination across intersections while the lower level handles uncertainties for each intersection with stochastic programming. Hence, the route-level system randomness is decomposed into a series of local problems that can be solved in parallel using sample average approximation (SAA). Simulation experiments are conducted under various scenarios with stochastic bus dwell time and different traffic demand. The results demonstrate that our approach significantly enhances bus punctuality and time headway equivalence without abrupt signal timing variation, with negative impacts on car delays limited to only 0.8%-5.2% as traffic demand increases.

Authors:Themistoklis Charalambous, Nikolaos Pappas, Nikolaos Nomikos, Risto Wichman
Title: Toward Goal-Oriented Communication in Multi-Agent Systems: An overview
Abstract:
As multi-agent systems (MAS) become increasingly prevalent in autonomous systems, distributed control, and edge intelligence, efficient communication under resource constraints has emerged as a critical challenge. Traditional communication paradigms often emphasize message fidelity or bandwidth optimization, overlooking the task relevance of the exchanged information. In contrast, goal-oriented communication prioritizes the importance of information with respect to the agents' shared objectives. This review provides a comprehensive survey of goal-oriented communication in MAS, bridging perspectives from information theory, communication theory, and machine learning. We examine foundational concepts alongside learning-based approaches and emergent protocols. Special attention is given to coordination under communication constraints, as well as applications in domains such as swarm robotics, federated learning, and edge computing. The paper concludes with a discussion of open challenges and future research directions at the intersection of communication theory, machine learning, and multi-agent decision making.

Authors:Ngoc Son Vu, Van Cuong Pham, Phuc Anh Nguyen, My Linh Dao Thi, Thanh Hai Vu
Title: Robust pid sliding mode control for dc servo motor speed control
Abstract:
This research proposes a Sliding Mode PID (SMC-PID) controller to improve the speed control performance of DC servo motors, which are widely used in industrial applications such as robotics and CNC. The objective of the proposed controller is to enhance the speed control performance of DC servo motors on the CE110 Servo Trainer. The proposed method integrates a traditional PID controller with a sliding mode control mechanism to effectively handle system uncertainties and disturbances. Experimental results show that the SMC-PID method provides significant improvements in accuracy and stability compared to traditional PID controllers, with metrics such as reduced overshoot, shorter settling time, and increased adaptability to system uncertainties. This research highlights the effectiveness of the SMC-PID controller, enhancing the performance of DC servo motor speed control.

Authors:Liwei Chen, Tong Qin, Zhenhua Huangfu, Li Li, Wei Wei
Title: Optimization of Flip-Landing Trajectories for Starship based on a Deep Learned Simulator
Abstract:
We propose a differentiable optimization framework for flip-and-landing trajectory design of reusable spacecraft, exemplified by the Starship vehicle. A deep neural network surrogate, trained on high-fidelity CFD data, predicts aerodynamic forces and moments, and is tightly coupled with a differentiable rigid-body dynamics solver. This enables end-to-end gradient-based trajectory optimization without linearization or convex relaxation. The framework handles actuator limits and terminal landing constraints, producing physically consistent, optimized control sequences. Both standard automatic differentiation and Neural ODEs are applied to support long-horizon rollouts. Results demonstrate the framework's effectiveness in modeling and optimizing complex maneuvers with high nonlinearities. This work lays the groundwork for future extensions involving unsteady aerodynamics, plume interactions, and intelligent guidance design.

Authors:Ioan-Sorin Comsa, Purav Shah, Karthik Vaidhyanathan, Deepak Gangadharan, Christof Imhof, Per Bergamin, Aryan Kaushik, Gabriel-Miro Muntean, Ramona Trestian
Title: SCAR: State-Space Compression for AI-Driven Resource Management in 6G-Enabled Vehicular Infotainment Systems
Abstract:
The advent of 6G networks opens new possibilities for connected infotainment services in vehicular environments. However, traditional Radio Resource Management (RRM) techniques struggle with the increasing volume and complexity of data such as Channel Quality Indicators (CQI) from autonomous vehicles. To address this, we propose SCAR (State-Space Compression for AI-Driven Resource Management), an Edge AI-assisted framework that optimizes scheduling and fairness in vehicular infotainment. SCAR employs ML-based compression techniques (e.g., clustering and RBF networks) to reduce CQI data size while preserving essential features. These compressed states are used to train 6G-enabled Reinforcement Learning policies that maximize throughput while meeting fairness objectives defined by the NGMN. Simulations show that SCAR increases time in feasible scheduling regions by 14\% and reduces unfair scheduling time by 15\% compared to RL baselines without CQI compression. Furthermore, Simulated Annealing with Stochastic Tunneling (SAST)-based clustering reduces CQI clustering distortion by 10\%, confirming its efficiency. These results demonstrate SCAR's scalability and fairness benefits for dynamic vehicular networks.

Authors:Haruto Nakashima, Siddhartha Ganguly, Kenji Kashima
Title: Data-Driven Density Steering via the Gromov-Wasserstein Optimal Transport Distance
Abstract:
We tackle the data-driven chance-constrained density steering problem using the Gromov-Wasserstein metric. The underlying dynamical system is an unknown linear controlled recursion, with the assumption that sufficiently rich input-output data from pre-operational experiments are available. The initial state is modeled as a Gaussian mixture, while the terminal state is required to match a specified Gaussian distribution. We reformulate the resulting optimal control problem as a difference-of-convex program and show that it can be efficiently and tractably solved using the DC algorithm. Numerical results validate our approach through various data-driven schemes.

Authors:Xingran Chen, Parimal Parag, Rohit Bhagat, Zonghong Liu, Salim El Rouayheb
Title: Random Walk Learning and the Pac-Man Attack
Abstract:
Random walk (RW)-based algorithms have long been popular in distributed systems due to low overheads and scalability, with recent growing applications in decentralized learning. However, their reliance on local interactions makes them inherently vulnerable to malicious behavior. In this work, we investigate an adversarial threat that we term the ``Pac-Man'' attack, in which a malicious node probabilistically terminates any RW that visits it. This stealthy behavior gradually eliminates active RWs from the network, effectively halting the learning process without triggering failure alarms. To counter this threat, we propose the Average Crossing (AC) algorithm--a fully decentralized mechanism for duplicating RWs to prevent RW extinction in the presence of Pac-Man. Our theoretical analysis establishes that (i) the RW population remains almost surely bounded under AC and (ii) RW-based stochastic gradient descent remains convergent under AC, even in the presence of Pac-Man, with a quantifiable deviation from the true optimum. Our extensive empirical results on both synthetic and real-world datasets corroborate our theoretical findings. Furthermore, they uncover a phase transition in the extinction probability as a function of the duplication threshold. We offer theoretical insights by analyzing a simplified variant of the AC, which sheds light on the observed phase transition.

Authors:Robiul Hasan, Nafisa Anjum
Title: Design and Analysis of a Vanadium Dioxide-Based Ultra-Broadband Terahertz Metamaterial Absorber
Abstract:
This paper presents a VO2-based metamaterial absorber optimized for ultra-broadband, polarization-insensitive performance in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. The absorber consists of a patterned VO2 metasurface, a low-loss MF2 dielectric spacer, and a gold ground plane. Exploiting the phase transition of VO2, the design enables dynamic control of electromagnetic absorption. Full-wave simulations show an average absorptance of 98.15% across a 5.38THz bandwidth (5.72-11.11THz) and over 99% absorption sustained across 3.35THz. The absorber maintains stable performance for varying polarization angles and both TE and TM modes under oblique incidence. Impedance analysis confirms strong matching to free space, reducing reflection and eliminating transmission. Parametric analysis investigates the influence of VO2 conductivity, MF2 thickness, and unit cell periodicity on performance. Compared to recent THz metamaterial absorbers, the proposed design achieves broader bandwidth, higher efficiency, and simpler implementation. These characteristics make it suitable for THz sensing, imaging, wireless communication, and adaptive photonic systems, and position it as a promising platform for tunable and reconfigurable THz modules.

Authors:Tong Hua, Jiale Han, Wei Ouyang
Title: A Multi-view Landmark Representation Approach with Application to GNSS-Visual-Inertial Odometry
Abstract:
Invariant Extended Kalman Filter (IEKF) has been a significant technique in vision-aided sensor fusion. However, it usually suffers from high computational burden when jointly optimizing camera poses and the landmarks. To improve its efficiency and applicability for multi-sensor fusion, we present a multi-view pose-only estimation approach with its application to GNSS-Visual-Inertial Odometry (GVIO) in this paper. Our main contribution is deriving a visual measurement model which directly associates landmark representation with multiple camera poses and observations. Such a pose-only measurement is proven to be tightly-coupled between landmarks and poses, and maintain a perfect null space that is independent of estimated poses. Finally, we apply the proposed approach to a filter based GVIO with a novel feature management strategy. Both simulation tests and real-world experiments are conducted to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method in terms of efficiency and accuracy.

Authors:Aleksander Grochowicz, Hannah C. Bloomfield, Marta Victoria
Title: Preparing for the worst: Long-term and short-term weather extremes in resource adequacy assessment
Abstract:
Security of supply is a common and important concern when integrating renewables in net-zero power systems. Extreme weather affects both demand and supply leading to power system stress; in Europe this stress spreads continentally beyond the meteorological root cause. We use an approach based on shadow prices to identify periods of elevated stress called system-defining events and analyse their impact on the power system. By classifying different types of system-defining events, we identify challenges to power system operation and planning. Crucially, we find the need for sufficient resilience back-up (power) capacities whose financial viability is precarious due to weather variability. Furthermore, we disentangle short- and long-term resilience challenges with distinct metrics and stress tests to incorporate both into future energy modelling assessments. Our methodology and implementation in the open model PyPSA-Eur can be re-applied to other systems and help researchers and policymakers in building more resilient and adequate energy systems.

Authors:Kumar Anurag, Kasra Azizi, Francesco Sorrentino, Wenbin Wan
Title: RCUKF: Data-Driven Modeling Meets Bayesian Estimation
Abstract:
Accurate modeling is crucial in many engineering and scientific applications, yet obtaining a reliable process model for complex systems is often challenging. To address this challenge, we propose a novel framework, reservoir computing with unscented Kalman filtering (RCUKF), which integrates data-driven modeling via reservoir computing (RC) with Bayesian estimation through the unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The RC component learns the nonlinear system dynamics directly from data, serving as a surrogate process model in the UKF prediction step to generate state estimates in high-dimensional or chaotic regimes where nominal mathematical models may fail. Meanwhile, the UKF measurement update integrates real-time sensor data to correct potential drift in the data-driven model. We demonstrate RCUKF effectiveness on well-known benchmark problems and a real-time vehicle trajectory estimation task in a high-fidelity simulation environment.

Authors:Nachiket U. Bapat, Randy C. Paffenroth, Raghvendra V. Cowlagi
Title: Case Studies of Generative Machine Learning Models for Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
Systems like aircraft and spacecraft are expensive to operate in the real world. The design, validation, and testing for such systems therefore relies on a combination of mathematical modeling, abundant numerical simulations, and a relatively small set of real-world experiments. Due to modeling errors, simplifications, and uncertainties, the data synthesized by simulation models often does not match data from the system's real-world operation. We consider the broad research question of whether this model mismatch can be significantly reduced by generative artificial intelligence models (GAIMs). Unlike text- or image-processing, where generative models have attained recent successes, GAIM development for aerospace engineering applications must not only train with scarce operational data, but their outputs must also satisfy governing equations based on natural laws, e.g., conservation laws. The scope of this paper primarily focuses on two case studies of optimally controlled systems that are commonly understood and employed in aircraft guidance, namely: minimum-time navigation in a wind field and minimum-exposure navigation in a threat field. We report GAIMs that are trained with a relatively small set, of the order of a few hundred, of examples and with underlying governing equations. By focusing on optimally controlled systems, we formulate training loss functions based on invariance of the Hamiltonian function along system trajectories. We investigate three GAIM architectures, namely: the generative adversarial network (GAN) and two variants of the variational autoencoder (VAE). We provide architectural details and thorough performance analyses of these models. The main finding is that our new models, especially the VAE-based models, are able to synthesize data that satisfy the governing equations and are statistically similar to the training data despite small volumes of training data.

Authors:Ognjen Stanojev, Orcun Karaca, Mario Schweizer
Title: Grid-Forming Vector Current Control FRT Modes Under Symmetrical and Asymmetrical Faults
Abstract:
Recent research has shown that operating grid-connected converters using the grid-forming vector current control (GFVCC) scheme offers significant benefits, including the simplicity and modularity of the control architecture, as well as enabling a seamless transition from PLL-based grid-following control to grid-forming. An important aspect of any grid-connected converter control strategy is the handling of grid-fault scenarios such as symmetrical and asymmetrical short-circuit faults. This paper presents several fault ride-through (FRT) strategies for GFVCC that enable the converter to provide fault current and stay synchronized to the grid while respecting the converter hardware limitations and retaining grid-forming behavior. The converter control scheme is extended in a modular manner to include negative-sequence loops, and the proposed FRT strategies address both symmetrical and asymmetrical faults. The proposed FRT strategies are analyzed through case studies, including infinite-bus setups and multi-unit grids.

Authors:Zhenyao Li, Yifan Yao, Deqiang Gan
Title: Power System Voltage Stability Boundary: Computational Results and Applications
Abstract:
The objective of this paper is to report some computational results for the theory of DAE stability boundary, with the aim of advancing applications in power system voltage stability studies. Firstly, a new regularization transformation for standard differential-algebraic equations (DAEs) is proposed. Then the existence of anchor points on voltage stability boundary is examined, and an optimization method for computing the controlling pseudo-saddle is suggested. Subsequently, a local representation of the stable manifold of the pseudo-saddle on the stability boundary is presented, and a voltage stability margin expression is obtained. Finally, the proposed results are verified using several examples, demonstrating the accuracy and effectiveness of the suggested methods.

Authors:Ke Xu, Chaitanya Krishna Prasad Vallabh, Souran Manoochehri
Title: Integrating Machine Learning with Multimodal Monitoring System Utilizing Acoustic and Vision Sensing to Evaluate Geometric Variations in Laser Directed Energy Deposition
Abstract:
Laser directed energy deposition (DED) additive manufacturing struggles with consistent part quality due to complex melt pool dynamics and process variations. While much research targets defect detection, little work has validated process monitoring systems for evaluating melt pool dynamics and process quality. This study presents a novel multimodal monitoring framework, synergistically integrating contact-based acoustic emission (AE) sensing with coaxial camera vision to enable layer-wise identification and evaluation of geometric variations in DED parts. The experimental study used three part configurations: a baseline part without holes, a part with a 3mm diameter through-hole, and one with a 5mm through-hole to test the system's discerning capabilities. Raw sensor data was preprocessed: acoustic signals were filtered for time-domain and frequency-domain feature extraction, while camera data underwent melt pool segmentation and morphological feature extraction. Multiple machine learning algorithms (including SVM, random forest, and XGBoost) were evaluated to find the optimal model for classifying layer-wise geometric variations. The integrated multimodal strategy achieved a superior classification performance of 94.4%, compared to 87.8% for AE only and 86.7% for the camera only. Validation confirmed the integrated system effectively captures both structural vibration signatures and surface morphological changes tied to the geometric variations. While this study focuses on specific geometries, the demonstrated capability to discriminate between features establishes a technical foundation for future applications in characterizing part variations like geometric inaccuracies and manufacturing-induced defects.

Authors:Karthik Peddi, Sai Ram Aditya Parisineni, Hemanth Macharla, Mayukha Pal
Title: Causality and Interpretability for Electrical Distribution System faults
Abstract:
Causal analysis helps us understand variables that are responsible for system failures. This improves fault detection and makes system more reliable. In this work, we present a new method that combines causal inference with machine learning to classify faults in electrical distribution systems (EDS) using graph-based models. We first build causal graphs using transfer entropy (TE). Each fault case is represented as a graph, where the nodes are features such as voltage and current, and the edges demonstrate how these features influence each other. Then, the graphs are classified using machine learning and GraphSAGE where the model learns from both the node values and the structure of the graph to predict the type of fault. To make the predictions understandable, we further developed an integrated approach using GNNExplainer and Captums Integrated Gradients to highlight the nodes (features) that influences the most on the final prediction. This gives us clear insights into the possible causes of the fault. Our experiments show high accuracy: 99.44% on the EDS fault dataset, which is better than state of art models. By combining causal graphs with machine learning, our method not only predicts faults accurately but also helps understand their root causes. This makes it a strong and practical tool for improving system reliability.

Authors:Dean Brandner, Sebastien Gros, Sergio Lucia
Title: Computationally efficient Gauss-Newton reinforcement learning for model predictive control
Abstract:
Model predictive control (MPC) is widely used in process control due to its interpretability and ability to handle constraints. As a parametric policy in reinforcement learning (RL), MPC offers strong initial performance and low data requirements compared to black-box policies like neural networks. However, most RL methods rely on first-order updates, which scale well to large parameter spaces but converge at most linearly, making them inefficient when each policy update requires solving an optimal control problem, as is the case with MPC. While MPC policies are typically sparsely parameterized and thus amenable to second-order approaches, existing second-order methods demand second-order policy derivatives, which can be computationally and memory-wise intractable. This work introduces a Gauss-Newton approximation of the deterministic policy Hessian that eliminates the need for second-order policy derivatives, enabling superlinear convergence with minimal computational overhead. To further improve robustness, we propose a momentum-based Hessian averaging scheme for stable training under noisy estimates. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach on a nonlinear continuously stirred tank reactor (CSTR), showing faster convergence and improved data efficiency over state-of-the-art first-order methods.

Authors:Chao Ge, Wei Yuan, Ge Chen, Yanbin Pan, Yuan Shen
Title: A Provably Secure Network Protocol for Private Communication with Analysis and Tracing Resistance
Abstract:
Anonymous communication networks have emerged as crucial tools for obfuscating communication pathways and concealing user identities. However, their practical deployments face significant challenges, including susceptibility to artificial intelligence (AI)-powered metadata analysis, difficulties in decentralized architectures, and the absence of provable security guarantees. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel decentralized anonymous routing protocol with resistance to tracing and traffic analysis. The protocol eliminates dependencies on the threshold model and trusted third-party setups, ensuring indistinguishable identity privacy even in highly adversarial environments. Different from traditional empirical security analysis of anonymous networks, this paper rigorously proves indistinguishable identity privacy for users even in extremely adversarial environments. Furthermore, simulations confirm its practical feasibility, demonstrating both security and efficiency. By achieving information sharing with privacy preservation, the proposed protocol offers a provably secure solution for privacy-preserving communication in digital environments.

Authors:Cristian López, Jackson E. Herzlieb, Keegan J. Moore
Title: System Identification via Validation and Adaptation for Model Updating Applied to a Nonlinear Cantilever Beam
Abstract:
The recently proposed System Identification via Validation and Adaptation (SIVA) method allows system identification, uncertainty quantification, and model validation directly from data. Inspired by generative modeling, SIVA employs a neural network that converts random noise to physically meaningful parameters. The known equation of motion utilizes these parameters to generate fake accelerations, which are compared to real training data using a mean square error loss. For concurrent parameter validation, independent datasets are passed through the model, and the resulting signals are classified as real or fake by a discriminator network, which guides the parameter-generator network. In this work, we apply SIVA to simulated vibration data from a cantilever beam that contains a lumped mass and a nonlinear end attachment, demonstrating accurate parameter estimation and model updating on complex, highly nonlinear systems.

Authors:Michael Herman, Olivia J. Pinon Fischer, Dimitri N. Mavris
Title: Predictive calibration for digital sun sensors using sparse submanifold convolutional neural networks
Abstract:
Recent developments in AI techniques for space applications mirror the success achieved in terrestrial applications. Machine learning, which excels in data rich environments, is particularly well suited to space-based computer vision applications, such as space optical attitude sensing. Of these sensors, digital sun sensors (DSS) are one of the most common and important sensors for spacecraft attitude determination. The main challenge in using the DSS for attitude estimation are sensor errors, which limit the overall achievable estimation accuracy. However, the traditional sun sensor calibration process is costly, slow, labor-intensive and inefficient. These limitations motivate the use of AI techniques to enable more accurate and efficient DSS calibration. The objective of this work is to develop an end-to-end predictive calibration methodology for digital sun sensors to solve 2-axis state estimates utilizing a sparse submanifold convolutional neural network (SSCNN). We find that the proposed framework can achieve state-of-the-art performance on synthetic data with a mean accuracy of 0.005° for the two sun angle estimates. Furthermore, the model is highly capable of implicitly learning complex noise patterns and handling mixed noise types, thereby greatly improving the model robustness and accuracy to real-world applications. The main contributions of this work are: (1) the first application (to our knowledge) of a CNN regression model to the problem of DSS predictive calibration, (2) the introduction of a fused end-to-end training approach for DSS calibration, (3) the creation of a publicly available physics-informed synthetic dataset and simulation for DSS training images, and (4) the evaluation of the performance of the deep learning approach for various mask configurations.

Authors:Yuxi Xie, Ethan J. Wu, Lu Xu, Jimmy Perez, Shaofan Li
Title: A Practical Finite Element Approach for Simulating Dynamic Crack Growth in Cu/Ultra Low-k Interconnect Structures
Abstract:
This work presents a practical finite element modeling strategy, the Crack Element Method (CEM), for simulating the dynamic crack propagation in two-dimensional structures. The method employs an element-splitting algorithm based on the Edge-based Smoothed Finite Element Method (ES-FEM) to capture the element-wise crack growth while reducing the formation of poorly shaped elements that can compromise numerical accuracy and computational performance. A fracture energy release rate formulation is also developed based on the evolving topology of the split elements. The proposed approach is validated through a series of classical benchmark problems, demonstrating its accuracy and robustness in addressing dynamic fracture scenarios. Finally, the applicability of the CEM is illustrated in a case study involving patterned Cu/Ultra Low-k interconnect structures.

Authors:Sebastian Peter, Daniel Feismann, Johannes Bao, Thomas Oberließen, Christian Rehtanz
Title: Energy management and flexibility quantification in a discrete event distribution grid simulation
Abstract:
Distribution grid operation faces new challenges caused by a rising share of renewable energy sources and the introduction of additional types of loads to the grid. With the increasing adoption of distributed generation and emerging prosumer households, Energy Management Systems, which manage and apply flexibility of connected devices, are gaining popularity. While potentially beneficial to grid capacity, strategic energy management also adds to the complexity of distribution grid operation and planning processes. Novel approaches of time-series-based planning likewise face increasingly complex simulation scenarios and rising computational cost. Discrete event modelling helps facilitating simulations of such scenarios by restraining computation to the most relevant points in simulation time. We provide an enhancement of a discrete event distribution grid simulation software that offers fast implementation and testing of energy management algorithms, embedded into a feature-rich simulation environment. Physical models are specified using the Discrete Event System Specification. Furthermore, we contribute a communication protocol that makes use of the discrete event paradigm by only computing flexibility potential when necessary.

Authors:Sofiane Latreche, Hocine Bellahsene, Abdelmalik Taleb-Ahmed
Title: Terahertz for Radar applications and Wireless Communication
Abstract:
Technological advancements in the design of electronic and optical materials have opened up the possibility of utilizing the latest available Radio Frequency spectrum the Terahertz (THz) band. This band holds great promise for next-generation wireless systems, which are poised to seamlessly integrate a wide array of data-intensive and time-sensitive applications. In this article, we delve into the Terahertz band, providing insights into its properties and showcasing examples of its applications. We begin by exploring the specific characteristics of wireless communications and radar systems operating in the THz band. Subsequently, we analyze various effects and parameters unique to each of these applications.so we scrutinize the application of Terahertz (THz) wireless and radar systems, delving into the modeling of various facets of radio frequency propagation within this domain. The interpretation of our findings will be presented at the conclusion of this study.

Authors:Carina Veil, Miroslav Krstić, Patrick McNamee, Oliver Sawodny
Title: Stabilization of Age-Structured Competing Populations
Abstract:
Age-structured models represent the dynamic behaviors of populations over time and result in integro-partial differential equations (IPDEs). Such processes arise in biotechnology, economics, demography, and other domains. Coupled age-structured IPDE population dynamics with two or more species occur in epidemiology and ecology, but have received little attention thus far. This work considers an exponentially unstable model of two competing predator populations, formally referred to in the literature as ''competition'' dynamics. If one were to apply an input that simultaneously harvests both predator species, one would have control over only the product of the densities of the species, not over their ratio. Therefore, it is necessary to design a control input that directly harvests only one of the two predator species, while indirectly influencing the other via a backstepping approach. The model is transformed into a system of two coupled ordinary differential equations (ODEs), of which only one is actuated, and two autonomous, exponentially stable integral delay equations (IDEs) which enter the ODEs as nonlinear disturbances. The ODEs are globally stabilized with backstepping and an estimate of the region of attraction of the asymptotically stabilized equilibrium of the full IPDE system is provided, under a positivity restriction on control. These generalizations open exciting possibilities for future research directions, such as investigating population systems with more than two species.

Authors:Ryota Kokubo, Rui Kato, Hideaki Ishii
Title: Cluster Synchronization and Phase Cohesiveness of Kuramoto Oscillators via Mean-phase Feedback Control and Pacemakers
Abstract:
Brain networks typically exhibit characteristic synchronization patterns where several synchronized clusters coexist. On the other hand, neurological disorders are considered to be related to pathological synchronization such as excessive synchronization of large populations of neurons. Motivated by these phenomena, this paper presents two approaches to control the cluster synchronization and the cluster phase cohesiveness of Kuramoto oscillators. One is based on feeding back the mean phases to the clusters, and the other is based on the use of pacemakers. First, we show conditions on the feedback gains and the pacemaker weights for the network to achieve cluster synchronization. Then, we propose a method to find optimal feedback gains through convex optimization. Second, we show conditions on the feedback gains and the pacemaker weights for the network to achieve cluster phase cohesiveness. A numerical example demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Authors:Onel L. A. López, Mateen Ashraf, Samer Nasser, Gabriel M. de Jesus, Ritesh Kumar Singh, Miltiadis C. Filippou, Jeroen Famaey
Title: Foundations for Energy-Aware Zero-Energy Devices: From Energy Sensing to Adaptive Protocols
Abstract:
Zero-energy devices (ZEDs) are key enablers of sustainable Internet of Things networks by operating solely on harvested ambient energy. Their limited and dynamic energy budget calls for protocols that are energy-aware and intelligently adaptive. However, designing effective energy-aware protocols for ZEDs requires theoretical models that realistically reflect device constraints. Indeed, existing approaches often oversimplify key aspects such as energy information (EI) acquisition, task-level variability, and energy storage dynamics, limiting their practical relevance and transferability. This article addresses this gap by offering a structured overview of the key modeling components, trade-offs, and limitations involved in energy-aware ZED protocol design. For this, we dissect EI acquisition methods and costs, characterize core operational tasks, analyze energy usage models and storage constraints, and review representative protocol strategies. Moreover, we offer design insights and guidelines on how ZED operation protocols can leverage EI, often illustrated through selected in-house examples. Finally, we outline key research directions to inspire more efficient and scalable protocol solutions for future ZEDs.

Authors:Chaozhe R. He, Yichen Dong, Nan Li
Title: Planning Persuasive Trajectories Based on a Leader-Follower Game Model
Abstract:
We propose a framework that enables autonomous vehicles (AVs) to proactively shape the intentions and behaviors of interacting human drivers. The framework employs a leader-follower game model with an adaptive role mechanism to predict human interaction intentions and behaviors. It then utilizes a branch model predictive control (MPC) algorithm to plan the AV trajectory, persuading the human to adopt the desired intention. The proposed framework is demonstrated in an intersection scenario. Simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the framework for generating persuasive AV trajectories despite uncertainties.

Authors:Zhe Yu, Chuang Yang, Qin Wang
Title: The impact of large-scale EV charging on the real-time operation of distribution systems: A comprehensive review
Abstract:
With the large-scale integration of electric vehicles (EVs) in the distribution grid, the unpredictable nature of EV charging introduces considerable uncertainties to the grid's real-time operations. This can exacerbate load fluctuations, compromise power quality, and pose risks to the grid's stability and security. However, due to their dual role as controllable loads and energy storage devices, EVs have the potential to mitigate these fluctuations, balance the variability of renewable energy sources, and provide ancillary services that support grid stability. By leveraging the bidirectional flow of information and energy in smart grids, the adverse effects of EV charging can be minimized and even converted into beneficial outcomes through effective real-time management strategies. This paper explores the negative impacts of EV charging on the distribution system's real-time operations and outlines methods to transform these challenges into positive contributions. Additionally, it provides an in-depth analysis of the real-time management system for EV charging, focusing on state estimation and management strategies.

Authors:Rui Luo, Hongzhang Huang, Qinfang Miao, Jian Xu, Peng Hu, Haikun Qi
Title: Real-Time Gradient Waveform Design for Arbitrary $k$-Space Trajectories
Abstract:
\textbf{Objective: }To develop a real-time method for designing gradient waveforms for arbitrary $k$-space trajectories that are time-optimal and hardware-compliant. \textbf{Methods: }The gradient waveform is solved recursively under both the slew-rate and the trajectory constraints. The gradient constraint is enforced by thresholding the $\ell_2$-norm of the next gradient vector. The constraints form a quadratic equation. To ensure the existence of the solution, a novel Discrete-Time Forward and Backward Sweep (DTFBS) strategy is proposed. To ensure the existence of the trajectory derivatives, the trajectory function is reparameterized as a piecewise cubic polynomial function with $C^2$ continuity. To ensure trajectory fidelity, the output gradient waveform is reparameterized by the finite difference of the trajectory samples. Simulation experiments across seven commonly adopted non-Cartesian trajectories were conducted to validate generality, time-optimality, real-time capability, slew-rate accuracy, and improvements over prior work. Imaging feasibility of the designed time-optimal gradient waveform was validated in phantom and in vivo experiments. \textbf{Results: }The proposed method achieves a $>89\%$ reduction in computation time and simultaneously reduces slew-rate overshoot by $>98\%$ compared to the prior method across all involved trajectories. The computation time of the proposed method is shorter than the gradient duration for all tested cases, validating the real-time capability of the proposed method. \textbf{Conclusions: }The proposed method enables real-time and hardware-compliant gradient waveform design, achieving significant reductions in computation time and slew-rate overshoot compared to the previous method. \textbf{Significance: }This is the first method achieving real-time gradient waveform design for arbitrary $k$-space trajectories.

Authors:Shoju Enami, Kenji Kashima
Title: On Policy Stochasticity in Mutual Information Optimal Control of Linear Systems
Abstract:
In recent years, mutual information optimal control has been proposed as an extension of maximum entropy optimal control. Both approaches introduce regularization terms to render the policy stochastic, and it is important to theoretically clarify the relationship between the temperature parameter (i.e., the coefficient of the regularization term) and the stochasticity of the policy. Unlike in maximum entropy optimal control, this relationship remains unexplored in mutual information optimal control. In this paper, we investigate this relationship for a mutual information optimal control problem (MIOCP) of discrete-time linear systems. After extending the result of a previous study of the MIOCP, we establish the existence of an optimal policy of the MIOCP, and then derive the respective conditions on the temperature parameter under which the optimal policy becomes stochastic and deterministic. Furthermore, we also derive the respective conditions on the temperature parameter under which the policy obtained by an alternating optimization algorithm becomes stochastic and deterministic. The validity of the theoretical results is demonstrated through numerical experiments.

Authors:Mohammad S. Ramadan, Marfred Barrera, Mihai Anitescu, Sylvia Herbert
Title: Simultaneous improvement of control and estimation for battery management systems
Abstract:
The state of charge of battery systems is an important metric typically estimated by observation models, represented by open-circuit voltage graphs. These observation models are often nonlinear in the state of charge, resulting in varying observability from a state estimation perspective. In this paper, we employ a stochastic optimal control (also known as dual control) approach to simultaneously satisfy the control objective in the state of charge of battery systems and improve estimation accuracy. This is achieved implicitly by prioritizing trajectories that pass through high-observability regions of the state space, thereby improving the quality of future measurements. We apply our algorithm to a numerical simulation of a multi-battery system and show a statistical improvement in both the control objective and the state estimation error.

Authors:Abderaouf Bahi, Amel Ourici
Title: Deep Reinforcement Learning for Real-Time Green Energy Integration in Data Centers
Abstract:
This paper explores the implementation of a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL)-optimized energy management system for e-commerce data centers, aimed at enhancing energy efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and environmental sustainability. The proposed system leverages DRL algorithms to dynamically manage the integration of renewable energy sources, energy storage, and grid power, adapting to fluctuating energy availability in real time. The study demonstrates that the DRL-optimized system achieves a 38\% reduction in energy costs, significantly outperforming traditional Reinforcement Learning (RL) methods (28\%) and heuristic approaches (22\%). Additionally, it maintains a low SLA violation rate of 1.5\%, compared to 3.0\% for RL and 4.8\% for heuristic methods. The DRL-optimized approach also results in an 82\% improvement in energy efficiency, surpassing other methods, and a 45\% reduction in carbon emissions, making it the most environmentally friendly solution. The system's cumulative reward of 950 reflects its superior performance in balancing multiple objectives. Through rigorous testing and ablation studies, the paper validates the effectiveness of the DRL model's architecture and parameters, offering a robust solution for energy management in data centers. The findings highlight the potential of DRL in advancing energy optimization strategies and addressing sustainability challenges.

Authors:Kamil David Sommer, Lucas Mieg, Siddharth Sharma, Romuald Skoda, Martin Mönnigmann
Title: Efficient Adjoint Petrov-Galerkin Reduced Order Models for fluid flows governed by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations
Abstract:
This research paper investigates the Adjoint Petrov-Galerkin (APG) method for reduced order models (ROM) and fluid dynamics governed by the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations. The Adjoint Petrov-Galerkin ROM, derived using the Mori-Zwanzig formalism, demonstrates superior accuracy and stability compared to standard Galerkin ROMs. However, challenges arise due to the time invariance of the test basis vectors, resulting in high computational requirements. To address this, we introduce a new efficient Adjoint Petrov-Galerkin (eAPG) ROM formulation, extending its application to the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations by exploiting the polynomial structure inherent in these equations. The offline and online phases partition eliminates the need for repeated test basis vector evaluations. This improves computational efficiency in comparison to the general Adjoint Petrov-Galerkin ROM formulation. A novel approach to augmenting the memory length, a critical factor influencing the stability and accuracy of the APG-ROM, is introduced, employing a data-driven optimization. Numerical results for the 3D turbulent flow around a circular cylinder demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach. Error measures and computational cost evaluations, considering metrics such as floating point operations and simulation time, provide a comprehensive analysis.

Authors:Anqi Dong, Karl Henrik Johansson, Johan Karlsson
Title: Fundamental diagram constrained dynamic optimal transport via proximal splitting methods
Abstract:
Optimal transport has recently been brought forward as a tool for modeling and efficiently solving a variety of flow problems, such as origin-destination problems and multi-commodity flow problems. Although the framework has shown to be effective for many large scale flow problems, the formulations typically lack dynamic properties used in common traffic models, such as the Lighthill-Whitham-Richards model. In this work, we propose an optimal transport framework that includes dynamic constraints specified by the fundamental diagram for modeling macroscopic traffic flow. The problem is cast as a convex variant of dynamic optimal transport, with additional nonlinear temporal-spatial inequality constraints of momentum, modeled after the fundamental diagram from traffic theory. This constraint imposes a density-dependent upper bound on the admissible flux, capturing flow saturation and congestion effects, and thus leaves space for kinetic optimization. The formulation follows the Benamou-Brenier transportation rationale, whereby kinetic energy over density and momentum fields is optimized subject to the mass conservation law. We develop proximal splitting methods, namely the Douglas-Rachford and Chambolle-Pock algorithms, which exploit the separable structure of the constraint set and require only simple proximal operations, and can accommodate additional (time-varying) spatial restrictions or obstacles. Numerical experiments illustrate the impact of the constraint on transport behavior, including congestion-aware spreading, rerouting, and convergence. The framework establishes a connection between optimal transport and macroscopic traffic flow theory and provides a scalable, variational tool for modeling congestion-constricted (or saturation-aware) Wasserstein gradient flow.

Authors:Darío Slaifstein, Gautham Ram Chandra Mouli, Laura Ramirez-Elizondo, Pavol Bauer
Title: Sequential Operation of Residential Energy Hubs
Abstract:
The operation of residential energy hubs with multiple energy carriers (electricity, heat, mobility) poses a significant challenge due to different carrier dynamics, hybrid storage coordination and high-dimensional action-spaces. Energy management systems oversee their operation, deciding the set points of the primary control layer. This paper presents a novel 2-stage economic model predictive controller for electrified buildings including physics-based models of the battery degradation and thermal systems. The hierarchical control operates in the Dutch sequential energy markets. In particular common assumptions regarding intra-day markets (auction and continuous-time) are discussed as well as the coupling of the different storage systems. The best control policy is to co-optimize day-ahead and intra-day auctions in the first stage, to later follow intra-day auctions. If no intra-day prices are known at the time of the day-ahead auction, its best to follow continuous time intra-day in the summer and the intra-day auction in the winter. Additionally, this sequential operation increases battery degradation. Finally, under our controller the realized short-term flexibility of the thermal energy storage is marginal compared to the flexibility delivered by static battery pack and electric vehicles with bidirectional charging.

Authors:Mojtaba Kaheni, Niklas Persson, Vittorio De Iuliis, Costanzo Manes, Alessandro V. Papadopoulos
Title: A Modified Adaptive Data-Enabled Policy Optimization Control to Resolve State Perturbations
Abstract:
This paper proposes modifications to the data-enabled policy optimization (DeePO) algorithm to mitigate state perturbations. DeePO is an adaptive, data-driven approach designed to iteratively compute a feedback gain equivalent to the certainty-equivalence LQR gain. Like other data-driven approaches based on Willems' fundamental lemma, DeePO requires persistently exciting input signals. However, linear state-feedback gains from LQR designs cannot inherently produce such inputs. To address this, probing noise is conventionally added to the control signal to ensure persistent excitation. However, the added noise may induce undesirable state perturbations. We first identify two key issues that jeopardize the desired performance of DeePO when probing noise is not added: the convergence of states to the equilibrium point, and the convergence of the controller to its optimal value. To address these challenges without relying on probing noise, we propose Perturbation-Free DeePO (PFDeePO) built on two fundamental principles. First, the algorithm pauses the control gain updating in DeePO process when system states are near the equilibrium point. Second, it applies a multiplicative noise, scaled by a mean value of $1$ as a gain for the control signal, when the controller converges. This approach minimizes the impact of noise as the system approaches equilibrium while preserving stability. We demonstrate the effectiveness of PFDeePO through simulations, showcasing its ability to eliminate state perturbations while maintaining system performance and stability.

Authors:Ali M. Ali, Hashim A. Hashim, Awantha Jayasiri
Title: A Unified Finite-Time Sliding Mode Quaternion-based Tracking Control for Quadrotor UAVs without Time Scale Separation
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel design for finite-time position control of quadrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs). A robust, finite-time, nonlinear feedback controller is introduced to reject bounded disturbances in tracking tasks. The proposed control framework differs conceptually from conventional controllers that utilize Euler angle parameterization for attitude and adhere to the traditional hierarchical inner-outer loop design. In standard approaches, the translational controller and the corresponding desired attitude are computed first, followed by the design of the attitude controller based on time-scale separation between fast attitude and slow translational dynamics. In contrast, the proposed control scheme is quaternion-based and utilizes a transit feed-forward term in the attitude dynamics that anticipates the slower translational subsystem. Robustness is achieved through the use of continuously differentiable sliding manifolds. The proposed approach guarantees semi-global finite-time stability, without requiring time-scale separation. Finally, numerical simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

Authors:Mohammed Atallah, Simone Servadio
Title: Periodic orbit tracking in cislunar space: A finite-horizon approach
Abstract:
This paper presents a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) scheme for maintaining a spacecraft within a specified family of periodic orbits near the libration points in cislunar space. Unlike traditional approaches that track a predefined reference orbit, the proposed method designs an optimal trajectory that keeps the spacecraft within the orbit family, regardless of the initial reference. The Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) is used to model the system dynamics. First, the Pseudo-Arclength Continuation (PAC) method is employed to compute the members of each orbit family. Then, the state of each member is parameterized by two variables: one defining the orbit and the other specifying the location along it. These computed states are then fit to a Multivariate Polynomial Regression (MPR) model. An NMPC framework is developed to generate the optimal reference trajectory and compute the corresponding velocity impulses for trajectory tracking. The control system is integrated with a Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) observer that estimates the spacecraft's relative state. Numerical simulations are conducted for Lyapunov, halo, and near-rectilinear halo orbits near L1 and L2. The results demonstrate a significant reduction in fuel consumption compared to conventional tracking methods.

Authors:Amir Fard, Arnold X. -X. Yuan
Title: Hierarchical Deep Reinforcement Learning Framework for Multi-Year Asset Management Under Budget Constraints
Abstract:
Budget planning and maintenance optimization are crucial for infrastructure asset management, ensuring cost-effectiveness and sustainability. However, the complexity arising from combinatorial action spaces, diverse asset deterioration, stringent budget constraints, and environmental uncertainty significantly limits existing methods' scalability. This paper proposes a Hierarchical Deep Reinforcement Learning methodology specifically tailored to multi-year infrastructure planning. Our approach decomposes the problem into two hierarchical levels: a high-level Budget Planner allocating annual budgets within explicit feasibility bounds, and a low-level Maintenance Planner prioritizing assets within the allocated budget. By structurally separating macro-budget decisions from asset-level prioritization and integrating linear programming projection within a hierarchical Soft Actor-Critic framework, the method efficiently addresses exponential growth in the action space and ensures rigorous budget compliance. A case study evaluating sewer networks of varying sizes (10, 15, and 20 sewersheds) illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach. Compared to conventional Deep Q-Learning and enhanced genetic algorithms, our methodology converges more rapidly, scales effectively, and consistently delivers near-optimal solutions even as network size grows.

Authors:Amir Fard, Arnold X. -X. Yuan
Title: Multi-Year Maintenance Planning for Large-Scale Infrastructure Systems: A Novel Network Deep Q-Learning Approach
Abstract:
Infrastructure asset management is essential for sustaining the performance of public infrastructure such as road networks, bridges, and utility networks. Traditional maintenance and rehabilitation planning methods often face scalability and computational challenges, particularly for large-scale networks with thousands of assets under budget constraints. This paper presents a novel deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework that optimizes asset management strategies for large infrastructure networks. By decomposing the network-level Markov Decision Process (MDP) into individual asset-level MDPs while using a unified neural network architecture, the proposed framework reduces computational complexity, improves learning efficiency, and enhances scalability. The framework directly incorporates annual budget constraints through a budget allocation mechanism, ensuring maintenance plans are both optimal and cost-effective. Through a case study on a large-scale pavement network of 68,800 segments, the proposed DRL framework demonstrates significant improvements over traditional methods like Progressive Linear Programming and genetic algorithms, both in efficiency and network performance. This advancement contributes to infrastructure asset management and the broader application of reinforcement learning in complex, large-scale environments.

Authors:Behzad Zamani, Jochen Trumpf, Chris Manzie
Title: Modular Robot and Landmark Localisation Using Relative Bearing Measurements
Abstract:
In this paper we propose a modular nonlinear least squares filtering approach for systems composed of independent subsystems. The state and error covariance estimate of each subsystem is updated independently, even when a relative measurement simultaneously depends on the states of multiple subsystems. We integrate the Covariance Intersection (CI) algorithm as part of our solution in order to prevent double counting of information when subsystems share estimates with each other. An alternative derivation of the CI algorithm based on least squares estimation makes this integration possible. We particularise the proposed approach to the robot-landmark localization problem. In this problem, noisy measurements of the bearing angle to a stationary landmark position measured relative to the SE(2) pose of a moving robot couple the estimation problems for the robot pose and the landmark position. In a randomized simulation study, we benchmark the proposed modular method against a monolithic joint state filter to elucidate their respective trade-offs. In this study we also include variants of the proposed method that achieve a graceful degradation of performance with reduced communication and bandwidth requirements.

Authors:Takuya Ikeda, Masaaki Nagahara
Title: Sparse optimal control for infinite-dimensional linear systems with applications to graphon control
Abstract:
Large-scale networked systems typically operate under resource constraints, and it is also difficult to exactly obtain the network structure between nodes. To address these issues, this paper investigates a sparse optimal control for infinite-dimensional linear systems and its application to networked systems where the network structure is represented by a limit function called a graphon that captures the overall connection pattern. The contributions of this paper are twofold: (i) To reduce computational complexity, we derive a sufficient condition under which the sparse optimal control can be obtained by solving its corresponding L1 optimization problem. Furthermore, we introduce a class of non-convex optimal control problems such that the optimal solution always coincides with a sparse optimal control, provided that the non-convex problems admit optimal solutions. (ii) We show that the sparse optimal control for large-scale finite-dimensional networked systems can be approximated by that of the corresponding limit graphon system, provided that the underlying graph is close to the limit graphon in the cut-norm topology. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is illustrated through numerical examples.

Authors:Zhe Yu, Xue Hu, Qin Wang
Title: A Joint Planning Model for Fixed and Mobile Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Considering Flexible Capacity Strategy
Abstract:
The widespread adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) has significantly increased demand on both transportation and power systems, posing challenges to their stable operation. To support the growing need for EV charging, both fixed charging stations (FCSs) and mobile charging stations (MCSs) have been introduced, serving as key interfaces between the power grid and traffic network. Recognizing the importance of collaborative planning across these sectors, this paper presents a two-stage joint planning model for FCSs and MCSs, utilizing an improved alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm. The primary goal of the proposed model is to transform the potential negative impacts of large-scale EV integration into positive outcomes, thereby enhancing social welfare through collaboration among multiple stakeholders. In the first stage, we develop a framework for evaluating FCS locations, incorporating assessments of EV hosting capacity and voltage stability. The second stage introduces a joint planning model for FCSs and MCSs, aiming to minimize the overall social costs of the EV charging system while maintaining a reliable power supply. To solve the planning problem, we employ a combination of mixed-integer linear programming, queueing theory, and sequential quadratic programming. The improved ADMM algorithm couples the siting and sizing decisions consistently by introducing coupling constraints, and supports a distributed optimization framework that coordinates the interests of EV users, MCS operators, and distribution system operators. Additionally, a flexible capacity planning strategy that accounts for the multi-period development potential of EVCS is proposed to reduce both the complexity and the investment required for FCS construction. Finally, a case study with comparative experiments demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed models and solution methods.

Authors:Jackson G. Ernesto, Eugenio B. Castelan, Walter Lucia
Title: Output Feedback Design for Parameter Varying Systems subject to Persistent Disturbances and Control Rate Constraints
Abstract:
This paper presents a technique for designing output feedback controllers for constrained linear parameter-varying systems that are subject to persistent disturbances. Specifically, we develop an incremental parameter-varying output feedback control law to address control rate constraints, as well as state and control amplitude constraints. The proposal is based on the concept of robust positively invariant sets and applies the extended Farkas' lemma to derive a set of algebraic conditions that define both the control gains and a robust positively invariant polyhedron that satisfies the control and state constraints. These algebraic conditions are formulated into a bilinear optimization problem aimed at determining the output feedback gains and the associated polyedral robust positively invariant region. The obtained controller ensures that any closed-loop trajectory originating from the polyhedron converges to another smaller inner polyhedral set around the origin in finite time, where the trajectory remains ultimately bounded regardless of the persistent disturbances and variations in system parameters. Furthermore, by including the sizes of the two polyhedral sets inside the objective function, the proposed optimization can also jointly enlarge the outer set while minimizing the inner one. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposal in managing the specified constraints, disturbances, and parameter variations.

Authors:Theofilos Papadopoulos, Antonios Antonopoulos
Title: Extension of Simple and Accurate Inductance Estimation for Rectangular Planar Windings
Abstract:
This paper proposes a method to generalize the equations estimating the inductance of square-shape planar windings to rectangle shape. This is done by utilizing the optimal p-norm of the Generalized Mean Value or Power Mean (PM). Three well-established equations with verified accuracy are examined, namely Wheeler, Rosa, and the Monomial, which by definition consider only regular polygons. One critical parameter of the original equations is the outer-side length of the winding, which for the rectangle case, can be substituted by the PM of the two outer-side lengths, without the need for any further modifications. A methodology to select the optimal p-norm for the PM is presented in terms of achieving the best accuracy for this estimation. The selection of the optimal p is based on results from datasets containing more than 2600 simulations of different rectangle-shaped windings. Finally, the estimation accuracy is verified by laboratory measurements for a selection of planar inductors.

Authors:Francesco Ripa, Daniele Astolfi, Boussad Hamroun, Diego Regruto
Title: Integral action for bilinear systems with application to counter current heat exchanger
Abstract:
In this study, we propose a robust control strategy for a counter-current heat exchanger. The primary objective is to regulate the outlet temperature of one fluid stream by manipulating the flow rate of the second counter-current fluid stream. By leveraging the energy balance equations, we develop a structured bilinear system model derived by using a uniform spatial discretization of each stream into a cascade of homogeneous volumes and by considering the heat transfer and convective phenomena within the exchanger. We introduce three control strategies: (i) an enhanced forwarding-based controller, (ii) an output feedback controller incorporating a state observer, and (iii) a purely integral control law. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is validated through real experiments on a real heat exchanger.

Authors:Niloofar Nobahari, Alireza Rezaee
Title: Reliability-Based Fault Analysis and Modeling of Satellite Electrical Power Subsystems Using Fault Tree and Simulation Tools
Abstract:
One of the most important satellite subsystems is its electric power subsystem. The occurrence of a fault in the satellite power system causes the failure of all or part of the satellite. Calculating the overall reliability of the power system before the mission is crucial in improving the design of the satellite power system. Each component of the power system may malfunction due to pressure, launch pressure, and operating conditions. Accordingly, in this paper, first, a healthy and faulty system for the components of the electrical power system is simulated with MATLAB. Finally, by drawing a fault tree to analyze the reliability of the power subsystem, overall mission reliability, power system fault rate, and overall fault rate of the mission are calculated by Windchill software. Finally, a total mission assurance of 0.999 was achieved, indicating the high reliability of the simulated system.

Authors:Oumayma Khattabi, Matteo Tacchi-Bénard, Sorin Olaru
Title: Convex computation of regions of attraction from data using Sums-of-Squares programming
Abstract:
The paper concentrates on the analysis of the region of attraction (ROA) for unknown autonomous dynamical systems. The aim is to explore a data-driven approach based on moment-sum-of-squares (SoS) hierarchy, which enables novel RoA outer approximations despite the reduced information on the structure of the dynamics. The main contribution of this work is bypassing the system model and, consequently, the recurring constraint on its polynomial structure. Numerical experimentation showcases the influence of data on learned approximating sets, offering a promising outlook on the potential of this method.

Authors:Niloofar Nobahari, Alireza Rezaee
Title: Smart fault detection in satellite electrical power system
Abstract:
This paper presents an new approach for detecting in the electrical power system of satellites operating in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) without an Attitude Determination and Control Subsystem (ADCS). Components of these systems are prone to faults, such as line-to-line faults in the photovoltaic subsystem, open circuits, and short circuits in the DC-to-DC converter, as well as ground faults in batteries. In the previous research has largely focused on detecting faults in each components, such as photovoltaic arrays or converter systems, therefore, has been limited attention given to whole electrical power system of satellite as a whole system. Our approach addresses this gap by utilizing a Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP) neural network model, which leverages input data such as solar radiation and surface temperature to predict current and load outputs. These machine learning techniques that classifiy use different approaches like Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), to classify faults effectively. The model presented achieves over 99% accuracy in identifying faults across multiple subsystems, marking a notable advancement from previous approaches by offering a complete diagnostic solution for the entire satellite power system. This thorough method boosts system reliability and helps lower the chances of mission failure

Authors:Daniele Masti, Stefano Menchetti, Çağrı Erdem, Giorgio Gnecco, Davide Rocchesso
Title: Human-Like Trajectories Generation via Receding Horizon Tracking Applied to the TickTacking Interface
Abstract:
TickTacking is a rhythm-based interface that allows users to control a pointer in a two-dimensional space through dual-button tapping. This paper investigates the generation of human-like trajectories using a receding horizon approach applied to the TickTacking interface in a target-tracking task. By analyzing user-generated trajectories, we identify key human behavioral features and incorporate them in a controller that mimics these behaviors. The performance of this human-inspired controller is evaluated against a baseline optimal-control-based agent, demonstrating the importance of specific control features for achieving human-like interaction. These findings contribute to the broader goal of developing rhythm-based human-machine interfaces by offering design insights that enhance user performance, improve intuitiveness, and reduce interaction frustration

Authors:Jie Huang, Jason J. R. Liu, Xiao He
Title: Privacy-Preserving Fusion for Multi-Sensor Systems Under Multiple Packet Dropouts
Abstract:
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are critical components in modern cyber-physical systems, enabling efficient data collection and fusion through spatially distributed sensors. However, the inherent risks of eavesdropping and packet dropouts in such networks pose significant challenges to secure state estimation. In this paper, we address the privacy-preserving fusion estimation (PPFE) problem for multi-sensor systems under multiple packet dropouts and eavesdropping attacks. To mitigate these issues, we propose a distributed encoding-based privacy-preserving mechanism (PPM) within a control-theoretic framework, ensuring data privacy during transmission while maintaining the performance of legitimate state estimation. A centralized fusion filter is developed, accounting for the coupling effects of packet dropouts and the encoding-based PPM. Boundedness conditions for the legitimate user's estimation error covariance are derived via a modified algebraic Riccati equation. Additionally, by demonstrating the divergence of the eavesdropper's mean estimation error, the proposed PPFE algorithm's data confidentiality is rigorously analyzed. Simulation results for an Internet-based three-tank system validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, highlighting its potential to enhance privacy without compromising estimation accuracy.

Authors:Amin Masoumi, Mert Korkali
Title: Transient-Stability-Aware Frequency Provision in IBR-Rich Grids via Information Gap Decision Theory and Deep Learning
Abstract:
This paper introduces a framework to address the critical loss of transient stability caused by reduced inertia in grids with high inverter-based resource (IBR) penetration. The proposed method integrates a predictive deep learning (DL) model with information gap decision theory (IGDT) to create a risk-averse dispatch strategy. By reformulating the conventional virtual inertia scheduling (VIS) problem, the framework uses early predictions of post-fault dynamics to proactively redispatch resources, ensuring the system's center of inertia remains stable under worst-case contingencies. Validated on the IEEE 39-bus system with 70% IBR penetration, the proposed approach prevents system collapse where a conventional VIS strategy fails, ensuring frequency stability at a cost increase of only 5%.

Authors:Alejandro Flores C., Konstantinos Ntontin, Ashok Bandi, Symeon Chatzinotas
Title: QTCAJOSA: Low-Complexity Joint Offloading and Subchannel Allocation for NTN-Enabled IoMT
Abstract:
In this work, we consider the resource allocation problem for task offloading from Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) devices, to a non-terrestrial network. The architecture considers clusters of IoMT devices that offload their tasks to a dedicated unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) serving as a multi-access edge computing (MEC) server, which can compute the task or further offload it to an available high-altitude platform station (HAPS) or to a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellite for remote computing. We formulate a problem that has as objective the minimization of the weighted sum delay of the tasks. Given the non-convex nature of the problem, and acknowledging that the complexity of the optimization algorithms impact their performance, we derive a low-complexity joint subchannel allocation and offloading decision algorithm with dynamic computing resource initialization, developed as a greedy heuristic based on convex optimization criteria. Simulations show the gain obtained by including the different non-terrestrial nodes against architectures without them.

Authors:Saswat Priyadarshi Nayak, Guoyuan Wu, Kanok Boriboonsomsin, Matthew Barth
Title: Dual LiDAR-Based Traffic Movement Count Estimation at a Signalized Intersection: Deployment, Data Collection, and Preliminary Analysis
Abstract:
Traffic Movement Count (TMC) at intersections is crucial for optimizing signal timings, assessing the performance of existing traffic control measures, and proposing efficient lane configurations to minimize delays, reduce congestion, and promote safety. Traditionally, methods such as manual counting, loop detectors, pneumatic road tubes, and camera-based recognition have been used for TMC estimation. Although generally reliable, camera-based TMC estimation is prone to inaccuracies under poor lighting conditions during harsh weather and nighttime. In contrast, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) technology is gaining popularity in recent times due to reduced costs and its expanding use in 3D object detection, tracking, and related applications. This paper presents the authors' endeavor to develop, deploy and evaluate a dual-LiDAR system at an intersection in the city of Rialto, California, for TMC estimation. The 3D bounding box detections from the two LiDARs are used to classify vehicle counts based on traffic directions, vehicle movements, and vehicle classes. This work discusses the estimated TMC results and provides insights into the observed trends and irregularities. Potential improvements are also discussed that could enhance not only TMC estimation, but also trajectory forecasting and intent prediction at intersections.

Authors:Mario Hermle, Arnim Kargl, Peter Eberhard
Title: Vertical Vibration Reduction of Maglev Vehicles using Nonlinear MPC
Abstract:
This work presents a novel Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) strategy for high-speed Maglev vehicles that explicitly incorporates mechanical suspension dynamics into the control model. Unlike conventional approaches, which often neglect the interaction between levitation magnet and car body motion, the proposed method enables predictive vibration mitigation by modeling both electromagnetic forces and suspension behavior. This integrated approach significantly improves passenger comfort and ride quality by reducing vertical oscillations caused by track irregularities. Moreover, it allows for a more effective tuning of the trade-off between precise air gap tracking and ride comfort. Simulations based on a detailed multibody model of the Transrapid demonstrate that the method outperforms existing controllers in vibration suppression, making it a promising solution for future high-speed Maglev applications.

Authors:Yuzhen Zhan, Li Jin
Title: Learning-Based Cost-Aware Defense of Parallel Server Systems against Malicious Attacks
Abstract:
We consider the cyber-physical security of parallel server systems, which is relevant for a variety of engineering applications such as networking, manufacturing, and transportation. These systems rely on feedback control and may thus be vulnerable to malicious attacks such as denial-of-service, data falsification, and instruction manipulations. In this paper, we develop a learning algorithm that computes a defensive strategy to balance technological cost for defensive actions and performance degradation due to cyber attacks as mentioned above. We consider a zero-sum Markov security game. We develop an approximate minimax-Q learning algorithm that efficiently computes the equilibrium of the game, and thus a cost-aware defensive strategy. The algorithm uses interpretable linear function approximation tailored to the system structure. We show that, under mild assumptions, the algorithm converges with probability one to an approximate Markov perfect equilibrium. We first use a Lyapunov method to address the unbounded temporal-difference error due to the unbounded state space. We then use an ordinary differential equation-based argument to establish convergence. Simulation results demonstrate that our algorithm converges about 50 times faster than a representative neural network-based method, with an insignificant optimality gap between 4\%--8\%, depending on the complexity of the linear approximator and the number of parallel servers.

Authors:Srivathsa Acharya, P. Vijay Kumar, Viveck R. Cadambe
Title: Latency-Optimal File Assignment in Geo-Distributed Storage with Preferential Demands
Abstract:
We consider the problem of data storage in a geographically distributed (or geo-distributed) network of servers (or nodes) where inter-node communication incurs certain round-trip delays. Every node serves a set of users who can request any file in the network. If the requested file is not available at the node, it communicates with other nodes to obtain the file, thus causing the user to experience latency in obtaining the file. The files can be placed uncoded, where each node stores exact copies of the files, or in coded fashion, where certain linear combination of files are placed at each node. We aim to obtain an optimal file placement on the nodes with respect to minimizing the worst-case latency at each node, as well as the system-average latency. The prior literature considered the case of equiprobable file demands at the nodes. In this paper, we investigate the generic case of non-uniform file-demand probabilities at each node. The scheme presented here is optimal within the family of uncoded schemes. It is obtained first by modeling the worst-case latency constraint as a vertex coloring problem, and then converting the system-average latency optimization to a problem of balanced-assignment.

Authors:Qiankai Wang, James E. D. Tweel, Parsin Haji Reza, Anita Layton
Title: Pathology-Guided Virtual Staining Metric for Evaluation and Training
Abstract:
Virtual staining has emerged as a powerful alternative to traditional histopathological staining techniques, enabling rapid, reagent-free image transformations. However, existing evaluation methods predominantly rely on full-reference image quality assessment (FR-IQA) metrics such as structural similarity, which are originally designed for natural images and often fail to capture pathology-relevant features. Expert pathology reviews have also been used, but they are inherently subjective and time-consuming. In this study, we introduce PaPIS (Pathology-Aware Perceptual Image Similarity), a novel FR-IQA metric specifically tailored for virtual staining evaluation. PaPIS leverages deep learning-based features trained on cell morphology segmentation and incorporates Retinex-inspired feature decomposition to better reflect histological perceptual quality. Comparative experiments demonstrate that PaPIS more accurately aligns with pathology-relevant visual cues and distinguishes subtle cellular structures that traditional and existing perceptual metrics tend to overlook. Furthermore, integrating PaPIS as a guiding loss function in a virtual staining model leads to improved histological fidelity. This work highlights the critical need for pathology-aware evaluation frameworks to advance the development and clinical readiness of virtual staining technologies.

Authors:Theofilos Papadopoulos, Antonios Antonopoulos
Title: Inductance Estimation for High-Power Multilayer Rectangle Planar Windings
Abstract:
This paper proposes a simple and accurate monomial-like equation for estimating the inductance of Multilayer Rectangle-shaped Planar Windings (MLRPWs) for high-frequency, high-power applications. The equation consists of the power product of the geometrical dimensions, raised at individual power coefficients. The coefficients are generated via Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), based on a large set of approximately 6,000 simulated windings, with an 80/20 training/evaluation sample ratio. The resulting mean error value is 0%, with a standard deviation below 1.8%. The accuracy of the inductance estimation is confirmed on several experimental samples, with dimensions both within and outside the initial training dataset.

Authors:Jun-ya Gotoh, Michael Jong Kim, Andrew E. B. Lim
Title: Distributionally Robust Optimization is a Multi-Objective Problem
Abstract:
Distributionally Robust Optimization (DRO) is a worst-case approach to decision making when there is model uncertainty. Though formulated as a single-objective problem, we show that it is intrinsically multi-objective in that DRO solutions map out a near-Pareto-optimal frontier between expected cost and a measure of robustness called worst-case sensitivity (WCS). We take this as the starting point and explore robust decision making through a multi-objective lens. We show that WCS is a measure of spread and derive WCS for a collection of uncertainty sets commonly used in DRO. These sensitivity measures identify the errors against which the nominal expected cost is most vulnerable and the uncertainty set for the worst-case problem that most effectively mitigates it. The associated mean-sensitivity frontier is used to select its size. The multi-objective perspective provides a quantitative measure of robustness and a sensitivity-based approach to addressing important conceptual gaps in DRO -- how to choose the family and size of uncertainty sets for a given cost distribution, and how this affects the solution.

Authors:Alvaro Detailleur, Guillaume Ducard, Christopher Onder
Title: Improved Sum-of-Squares Stability Verification of Neural-Network-Based Controllers
Abstract:
This work presents several improvements to the closed-loop stability verification framework using semialgebraic sets and convex semidefinite programming to examine neural-network-based control systems regulating nonlinear dynamical systems. First, the utility of the framework is greatly expanded: two semialgebraic functions mimicking common, smooth activation functions are presented and compatibility with control systems incorporating Recurrent Equilibrium Networks (RENs) and thereby Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) is established. Second, the validity of the framework's state-of-the-art stability analyses is established via an alternate proof. Third, based on this proof, two new optimization problems simplifying the analysis of local stability properties are presented. To simplify the analysis of a closed-loop system's Region of Attraction (RoA), the first problem explicitly parameterizes a class of candidate Lyapunov functions larger than in previous works. The second problem utilizes the unique guarantees available under the condition of invariance to further expand the set of candidate Lyapunov functions and directly determine whether an invariant set forms part of the system's RoA. These contributions are successfully demonstrated in two numerical examples and suggestions for future research are provided.

Authors:Michael Schröder, Eric Schöneberg, Daniel Görges, Hans D. Schotten
Title: Polygonal Obstacle Avoidance Combining Model Predictive Control and Fuzzy Logic
Abstract:
In practice, navigation of mobile robots in confined environments is often done using a spatially discrete cost-map to represent obstacles. Path following is a typical use case for model predictive control (MPC), but formulating constraints for obstacle avoidance is challenging in this case. Typically the cost and constraints of an MPC problem are defined as closed-form functions and typical solvers work best with continuously differentiable functions. This is contrary to spatially discrete occupancy grid maps, in which a grid's value defines the cost associated with occupancy. This paper presents a way to overcome this compatibility issue by re-formulating occupancy grid maps to continuously differentiable functions to be embedded into the MPC scheme as constraints. Each obstacle is defined as a polygon -- an intersection of half-spaces. Any half-space is a linear inequality representing one edge of a polygon. Using AND and OR operators, the combined set of all obstacles and therefore the obstacle avoidance constraints can be described. The key contribution of this paper is the use of fuzzy logic to re-formulate such constraints that include logical operators as inequality constraints which are compatible with standard MPC formulation. The resulting MPC-based trajectory planner is successfully tested in simulation. This concept is also applicable outside of navigation tasks to implement logical or verbal constraints in MPC.

Authors:Taouba Jouini, Jan Wachter, Sophie An, Veit Hagenmeyer
Title: Hardware test and validation of the angular droop control: Analysis and experiments
Abstract:
The angular droop control is a grid-forming control strategy that exploits the idea of power-to-angle droop to achieve exact frequency synchronization with no stringent separation between primary and secondary frequency control. In this work, we conduct hardware experiments in the Smart Energy System Control Laboratory at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) to test and validate the angular droop control for low voltage power grids in two different test scenarios. First, we verify its grid-forming capabilities after a major event, e.g., following a blackout, demonstrated via power-to-angle droop behavior. For this, we propose two implementation schemes that rely either on direct or indirect actuation of the modulation signal and draw a comparison between them. Second, we investigate the plug-and-play capabilities, i.e., local stability and power sharing for a two-converter system and provide suitable tuning for the control gains. Our experimental findings illustrate the usefulness of hardware test and validation for DC/AC converter control, the practical challenges entailed and the proposed remedies.

Authors:Alexander Fuerst, Siddharth Anil, Vishakha Dixit, Purushottam, Kulkarni, Prateek Sharma
Title: MQFQ-Sticky: Fair Queueing For Serverless GPU Functions
Abstract:
Hardware accelerators like GPUs are now ubiquitous in data centers, but are not fully supported by common cloud abstractions such as Functions as a Service (FaaS). Many popular and emerging FaaS applications such as machine learning and scientific computing can benefit from GPU acceleration. However, FaaS frameworks (such as OpenWhisk) are not capable of providing this acceleration because of the impedance mismatch between GPUs and the FaaS programming model, which requires virtualization and sandboxing of each function. The challenges are amplified due to the highly dynamic and heterogeneous FaaS workloads. This paper presents the design and implementation of a FaaS system for providing GPU acceleration in a black-box manner (without modifying function code). Running small functions in containerized sandboxes is challenging due to limited GPU concurrency and high cold-start overheads, resulting in heavy queueing of function invocations. We show how principles from I/O scheduling, such as fair queuing and anticipatory scheduling, can be translated to function scheduling on GPUs. We develop MQFQ-Sticky, an integrated fair queueing and GPU memory management approach, which balances the tradeoffs between locality, fairness, and latency. Empirical evaluation on a range of workloads shows that it reduces function latency by 2x to 20x compared to existing GPU and CPU queueing policies.

Authors:Timo de Groot, Maurice heemels, Sebastiaan van den Eijnden
Title: A Dissipativity Framework for Constructing Scaled Graphs
Abstract:
Scaled relative graphs have been originally introduced in the context of convex optimization and have recently gained attention in the control systems community for the graphical analysis of nonlinear systems. Of particular interest in stability analysis of feedback systems is the scaled graph, a special case of the scaled relative graph. In many ways, scaled graphs can be seen as a generalization of the classical Nyquist plot for linear time-invariant systems, and facilitate a powerful graphical tool for analyzing nonlinear feedback systems. In their current formulation, however, scaled graphs require characterizing the input-output behaviour of a system for an uncountable number of inputs. This poses a practical bottleneck in obtaining the scaled graph of a nonlinear system, and currently limits its use. This paper presents a framework grounded in dissipativity for efficiently computing the scaled graph of several important classes of systems, including multivariable linear time-invariant systems, impulsive systems, and piecewise linear systems. The proposed approach leverages novel connections between linear matrix inequalities, integral quadratic constraints, and scaled graphs, and is shown to be exact for specific linear time-invariant systems. The results are accompanied by several examples illustrating the potential and effectiveness of the presented framework.

Authors:Yuki Yoshihara, Linjing Jiang, Nihan Karatas, Hitoshi Kanamori, Asuka Harada, Takahiro Tanaka
Title: Understanding Driving Risks using Large Language Models: Toward Elderly Driver Assessment
Abstract:
This study investigates the potential of a multimodal large language model (LLM), specifically ChatGPT-4o, to perform human-like interpretations of traffic scenes using static dashcam images. Herein, we focus on three judgment tasks relevant to elderly driver assessments: evaluating traffic density, assessing intersection visibility, and recognizing stop signs recognition. These tasks require contextual reasoning rather than simple object detection. Using zero-shot, few-shot, and multi-shot prompting strategies, we evaluated the performance of the model with human annotations serving as the reference standard. Evaluation metrics included precision, recall, and F1-score. Results indicate that prompt design considerably affects performance, with recall for intersection visibility increasing from 21.7% (zero-shot) to 57.0% (multi-shot). For traffic density, agreement increased from 53.5% to 67.6%. In stop-sign detection, the model demonstrated high precision (up to 86.3%) but a lower recall (approximately 76.7%), indicating a conservative response tendency. Output stability analysis revealed that humans and the model faced difficulties interpreting structurally ambiguous scenes. However, the model's explanatory texts corresponded with its predictions, enhancing interpretability. These findings suggest that, with well-designed prompts, LLMs hold promise as supportive tools for scene-level driving risk assessments. Future studies should explore scalability using larger datasets, diverse annotators, and next-generation model architectures for elderly driver assessments.

Authors:Klinsmann Agyei, Pouria Sarhadi, Daniel Polani
Title: Deep Reinforcement Learning in Applied Control: Challenges, Analysis, and Insights
Abstract:
Over the past decade, remarkable progress has been made in adopting deep neural networks to enhance the performance of conventional reinforcement learning. A notable milestone was the development of Deep Q-Networks (DQN), which achieved human-level performance across a range of Atari games, demonstrating the potential of deep learning to stabilise and scale reinforcement learning. Subsequently, extensions to continuous control algorithms paved the way for a new paradigm in control, one that has attracted broader attention than any classical control approach in recent literature. These developments also demonstrated strong potential for advancing data-driven, model-free algorithms for control and for achieving higher levels of autonomy. However, the application of these methods has remained largely confined to simulated and gaming environments, with ongoing efforts to extend them to real-world applications. Before such deployment can be realised, a solid and quantitative understanding of their performance on applied control problems is necessary. This paper conducts a comparative analysis of these approaches on four diverse benchmark problems with implementation results. This analysis offers a scrutinising and systematic evaluation to shed light on the real-world capabilities and limitations of deep reinforcement learning methods in applied control settings.

Authors:Kim P. Wabersich, Felix Berkel, Felix Gruber, Sven Reimann
Title: Set-Based Control Barrier Functions and Safety Filters
Abstract:
High performance and formal safety guarantees are common requirements for industrial control applications. Control barrier function (CBF) methods provide a systematic approach to the modularization of safety and performance. However, the design of such CBFs can be challenging, which limits their applicability to large-scale or data-driven systems. This paper introduces the concept of a set-based CBF for linear systems with convex constraints. By leveraging control invariant sets from reachability analysis and predictive control, the set-based CBF is defined implicitly through the minimal scaling of such a set to contain the current system state. This approach enables the development of implicit, data-driven, and high-dimensional CBF representations. The paper demonstrates the design of a safety filter using set-based CBFs, which is suitable for real-time implementations and learning-based approximations to reduce online computational demands. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated through comprehensive simulations on a high-dimensional mass-spring-damper system and a motion control task, and it is validated experimentally using an electric drive application with short sampling times, highlighting its practical benefits for safety-critical control.

Authors:Amirhossein Sadough, Mahyar Shahsavari, Mark Wijtvliet, Marcel van Gerven
Title: Real-Time Decorrelation-Based Anomaly Detection for Multivariate Time Series
Abstract:
Anomaly detection (AD) plays a vital role across a wide range of real-world domains by identifying data instances that deviate from expected patterns, potentially signaling critical events such as system failures, fraudulent activities, or rare medical conditions. The demand for real-time AD has surged with the rise of the (Industrial) Internet of Things, where massive volumes of multivariate sensor data must be processed instantaneously. Real-time AD requires methods that not only handle high-dimensional streaming data but also operate in a single-pass manner, without the burden of storing historical instances, thereby ensuring minimal memory usage and fast decision-making. We propose DAD, a novel real-time decorrelation-based anomaly detection method for multivariate time series, based on an online decorrelation learning approach. Unlike traditional proximity-based or reconstruction-based detectors that process entire data or windowed instances, DAD dynamically learns and monitors the correlation structure of data sample by sample in a single pass, enabling efficient and effective detection. To support more realistic benchmarking practices, we also introduce a practical hyperparameter tuning strategy tailored for real-time anomaly detection scenarios. Extensive experiments on widely used benchmark datasets demonstrate that DAD achieves the most consistent and superior performance across diverse anomaly types compared to state-of-the-art methods. Crucially, its robustness to increasing dimensionality makes it particularly well-suited for real-time, high-dimensional data streams. Ultimately, DAD not only strikes an optimal balance between detection efficacy and computational efficiency but also sets a new standard for real-time, memory-constrained anomaly detection.

Authors:Ryohei Oura, Yuji Ito
Title: Probability-Raising Causality for Uncertain Parametric Markov Decision Processes with PAC Guarantees
Abstract:
Recent decision-making systems are increasingly complicated, making it crucial to verify and understand their behavior for a given specification. A promising approach is to comprehensively explain undesired behavior in the systems modeled by Markov decision processes (MDPs) through formal verification and causal reasoning. However, the reliable explanation using model-based probabilistic causal analysis has not been explored when the MDP's transition probabilities are uncertain. This paper proposes a method to identify potential causes of undesired behaviors in an uncertain parametric MDP (upMDP) using parameter sampling, model checking, and a set covering for the samples. A cause is defined as a subset of states based on a probability-raising principle. We show that the probability of each identified subset being a cause exceeds a specified threshold. Further, a lower bound of the probability that the undesired paths visit the subsets is maximized as much as possible while satisfying a nonredundancy condition. While computing these probabilities is complicated, this study derives probabilistically approximately correct lower bounds of both probabilities by the sampling. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method through a path-planning scenario.

Authors:Muhammad Kazim, Harun Pirim, Chau Le, Trung Le, Om Prakash Yadav
Title: Multilayer GNN for Predictive Maintenance and Clustering in Power Grids
Abstract:
Unplanned power outages cost the US economy over $150 billion annually, partly due to predictive maintenance (PdM) models that overlook spatial, temporal, and causal dependencies in grid failures. This study introduces a multilayer Graph Neural Network (GNN) framework to enhance PdM and enable resilience-based substation clustering. Using seven years of incident data from Oklahoma Gas & Electric (292,830 records across 347 substations), the framework integrates Graph Attention Networks (spatial), Graph Convolutional Networks (temporal), and Graph Isomorphism Networks (causal), fused through attention-weighted embeddings. Our model achieves a 30-day F1-score of 0.8935 +/- 0.0258, outperforming XGBoost and Random Forest by 3.2% and 2.7%, and single-layer GNNs by 10 to 15 percent. Removing the causal layer drops performance to 0.7354 +/- 0.0418. For resilience analysis, HDBSCAN clustering on HierarchicalRiskGNN embeddings identifies eight operational risk groups. The highest-risk cluster (Cluster 5, 44 substations) shows 388.4 incidents/year and 602.6-minute recovery time, while low-risk groups report fewer than 62 incidents/year. ANOVA (p < 0.0001) confirms significant inter-cluster separation. Our clustering outperforms K-Means and Spectral Clustering with a Silhouette Score of 0.626 and Davies-Bouldin index of 0.527. This work supports proactive grid management through improved failure prediction and risk-aware substation clustering.

Authors:Karin Festl, Michael Stolz
Title: A nonlinear dead-time compensation method for path tracking control
Abstract:
In the realm of autonomous vehicle technologies and advanced driver assistance systems, precise and reliable path tracking controllers are vital for safe and efficient navigation. However the presence of dead time in the vehicle control systems poses a challenge to real-world systems. Input and output delays are caused by factors like sensor processing and mechanical response and can range up to a few hundred milliseconds. This chapter addresses the problem of dead time in path tracking control and proposes a method to compensate the dead time. The proposed solution involves a nonlinear prediction model, in a structure similar to the Smith predictor, but incorporating the kinematic behavior of the vehicle plant system. The implementation avoids numeric integration or optimization, enabling a fast execution. Simulation tests with various controllers and disturbances, including dead-time uncertainty, demonstrate the efficacy of the dead-time compensation method. Results indicate improved control performance in all tested scenarios.

Authors:Lucca Rodrigues Pinto, Wilson de Souza Junior, Jaime Laelson Jacob, Luis Alfonso Gallego Pareja, Taufik Abrão
Title: Manifolds in Power Systems Optimization
Abstract:
Manifold optimization (MO) is a powerful mathematical framework that can be applied to solving complex optimization problems with objective functions (OFs) and constraints on complex geometric structures, which is particularly useful in advanced power systems. We explore the application of MO techniques, which offer a robust framework for solving complex, non-convex optimization problems in electrical power distribution systems (EPDS) and electrical power transmission systems (EPTS), particularly for power flow analysis. This paper introduces the principles of MO and demonstrates its advantages over conventional methods by applying it to power flow optimization. For EPDS, a cost function derived from a backward-forward sweep (BFS) algorithm is optimized using the Manopt toolbox, yielding high accuracy and competitive computational times on 14-bus, 33-bus, and 69-bus systems when compared to established solvers. Similarly, for EPTS, MO applied via Manopt to 3-bus and 4-bus systems effectively solves power flow equations, matching traditional methods such as Newton-Raphson in performance. The study highlights that tools such as Manopt can mitigate implementation complexities, positioning MO as an efficient and accessible tool for power system analysis and potentially broader planning applications. The paper provides a comprehensive tutorial on MO, detailing its theoretical foundations, practical methodologies, and specific applications in power systems, particularly in power flow optimization.

Authors:Tohid Kargar Tasooji, Ramviyas Parasuraman
Title: Distributed Fault-Tolerant Multi-Robot Cooperative Localization in Adversarial Environments
Abstract:
In multi-robot systems (MRS), cooperative localization is a crucial task for enhancing system robustness and scalability, especially in GPS-denied or communication-limited environments. However, adversarial attacks, such as sensor manipulation, and communication jamming, pose significant challenges to the performance of traditional localization methods. In this paper, we propose a novel distributed fault-tolerant cooperative localization framework to enhance resilience against sensor and communication disruptions in adversarial environments. We introduce an adaptive event-triggered communication strategy that dynamically adjusts communication thresholds based on real-time sensing and communication quality. This strategy ensures optimal performance even in the presence of sensor degradation or communication failure. Furthermore, we conduct a rigorous analysis of the convergence and stability properties of the proposed algorithm, demonstrating its resilience against bounded adversarial zones and maintaining accurate state estimation. Robotarium-based experiment results show that our proposed algorithm significantly outperforms traditional methods in terms of localization accuracy and communication efficiency, particularly in adversarial settings. Our approach offers improved scalability, reliability, and fault tolerance for MRS, making it suitable for large-scale deployments in real-world, challenging environments.

Authors:Lane D. Smith, Daniel S. Kirschen
Title: Effects of Net Metering Policies on Distributed Energy Resource Valuation and Operation
Abstract:
Net energy metering has been a successful policy for increasing solar generation installations and reducing the costs of photovoltaic arrays for consumers. However, increased maturity of solar technologies and concerns over cost shifts created by net energy metering have recently caused the policy to change its incentives. What once favored behind-the-meter solar generation now is focused on compensating flexible operation. This paper explores the impacts that different net energy metering policies have on commercial consumers with various distributed energy resources. We show that the newest iteration of net energy metering is less beneficial for consumers with only solar generation and instead favors those that pair energy storage with solar. Though shiftable flexible demand offers consumers the ability to operate flexibly, the export prices offered by the latest net energy metering policy provide limited value to flexible demand.

Authors:Bhagawat Baanav Yedla Ravi, Md Rafiul Kabir, Sandip Ray
Title: HEMA: A Hands-on Exploration Platform for MEMS Sensor Attacks
Abstract:
Automotive safety and security are paramount in the rapidly advancing landscape of vehicular technology. Building safe and secure vehicles demands a profound understanding of automotive systems, particularly in safety and security. Traditional learning approaches, such as reading materials or observing demonstrations, often fail to provide the practical, hands-on experience essential for developing this expertise. For novice users, gaining access to automotive-grade systems and mastering their associated hardware and software can be challenging and overwhelming. In this paper, we present a novel, affordable, and flexible exploration platform, \hema, that enables users to gain practical, hands-on insights into the security compromises of micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) sensors, a critical component in modern ADAS systems. Furthermore, we discuss the unique challenges and design considerations involved in creating such a platform, emphasizing its role in enhancing the understanding of automotive safety and security. This framework serves as an invaluable resource for educators, researchers, and practitioners striving to build expertise in the field.

Authors:Devin Crowley, Whitney G. Cole, Christina M. Hospodar, Ruiting Shen, Karen E. Adolph, Alan Fern
Title: Evaluating Robots Like Human Infants: A Case Study of Learned Bipedal Locomotion
Abstract:
Typically, learned robot controllers are trained via relatively unsystematic regimens and evaluated with coarse-grained outcome measures such as average cumulative reward. The typical approach is useful to compare learning algorithms but provides limited insight into the effects of different training regimens and little understanding about the richness and complexity of learned behaviors. Likewise, human infants and other animals are "trained" via unsystematic regimens, but in contrast, developmental psychologists evaluate their performance in highly-controlled experiments with fine-grained measures such as success, speed of walking, and prospective adjustments. However, the study of learned behavior in human infants is limited by the practical constraints of training and testing babies. Here, we present a case study that applies methods from developmental psychology to study the learned behavior of the simulated bipedal robot Cassie. Following research on infant walking, we systematically designed reinforcement learning training regimens and tested the resulting controllers in simulated environments analogous to those used for babies--but without the practical constraints. Results reveal new insights into the behavioral impact of different training regimens and the development of Cassie's learned behaviors relative to infants who are learning to walk. This interdisciplinary baby-robot approach provides inspiration for future research designed to systematically test effects of training on the development of complex learned robot behaviors.

Authors:Federico Chiariotti, Marco Fabris
Title: VoI-aware Scheduling Schemes for Multi-Agent Formation Control
Abstract:
Formation control allows agents to maintain geometric patterns using local information, but most existing methods assume ideal communication. This paper introduces a goal-oriented framework combining control, cooperative positioning, and communication scheduling for first-order formation tracking. Each agent estimates its position using 6G network-based triangulation, and the scheduling of information updates is governed by Age of Information (AoI) and Value of Information (VoI) metrics. We design three lightweight, signaling-free scheduling policies and assess their impact on formation quality. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach in maintaining accurate formations with no additional communication overhead, showing that worst-case formation adherence increases by 20%.

Authors:Solon Falas, Markos Asprou, Charalambos Konstantinou, Maria K. Michael
Title: Robust Power System State Estimation using Physics-Informed Neural Networks
Abstract:
Modern power systems face significant challenges in state estimation and real-time monitoring, particularly regarding response speed and accuracy under faulty conditions or cyber-attacks. This paper proposes a hybrid approach using physics-informed neural networks (PINNs) to enhance the accuracy and robustness, of power system state estimation. By embedding physical laws into the neural network architecture, PINNs improve estimation accuracy for transmission grid applications under both normal and faulty conditions, while also showing potential in addressing security concerns such as data manipulation attacks. Experimental results show that the proposed approach outperforms traditional machine learning models, achieving up to 83% higher accuracy on unseen subsets of the training dataset and 65% better performance on entirely new, unrelated datasets. Experiments also show that during a data manipulation attack against a critical bus in a system, the PINN can be up to 93% more accurate than an equivalent neural network.

Authors:Zhicheng Zhang, Yoshihiko Susuki, Atsushi Okazaki
Title: Sparsity-Promoting Dynamic Mode Decomposition Applied to Sea Surface Temperature Fields
Abstract:
In this paper, we leverage Koopman mode decomposition to analyze the nonlinear and high-dimensional climate systems acting on the observed data space. The dynamics of atmospheric systems are assumed to be equation-free, with the linear evolution of observables derived from measured historical long-term time-series data snapshots, such as monthly sea surface temperature records, to construct a purely data-driven climate dynamics. In particular, sparsity-promoting dynamic mode decomposition is exploited to extract the dominant spatial and temporal modes, which are among the most significant coherent structures underlying climate variability, enabling a more efficient, interpretable, and low-dimensional representation of the system dynamics. We hope that the combined use of Koopman modes and sparsity-promoting techniques will provide insights into the significant climate modes, enabling reduced-order modeling of the climate system and offering a potential framework for predicting and controlling weather and climate variability.

Authors:Xiaoyuan Li, Xinru Xue, Bohan Zhang, Ye Sun, Shoushuo Xi, Gang Liu
Title: Cross-Subject DD: A Cross-Subject Brain-Computer Interface Algorithm
Abstract:
Brain-computer interface (BCI) based on motor imagery (MI) enables direct control of external devices by decoding the electroencephalogram (EEG) generated in the brain during imagined movements. However, due to inter-individual variability in brain activity, existing BCI models exhibit poor adaptability across subjects, thereby limiting their generalizability and widespread application. To address this issue, this paper proposes a cross-subject BCI algorithm named Cross-Subject DD (CSDD), which constructs a universal BCI model by extracting common features across subjects. The specific methods include: 1) training personalized models for each subject; 2) transforming personalized models into relation spectrums; 3) identifying common features through statistical analysis; and 4) constructing a cross-subject universal model based on common features. The experiments utilized the BCIC IV 2a dataset, involving nine subjects. Eight of these subjects were selected for training and extracing the common features, and the cross-subject decoding performance of the model was validated on the remaining subject. The results demonstrate that, compared with existing similar methods, our approach achieves a 3.28% improvement in performance. This paper introduces for the first time a novel method for extracting pure common features and constructing a universal cross-subject BCI model, thereby facilitating broader applications of BCI technology.

Authors:Peng Tian, Kang Yu, Tianyun Jiang, Yuqi Wang, Haiying Zhang, Hao Yang, Yunfeng Wang, Jun Zhang, Shuo Gao, Junhong Gao
Title: Force-IMU Fusion-Based Sensing Acupuncture Needle and Quantitative Analysis System for Acupuncture Manipulations
Abstract:
Acupuncture, one of the key therapeutic methods in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), has been widely adopted in various clinical fields. Quantitative research on acupuncture manipulation parameters is critical to achieve standardized techniques. However, quantitative mechanical detection of acupuncture parameters remains limited. This study establishes a kinematic and dynamic model of acupuncture, identifying key parameters such as lifting-thrusting force, acceleration, velocity, displacement, as well as twirling-rotating angular velocity and angle. To measure these critical parameters, we propose a quantitative system comprising a sensing needle equipped with a force sensor and an inertial measurement unit (IMU), as well as an external camera module to capture image information. By fusing visual and IMU data, we accurately identify the stationary or motion states of the needle, enabling segmented computation of lifting-thrusting velocity and displacement. The experimental results demonstrate that the sensing needle achieves comprehensive detection with high precision, featuring a nonlinearity error of 0.45% in force measurement and an RMSE of 1.2 mm in displacement. The extracted parameters provide an objective description of the operational characteristics and motion patterns of the four basic acupuncture manipulations. These findings provide valuable tools and methods for research in acupuncture standardization.

Authors:Melina Grane, Martin Cornejo, Holger Hesse, Andreas Jossen
Title: Accounting for Subsystem Aging Variability in Battery Energy Storage System Optimization
Abstract:
This paper presents a degradation-cost-aware optimization framework for multi-string battery energy storage systems, emphasizing the impact of inhomogeneous subsystem-level aging in operational decision-making. We evaluate four scenarios for an energy arbitrage scenario, that vary in model precision and treatment of aging costs. Key performance metrics include operational revenue, power schedule mismatch, missed revenues, capacity losses, and revenue generated per unit of capacity loss. Our analysis reveals that ignoring heterogeneity of subunits may lead to infeasible dispatch plans and reduced revenues. In contrast, combining accurate representation of degraded subsystems and the consideration of aging costs in the objective function improves operational accuracy and economic efficiency of BESS with heterogeneous aged subunits. The fully informed scenario, which combines aging-cost-aware optimization with precise string-level modeling, achieves 21% higher revenue per unit of SOH loss compared to the baseline scenario. These findings highlight that modeling aging heterogeneity is not just a technical refinement but may become a crucial enabler for maximizing both short-term profitability and long-term asset value in particular for long BESS usage scenarios.

Authors:Vivek Teja Tanjavooru, Prashant Pant, Thomas Hamacher, Holger Hesse
Title: Multi-Objective Nonlinear Power Split Control For BESS With Real-Time Simulation Feedback
Abstract:
This paper presents a mixed-integer, nonlinear, multi-objective optimization strategy for optimal power allocation among parallel strings in Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). High-fidelity control is achieved by co-simulating the optimizer with a BESS electro-thermal simulation that models spatial thermal dynamics of the battery, providing real-time State of Charge (SOC) and temperature feedback. The optimizer prioritizes reliability by enforcing power availability as a hard constraint and penalizing battery thermal derating. Within these bounds, the controller performs a Pareto sweep on the relative weights of inverter and battery losses to balance the trade-off between inverter efficiency and battery efficiency. The inverter loss model is based on an empirical lookup table (LUT) derived from a commercial inverter system, while the battery thermal loss model uses SOC and temperature-dependent internal resistance, with electric current computed from the battery Equivalent Circuit Model (ECM). When the optimization was applied to a two-string BESS, the competing effects of inverter and battery losses on system availability and thermal derating were observed. The balanced operation yielded improvements of 1% in battery efficiency, 1.5% in inverter efficiency, and 2% in derating efficiency, while maintaining higher availability. Additionally, a 5 degrees C reduction in BESS peak temperature also suggests reduced thermal stress without compromising availability.

Authors:Shoju Enami, Kenji Kashima
Title: Mutual Information Optimal Control of Discrete-Time Linear Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we formulate a mutual information optimal control problem (MIOCP) for discrete-time linear systems. This problem can be regarded as an extension of a maximum entropy optimal control problem (MEOCP). Differently from the MEOCP where the prior is fixed to the uniform distribution, the MIOCP optimizes the policy and prior simultaneously. As analytical results, under the policy and prior classes consisting of Gaussian distributions, we derive the optimal policy and prior of the MIOCP with the prior and policy fixed, respectively. Using the results, we propose an alternating minimization algorithm for the MIOCP. Through numerical experiments, we discuss how our proposed algorithm works.

Authors:Benjamin Johnson, Qilun Zhu, Robert Prucka, Morgan Barron, Miriam Figueroa-Santos, Matthew Castanier
Title: Implicit Dual-Control for Visibility-Aware Navigation in Unstructured Environments
Abstract:
Navigating complex, cluttered, and unstructured environments that are a priori unknown presents significant challenges for autonomous ground vehicles, particularly when operating with a limited field of view(FOV) resulting in frequent occlusion and unobserved space. This paper introduces a novel visibility-aware model predictive path integral framework(VA-MPPI). Formulated as a dual control problem where perceptual uncertainties and control decisions are intertwined, it reasons over perception uncertainty evolution within a unified planning and control pipeline. Unlike traditional methods that rely on explicit uncertainty objectives, the VA-MPPI controller implicitly balances exploration and exploitation, reducing uncertainty only when system performance would be increased. The VA-MPPI framework is evaluated in simulation against deterministic and prescient controllers across multiple scenarios, including a cluttered urban alleyway and an occluded off-road environment. The results demonstrate that VA-MPPI significantly improves safety by reducing collision with unseen obstacles while maintaining competitive performance. For example, in the off-road scenario with 400 control samples, the VA-MPPI controller achieved a success rate of 84%, compared to only 8% for the deterministic controller, with all VA-MPPI failures arising from unmet stopping criteria rather than collisions. Furthermore, the controller implicitly avoids unobserved space, improving safety without explicit directives. The proposed framework highlights the potential for robust, visibility-aware navigation in unstructured and occluded environments, paving the way for future advancements in autonomous ground vehicle systems.

Authors:Yifei Li, Erik-jan van Kampen
Title: Improving Action Smoothness for a Cascaded Online Learning Flight Control System
Abstract:
This paper aims to improve the action smoothness of a cascaded online learning flight control system. Although the cascaded structure is widely used in flight control design, its stability can be compromised by oscillatory control actions, which poses challenges for practical engineering applications. To address this issue, we introduce an online temporal smoothness technique and a low-pass filter to reduce the amplitude and frequency of the control actions. Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) is used to analyze policy performance in the frequency domain. Simulation results demonstrate the improvements achieved by the two proposed techniques.

Authors:Mahdi Ali Pour, Zahra Habibzadeh
Title: Direction Estimation of Sound Sources Using Microphone Arrays and Signal Strength
Abstract:
Sound-tracking refers to the process of determining the direction from which a sound originates, making it a fundamental component of sound source localization. This capability is essential in a variety of applications, including security systems, acoustic monitoring, and speaker tracking, where accurately identifying the direction of a sound source enables real-time responses, efficient resource allocation, and improved situational awareness. While sound-tracking is closely related to localization, it specifically focuses on identifying the direction of the sound source rather than estimating its exact position in space. Despite its utility, sound-tracking systems face several challenges, such as maintaining directional accuracy and precision, along with the need for sophisticated hardware configurations and complex signal processing algorithms. This paper presents a sound-tracking method using three electret microphones. We estimate the direction of a sound source using a lightweight method that analyzes signals from three strategically placed microphones. By comparing the average power of the received signals, the system infers the most probable direction of the sound. The results indicate that the power level from each microphone effectively determines the sound source direction. Our system employs a straightforward and cost-effective hardware design, ensuring simplicity and affordability in implementation. It achieves a localization error of less than 6 degrees and a precision of 98%. Additionally, its effortless integration with various systems makes it versatile and adaptable. Consequently, this technique presents a robust and reliable solution for sound-tracking and localization, with potential applications spanning diverse domains such as security systems, smart homes, and acoustic monitoring.

Authors:Yuansheng Lian, Ke Zhang, Meng Li, Shen Li
Title: Game-Theoretic Modeling of Vehicle Unprotected Left Turns Considering Drivers' Bounded Rationality
Abstract:
Modeling the decision-making behavior of vehicles presents unique challenges, particularly during unprotected left turns at intersections, where the uncertainty of human drivers is especially pronounced. In this context, connected autonomous vehicle (CAV) technology emerges as a promising avenue for effectively managing such interactions while ensuring safety and efficiency. Traditional approaches, often grounded in game theory assumptions of perfect rationality, may inadequately capture the complexities of real-world scenarios and drivers' decision-making errors. To fill this gap, we propose a novel decision-making model for vehicle unprotected left-turn scenarios, integrating game theory with considerations for drivers' bounded rationality. Our model, formulated as a two-player normal-form game solved by a quantal response equilibrium (QRE), offers a more nuanced depiction of driver decision-making processes compared to Nash equilibrium (NE) models. Leveraging an Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm coupled with a subtle neural network trained on precise microscopic vehicle trajectory data, we optimize model parameters to accurately reflect drivers' interaction-aware bounded rationality and driving styles. Through comprehensive simulation experiments, we demonstrate the efficacy of our proposed model in capturing the interaction-aware bounded rationality and decision tendencies between players. The proposed model proves to be more realistic and efficient than NE models in unprotected left-turn scenarios. Our findings contribute valuable insights into the vehicle decision-making behaviors with bounded rationality, thereby informing the development of more robust and realistic autonomous driving systems.

Authors:Nathaniel Chen, Cheolsik Byun, Azarakash Jalalvand, Sangkyeun Kim, Andrew Rothstein, Filippo Scotti, Steve Allen, David Eldon, Keith Erickson, Egemen Kolemen
Title: Regulation Compliant AI for Fusion: Real-Time Image Analysis-Based Control of Divertor Detachment in Tokamaks
Abstract:
While artificial intelligence (AI) has been promising for fusion control, its inherent black-box nature will make compliant implementation in regulatory environments a challenge. This study implements and validates a real-time AI enabled linear and interpretable control system for successful divertor detachment control with the DIII-D lower divertor camera. Using D2 gas, we demonstrate feedback divertor detachment control with a mean absolute difference of 2% from the target for both detachment and reattachment. This automatic training and linear processing framework can be extended to any image based diagnostic for regulatory compliant controller necessary for future fusion reactors.

Authors:Jan Friso Groote, Matthias Volk
Title: A formal specification of the desired software behaviour of the Princess Marijke lock complex
Abstract:
The Princess Marijke lock complex is a large lock and water-protection installation in the Netherlands between the river Rhine and the Amsterdam-Rijnkanaal -- a large waterway connecting the Rhine to the port of Amsterdam. The lock complex consists of two independent locks and a moveable flood-protection barrier. Ensuring safe control of the lock complex is of utmost importance to guarantee both flood-protection and reliable ship operations. This paper gives a precise, formal description of the software control of the lock complex in less than 400 lines of mCRL2 code. This description can act as a blueprint on how the software of this lock complex needs to be constructed. Moreover, using model checking, 53 software requirements are shown to be valid, ensuring that the formal description of the behaviour is correct with regard to these properties and is unlikely to contain mistakes and oversights.

Authors:Máté B. Vizi, Dénes Tákács, Gábor Stépán, Gábor Orosz
Title: Integrating path-planning and control for robotic unicycles
Abstract:
This article focuses on integrating path-planning and control with specializing on the unique needs of robotic unicycles. A unicycle design is presented which is capable of accelerating/breaking and carrying out a variety of maneuvers. The proposed path-planning method segments the path into straight and curved path sections dedicated for accelerating/breaking and turning maneuvers, respectively. The curvature profiles of the curved sections are optimized while considering the control performance and the slipping limits of the wheel. The performance of the proposed integrated approach is demonstrated via numerical simulations.

Authors:Wenwei Que, Yang Li, Lu Wang, Wentao Liu, Yougang Bian, Manjiang Hu, Yongfu Li
Title: Observer-Based Distributed Model Predictive Control for String-Stable Multi-vehicle Systems with Markovian Switching Topology
Abstract:
Switching communication topologies can cause instability in vehicle platoons, as vehicle information may be lost during the dynamic switching process. This highlights the need to design a controller capable of maintaining the stability of vehicle platoons under dynamically changing topologies. However, capturing the dynamic characteristics of switching topologies and obtaining complete vehicle information for controller design while ensuring stability remains a significant challenge. In this study, we propose an observer-based distributed model predictive control (DMPC) method for vehicle platoons under directed Markovian switching topologies. Considering the stochastic nature of the switching topologies, we model the directed switching communication topologies using a continuous-time Markov chain. To obtain the leader vehicle's information for controller design, we develop a fully distributed adaptive observer that can quickly adapt to the randomly switching topologies, ensuring that the observed information is not affected by the dynamic topology switches. Additionally, a sufficient condition is derived to guarantee the mean-square stability of the observer. Furthermore, we construct the DMPC terminal update law based on the observer and formulate a string stability constraint based on the observed information. Numerical simulations demonstrate that our method can reduce tracking errors while ensuring string stability.

Authors:Siyang Tang, Wen-Hua Chen, Cunjia Liu
Title: Auto-optimization of Energy Generation for Wave Energy Converters with Active Learning
Abstract:
This paper presents an auto-optimization control framework for wave energy converters (WECs) to maximize energy generation under unknown and changing ocean conditions. The proposed control framework consists of two levels. The high-level controller operating at a longer time scale aims to maximize the average energy generation over several wave periods. The generated Power Take-Off (PTO) profile as the reference for the low-level physical system to follow. The new auto-optimization process leverages the parameterization of the non-stationary operation condition in WECs, establishing the relationship between the average energy generation and the key design parameters of the PTO force subject to the unknown wave parameters. The high-level controller is designed based on the concept of Dual Control for Exploration and Exploitation (DCEE) to quickly learn the unknown wave parameters by actively probing the ocean condition, while generating the optimal PTO profile. During this process, the uncertainty of the estimated wave condition is quantified and embedded in the optimization cost function to enable active learning. Simulation results under unknown regular and irregular waves demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of this novel auto-optimization WEC systems with active learning, outperforming model predictive control, extremum seeking and classic Bang-Bang control approaches.

Authors:Rinel Foguen Tchuendom, Dena Firoozi, Michèle Breton
Title: Ranking Quantilized Mean-Field Games with an Application to Early-Stage Venture Investments
Abstract:
Quantilized mean-field game models involve quantiles of the population's distribution. We study a class of such games with a capacity for ranking games, where the performance of each agent is evaluated based on its terminal state relative to the population's $α$-quantile value, $α\in (0,1)$. This evaluation criterion is designed to select the top $(1-α)\%$ performing agents. We provide two formulations for this competition: a target-based formulation and a threshold-based formulation. In the former and latter formulations, to satisfy the selection condition, each agent aims for its terminal state to be \textit{exactly} equal and \textit{at least} equal to the population's $α$-quantile value, respectively. For the target-based formulation, we obtain an analytic solution and demonstrate the $ε$-Nash property for the asymptotic best-response strategies in the $N$-player game. Specifically, the quantilized mean-field consistency condition is expressed as a set of forward-backward ordinary differential equations, characterizing the $α$-quantile value at equilibrium. For the threshold-based formulation, we obtain a semi-explicit solution and numerically solve the resulting quantilized mean-field consistency condition. Subsequently, we propose a new application in the context of early-stage venture investments, where a venture capital firm financially supports a group of start-up companies engaged in a competition over a finite time horizon, with the goal of selecting a percentage of top-ranking ones to receive the next round of funding at the end of the time horizon. We present the results and interpretations of numerical experiments for both formulations discussed in this context and show that the target-based formulation provides a very good approximation for the threshold-based formulation.

Authors:Sheng Yin, Vivek Teja Tanjavooru, Thomas Hamacher, Christoph Goebel, Holger Hesse
Title: Price Aware Power Split Control in Heterogeneous Battery Storage Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a unified framework for the optimal scheduling of battery dispatch and internal power allocation in Battery energy storage systems (BESS). This novel approach integrates both market-based (price-aware) signals and physical system constraints to simultaneously optimize (1) external energy dispatch and (2) internal heterogeneity management of BESS, enhancing its operational economic value and performance. This work compares both model-based Linear Programming (LP) and model-free Reinforcement Learning (RL) approaches for optimization under varying forecast assumptions, using a custom Gym-based simulation environment. The evaluation considers both long-term and short-term performance, focusing on economic savings, State of Charge (SOC) and temperature balancing, and overall system efficiency. In summary, the long-term results show that the RL approach achieved 10% higher system efficiency compared to LP, whereas the latter yielded 33% greater cumulative savings. In terms of internal heterogeneity, the LP approach resulted in lower mean SOC imbalance, while the RL approach achieved better temperature balance between strings. This behavior is further examined in the short-term evaluation, which indicates that LP delivers strong optimization under known and stable conditions, whereas RL demonstrates higher adaptability in dynamic environments, offering potential advantages for real-time BESS control.

Authors:Yang Liu, Jiahao Zhang, Yuxuan Ouyang, Huan Yu, Dengbo He
Title: The impact of the following vehicles behaviors on the car following behaviors of the ego-vehicle
Abstract:
Among all types of crashes, rear-end crashes dominate, which are closely related to the car-following (CF) behaviors. Traditional CF behavior models focused on the influence of the vehicle in front, but usually ignored the peer pressure from the surrounding road users, including the following vehicle (FV). Based on an open dataset, the highD dataset, we investigated whether the FV's states can affect the CF behavior of the ego-vehicle in CF events. Two types of CF events were extracted from highD database, including the tailgated events, where the time headway between the FV and the ego-vehicle (i.e., time gap) was smaller than 1 second, and the gapped events, where the time gap was larger than 3 seconds. The dynamic time warping was used to extract CF pairs with similar speed profiles of the leading vehicle (LV). Statistical analyses were conducted to compare the CF-performance metrics in tailgated and gapped events. Then, the inverse reinforcement learning was used to recover the reward function of the ego-vehicle drivers in different CF events. The results showed that the ego-driver would adjust their CF behavior in response to the pressure from a tailgating FV, by maintaining a closer distance to the LV, but at the same time, driving more cautiously. Further, drivers were still able to adjust their CF strategies based on the speed of traffic flow and the distance to the LV, even when being tailgated. These findings provide insights regarding more accurate modelling of traffic flow by considering the peer pressure from surrounding road users.

Authors:Marcos M. Vasconcelos, Behrouz Touri
Title: Multi-Agent Coordination under Poisson Observations: A Global Game Approach
Abstract:
We study a model of strategic coordination based on a class of games with incomplete information known as Global Games. Under the assumption of Poisson-distributed signals and a Gamma prior distribution on state of the system, we demonstrate the existence of a Bayesian Nash equilibrium within the class of threshold policies for utility functions that are linear in the agents' actions. Although computing the exact threshold that constitutes an equilibrium in a system with finitely many agents is a highly non-trivial task, the problem becomes tractable by analyzing the game's potential function with countably infinitely many agents. Through numerical examples, we provide evidence that the resulting potential function is unimodal, exhibiting a well-defined maximum. Our results are applicable to the modeling of bacterial Quorum Sensing systems, whose noisy observation signals are often well-approximated using Poisson processes.

Authors:Alan Yang, Stephen Boyd
Title: Iteratively Saturated Kalman Filtering
Abstract:
The Kalman filter (KF) provides optimal recursive state estimates for linear-Gaussian systems and underpins applications in control, signal processing, and others. However, it is vulnerable to outliers in the measurements and process noise. We introduce the iteratively saturated Kalman filter (ISKF), which is derived as a scaled gradient method for solving a convex robust estimation problem. It achieves outlier robustness while preserving the KF's low per-step cost and implementation simplicity, since in practice it typically requires only one or two iterations to achieve good performance. The ISKF also admits a steady-state variant that, like the standard steady-state KF, does not require linear system solves in each time step, making it well-suited for real-time systems.

Authors:Partha Chowdhury, Harsha M, Chinni Prabhunath Georg, Arun Balaji Buduru, Sanat K Biswas
Title: Time Invariant Sensor Tasking for Catalog Maintenance of LEO Space objects using Stochastic Geometry
Abstract:
Catalog maintenance of space objects by limited number of ground-based sensors presents a formidable challenging task to the space community. This article presents a methodology for time-invariant tracking and surveillance of space objects in low Earth orbit (LEO) by optimally directing ground sensors. Our methodology aims to maximize the expected number of space objects from a set of ground stations by utilizing concepts from stochastic geometry, particularly the Poisson point process. We have provided a systematic framework to understand visibility patterns and enhance the efficiency of tracking multiple objects simultaneously. Our approach contributes to more informed decision-making in space operations, ultimately supporting efforts to maintain safety and sustainability in LEO.

Authors:Nico Ostendorf, Keno Garlichs, Lars Wolf
Title: Enhancing Car-Following Models with Bike Dynamics for Improved Traffic Simulation
Abstract:
Road traffic simulations are crucial for establishing safe and efficient traffic environments. They are used to test various road applications before real-world implementation. SUMO is a well-known simulator for road networks and intermodal traffic, often used in conjunction with other tools to test various types of applications. Realistic simulations require accurate movement models for different road users, such as cars, bicycles, and buses. While realistic models are already implemented for most vehicle types, bicycles, which are essential for achieving safe and efficient traffic, can only be modeled as slow vehicles or fast pedestrians at present. This paper introduces the Realistic Bicycle Dynamics Model (RBDM), the first dedicated bicycle model for SUMO, addressing this significant gap. Leveraging real-world bicycle data from the SimRa dataset, the RBDM implements realistic speed, acceleration, and deceleration behaviors of bicycles in urban scenarios. The evaluation is conducted using the Monaco SUMO traffic scenario and a newly generated Berlin scenario in SUMO. The RBDM significantly outperforms the existing slow-vehicle approximation in SUMO, aligning more closely with real-world data. These results underscore the necessity of a realistic bicycle movement model for accurate simulations, given the significant differences in the movement profiles of bicycles, cars, and pedestrians. Furthermore, the model is tested for its ability to generalize to disparate scenarios and urban topologies, which is dependent on the manner and geographical region in which the SimRa data were gathered. In addition, recommendations are provided for how it could be adapted for use in different city topologies.

Authors:Sheng-Wen Cheng, Teng-Hu Cheng
Title: Data-Driven Estimation of Quadrotor Motor Efficiency via Residual Minimization
Abstract:
A data-driven framework is proposed for online estimation of quadrotor motor efficiency via residual minimization. The problem is formulated as a constrained nonlinear optimization that minimizes trajectory residuals between measured flight data and predictions generated by a quadrotor dynamics model. A sliding-window strategy enables online estimation, and the optimization is efficiently solved using an iteratively reweighted least squares (IRLS) scheme combined with a primal-dual interior-point method, with inequality constraints enforced through a logarithmic barrier function. Robust z-score weighting is employed to reject outliers, which is particularly effective in motor clipping scenarios where the proposed estimator exhibits smaller spikes than an EKF baseline. Compared to traditional filter-based approaches, the batch-mode formulation offers greater flexibility by selectively incorporating informative data segments. This structure is well-suited for onboard implementation, particularly for applications such as fault detection and isolation (FDI), health monitoring, and predictive maintenance in aerial robotic systems. Simulation results under various degradation scenarios demonstrate the accuracy and robustness of the proposed estimator.

Authors:Yuechen Liu, Boqi Meng
Title: High-Order Quarter-Wave Plate Optimization for Linear Birefringence Suppression in Reflective FOCS
Abstract:
Fiber optic current sensors (FOCS) are widely adopted in modern power grids due to high sensitivity, excellent insulation, and strong immunity to electromagnetic interference. This prominence necessitates precise investigation into their error sources and corresponding optimization. This study examines reflective FOCS based on the Faraday effect. A theoretical model is established to simulate phase error caused by linear birefringence from the quarter-wave plate. Conventional methods using circular birefringence are analyzed, revealing inherent limitations. Innovatively, a compensation strategy employing high-order quarter-wave plates is proposed to effectively eliminate linear birefringence effects. This approach significantly enhances the accuracy and practicality of FOCS in precision metrology.

Authors:Bukunmi Gabriel Odunlami, Marcos Netto
Title: Observability and parameter estimation of a generic model for aggregated distributed energy resources
Abstract:
We propose a novel framework for estimating the parameters of an aggregated distributed energy resources (der_a) model. First, we introduce a rigorous method to determine whether all model parameters are estimable. When they are not, our approach identifies the subset of parameters that can be estimated. The proposed framework offers new insights into the number and specific parameters that can be reliably estimated based on commonly available measurements. It also highlights the limitations of calibrating such models. Second, we introduce a Kalman filtering method to calibrate the der_a model. Since we account for nonlinear effects such as saturation and deadbands, we develop a specific mechanism to handle smoothing functions within the Kalman filter. Specifically, we consider the extended and the unscented Kalman filter. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework on a modified IEEE 34-node distribution feeder with inverter-based resources. Our findings align with the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's parameterization guideline and underscore the importance of model calibration in accurately capturing the collective dynamics of distributed energy resources installed on distribution systems.

Authors:Dirk Lauinger, Luc Coté, Andy Sun
Title: Storage Participation in Electricity Markets: Arbitrage and Ancillary Services
Abstract:
Electricity storage is used for intertemporal price arbitrage and for ancillary services that balance unforeseen supply and demand fluctuations via frequency regulation. We present an optimization model that computes bids for both arbitrage and frequency regulation and ensures that storage operators can honor their market commitments at all times for all fluctuation signals in an uncertainty set inspired by market rules. This requirement, initially expressed by an infinite number of nonconvex functional constraints, is shown to be equivalent to a finite number of deterministic constraints. The resulting formulation is a mixed-integer bilinear program that admits mixed-integer linear relaxations and restrictions. Empirical tests on European electricity markets show a negligible optimality gap between the relaxation and the restriction. The model can account for intraday trading and, with a solution time of under 5 seconds, may serve as a building block for more complex trading strategies. Such strategies become necessary as battery capacity exceeds the demand for ancillary services. In a backtest from 1 July 2020 through 30 June 2024 joint market participation more than doubles profits and almost halves energy storage output compared to arbitrage alone.

Authors:Mohammad Hassan, Mads R. Almassalkhi
Title: Aggregate Modeling of Air-Conditioner Loads Under Packet-based Control with Both On and Off Grid Access Requests
Abstract:
Coordination of distributed energy resources (DERs) can engender flexibility necessary to improve grid reliability. Packetized Energy Management (PEM) is a method for coordinating DERs, such as thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) and electric vehicles, within customer quality-of-service (QoS) limits. In PEM, a DER uses local information to offer flexibility by sending a request to the DER coordinator to turn-ON or turn-OFF. Much work has focused on modeling and analyzing aggregations of DERs under PEM with fixed packet durations and only turn-ON requests. Different recent efforts to enable variable packet lengths have shown an increase in available flexibility and ramping capability, but have not been modeled in aggregate, which limits systematic analyses. To address this issue, this paper presents a new aggregate bin-based (macro) model of PEM loads that incorporates both turn-ON and turn-OFF request features, enabling the model to accurately characterize the capability of the fleet of DERs to track a power reference signal, population temperature dynamics, aggregate request rates, and variable packet lengths. Simulation-based validation is performed against an agent-based (micro) model to evaluate robustness and quantify model accuracy. Finally, the distribution of variable packet lengths from macro-model simulations are applied to inform past work on PEM with randomized packet lengths

Authors:Rafael R. Yumul, Enalyn T. Domingo
Title: Transforming Tarlac State University (TSU) Gymnasium to a Nearly Zero-Energy Building through Integration of a Solar Photovoltaic (PV) System
Abstract:
The study is anchored to the principles of Nearly-Zero Energy Building (NZEB). It aimed to transform the Tarlac State University Gymnasium into a facility with energy-efficient equipment to contribute to reducing carbon footprints by integrating a solar PV system as its renewable energy source. The researchers found out that the electrical infrastructure of the Gym was outdated, and the lighting was not energy efficient, and there were too few convenience or power outlets. There was also insufficient cooling equipment to maintain a comfortable temperature. Analysis shows that the payback period is within the average range, making it a cost-effective investment for the University. Aside from the cost of the PV System, adherence to engineering design standards will mean additional costs to replace the metal halides with LED high bay lamps, installation of additional air conditioning units, and provision of additional convenience outlets. These additional costs should be considered when evaluating the feasibility of the project. It is recommended that the integrity of the existing roof system of the Gymnasium be considered. The total cost of putting up the whole electrical system, including new lighting, cooling, and convenience loads, must be calculated to determine the total cost of implementing the whole NZEB project. Other factors in the economic evaluation may be considered to determine a more stringent result.

Authors:Pei Yu Chang, Vishnu Renganathan, Qadeer Ahmed
Title: Risk-Budgeted Control Framework for Balanced Performance and Safety in Autonomous Vehicles
Abstract:
This paper presents a risk-budgeted monitor with a control framework that certifies safety for autonomous driving. In this process, a sliding window is proposed to monitor for insufficient barrier residuals or nonzero tail risk, ensuring system safety. When the safety margin deteriorates, it triggers switching the safety constraint from a performance-based relaxed-control barrier function (R-CBF) to a conservative conditional value at risk (CVaR-CBF) to address the safety concern. This switching is governed by two real-time triggers: Feasibility-Triggered (FT) and Quality-Triggered (QT) conditions. In the FT condition, if the R-CBF constraint becomes infeasible or yields a suboptimal solution, the risk monitor triggers the use of the CVaR constraints for the controller. In the QT condition, the risk monitor observes the safety margin of the R-CBF solution at every step, regardless of feasibility. If it falls below the safety margin, the safety filter switches to the CVaR-CBF constraints. The proposed framework is evaluated using a model predictive controller (MPC) for autonomous driving in the presence of autonomous vehicle (AV) localization noise and obstacle position uncertainties. Multiple AV-pedestrian interaction scenarios are considered, with 1,500 Monte Carlo runs conducted for all scenarios. In the most challenging setting with pedestrian detection uncertainty of 5 m, the proposed framework achieves a 94-96% success rate of not colliding with the pedestrians over 300 trials while maintaining the lowest mean cross-track error (CTE = 3.2-3.6 m) to the reference path. The reduced CTE indicates faster trajectory recovery after obstacle avoidance, demonstrating a balance between safety and performance.

Authors:Luiz Fernando M. Arruda, Moises Ferber, Diego Greff
Title: Low-cost Pyranometer-Based ANN Approach for MPPT in Solar PV Systems
Abstract:
This article presents a study on the application of artificial neural networks (ANNs) for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in photovoltaic (PV) systems using low-cost pyranometer sensors. The proposed approach integrates pyranometers, temperature sensors, and an ANN to estimate the duty cycle of a DC/DC converter, enabling the system to consistently operate at its maximum power point. The strategy was implemented in the local control of a Cuk converter and experimentally validated against the conventional Perturb and Observe (P&O) method. Results demonstrate that the ANN-based technique, leveraging affordable sensor technology, achieves accurate MPPT performance with reduced fluctuations, enhancing the responsiveness and efficiency of PV tracking systems.

Authors:Jialin Zheng, Zhong Liu, Xiaonan Lu
Title: Latent-Feature-Informed Neural ODE Modeling for Lightweight Stability Evaluation of Black-box Grid-Tied Inverters
Abstract:
Stability evaluation of black-box grid-tied inverters is vital for grid reliability, yet identification techniques are both data-hungry and blocked by proprietary internals. {To solve this, this letter proposes a latent-feature-informed neural ordinary differential equation (LFI-NODE) modeling method that can achieve lightweight stability evaluation directly from trajectory data.} LFI-NODE parameterizes the entire system ODE with a single continuous-time neural network, allowing each new sample to refine a unified global model. It faithfully captures nonlinear large-signal dynamics to preserve uniform predictive accuracy as the inverter transitions between operating points. Meanwhile, latent perturbation features distilled from every trajectory steer the learning process and concurrently reveal the small-signal eigenstructure essential for rigorous stability analysis. Validated on a grid-forming inverter, {The LFI-NODE requires one to two orders of magnitude fewer training samples compared with traditional methods, collected from short time-domain trajectories instead of extensive frequency-domain measurements.} {Furthermore, the LFI-NODE requires only 48 short transients to achieve a trajectory prediction error at the hundredth level and an eigenvalue estimation error at the tenth level, outperforming benchmark methods by one to two orders of magnitude.} This makes LFI-NODE a practical and lightweight approach for achieving high-fidelity stability assessment of complex black-box power-electronic systems.

Authors:Ashkan Sebghati, S. Hassan HosseinNia
Title: Robust reset control design for piezo-actuated nano-positioner in presence of hysteresis nonlinearity
Abstract:
In this paper, a robust nonlinear control scheme is designed for the motion control of a class of piezo-actuated nano-positioning systems using frequency-domain analysis. The hysteresis, the nonlinearity in the piezoelectric material, degrades the precision in tracking references with high frequency contents and different travel ranges. The hysteresis compensation by the inverse model, as the state-of-the-art solution, is not reliable alone. Therefore, a control framework with robustness against the remaining nonlinearity is needed. It is shown that there is an unavoidable limitation in robust linear control design to improve the performance. A robust control methodology based on a complex-order element is established to relax the limitation. Then, a constant-in-gain-lead-in-phase (CgLp) reset controller is utilized to realize the complex-order control. The control design is based on the sinusoidal input describing function (SIDF) and the higher-order SIDF (HOSIDF) tools. A constrained optimization problem is provided to tune the control parameters. The achieved improvements by the CgLp control is validated by the simulation.

Authors:Adel Omrani, Sajjad Sadeghi
Title: Antenna's Performance in Microwave Imaging of Stratified Media
Abstract:
Numerous types of antennas have been employed for microwave imaging of stratified media for ground penetrating radar (GPR), through-the-wall-radar imaging (TWRI), etc. This letter aims to investigate the impact of the different antennas with their characteristics on the image reconstruction of those media. Hence, three types of antennas, including horn antennas, open waveguide and Vivaldi antennas, are chosen as almost directional antennas, operating at X-band 8-12 GHz. The antenna's far-field and near-field characteristics are analyzed. A diffraction tomography (DT)-based algorithm is used to reconstruct the target location within the stratified media using monostatic and multistatic data. It is observed that the more directional antennas provide a better-reconstructed image with less shadowing image of the stratified media.

Authors:David Nguyen, Zulfiqar Zaidi, Kevin Karol, Jessica Hodgins, Zhaoming Xie
Title: Whole Body Model Predictive Control for Spin-Aware Quadrupedal Table Tennis
Abstract:
Developing table tennis robots that mirror human speed, accuracy, and ability to predict and respond to the full range of ball spins remains a significant challenge for legged robots. To demonstrate these capabilities we present a system to play dynamic table tennis for quadrupedal robots that integrates high speed perception, trajectory prediction, and agile control. Our system uses external cameras for high-speed ball localization, physical models with learned residuals to infer spin and predict trajectories, and a novel model predictive control (MPC) formulation for agile full-body control. Notably, a continuous set of stroke strategies emerge automatically from different ball return objectives using this control paradigm. We demonstrate our system in the real world on a Spot quadruped, evaluate accuracy of each system component, and exhibit coordination through the system's ability to aim and return balls with varying spin types. As a further demonstration, the system is able to rally with human players.

Authors:Adam Suski, Elina Spyrou, Richard Green
Title: Missing Money and Market-Based Adequacy in Deeply Decarbonized Power Systems with Long-Duration Energy Storage
Abstract:
The ability of deeply decarbonised power systems to ensure adequacy may increasingly depend on long-duration energy storage (LDES). A central challenge is whether capacity markets (CMs), originally designed around thermal generation, can provide efficient investment signals when storage becomes a central participant. While recent studies have advanced methods for accrediting variable renewables and short-duration storage, the effectiveness of these methods in CMs with substantial LDES penetration remains largely unexplored. To address this gap, we extend a two-stage stochastic equilibrium investment model by endogenising continuous, duration-based capacity accreditation for storage and apply it to a Great Britain-based case using 40 years of weather-driven demand and renewable profiles under varying emission limits. Results show that well-calibrated CMs can sustain near-efficient investment and mitigate revenue volatility, but their effectiveness diminishes in deeply decarbonized systems, underscoring both their potential and the regulatory challenges of supporting large-scale LDES.

Authors:Adham Saad, Aya Sherif Nassef, Mahmoud Mohamed Elshahed, Mohamed Ismail Ahmed
Title: Real-Time Tracking Antenna System for Moving Targets
Abstract:
This paper presents the design and implementation of a compact, cost-effective phased array antenna system. It is capable of real-time beam-steering for dynamic target-tracking applications. The system employs a 4$\times$4 rectangular microstrip patch array, utilizing advanced beamforming techniques and a Direction of Arrival (DoA) estimation algorithm. It achieves $\pm 42^{\circ}$ wide-angle scanning in both azimuth and elevation planes. The design emphasizes a balance between high angular coverage and consistent gain performance. This makes it suitable for wireless tracking, radar, and satellite communication terminals. Fabricated on Rogers 6010.2LM substrate, the system demonstrates reproducibility and scalability. All components are sourced locally to ensure practical deployment. The system is built using commercially available components, highlighting its affordability for research and prototyping purposes.

Authors:Moriba Jah, Van Haslett
Title: The Epistemic Support-Point Filter (ESPF): A Bounded Possibilistic Framework for Ordinal State Estimation
Abstract:
Traditional state estimation methods rely on probabilistic assumptions that often collapse epistemic uncertainty into scalar beliefs, risking overconfidence in sparse or adversarial sensing environments. We introduce the Epistemic Support-Point Filter (ESPF), a novel non-Bayesian filtering framework fully grounded in possibility theory and epistemic humility. ESPF redefines the evolution of belief over state space using compatibility-weighted support updates, surprisalaware pruning, and adaptive dispersion via sparse grid quadrature. Unlike conventional filters, ESPF does not seek a posterior distribution, but rather maintains a structured region of plausibility or non-rejection, updated using ordinal logic rather than integration. For multi-model inference, we employ the Choquet integral to fuse competing hypotheses based on a dynamic epistemic capacity function, generalizing classical winner-take-all strategies. The result is an inference engine capable of dynamically contracting or expanding belief support in direct response to information structure, without requiring prior statistical calibration. This work presents a foundational shift in how inference, evidence, and ignorance are reconciled, supporting robust estimation where priors are unavailable, misleading, or epistemically unjustified.

Authors:Yuki Tanaka, Seiichiro Katsura
Title: Non-expert to Expert Motion Translation Using Generative Adversarial Networks
Abstract:
Decreasing skilled workers is a very serious problem in the world. To deal with this problem, the skill transfer from experts to robots has been researched. These methods which teach robots by human motion are called imitation learning. Experts' skills generally appear in not only position data, but also force data. Thus, position and force data need to be saved and reproduced. To realize this, a lot of research has been conducted in the framework of a motion-copying system. Recent research uses machine learning methods to generate motion commands. However, most of them could not change tasks by following human intention. Some of them can change tasks by conditional training, but the labels are limited. Thus, we propose the flexible motion translation method by using Generative Adversarial Networks. The proposed method enables users to teach robots tasks by inputting data, and skills by a trained model. We evaluated the proposed system with a 3-DOF calligraphy robot.

Authors:Angan Mukherjee, Victor M. Zavala
Title: Physics-Constrained Machine Learning for Chemical Engineering
Abstract:
Physics-constrained machine learning (PCML) combines physical models with data-driven approaches to improve reliability, generalizability, and interpretability. Although PCML has shown significant benefits in diverse scientific and engineering domains, technical and intellectual challenges hinder its applicability in complex chemical engineering applications. Key difficulties include determining the amount and type of physical knowledge to embed, designing effective fusion strategies with ML, scaling models to large datasets and simulators, and quantifying predictive uncertainty. This perspective summarizes recent developments and highlights challenges/opportunities in applying PCML to chemical engineering, emphasizing on closed-loop experimental design, real-time dynamics and control, and handling of multi-scale phenomena.

Authors:Ashutosh Chandra Pandey, Sayan Basu Roy, Simone Baldi
Title: Adaptive Control of Heterogeneous Platoons with Guaranteed Collision Avoidance
Abstract:
This work proposes a framework for Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control of a vehicular platoon characterized by unidirectional communication and heterogeneous parameters. In the proposed framework, the actual (heterogeneous) platoon is made to converge to a reference (homogeneous) platoon via adaptive laws designed using of set-theoretic model reference adaptive control. Yet, in contrast to the state-of-art that is based on ensuring collision avoidance on the reference platoon dynamics only, the approach we propose can ensure collision avoidance on the actual platoon dynamics. This result is possible thanks to the introduction of a novel concept of virtual platoon, only used for analysis, but that does not interact with the actual platoon. The stability and convergence properties of the proposed framework are established using Lyapunov-based analysis in conjunction with the aforementioned virtual platoon concept.

Authors:Joonho Lee, Yunho Kim, Seokjoon Kim, Quan Nguyen, Youngjin Heo
Title: Learning Fast, Tool aware Collision Avoidance for Collaborative Robots
Abstract:
Ensuring safe and efficient operation of collaborative robots in human environments is challenging, especially in dynamic settings where both obstacle motion and tasks change over time. Current robot controllers typically assume full visibility and fixed tools, which can lead to collisions or overly conservative behavior. In our work, we introduce a tool-aware collision avoidance system that adjusts in real time to different tool sizes and modes of tool-environment interaction. Using a learned perception model, our system filters out robot and tool components from the point cloud, reasons about occluded area, and predicts collision under partial observability. We then use a control policy trained via constrained reinforcement learning to produce smooth avoidance maneuvers in under 10 milliseconds. In simulated and real-world tests, our approach outperforms traditional approaches (APF, MPPI) in dynamic environments, while maintaining sub-millimeter accuracy. Moreover, our system operates with approximately 60% lower computational cost compared to a state-of-the-art GPU-based planner. Our approach provides modular, efficient, and effective collision avoidance for robots operating in dynamic environments. We integrate our method into a collaborative robot application and demonstrate its practical use for safe and responsive operation.

Authors:Masoumeh Ghanbarpour, Sriram Sankaranarayanan
Title: Characterization of Safety in Stochastic Difference Inclusions using Barrier Functions
Abstract:
We study stochastic systems characterized by difference inclusions. Such stochastic differential inclusions are defined by set-valued maps involving the current state and stochastic input. For such systems, we investigate the problem of proving bounds on the worst-case probability of violating safety properties. Our approach uses the well-known concept of barrier functions from the study of stochastic control systems. However, barrier functions are hard to prove in the presence of stochastic inputs and adversarial choices due to the set-valued nature of the dynamics. In this paper, we show that under some assumptions on the set-valued map including upper semi-continuity and convexity combined with a concave barrier function vastly simplifies the proof of barrier conditions, allowing us to effectively substitute each random input in terms of its expectation. We prove key results based on the theory of set-valued maps and provide some interesting numerical examples. The ideas proposed here will contribute to the growing interest in problems of robust control and verification of stochastic systems in the presence of uncertain distributions and unmodeled dynamics.

Authors:Chiu-Chang Cheng, Kapil Bhardwaj, Ya-Ning Chang, Sayani Majumdar, Chao-Hung Wang
Title: Task-Aware Tuning of Time Constants in Spiking Neural Networks for Multimodal Classification
Abstract:
Spiking Neural Networks (SNNs) are promising candidates for low-power edge computing in domains such as wearable sensing and time-series analysis. A key neuronal parameter, the leaky time constant (LTC), governs temporal integration of information in Leaky Integrateand-Fire (LIF) neurons, yet its impact on feedforward SNN performance across different data modalities remains underexplored. This study investigates the role of LTC in a temporally adaptive feedforward SNN applied to static image, dynamic image, and biosignal time-series classification. Presented experiments demonstrate that LTCs critically affect inference accuracy, synaptic weight distributions, and firing dynamics. For static and dynamic images, intermediate LTCs yield higher accuracy and compact, centered weight histograms, reflecting stable feature encoding. In time-series tasks, optimal LTCs enhance temporal feature retention and result in broader weight sparsity, allowing for tolerance of LTC variations. The provided results show that inference accuracy peaks at specific LTC ranges, with significant degradation beyond this optimal band due to over-integration or excessive forgetting. Firing rate analysis reveals a strong interplay between LTC, network depth, and energy efficiency, underscoring the importance of balanced spiking activity. These findings reveal that task-specific LTC tuning is essential for efficient spike coding and robust learning. The results provide practical guidelines for hardware-aware SNN optimization and highlight how neuronal time constants can be designed to match task dynamics. This work contributes toward scalable, ultra-lowpower SNN deployment for real-time classification tasks in neuromorphic computing.

Authors:Thilanka Thilakasiri, Matthias Becker
Title: Limited Preemption of the 3-Phase Task Model using Preemption Thresholds
Abstract:
Phased execution models are a well-known solution to tackle the unpredictability of today's complex COTS multi-core platforms. The semantics of these models dedicate phases for a task's execution and shared memory accesses. Memory phases are solely dedicated to load all necessary instructions and data to private local memory, and to write back the results of the computation. During execution phases, only the private local memory is accessed. While non-preemptive execution phases utilize the local memory well, schedulability is reduced due to blocking. On the other hand, fully preemptive execution phases allow for better schedulability, but require local memory to be large enough to hold all tasks involved in preemption simultaneously. Limited preemption is a promising approach that provides moderation between non-preemptive and fully preemptive scheduling. In this paper, we propose using preemption thresholds to limit the number of preemptions to minimize local memory usage while maintaining schedulability. We propose a worst-case response time and a worst-case memory requirement analysis for sporadic 3-phase tasks under partitioned fixed-priority scheduling with preemption thresholds. We further show how the state-of-the-art algorithm to assign preemption thresholds can be applied to the considered task model. Evaluations demonstrate that preemption thresholds can significantly reduce the memory usage (by $2.5\times$) compared to fully preemptive scheduling, while maintaining high schedulability ratios ($13\times$) compared to non-preemptive scheduling.

Authors:Leontine Aarnoudse, Mark Haring, Nathan van de Wouw, Alexey Pavlov
Title: Uncertainty-Based Perturb and Observe for Fast Optimization of Unknown, Time-Varying Processes
Abstract:
Model-free adaptive optimization methods are capable of optimizing unknown, time-varying processes even when other optimization methods are not. However, their practical application is often limited by perturbations that are used to gather information on the unknown cost and its gradient. The aim of this paper is to develop a perturb-and-observe (P&O) method that reduces the need for such perturbations while still achieving fast and accurate tracking of time-varying optima. To this end, a (time-varying) model of the cost is constructed in an online fashion, taking into account the uncertainty on the measured performance cost as well as the decreasing reliability of older measurements. Perturbations are only used when this is expected to lead to improved performance over a certain time horizon. Convergence conditions are provided under which the strategy converges to a neighborhood of the optimum. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that uncertainty-based P\&O can reduce the number of perturbations significantly while still tracking a time-varying optimum accurately.

Authors:Yiqing Wang, Jian Zhou, Chen Pang, Wenyang Man, Zixiang Xiong, Ke Meng, Zhanling Wang, Yongzhen Li
Title: Low-Cost Architecture and Efficient Pattern Synthesis for Polarimetric Phased Array Based on Polarization Coding Reconfigurable Elements
Abstract:
Polarimetric phased arrays (PPAs) enhance radar target detection and anti-jamming capabilities. However, the dual transmit/receive (T/R) channel requirement leads to high costs and system complexity. To address this, this paper introduces a polarization-coding reconfigurable phased array (PCRPA) and associated pattern synthesis techniques to reduce PPA costs while minimizing performance degradation. Each PCRPA element connects to a single T/R channel and incorporates two-level RF switches for real-time control of polarization states and waveforms. By adjusting element codes and excitation weights, the PCRPA can generate arbitrarily polarized and dual-polarized beams. Efficient beam pattern synthesis methods are also proposed, featuring novel optimization constraints derived from theoretical and analytical analysis of PCRPAs. Simulations demonstrate that the approach achieves low cross-polarization and sidelobe levels comparable to conventional architectures within the scan range, particularly for large arrays. However, the channel reduction inevitably incurs power and directivity loss. Experiments conducted on an $8\times 8$ X-band array antenna validate the effectiveness of the proposed system. The PCRPA and synthesis methods are well-suited for large-scale PPA systems, offering significant cost-effectiveness while maintaining good sidelobe suppression and polarization control performance.

Authors:Sonam Dorji, Yongkang Sun, Yuchen Zhang, Ghavameddin Nourbakhsh, Yateendra Mishra, Yan Xu
Title: Symbolic Equation Modeling of Composite Loads: A Kolmogorov-Arnold Network based Learning Approach
Abstract:
With increasing penetration of distributed energy resources installed behind the meter, there is a growing need for adequate modelling of composite loads to enable accurate power system simulation analysis. Existing measurement based load modeling methods either fit fixed-structure physical models, which limits adaptability to evolving load mixes, or employ flexible machine learning methods which are however black boxes and offer limited interpretability. This paper presents a new learning based load modelling method based on Kolmogorov Arnold Networks towards modelling flexibility and interpretability. By actively learning activation functions on edges, KANs automatically derive free form symbolic equations that capture nonlinear relationships among measured variables without prior assumptions about load structure. Case studies demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms other methods in both accuracy and generalization ability, while uniquely representing composite loads into transparent, interpretable mathematical equations.

Authors:Nadia Pourmohammad-Zia, Mark van Koningsveld
Title: Climate-Resilient Ports and Waterborne Transport Systems: Current Status and Future Prospects
Abstract:
The increasing challenges posed by climate change necessitate a comprehensive examination of the resilience of waterborne transport systems. This paper explores the nexus of climate resilience, and waterborne transport, addressing the challenges faced by ports and their connecting waterborne transport systems. It provides an in-depth analysis of the current status of climate-resilient infrastructure and operations while emphasizing the transformative potential of emerging technologies. Through a systematic review, the paper identifies critical gaps and opportunities. Research predominantly emphasizes port infrastructure over supply chain resilience, neglecting the interconnected vulnerabilities of maritime networks. There is limited focus on specific climate-induced disruptions, such as drought and compounded events, which complicate resilience planning. Methodologically, risk assessments and case studies dominate the field, while advanced technologies such as digital twins, artificial intelligence, and satellite monitoring remain underutilized. Geographic disparities in research output and a tendency toward short- to medium-term planning further constrain global and long-term resilience efforts. To address these gaps, the study advocates for systems-based approaches that integrate infrastructure, operations, and supply chains. It highlights collaborative frameworks and advanced tools, including digital twins, machine learning, and participatory modeling, as crucial for enabling predictive and adaptive risk management. This study stands as one of the first comprehensive reviews exclusively focused on climate resilience in ports and waterborne transport systems. It provides actionable insights for policymakers, researchers, and industry stakeholders, proposing a future research agenda to advance waterborne transport systems capable of withstanding multifaceted climate impacts.

Authors:Daoyuan Jin, Nick Gunner, Niko Carvajal Janke, Shivranjani Baruah, Kaitlin M. Gold, Yu Jiang
Title: Aleks: AI powered Multi Agent System for Autonomous Scientific Discovery via Data-Driven Approaches in Plant Science
Abstract:
Modern plant science increasingly relies on large, heterogeneous datasets, but challenges in experimental design, data preprocessing, and reproducibility hinder research throughput. Here we introduce Aleks, an AI-powered multi-agent system that integrates domain knowledge, data analysis, and machine learning within a structured framework to autonomously conduct data-driven scientific discovery. Once provided with a research question and dataset, Aleks iteratively formulated problems, explored alternative modeling strategies, and refined solutions across multiple cycles without human intervention. In a case study on grapevine red blotch disease, Aleks progressively identified biologically meaningful features and converged on interpretable models with robust performance. Ablation studies underscored the importance of domain knowledge and memory for coherent outcomes. This exploratory work highlights the promise of agentic AI as an autonomous collaborator for accelerating scientific discovery in plant sciences.

Authors:Semih Kara, Tamer Başar
Title: Aggregate Fictitious Play for Learning in Anonymous Polymatrix Games (Extended Version)
Abstract:
Fictitious play (FP) is a well-studied algorithm that enables agents to learn Nash equilibrium in games with certain reward structures. However, when agents have no prior knowledge of the reward functions, FP faces a major challenge: the joint action space grows exponentially with the number of agents, which slows down reward exploration. Anonymous games offer a structure that mitigates this issue. In these games, the rewards depend only on the actions taken; not on who is taking which action. Under such a structure, we introduce aggregate fictitious play (agg-FP), a variant of FP where each agent tracks the frequency of the number of other agents playing each action, rather than these agents' individual actions. We show that in anonymous polymatrix games, agg-FP converges to a Nash equilibrium under the same conditions as classical FP. In essence, by aggregating the agents' actions, we reduce the action space without losing the convergence guarantees. Using simulations, we provide empirical evidence on how this reduction accelerates convergence.

Authors:Mihitha Maithripala, Zongli Lin
Title: Privacy-Preserving Distributed Control for a Networked Battery Energy Storage System
Abstract:
The increasing deployment of distributed Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) in modern power grids necessitates effective coordination strategies to ensure state-of-charge (SoC) balancing and accurate power delivery. While distributed control frameworks offer scalability and resilience, they also raise significant privacy concerns due to the need for inter-agent information exchange. This paper presents a novel privacy-preserving distributed control algorithm for SoC balancing in a networked BESS. The proposed framework includes distributed power allocation law that is designed based on two privacy-preserving distributed estimators, one for the average unit state and the other for the average desired power. The average unit state estimator is designed via the state decomposition method without disclosing sensitive internal states. The proposed power allocation law based on these estimators ensures asymptotic SoC balancing and global power delivery while safeguarding agent privacy from external eavesdroppers. The effectiveness and privacy-preserving properties of the proposed control strategy are demonstrated through simulation results.

Authors:Matteo Baù, Luca Perbellini, Samuele Grillo
Title: A Principled Framework to Evaluate Quality of AC-OPF Datasets for Machine Learning: Benchmarking a Novel, Scalable Generation Method
Abstract:
Several methods have been proposed in the literature to improve the quality of AC optimal power flow (AC-OPF) datasets used in machine learning (ML) models. Yet, scalability to large power systems remains unaddressed and comparing generation approaches is still hindered by the absence of widely accepted metrics quantifying AC-OPF dataset quality. In this work, we tackle both these limitations. We provide a simple heuristic that samples load setpoints uniformly in total load active power, rather than maximizing volume coverage, and solves an AC-OPF formulation with load slack variables to improve convergence. For quality assessment, we formulate a multi-criteria framework based on three metrics, measuring variability in the marginal distributions of AC-OPF primal variables, diversity in constraint activation patterns among AC-OPF instances and activation frequency of variable bounds. By comparing four open-source methods based on these metrics, we show that our heuristic consistently outperforms uniform random sampling, whether independent or constrained to a convex polytope, scoring as best in terms of balance between dataset quality and scalability.

Authors:Tianze Liu, Md Abu Bakr Siddique, Hongyu An
Title: Mimicking associative learning of rats via a neuromorphic robot in open field maze using spatial cell models
Abstract:
Data-driven Artificial Intelligence (AI) approaches have exhibited remarkable prowess across various cognitive tasks using extensive training data. However, the reliance on large datasets and neural networks presents challenges such as highpower consumption and limited adaptability, particularly in SWaP-constrained applications like planetary exploration. To address these issues, we propose enhancing the autonomous capabilities of intelligent robots by emulating the associative learning observed in animals. Associative learning enables animals to adapt to their environment by memorizing concurrent events. By replicating this mechanism, neuromorphic robots can navigate dynamic environments autonomously, learning from interactions to optimize performance. This paper explores the emulation of associative learning in rodents using neuromorphic robots within open-field maze environments, leveraging insights from spatial cells such as place and grid cells. By integrating these models, we aim to enable online associative learning for spatial tasks in real-time scenarios, bridging the gap between biological spatial cognition and robotics for advancements in autonomous systems.

Authors:Pierre-Emmanuel Goffi, Raphaël Tremblay, Bentley Oakes
Title: Engineering a Digital Twin for the Monitoring and Control of Beer Fermentation Sampling
Abstract:
Successfully engineering interactive industrial DTs is a complex task, especially when implementing services beyond passive monitoring. We present here an experience report on engineering a safety-critical digital twin (DT) for beer fermentation monitoring, which provides continual sampling and reduces manual sampling time by 91%. We document our systematic methodology and practical solutions for implementing bidirectional DTs in industrial environments. This includes our three-phase engineering approach that transforms a passive monitoring system into an interactive Type 2 DT with real-time control capabilities for pressurized systems operating at seven bar. We contribute details of multi-layered safety protocols, hardware-software integration strategies across Arduino controllers and Unity visualization, and real-time synchronization solutions. We document specific engineering challenges and solutions spanning interdisciplinary integration, demonstrating how our use of the constellation reporting framework facilitates cross-domain collaboration. Key findings include the critical importance of safety-first design, simulation-driven development, and progressive implementation strategies. Our work thus provides actionable guidance for practitioners developing DTs requiring bidirectional control in safety-critical applications.

Authors:Kérian Fiter, Louis Malassigné-Onfroy, Bentley Oakes
Title: DTInsight: A Tool for Explicit, Interactive, and Continuous Digital Twin Reporting
Abstract:
With Digital Twin (DT) construction and evolution occurring over time, stakeholders require tools to understand the current characteristics and conceptual architecture of the system at any time. We introduce DTInsight, a systematic and automated tool and methodology for producing continuous reporting for DTs. DTInsight offers three key features: (a) an interactive conceptual architecture visualization of DTs; (b) generation of summaries of DT characteristics based on ontological data; and (c) integration of these outputs into a reporting page within a continuous integration and continuous deployment (CI/CD) pipeline. Given a modeled description of the DT aligning to our DT Description Framework (DTDF), DTInsight enables up-to-date and detailed reports for enhanced stakeholder understanding.

Authors:Rahmat K. Adesunkanmi, Alexander W. Brandt, Masoud Deylami, Gustavo A. Giraldo Echeverri, Hamidreza Karbasian, Adel Alaeddini
Title: Multi-Modal Drift Forecasting of Leeway Objects via Navier-Stokes-Guided CNN and Sequence-to-Sequence Attention-Based Models
Abstract:
Accurately predicting the drift (displacement) of leeway objects in maritime environments remains a critical challenge, particularly in time-sensitive scenarios such as search and rescue operations. In this study, we propose a multi-modal machine learning framework that integrates Sentence Transformer embeddings with attention-based sequence-to-sequence architectures to predict the drift of leeway objects in water. We begin by experimentally collecting environmental and physical data, including water current and wind velocities, object mass, and surface area, for five distinct leeway objects. Using simulated data from a Navier-Stokes-based model to train a convolutional neural network on geometrical image representations, we estimate drag and lift coefficients of the leeway objects. These coefficients are then used to derive the net forces responsible for driving the objects' motion. The resulting time series, comprising physical forces, environmental velocities, and object-specific features, combined with textual descriptions encoded via a language model, are inputs to attention-based sequence-to-sequence long-short-term memory and Transformer models, to predict future drift trajectories. We evaluate the framework across multiple time horizons ($1$, $3$, $5$, and $10$ seconds) and assess its generalization across different objects. We compare our approach against a fitted physics-based model and traditional machine learning methods, including recurrent neural networks and temporal convolutional neural networks. Our results show that these multi-modal models perform comparably to traditional models while also enabling longer-term forecasting in place of single-step prediction. Overall, our findings demonstrate the ability of a multi-modal modeling strategy to provide accurate and adaptable predictions of leeway object drift in dynamic maritime conditions.

Authors:Maurice Filo, Mustafa Khammash
Title: Realizing Reduced and Sparse Biochemical Reaction Networks from Dynamics
Abstract:
We propose a direct optimization framework for learning reduced and sparse chemical reaction networks (CRNs) from time-series trajectory data. In contrast to widely used indirect methods-such as those based on sparse identification of nonlinear dynamics (SINDy)-which infer reaction dynamics by fitting numerically estimated derivatives, our approach fits entire trajectories by solving a dynamically constrained optimization problem. This formulation enables the construction of reduced CRNs that are both low-dimensional and sparse, while preserving key dynamical behaviors of the original system. We develop an accelerated proximal gradient algorithm to efficiently solve the resulting non-convex optimization problem. Through illustrative examples, including a Drosophila circadian oscillator and a glycolytic oscillator, we demonstrate the ability of our method to recover accurate and interpretable reduced-order CRNs. Notably, the direct approach avoids the derivative estimation step and mitigates error accumulation issues inherent in indirect methods, making it a robust alternative for data-driven CRN realizations.

Authors:Diego Quevedo, Sarah Hudson, Donghoon Kim
Title: Modeling and Control Framework for Autonomous Space Manipulator Handover Operations
Abstract:
Autonomous space robotics is poised to play a vital role in future space missions, particularly for In-space Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing (ISAM). A key capability in such missions is the Robot-to-Robot (R2R) handover of mission-critical objects. This work presents a dynamic model of a dual-arm space manipulator system and compares various tracking control laws. The key contributions of this work are the development of a cooperative manipulator dynamic model and the comparative analysis of control laws to support autonomous R2R handovers in ISAM scenarios.

Authors:Aditri Paul, Archan Paul
Title: AQ-PCDSys: An Adaptive Quantized Planetary Crater Detection System for Autonomous Space Exploration
Abstract:
Autonomous planetary exploration missions are critically dependent on real-time, accurate environmental perception for navigation and hazard avoidance. However, deploying deep learning models on the resource-constrained computational hardware of planetary exploration platforms remains a significant challenge. This paper introduces the Adaptive Quantized Planetary Crater Detection System (AQ-PCDSys), a novel framework specifically engineered for real-time, onboard deployment in the computationally constrained environments of space exploration missions. AQ-PCDSys synergistically integrates a Quantized Neural Network (QNN) architecture, trained using Quantization-Aware Training (QAT), with an Adaptive Multi-Sensor Fusion (AMF) module. The QNN architecture significantly optimizes model size and inference latency suitable for real-time onboard deployment in space exploration missions, while preserving high accuracy. The AMF module intelligently fuses data from Optical Imagery (OI) and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) at the feature level, utilizing an Adaptive Weighting Mechanism (AWM) to dynamically prioritize the most relevant and reliable sensor modality based on planetary ambient conditions. This approach enhances detection robustness across diverse planetary landscapes. Paired with Multi-Scale Detection Heads specifically designed for robust and efficient detection of craters across a wide range of sizes, AQ-PCDSys provides a computationally efficient, reliable and accurate solution for planetary crater detection, a critical capability for enabling the next generation of autonomous planetary landing, navigation, and scientific exploration.

Authors:Izudin Dzafic, Rabih A. Jabr
Title: modelSolver: A Symbolic Model-Driven Solver for Power Network Simulation and Monitoring
Abstract:
The development of advanced software tools for power system analysis requires extensive programming expertise. Even when using open-source tools, programming skills are essential to modify built-in models. This can be particularly challenging for domain experts who lack coding proficiency. This paper introduces modelSolver, a software solution with a new framework centered around symbolic mathematical modeling. The proposed paradigm facilitates defining models through intuitive mathematical expressions, thus eliminating the need for traditional programming constructs such as arrays, loops, and sparse matrix computations. The modelSolver focuses on power flow and state estimation using an open-box approach, which allows users to specify custom models using either real or complex variables. Unlike existing tools that rely on hard-coded models, modelSolver enables the representation of a wide range of advanced functionalities, including power flow with voltage regulators and load tap changers, continuation power flow, and Gauss-Newton state estimation with equality constraints. Compatibility with MATPOWER is ensured via a converter that automates importing data files. The framework prioritizes model-driven development and empowers domain experts to focus on power system modeling without programming barriers. It aims to simplify power system computations, making them more accessible to students, scientists, and practitioners.

Authors:Parnian Alikhani, Nico Brinkel, Wouter Schram, Ioannis Lampropoulos, Wilfried van Sark
Title: A Comprehensive Incremental and Ensemble Learning Approach for Forecasting Individual Electric Vehicle Charging Parameters
Abstract:
Electric vehicles (EVs) have the potential to reduce grid stress through smart charging strategies while simultaneously meeting user demand. This requires accurate forecasts of key charging parameters, such as energy demand and connection time. Although previous studies have made progress in this area, they have overlooked the importance of dynamic training to capture recent patterns and have excluded EV sessions with limited information, missing potential opportunities to use these data. To address these limitations, this study proposes a dual-model approach incorporating incremental learning with six machine-learning models to predict EV charging session parameters. This approach includes dynamic training updates, optimal features, and hyperparameter set selection for each model to make it more robust and inclusive. Using a data set of 170,000 measurements from the real world electric vehicle session, week-long charging parameters were predicted over a one-year period. The findings reveal a significant difference between workplace and residential charging locations regarding connection duration predictability, with workplace sessions being more predictable. The proposed stacking ensemble learning method enhanced forecasting accuracy, improving R2 by 2.83% to 43.44% across all parameters and location settings. A comparison of the two models reveals that incorporating user IDs as a feature, along with the associated historical data, is the most significant factor influencing the accuracy of the forecast. Forecasts can be used effectively in smart charging and grid management applications by incorporating uncertainty quantification techniques, allowing charge point operators to optimize charging schedules and energy management.

Authors:Wenshan Zhu, Imad Jaimoukha
Title: First and Second Order Optimal $\mathcal{H}_2$ Model Reduction for Linear Continuous-Time Systems
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate the optimal $\mathcal{H}_2$ model reduction problem for single-input single-output (SISO) continuous-time linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. A semi-definite relaxation (SDR) approach is proposed to determine globally optimal interpolation points, providing an effective way to compute the reduced-order models via Krylov projection-based methods. In contrast to iterative approaches, we use the controllability Gramian and the moment-matching conditions to recast the model reduction problem as a convex optimization by introducing an upper bound $γ$ to minimize the $\mathcal{H}_2$ norm of the model reduction error system. We also prove that the relaxation is exact for first order reduced models and demonstrate, through examples, that it is exact for second order reduced models. We compare the performance of our proposed method with other iterative approaches and shift-selection methods on examples. Importantly, our approach also provides a means to verify the global optimality of known locally convergent methods.

Authors:Yu Wang, Xiao Chen, Hubert Schwarz, Véronique Chotteau, Elling W. Jacobsen
Title: A predictive modular approach to constraint satisfaction under uncertainty - with application to glycosylation in continuous monoclonal antibody biosimilar production
Abstract:
The paper proposes a modular-based approach to constraint handling in process optimization and control. This is partly motivated by the recent interest in learning-based methods, e.g., within bioproduction, for which constraint handling under uncertainty is a challenge. The proposed constraint handler, called predictive filter, is combined with an adaptive constraint margin and a constraint violation cost monitor to minimize the cost of violating soft constraints due to model uncertainty and disturbances. The module can be combined with any controller and is based on minimally modifying the controller output, in a least squares sense, such that constraints are satisfied within the considered horizon. The proposed method is computationally efficient and suitable for real-time applications. The effectiveness of the method is illustrated through a realistic simulation case study of glycosylation constraint satisfaction in continuous monoclonal antibody biosimilar production using Chinese hamster ovary cells, for which the metabolic network model consists of 23 extracellular metabolites and 126 reactions.

Authors:Tim Langer, Matthias Widra, Volkhard Beyer
Title: TinyML Towards Industry 4.0: Resource-Efficient Process Monitoring of a Milling Machine
Abstract:
In the context of industry 4.0, long-serving industrial machines can be retrofitted with process monitoring capabilities for future use in a smart factory. One possible approach is the deployment of wireless monitoring systems, which can benefit substantially from the TinyML paradigm. This work presents a complete TinyML flow from dataset generation, to machine learning model development, up to implementation and evaluation of a full preprocessing and classification pipeline on a microcontroller. After a short review on TinyML in industrial process monitoring, the creation of the novel MillingVibes dataset is described. The feasibility of a TinyML system for structure-integrated process quality monitoring could be shown by the development of an 8-bit-quantized convolutional neural network (CNN) model with 12.59kiB parameter storage. A test accuracy of 100.0% could be reached at 15.4ms inference time and 1.462mJ per quantized CNN inference on an ARM Cortex M4F microcontroller, serving as a reference for future TinyML process monitoring solutions.

Authors:Chris Guiver, Hartmut Logemann
Title: Well-posedness of Lur'e systems with feedthrough
Abstract:
For a large class of Lur'e systems with time-varying nonlinearities and feedthrough we consider several well-posedness issues, namely: existence, continuation, blow-up in finite-time, forward completeness and uniqueness of solutions. Lur'e systems with feedthrough are systems of forced, nonlinear ordinary differential equations coupled with a nonlinear algebraic equation determining the output of the system. The presence of feedthrough means that the algebraic equation is implicit in the output, and, in general, the output may not be expressible by an analytic formula in terms of the state and the input. Simple examples illustrate that the well-posedness properties of such systems are not necessarily guaranteed by assumptions sufficient for the corresponding well-posedness properties of Lur'e systems without feedthrough. We provide sufficient conditions for the well-posedness properties mentioned above, using global inversion theorems from real analysis and tools from non-smooth analysis and differential inclusions. The theory is illustrated with examples.

Authors:Zirui Li, Stephan Husung, Haoze Wang
Title: LLM-Assisted Semantic Alignment and Integration in Collaborative Model-Based Systems Engineering Using SysML v2
Abstract:
Cross-organizational collaboration in Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) faces many challenges in achieving semantic alignment across independently developed system models. SysML v2 introduces enhanced structural modularity and formal semantics, offering a stronger foundation for interoperable modeling. Meanwhile, GPT-based Large Language Models (LLMs) provide new capabilities for assisting model understanding and integration. This paper proposes a structured, prompt-driven approach for LLM-assisted semantic alignment of SysML v2 models. The core contribution lies in the iterative development of an alignment approach and interaction prompts, incorporating model extraction, semantic matching, and verification. The approach leverages SysML v2 constructs such as alias, import, and metadata extensions to support traceable, soft alignment integration. It is demonstrated with a GPT-based LLM through an example of a measurement system. Benefits and limitations are discussed.

Authors:Yuan Zhang, Yu Wang, Jun Shang, Jinhui Zhang
Title: Data-Driven Analysis and Predictive Control of Descriptor Systems with Application to Power and Water Networks
Abstract:
Despite growing interest in data-driven analysis and control of linear systems, descriptor systems--which are essential for modeling complex engineered systems with algebraic constraints like power and water networks--have received comparatively little attention. This paper develops a comprehensive data-driven framework for analyzing and controlling discrete-time descriptor systems without relying on explicit state-space models. We address fundamental challenges posed by non-causality through the construction of forward and backward data matrices, establishing data-based sufficient conditions for controllability and observability in terms of input-output data, where both R-controllability and C-controllability (R-observability and C-observability) have been considered. We then extend Willems' fundamental lemma to incompletely controllable systems. These methodological advances enable Data-Enabled Predictive Control (DeePC) to achieve output tracking in descriptor systems and to maintain performance under incomplete controllability conditions, as demonstrated in two case studies: i) Frequency regulation in an IEEE 9-bus power system with 3 generators, where DeePC maintained the frequency stability of the power system despite deliberate violations of R-controllability; and ii) Pressure head control in an EPANET water network with 3 tanks, 2 reservoirs, and 117 pipes, where output tracking was successfully enforced under algebraic constraints.

Authors:Apurv Shukla, P. R. Kumar
Title: Vector preference-based contextual bandits under distributional shifts
Abstract:
We consider contextual bandit learning under distribution shift when reward vectors are ordered according to a given preference cone. We propose an adaptive-discretization and optimistic elimination based policy that self-tunes to the underlying distribution shift. To measure the performance of this policy, we introduce the notion of preference-based regret which measures the performance of a policy in terms of distance between Pareto fronts. We study the performance of this policy by establishing upper bounds on its regret under various assumptions on the nature of distribution shift. Our regret bounds generalize known results for the existing case of no distribution shift and vectorial reward settings, and scale gracefully with problem parameters in presence of distribution shifts.

Authors:Celestin Nkundineza, James Ndodana Njaji, Samrawit Abubeker, Omar Gatera, Damien Hanyurwimfura
Title: Advancing rail safety: An onboard measurement system of rolling stock wheel flange wear based on dynamic machine learning algorithms
Abstract:
Rail and wheel interaction functionality is pivotal to the railway system safety, requiring accurate measurement systems for optimal safety monitoring operation. This paper introduces an innovative onboard measurement system for monitoring wheel flange wear depth, utilizing displacement and temperature sensors. Laboratory experiments are conducted to emulate wheel flange wear depth and surrounding temperature fluctuations in different periods of time. Employing collected data, the training of machine learning algorithms that are based on regression models, is dynamically automated. Further experimentation results, using standards procedures, validate the system's efficacy. To enhance accuracy, an infinite impulse response filter (IIR) that mitigates vehicle dynamics and sensor noise is designed. Filter parameters were computed based on specifications derived from a Fast Fourier Transform analysis of locomotive simulations and emulation experiments data. The results show that the dynamic machine learning algorithm effectively counter sensor nonlinear response to temperature effects, achieving an accuracy of 96.5 %, with a minimal runtime. The real-time noise reduction via IIR filter enhances the accuracy up to 98.2 %. Integrated with railway communication embedded systems such as Internet of Things devices, this advanced monitoring system offers unparalleled real-time insights into wheel flange wear and track irregular conditions that cause it, ensuring heightened safety and efficiency in railway systems operations.

Authors:Bikram Panthee, Amritanshu Pandey
Title: Solving Three-phase AC Infeasibility Analysis to Near-zero Optimality Gap
Abstract:
Recent works have shown the use of equivalent circuit-based infeasibility analysis to identify weak locations in distribution power grids. For three-phase power flow problems, when the power flow solver diverges, three-phase infeasibility analysis (TPIA) can converge and identify weak locations. The original TPIA problem is non-convex, and local minima and saddle points are possible. This can result in grid upgrades that are sub-optimal. To address this issue, we reformulate the original non-convex nonlinear program (NLP) as an exact non-convex bilinear program (BLP). Subsequently, we apply the spatial branch-and-bound (SBnB) algorithm to compute a solution with near-zero optimality gap. To improve SBnB performance, we introduce a bound tightening algorithm with variable filtering and decomposition, which tightens bounds on bilinear variables. We demonstrate that sequential bound tightening (SBT) significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of Gurobi's SBnB algorithm. Our results show that the proposed method can solve large-scale three-phase infeasibility analysis problems with >5k nodes, achieving an optimality gap of less than 10e-4. Furthermore, we demonstrate that by utilizing the developed presolve routine for bounding, we can reduce the runtime of SBnB by up to 97%.

Authors:Harshith Reddy, Pankaj Arora
Title: A 16.28 ppm/$^\circ$C Temperature Coefficient, 0.5V Low-Voltage CMOS Voltage Reference with Curvature Compensation
Abstract:
This paper presents a fully-integrated CMOS voltage reference designed in a 90 nm process node using low voltage threshold (LVT) transistor models. The voltage reference leverages subthreshold operation and near-weak inversion characteristics, backed by an all-region MOSFET model. The proposed design achieves a very low operating supply voltage of 0.5 V and a remarkably low temperature coefficient of 16.28 ppm/$^\circ$C through the mutual compensation of CTAT, PTAT, and curvature-correction currents, over a wide range from -40 $^\circ$C to 130 $^\circ$C. A stable reference voltage of 205 mV is generated with a line sensitivity of 1.65 %/V and a power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of -50 dB at 10 kHz. The circuit achieves all these parameters while maintaining a good power efficiency, consuming only 0.67 $μ$W.

Authors:Wouter J. A. van Weerelt, Nicola Bastianello
Title: Control-Based Online Distributed Optimization
Abstract:
In this paper we design a novel class of online distributed optimization algorithms leveraging control theoretical techniques. We start by focusing on quadratic costs, and assuming to know an internal model of their variation. In this set-up, we formulate the algorithm design as a robust control problem, showing that it yields a fully distributed algorithm. We also provide a distributed routine to acquire the internal model. We show that the algorithm converges exactly to the sequence of optimal solutions. We empirically evaluate the performance of the algorithm for different choices of parameters. Additionally, we evaluate the performance of the algorithm for quadratic problems with inexact internal model and non-quadratic problems, and show that it outperforms alternative algorithms in both scenarios.

Authors:H. I. Nurdin, C. A. Nijhuis
Title: A Solvable Molecular Switch Model for Stable Temporal Information Processing
Abstract:
This paper studies an input-driven one-state differential equation model initially developed for an experimentally demonstrated dynamic molecular switch that switches like synapses in the brain do. The linear-in-the-state and nonlinear-in-the-input model is exactly solvable, and it is shown that it also possesses mathematical properties of convergence and fading memory that enable stable processing of time-varying inputs by nonlinear dynamical systems. Thus, the model exhibits the co-existence of biologically-inspired behavior and desirable mathematical properties for stable learning on sequential data. The results give theoretical support for the use of the dynamic molecular switches as computational units in deep cascaded/layered feedforward and recurrent architectures as well as other more general structures for neuromorphic computing. They could also inspire more general exactly solvable models that can be fitted to emulate arbitrary physical devices which can mimic brain-inspired behaviour and perform stable computation on input signals.

Authors:Nan-Hong Kuo, Hojjat Baghban
Title: Holo-Artisan: A Personalized Multi-User Holographic Experience for Virtual Museums on the Edge Intelligence
Abstract:
We present Holo-Artisan, a novel system architecture enabling immersive multi-user experiences in virtual museums through true holographic displays and personalized edge intelligence. In our design, local edge computing nodes process real-time user data -- including pose, facial expression, and voice -- for multiple visitors concurrently. Generative AI models then drive digital artworks (e.g., a volumetric Mona Lisa) to respond uniquely to each viewer. For instance, the Mona Lisa can return a smile to one visitor while engaging in a spoken Q\&A with another, all in real time. A cloud-assisted collaboration platform composes these interactions in a shared scene using a universal scene description, and employs ray tracing to render high-fidelity, personalized views with a direct pipeline to glasses-free holographic displays. To preserve user privacy and continuously improve personalization, we integrate federated learning (FL) -- edge devices locally fine-tune AI models and share only model updates for aggregation. This edge-centric approach minimizes latency and bandwidth usage, ensuring a synchronized shared experience with individual customization. Through Holo-Artisan, static museum exhibits are transformed into dynamic, living artworks that engage each visitor in a personal dialogue, heralding a new paradigm of cultural heritage interaction.

Authors:Jingwei Dong, Mahdieh S. Sadabadi, Per Mattsson, André Teixeira
Title: Distributed Multiple Fault Detection and Estimation in DC Microgrids with Unknown Power Loads
Abstract:
This paper proposes a distributed diagnosis scheme to detect and estimate actuator and power line faults in DC microgrids subject to unknown power loads and stochastic noise. To address actuator faults, we design a fault estimation filter whose parameters are determined through a tractable optimization problem to achieve fault estimation, decoupling from power line faults, and robustness against noise. In contrast, the estimation of power line faults poses greater challenges due to the inherent coupling between fault currents and unknown power loads, which becomes ill-posed when the underlying system is insufficiently excited. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to address this critical yet underexplored issue. Our solution introduces a novel differentiate-before-estimate strategy. A set of diagnostic rules based on the temporal characteristics of a constructed residual is developed to distinguish load changes from line faults. Once a power line fault is detected, a regularized least-squares method is activated to estimate the fault currents, for which we further derive an upper bound on the estimation error. Finally, comprehensive simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

Authors:Jaffar Ali Lone, Nilsu Atlan, Simone Fasolato, Davide M Raimondo, Ross Drummond
Title: Reformulating Parallel-Connected Lithium-Ion Battery Pack Dynamics with Interconnection Resistances as Ordinary Differential Equations
Abstract:
This work presents analytical solutions for the current distribution in lithium-ion battery packs composed of cells connected in parallel, explicitly accounting for the presence of interconnection resistances. These solutions enable the reformulation of the differential-algebraic equations describing the pack dynamics into a set of ordinary differential equations, thereby simplifying simulation and analysis. Conditions under which uniform current sharing across all cells occurs are also derived. The proposed formulation is validated against experimental data and confirms its ability to capture the key behaviours induced by interconnection resistances. These results can support the improved design and control of parallel-connected battery packs.

Authors:Yusef Modami, Hamzeh Beiranvand, Mohammad Taghi Dabiri
Title: Design and Optimization of a Hybrid VLC/THz Infrastructure-to-Vehicle Communication System for Intelligent Transportation
Abstract:
This paper proposes a hybrid infrastructure-to-vehicle (I2V) communication framework to support future 6G-enabled intelligent transportation systems (ITS) in smart cities. Leveraging existing LED streetlighting infrastructure, the system simultaneously delivers energy-efficient illumination and high-speed wireless connectivity. The proposed scheme integrates visible light communication (VLC) with a complementary ter-ahertz (THz) antenna array to overcome VLC limitations under high ambient light and adverse weather conditions. Key con-tributions include the design of a VLC/THz access network, seamless integration with lighting infrastructure, a proposed switching-combination (PSC) mechanism, and a physical layout optimization strategy. Using a grid search method, thousands of configurations were evaluated to maximize lighting coverage, re-ceived power, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR), and minimize outage probability. Results show that optimized lighting coverage improves from 35% to 97%, while hybrid communication coverage increases from 49%to 99.9% at the same power level. Under extreme environmental conditions, the hybrid system maintains up to 99% coverage, compared to 69% with VLC alone. These results demonstrate the scalability, cost-efficiency, and practicality of the proposed system for next-generation ITS deployment.

Authors:Araf Rahman, M. Sabbir Salek, Mashrur Chowdhury, Wayne A. Sarasua
Title: A Digital Twin-Based Simulation Framework for Safe Curve Speed Estimation Using Unity
Abstract:
Horizontal curves are often associated with roadway crashes due to speed misjudgment and loss of control. With the growing adoption of autonomous and connected vehicles, the accurate estimation of safe speed at curves is becoming increasingly important. The widely used AASHTO design method for safe curve speed estimation relies on an analytical equation based on a simplified point mass model, which often uses conservative parameters to account for vehicular and environmental variations. This paper presents a digital twin-based framework for estimating safe speed at curves using a physics-driven virtual environment developed in the Unity engine. In this framework, a real-world horizontal road curve is selected, and vehicle speed data are collected using a radar gun under various weather conditions. A 3D model of the road curve is constructed in a Unity environment using roadway geometric and elevation data. A parameterized vehicle model is integrated, allowing for variations in mass, acceleration, and center of gravity to reflect different vehicle types and loading scenarios. This simulation identifies the maximum safe speed at which a vehicle can traverse the given curve, providing a more vehicle and environment-specific estimate of the safe operating speed. The study validated that the safe curve speed estimates generated by the simulation were consistent with the real-world speed values observed at a curve. This study demonstrates how a physics-based digital twin can estimate a safer and more adaptive operating speed for vehicles traversing horizontal curves.

Authors:Georg Schildbach, Jasper Pflughaupt
Title: AutoMPC: A Code Generator for MPC-based Automated Driving
Abstract:
Model Predictive Control (MPC) is a powerful technique to control nonlinear, multi-input multi-output systems subject to input and state constraints. It is now a standard tool for trajectory tracking control of automated vehicles. As such it has been used in many research and development projects. However, MPC faces several challenges to be integrated into industrial production vehicles. The most important ones are its high computational demands and the complexity of implementation. The software packages AutoMPC aims to address both of these challenges. It builds on a robustified version of an active set algorithm for Nonlinear MPC. The algorithm is embedded into a framework for vehicle trajectory tracking, which makes it easy to used, yet highly customizable. Automatic code generation transforms the selections into a standalone, computationally efficient C-code file with static memory allocation. As such it can be readily deployed on a wide range of embedded platforms, e.g., based on Matlab/Simulink or Robot Operating System (ROS). Compared to a previous version of the code, the vehicle model and the numerical integration method can be manually specified, besides basic algorithm parameters. All of this information and all specifications are directly baked into the generated C-code. The algorithm is suitable driving scenarios at low or high speeds, even drifting, and supports direction changes. Multiple simulation scenarios show the versatility and effectiveness of the AutoMPC code, with the guarantee of a feasible solution, a high degree of robustness, and computational efficiency.

Authors:Chao Huang, Alessandro Astolfi
Title: Power-Series Approach to Moment-Matching-Based Model Reduction of MIMO Polynomial Nonlinear Systems
Abstract:
The model reduction problem for high-order multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) polynomial nonlinear systems based on moment matching is addressed. The technique of power-series decomposition is exploited: this decomposes the solution of the nonlinear PDE characterizing the center manifold into the solutions of a series of recursively defined Sylvester equations. This approach allows yielding nonlinear reduced-order models in very much the same way as in the linear case (e.g. analytically). Algorithms are proposed for obtaining the order and the parameters of the reduced-order models with precision of degree $κ$. The approach also provides new insights into the nonlinear moment matching problem: first, a lower bound for the order of the reduced-order model is obtained, which, in the MIMO case, can be strictly less than the number of matched moments; second, it is revealed that the lower bound is affected by the ratio of the number of the input and output channels; third, it is shown that under mild conditions, a nonlinear reduced-order model can always be constructed with either a linear state equation or a linear output equation.

Authors:Dmitrii M. Ostrovskii, Pavel S. Shcherbakov
Title: Amplitude maximization in stable systems, Schur positivity, and some conjectures on polynomial interpolation
Abstract:
For $r > 0$ and integers $t \ge n > 0$, we consider the following problem: maximize the amplitude $|x_t|$ at time $t$, over all complex solutions $x = (x_0, x_1, \dots)$ of arbitrary homogeneous linear difference equations of order $n$ with the characteristic roots in the disc $\{z \in \mathbb{C}: |z| \le r\}$, and with initial values $x_0, \dots, x_{n-1}$ in the unit disc. We find that for any triple $t,n,r$, the maximum is attained with coinciding roots on the boundary circle; in particular, this implies that the peak amplitude $\sup_{t \ge n} |x_t|$ can be maximized explicitly, by studying a unique equation with the characteristic polynomial $(z-r)^n$. Moreover, the optimality of the cophase root configuration holds for origin-centered polydiscs. To prove this result, we first reduce the problem to a certain interpolation problem over monomials, then solve the latter by leveraging the theory of symmetric functions and identifying the associated Schur positivity structure. We also discuss the implications for more general Reinhardt domains. Finally, we study the problem of estimating the derivatives of a real entire function from its values at $n/2$ pairs of complex conjugate points in the unit disc. We propose conjectures on the extremality of the monomial $z^n$, and restate them in terms of Schur polynomials.

Authors:Yifei Wu, Jing Yu, Tongxin Li
Title: System-Level Performance and Communication Tradeoff in Networked Control with Predictions
Abstract:
Distributed control of large-scale systems is challenging due to the need for scalable and localized communication and computation. In this work, we introduce a Predictive System-Level Synthesis PredSLS framework that designs controllers by jointly integrating communication constraints and local disturbance predictions into an affine feedback structure. Rather than focusing on the worst-case uncertainty, PredSLS leverages both current state feedback and future system disturbance predictions to achieve distributed control of networked systems. In particular, PredSLS enables a unified system synthesis of the optimal $κ$-localized controller, therefore outperforms approaches with post hoc communication truncation, as was commonly seen in the literature. The PredSLS framework can be naturally decomposed into spatial and temporal components for efficient and parallelizable computation across the network, yielding a regret upper bound that explicitly depends on the prediction error and communication range. Our regret analysis not only reveals a non-monotonic trade-off between control performance and communication range when prediction errors are present, but also guides the identification of an optimal size for local communication neighborhoods, thereby enabling the co-design of controller and its underlying communication topology.

Authors:Xu Yang, Jun Ni, Hengyang Feng, Feiyu Wang, Tiezhen Wang
Title: Modeling and Control of AWOISV: A Filtered Tube-Based MPC Approach for Simultaneous Tracking of Lateral Position and Heading Angle
Abstract:
An all-wheel omni-directional independent steering vehicle (AWOISV) is a specialized all-wheel independent steering vehicle with each wheel capable of steering up to 90°, enabling unique maneuvers like yaw and diagonal movement. This paper introduces a theoretical steering radius angle and sideslip angle (\( θ_R \)-\(β_R \)) representation, based on the position of the instantaneous center of rotation relative to the wheel rotation center, defining the motion modes and switching criteria for AWOISVs. A generalized \( v\)-\(β\)-\(r \) dynamic model is developed with forward velocity \(v\), sideslip angle \(β\), and yaw rate \(r\) as states, and \(θ_R\) and \(β_R\) as control inputs. This model decouples longitudinal and lateral motions into forward and rotational motions, allowing seamless transitions across all motion modes under specific conditions. A filtered tube-based linear time-varying MPC (FT-LTVMPC) strategy is proposed, achieving simultaneous tracking of lateral position and arbitrary heading angles, with robustness to model inaccuracies and parameter uncertainties. Co-simulation and hardware-in-loop (HIL) experiments confirm that FT-LTVMPC enables high-precision control of both position and heading while ensuring excellent real-time performance.

Authors:Kaicheng Niu, Yorai Wardi, Chaouki T. Abdallah
Title: Stability Analysis of the Newton-Raphson Controller for a Class of Differentially Flat Systems
Abstract:
The Newton-Raphson Controller, established on the output prediction and the Newton-Raphson algorithm, is shown to be effective in a variety of control applications. Although the stability condition of the controller for linear systems has already been established, such condition for nonlinear systems remains unexplored. In this paper, we study the stability of the Newton-Raphson controller for a class of differentially flat nonlinear systems in the context of output regulation and tracking control. For output regulation, we prove that the controlled system is stable within a neighborhood of the origin if the corresponding flat system and output predictor satisfy a verifiable stability criterion. A semi-quantitative analysis is conducted to determine the measure of the domain of attraction. For tracking control, we prove that the controller is capable of driving the outputs to the external reference signals using a specific selection of controller parameters. Simulation results show that the controller achieves regulation and tracking respectively on the inverted pendulum and the kinematic bicycle, suggesting a potential in future control applications.

Authors:Seyed Ehsan Ahmadi, Elnaz Kabir, Mohammad Fattahi, Mousa Marzband, Dongjun Li
Title: Techno-Economic Planning of Spatially-Resolved Battery Storage Systems in Renewable-Dominant Grids Under Weather Variability
Abstract:
The ongoing energy transition is significantly increasing the share of renewable energy sources (RES) in power systems; however, their intermittency and variability pose substantial challenges, including load shedding and system congestion. This study examines the role of the battery storage system (BSS) in mitigating these challenges by balancing power supply and demand. We optimize the location, size, and type of batteries using a two-stage stochastic program, with the second stage involving hourly operational decisions over an entire year. Unlike previous research, we incorporate the comprehensive technical and economic characteristics of battery technologies. The New York State (NYS) power system, currently undergoing a significant shift towards increased RES generation, serves as our case study. Using available load and weather data from 1980-2019, we account for the uncertainty of both load and RES generation through a sample average approximation approach. Our findings indicate that BSS can reduce renewable curtailment by 34% and load shedding by 21%, contributing to a more resilient power system in achieving NYS 2030 energy targets. Furthermore, the cost of employing BSS for the reduction of load shedding and RES curtailment does not increase linearly with additional capacity, revealing a complex relationship between costs and renewable penetration. This study provides valuable insights for the strategic BSS deployment to achieve a cost-effective and reliable power system in the energy transition as well as the feasibility of the NYS 2030 energy targets.

Authors:Lida Shahbandari, Hossein Mohseni
Title: Advanced DOA Regulation with a Whale-Optimized Fractional Order Fuzzy PID Framework
Abstract:
This study introduces a Fractional Order Fuzzy PID (FOFPID) controller that uses the Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) to manage the Bispectral Index (BIS), keeping it within the ideal range of forty to sixty. The FOFPID controller combines fuzzy logic for adapting to changes and fractional order dynamics for fine tuning. This allows it to adjust its control gains to handle a person's unique physiology. The WOA helps fine tune the controller's parameters, including the fractional orders and the fuzzy membership functions, which boosts its performance. Tested on models of eight different patient profiles, the FOFPID controller performed better than a standard Fractional Order PID (FOPID) controller. It achieved faster settling times, at two and a half minutes versus three point two minutes, and had a lower steady state error, at zero point five versus one point two. These outcomes show the FOFPID's excellent strength and accuracy. It offers a scalable, artificial intelligence driven solution for automated anesthesia delivery that could enhance clinical practice and improve patient results.

Authors:Aditya Varanwal, Parin Shah, George Carrion, Ashley Ortenburg, Diego Ramirez-Gomez, Chris Vermillion, Andre P. Mazzoleni
Title: Sspherical sailing omnidirectional rover (SSailOR): wind tunnel experimental setup and results
Abstract:
This paper presents the design, instrumentation, and experimental procedures used to test the Spherical Sailing Omnidirectional Rover (SSailOR) in a controlled wind tunnel environment. The SSailOR is a wind-powered autonomous rover. This concept is motivated by the growing need for persistent and sustainable robotic systems in applications such as planetary exploration, Arctic observation, and military surveillance. SSailOR uses wind propulsion via onboard sails to enable long-duration mobility with minimal energy consumption. The spherical design simplifies mechanical complexity while enabling omnidirectional movement. Experimental tests were conducted to validate dynamic models and assess the aerodynamic performance of the rover under various configurations and environmental conditions. As a result, this design requires a co-design approach. Details of the mechanical structure, sensor integration, electronics, data acquisition system, and test parameters are presented in this paper. In addition, key observations are made that are relevant to the design optimization for further development of the rover.

Authors:Adhinarayan Naembin Ashok, Adarsh Ganesan
Title: Design and Analysis of Curved Electrode Configurations for Enhanced Sensitivity in 1-Axis MEMS Accelerometers
Abstract:
This paper presents a comprehensive analytical and simulation-based study of curved electrode geometries for enhancing the sensitivity of MEMS capacitive accelerometers. Expressions for the capacitance between a planar movable electrode and six distinct fixed electrode profiles (biconvex, biconcave, concavo-convex, convexo-concave, plano-convex, and plano-concave) are derived, enabling direct calculation of differential gain and sensitivity as functions of electrode curvature and gap displacement. These analytical models are then rigorously validated using finite element simulations performed using COMSOL Multiphysics under identical bias and boundary conditions. The simulation results demonstrate agreement with the analytical results with a deviation of less than 7% in all configurations. The results also reveal that biconvex curved electrodes yield the greatest sensitivity improvement over the planar electrodes, with sensitivity monotonically increasing with arc length, while concave and plano-concave designs exhibit reduced performance. The concavo-convex and convexo-concave configurations furthermore introduce polarity inversion in the output voltage, offering additional design flexibility. Importantly, these sensitivity enhancements are achieved without any change in the overall volumetric dimensions of the device or the proofmass dimensions of the module for achieving higher-resolution inertial sensing.

Authors:Tyler Schroder, Sohee Kim Park
Title: Securing Sideways: Thwarting Lateral Movement by Implementing Active Directory Tiering
Abstract:
The advancement of computing equipment and the advances in services over the Internet has allowed corporations, higher education, and many other organizations to pursue the shared computing network environment. A requirement for shared computing environments is a centralized identity system to authenticate and authorize user access. An organization's digital identity plane is a prime target for cyber threat actors. When compromised, identities can be exploited to steal credentials, create unauthorized accounts, and manipulate permissions-enabling attackers to gain control of the network and undermine its confidentiality, availability, and integrity. Cybercrime losses reached a record of 16.6 B in the United States in 2024. For organizations using Microsoft software, Active Directory is the on-premises identity system of choice. In this article, we examine the challenge of security compromises in Active Directory (AD) environments and present effective strategies to prevent credential theft and limit lateral movement by threat actors. Our proposed approaches aim to confine the movement of compromised credentials, preventing significant privilege escalation and theft. We argue that through our illustration of real-world scenarios, tiering can halt lateral movement and advanced cyber-attacks, thus reducing ransom escalation. Our work bridges a gap in existing literature by combining technical guidelines with theoretical arguments in support of tiering, positioning it as a vital component of modern cybersecurity strategy even though it cannot function in isolation. As the hardware advances and the cloud sourced services along with AI is advancing with unprecedented speed, we think it is important for security experts and the business to work together and start designing and developing software and frameworks to classify devices automatically and accurately within the tiered structure.

Authors:Xinyun Zou, Jorge Gamez, Meghna Menon, Phillip Ring, Chadwick Boulay, Likhith Chitneni, Jackson Brennecke, Shana R. Melby, Gracy Kureel, Kelsie Pejsa, Emily R. Rosario, Ausaf A. Bari, Aniruddh Ravindran, Tyson Aflalo, Spencer S. Kellis, Dimitar Filev, Florian Solzbacher, Richard A. Andersen
Title: Control of a commercial vehicle by a tetraplegic human using a bimanual brain-computer interface
Abstract:
Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) read neural signals directly from the brain to infer motor planning and execution. However, the implementation of this technology has been largely limited to laboratory settings, with few real-world applications. We developed a bimanual BCI system to drive a vehicle in both simulated and real-world environments. We demonstrate that an individual with tetraplegia, implanted with intracortical BCI electrodes in the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and the hand knob region of the motor cortex (MC), reacts at least as fast and precisely as motor intact participants, and drives a simulated vehicle as proficiently as the same control group. This BCI participant, living in California, could also remotely drive a Ford Mustang Mach-E vehicle in Michigan. Our first teledriving task relied on cursor control for speed and steering in a closed urban test facility. However, the final BCI system added click control for full-stop braking and thus enabled bimanual cursor-and-click control for both simulated driving through a virtual town with traffic and teledriving through an obstacle course without traffic in the real world. We also demonstrate the safety and feasibility of BCI-controlled driving. This first-of-its-kind implantable BCI application not only highlights the versatility and innovative potentials of BCIs but also illuminates the promising future for the development of life-changing solutions to restore independence to those who suffer catastrophic neurological injury.

Authors:Victoria S. Marks, Joram vanRheede, Dean Karantonis, Rosana Esteller, David Dinsmoor, John Fleming, Barrett Larson, Lane Desborough, Peter Single, Robert Raike, Pierre-Francois DHaese, Dario J. Englot, Scott Lempka, Richard North, Lawrence Poree, Marom Bikson, Tim J. Denison
Title: Principles of Physiological Closed-Loop Controllers in Neuromodulation
Abstract:
As neurostimulation devices increasingly incorporate closed-loop functionality, the greater design complexity brings additional requirements for risk management and special considerations to optimise benefit. This manuscript creates a common framework upon which all current and planned neuromodulation-based physiological closed-loop controllers (PCLCs) can be mapped including integration of the Technical Considerations of Medical Devices with Physiologic Closed-Loop Control Technology guidance published in 2023 by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), a classification of feedback (reactive) and feedforward (predictive) biomarkers, and control systems theory. We explain risk management in the context of this framework and illustrate its applications for three exemplary technologies. This manuscript serves as guidance to the emerging field of PCLCs in neuromodulation, mitigating risk through standardized nomenclature and a systematic outline for rigorous device development, testing, and implementation.

Authors:Yusen Wei, Lan Tang
Title: System Synchronization Based on Complex Frequency
Abstract:
In response to the inertia decline caused by high penetration of renewable generation, traditional synchronization criteria that rely solely on frequency consistency are increasingly inadequate for characterizing the coupled behavior of frequency and voltage dynamics during power-system transients. This paper focuses on the theory of complex-frequency synchronization and develops a theory-simulation analysis framework that offers a new perspective for steady-state and transient analysis of low-inertia power systems. First, the fundamental concepts and theoretical foundations of complex-frequency synchronization are presented in detail. Second, local and global dynamic synchronization criteria are derived and the concept of generalized inertia is introduced, which unifies the conventional inertial support to frequency with the inertia-like support of voltage, thereby providing an accurate measure of region-level coupled support strength for voltage and frequency. Finally, numerical case studies on the IEEE 9-bus system validate the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical methods and criteria, and demonstrate a visualization workflow for key indicators such as disturbance impact zones and generalized-inertia regions.

Authors:Davide Guidobene, Lorenzo Benedetti, Diego Arapovic
Title: Variance Reduced Policy Gradient Method for Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning (MORL) is a generalization of traditional Reinforcement Learning (RL) that aims to optimize multiple, often conflicting objectives simultaneously rather than focusing on a single reward. This approach is crucial in complex decision-making scenarios where agents must balance trade-offs between various goals, such as maximizing performance while minimizing costs. We consider the problem of MORL where the objectives are combined using a non-linear scalarization function. Just like in standard RL, policy gradient methods (PGMs) are amongst the most effective for handling large and continuous state-action spaces in MORL. However, existing PGMs for MORL suffer from high sample inefficiency, requiring large amounts of data to be effective. Previous attempts to solve this problem rely on overly strict assumptions, losing PGMs' benefits in scalability to large state-action spaces. In this work, we address the issue of sample efficiency by implementing variance-reduction techniques to reduce the sample complexity of policy gradients while maintaining general assumptions.

Authors:Andrea Urgolo, Monika Stipsitz, Helios Sanchis-Alepuz
Title: Virtual Sensing for Solder Layer Degradation and Temperature Monitoring in IGBT Modules
Abstract:
Monitoring the degradation state of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) modules is essential for ensuring the reliability and longevity of power electronic systems, especially in safety-critical and high-performance applications. However, direct measurement of key degradation indicators - such as junction temperature, solder fatigue or delamination - remains challenging due to the physical inaccessibility of internal components and the harsh environment. In this context, machine learning-based virtual sensing offers a promising alternative by bridging the gap from feasible sensor placement to the relevant but inaccessible locations. This paper explores the feasibility of estimating the degradation state of solder layers, and the corresponding full temperature maps based on a limited number of physical sensors. Based on synthetic data of a specific degradation mode, we obtain a high accuracy in the estimation of the degraded solder area (1.17% mean absolute error), and are able to reproduce the surface temperature of the IGBT with a maximum relative error of 4.56% (corresponding to an average relative error of 0.37%).

Authors:Varsha Sen, Biswash Basnet
Title: Neural Network-Based Detection and Multi-Class Classification of FDI Attacks in Smart Grid Home Energy Systems
Abstract:
False Data Injection Attacks (FDIAs) pose a significant threat to smart grid infrastructures, particularly Home Area Networks (HANs), where real-time monitoring and control are highly adopted. Owing to the comparatively less stringent security controls and widespread availability of HANs, attackers view them as an attractive entry point to manipulate aggregated demand patterns, which can ultimately propagate and disrupt broader grid operations. These attacks undermine the integrity of smart meter data, enabling malicious actors to manipulate consumption values without activating conventional alarms, thereby creating serious vulnerabilities across both residential and utility-scale infrastructures. This paper presents a machine learning-based framework for both the detection and classification of FDIAs using residential energy data. A real-time detection is provided by the lightweight Artificial Neural Network (ANN), which works by using the most vital features of energy consumption, cost, and time context. For the classification of different attack types, a Bidirectional LSTM is trained to recognize normal, trapezoidal, and sigmoid attack shapes through learning sequential dependencies in the data. A synthetic time-series dataset was generated to emulate realistic household behaviour. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed models are effective in identifying and classifying FDIAs, offering a scalable solution for enhancing grid resilience at the edge. This work contributes toward building intelligent, data-driven defence mechanisms that strengthen smart grid cybersecurity from residential endpoints.

Authors:Alexander Roocroft, Marco Rinaldi
Title: Metering traffic flows for perimeter control through auction-based signalling using connected vehicles
Abstract:
Urban traffic congestion remains a critical challenge in modern cities, with traffic signal control systems often struggling to manage congestion during peak travel times. Perimeter control of a Protected Network (PN) has emerged as a potential solution to reducing gridlock in urban networks. This paper proposes a novel auction-based mechanism for green time allocation at signalized intersections, for effective perimeter control application. Utilising a Sealed Bid, Second Price auction framework, our approach combines real-time traffic monitoring with market-inspired mechanisms to regulate vehicle inflows into PN areas. Unlike existing methods that focus primarily on gated links, our system allocates budgets to individual traffic movements, providing greater flexibility in managing multi-directional flows. We evaluate the proposed mechanism using a test case intersection with a single controlled inflow, comparing it against a volume-based fixed-time approach. The results demonstrate that our auction-based method controls flows into the PN with improved accuracy, outperforming the volume-based approach in terms of inflow regulation, queue management and delays. The framework can be applied in real time to any generic intersection, offering a scalable solution for urban traffic management. This work bridges the gap between perimeter control and market-based intersection auctions, providing a pathway for further research on adaptive traffic management systems.

Authors:Jinghong Tan, Zhian Liu, Kun Guo, Mingxiong Zhao
Title: Long-Term Client Selection for Federated Learning with Non-IID Data: A Truthful Auction Approach
Abstract:
Federated learning (FL) provides a decentralized framework that enables universal model training through collaborative efforts on mobile nodes, such as smart vehicles in the Internet of Vehicles (IoV). Each smart vehicle acts as a mobile client, contributing to the process without uploading local data. This method leverages non-independent and identically distributed (non-IID) training data from different vehicles, influenced by various driving patterns and environmental conditions, which can significantly impact model convergence and accuracy. Although client selection can be a feasible solution for non-IID issues, it faces challenges related to selection metrics. Traditional metrics evaluate client data quality independently per round and require client selection after all clients complete local training, leading to resource wastage from unused training results. In the IoV context, where vehicles have limited connectivity and computational resources, information asymmetry in client selection risks clients submitting false information, potentially making the selection ineffective. To tackle these challenges, we propose a novel Long-term Client-Selection Federated Learning based on Truthful Auction (LCSFLA). This scheme maximizes social welfare with consideration of long-term data quality using a new assessment mechanism and energy costs, and the advised auction mechanism with a deposit requirement incentivizes client participation and ensures information truthfulness. We theoretically prove the incentive compatibility and individual rationality of the advised incentive mechanism. Experimental results on various datasets, including those from IoV scenarios, demonstrate its effectiveness in mitigating performance degradation caused by non-IID data.

Authors:Dhruv Singh Kushwaha, Zoleikha Abdollahi Biron
Title: A Review On Safe Reinforcement Learning Using Lyapunov and Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Reinforcement learning (RL) has proven to be particularly effective in solving complex decision-making problems for a wide range of applications. From a control theory perspective, RL can be considered as an adaptive optimal control scheme. Lyapunov and barrier functions are the most commonly used certificates to guarantee system stability for a proposed/derived controller and constraint satisfaction guarantees, respectively, in control theoretic approaches. However, compared to theoretical guarantees available in control theoretic methods, RL lacks closed-loop stability of a computed policy and constraint satisfaction guarantees. Safe reinforcement learning refers to a class of constrained problems where the constraint violations lead to partial or complete system failure. The goal of this review is to provide an overview of safe RL techniques using Lyapunov and barrier functions to guarantee this notion of safety discussed (stability of the system in terms of a computed policy and constraint satisfaction during training and deployment). The different approaches employed are discussed in detail along with their shortcomings and benefits to provide critique and possible future research directions. Key motivation for this review is to discuss current theoretical approaches for safety and stability guarantees in RL similar to control theoretic approaches using Lyapunov and barrier functions. The review provides proven potential and promising scope of providing safety guarantees for complex dynamical systems with operational constraints using model-based and model-free RL.

Authors:Zeinab Hijazi, Fatima Bzeih, Ali Ibrahim
Title: Architecture and FPGA Implementation of Digital Time-to-Digital Converter for Sensing Applications
Abstract:
Many application domains face the challenges of high-power consumption and high computational demands, especially with the advancement in embedded machine learning and edge computing. Designing application-specific circuits is crucial to reducing hardware complexity and power consumption. In these perspectives, this paper presents the design of a Digital Time-to-Digital converter (DTDC) based on multiple delay line topologies. The DTDC is implemented in VHDL for the Xilinx Artix-7 AC701 FPGA device. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the circuit in converting the input period along a wide range up to 1ps. The designed circuit is implemented with less than 1% of the resource utilization on the target FPGA device.

Authors:Ruicheng Li, Jingxu Wu
Title: Quantum Inspired Legal Tech Environmental Integration for Emergency Pharmaceutical Logistics with Entropy Modulated Collapse and Multilevel Governance
Abstract:
Emergency pharmaceutical logistics during rapid-onset disasters must balance timeliness, legal compliance, and environmental uncertainty. We present a hybrid framework that co-designs quantum-inspired decision dynamics, embedded legal constraints, and blockchain-verified environmental feedback. Candidate routes are modeled as a superposed state whose collapse is governed by entropy modulation-delaying commitment under ambiguity and accelerating resolution when coherent signals emerge. Legal statutes act as real-time projection operators shaping feasible choices, while environmental decoherence cues adjust confidence and path viability. The core engine is situated within a multilevel governance and mechanism design architecture, establishing clear roles, accountability channels, and audit trails. Large-scale simulations in wildfire scenarios demonstrate substantial gains over conventional baselines in latency, compliance, and robustness, while preserving interpretability and fairness adaptation. The resulting system offers a deployable, governance-aware infrastructure where law and physical risk jointly inform emergency routing decisions.

Authors:Swastik Sharma, Swathi Battula, Sri Niwas Singh
Title: IDSO-Managed Bid-Based Transactive Distribution Systems Design for DER Participation in Wholesale Markets While Preserving T-D Interactions
Abstract:
Participation of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) in bid-based Transactive Energy Systems (TES) at the distribution systems facilitates strongly coupled, bidirectional interactions between Transmission-Distribution (T-D) systems. Capturing these interactions is critical for ensuring seamless integration within an Integrated Transmission and Distribution (ITD) framework. This study proposes a methodology to preserve such tight T-D linkages by developing an Independent Distribution System Operator (IDSO) managed bid-based TES design for unbalanced distribution systems. The proposed design operates within the ITD paradigm and permits DER participation in the Wholesale Power Market (WPM) through IDSO while preserving tight T-D linkages. To this end, this research offers the following key contributions: a novel bid/offer prequalification-cum-aggregation method to ensure a grid-safe and value-based aggregation of DERs' bids and offers for WPM participation through IDSO; and a retail pricing mechanism that reflects the true value of procuring or offering additional units of power within the distribution system. Case studies are conducted on a modified IEEE 123-bus radial feeder populated with a high DER concentration to validate the proposed frameworks' effectiveness in coordinating the DERs efficiently and reliably.

Authors:Pravallika Abbineni, Saoud Aldowaish, Colin Liechty, Soroosh Noorzad, Ali Ghazizadeh, Morteza Fayazi
Title: MuaLLM: A Multimodal Large Language Model Agent for Circuit Design Assistance with Hybrid Contextual Retrieval-Augmented Generation
Abstract:
Conducting a comprehensive literature review is crucial for advancing circuit design methodologies. However, the rapid influx of state-of-the-art research, inconsistent data representation, and the complexity of optimizing circuit design objectives make this task significantly challenging. In this paper, we propose MuaLLM, an open-source multimodal Large Language Model (LLM) agent for circuit design assistance that integrates a hybrid Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework with an adaptive vector database of circuit design research papers. Unlike conventional LLMs, the MuaLLM agent employs a Reason + Act (ReAct) workflow for iterative reasoning, goal-setting, and multi-step information retrieval. It functions as a question-answering design assistant, capable of interpreting complex queries and providing reasoned responses grounded in circuit literature. Its multimodal capabilities enable processing of both textual and visual data, facilitating more efficient and comprehensive analysis. The system dynamically adapts using intelligent search tools, automated document retrieval from the internet, and real-time database updates. Unlike conventional approaches constrained by model context limits, MuaLLM decouples retrieval from inference, enabling scalable reasoning over arbitrarily large corpora. At the maximum context length supported by standard LLMs, MuaLLM remains up to 10x less costly and 1.6x faster while maintaining the same accuracy. This allows rapid, no-human-in-the-loop database generation, overcoming the bottleneck of simulation-based dataset creation for circuits. To evaluate MuaLLM, we introduce two custom datasets: RAG-250, targeting retrieval and citation performance, and Reasoning-100 (Reas-100), focused on multistep reasoning in circuit design. MuaLLM achieves 90.1% recall on RAG-250, and 86.8% accuracy on Reas-100.

Authors:Shoaib Ahmmad, Zubayer Ahmed Aditto, Md Mehrab Hossain, Noushin Yeasmin, Shorower Hossain
Title: Autonomous Navigation of Cloud-Controlled Quadcopters in Confined Spaces Using Multi-Modal Perception and LLM-Driven High Semantic Reasoning
Abstract:
This paper introduces an advanced AI-driven perception system for autonomous quadcopter navigation in GPS-denied indoor environments. The proposed framework leverages cloud computing to offload computationally intensive tasks and incorporates a custom-designed printed circuit board (PCB) for efficient sensor data acquisition, enabling robust navigation in confined spaces. The system integrates YOLOv11 for object detection, Depth Anything V2 for monocular depth estimation, a PCB equipped with Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensors and an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), and a cloud-based Large Language Model (LLM) for context-aware decision-making. A virtual safety envelope, enforced by calibrated sensor offsets, ensures collision avoidance, while a multithreaded architecture achieves low-latency processing. Enhanced spatial awareness is facilitated by 3D bounding box estimation with Kalman filtering. Experimental results in an indoor testbed demonstrate strong performance, with object detection achieving a mean Average Precision (mAP50) of 0.6, depth estimation Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 7.2 cm, only 16 safety envelope breaches across 42 trials over approximately 11 minutes, and end-to-end system latency below 1 second. This cloud-supported, high-intelligence framework serves as an auxiliary perception and navigation system, complementing state-of-the-art drone autonomy for GPS-denied confined spaces.

Authors:Hoang-Long Pham, Duy-Hieu Bui, Xuan-Tu Tran, Orazio Aiello
Title: SRAM-based Physically Unclonable Function using Lightweight Hamming-Code Fuzzy Extractor for Energy Harvesting Beat Sensors
Abstract:
Batteryless energy harvesting IoT sensor nodes such as beat sensors can be deployed in millions without the need to replace batteries. They are ultra-low-power and cost-effective wireless sensor nodes without the maintenance cost and can work for 24 hours/365 days. However, they were not equipped with security mechanisms to protect user data. Data encryption and authentication can be used to secure beat sensor applications, but generating a secure cryptographic key is challenging. In this paper, we proposed an SRAM-based Physically Unclonable Function (PUF) combining a high-reliability bit selection algorithm with a lightweight error-correcting code to generate reliable secure keys for data encryption. The system employs a feature of beat sensors, in which the microcontroller is powered on to transmit the ID signals and then powered off. This fits the SRAM-based PUF requirement, which needs the SRAM to be powered off to read out its random values. The proposed system has been evaluated on STM32 Cortex M0+ microcontrollers and has been implemented to protect important data on beat sensors.

Authors:Xinlei Zhou, Han Du, Emily W. Yap, Wanbin Dou, Mingyang Huang, Zhenjun Ma
Title: Human-in-the-Loop Simulation for Real-Time Exploration of HVAC Demand Flexibility
Abstract:
The increasing integration of renewable energy into the power grid has highlighted the critical importance of demand-side flexibility. Among flexible loads, heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are particularly significant due to their high energy consumption and controllability. This study presents the development of an interactive simulation platform that integrates a high-fidelity simulation engine with a user-facing dashboard, specifically designed to explore and demonstrate the demand flexibility capacity of HVAC systems. Unlike conventional simulations, where users are passive observers of simulation results with no ability to intervene in the embedded control during the simulation, this platform transforms them into active participants. Users can override system default control settings, such as zone temperature setpoints and HVAC schedules, at any point during the simulation runtime to implement demand response strategies of their choice. This human-in-the-loop capability enables real-time interaction and allows users to observe the immediate impact of their actions, emulating the practical decision-making process of a building or system operator. By exploring different demand flexibility scenarios and system behaviour in a manner that reflects real-world operation, users gain a deeper understanding of demand flexibility and their impacts. This interactive experience builds confidence and supports more informed decision-making in the practical adoption of demand-side flexibility. This paper presents the architecture of the simulation platform, user-oriented dashboard design, and user case showcase. The introduced human-in-the-loop simulation paradigm offers a more intuitive and interactive means of engaging with grid-interactive building operations, extending beyond HVAC demand flexibility exploration.

Authors:Konstantin A. Rybakov, Egor D. Shermatov
Title: Applying the Spectral Method for Modeling Linear Filters: Butterworth, Linkwitz-Riley, and Chebyshev filters
Abstract:
This paper proposes a new technique for computer modeling linear filters based on the spectral form of mathematical description of linear systems. It assumes that input and output signals of the filter are represented as orthogonal expansions, while filters themselves are described by two-dimensional non-stationary transfer functions. This technique allows one to model the output signal in continuous time, and it is successfully tested on the Butterworth, Linkwitz-Riley, and Chebyshev filters with different orders.

Authors:Minghui Lu, Brett Ross
Title: An Analogy of Frequency Droop Control for Grid-forming Sources
Abstract:
In this paper, we present an analogy for a power system dominated by grid-forming (GFM) sources that proves to be a powerful visualization tool for analyses of power flow, frequency regulation, and power dispatch. Frequency droop characteristics of a typical GFM source are exactly reflected by an ordinary model of water vessels. The frequency is represented by visible water levels while the droop slope is reified by the vessel sizes. This proposed analogy allows us to use the intuitive water-flow phenomenon to explain the abstract power-flow problems. The grid integration of renewables via GFM inverters is interestingly simulated by a vessel connected to an infinite water tank. This paper also provides a means for demonstrating issues to audiences with little or no background in power systems. Finally, the proposal is verified by simulation results.

Authors:Yimeng Sun, Zhaohao Ding, Payman Dehghanian, Fei Teng
Title: Learning-Enabled Adaptive Power Capping Scheme for Cloud Data Centers
Abstract:
The rapid growth of the digital economy and artificial intelligence has transformed cloud data centers into essential infrastructure with substantial energy consumption and carbon emission, necessitating effective energy management. However, existing methods face challenges such as incomplete information, uncertain parameters, and dynamic environments, which hinder their real-world implementation. This paper proposes an adaptive power capping framework tailored to cloud data centers. By dynamically setting the energy consumption upper bound, the power load of data centers can be reshaped to align with the electricity price or other market signals. To this end, we formulate the power capping problem as a partially observable Markov decision process. Subsequently, we develop an uncertainty-aware model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) method to perceive the cloud data center operational environment and optimize power-capping decisions. By incorporating a two-stage uncertainty-aware optimization algorithm into the MBRL, we improve its adaptability to the ever-changing environment. Additionally, we derive the optimality gap of the proposed scheme under finite iterations, ensuring effective decisions under complex and uncertain scenarios. The numerical experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed method using a cloud data center operational environment simulator built on real-world production traces from Alibaba, which demonstrates its potential as an efficient energy management solution for cloud data centers.

Authors:Jinzhou Xu, Yadan Zhang, Paola Tapia
Title: Research on integrated intelligent energy management system based on big data analysis and machine learning
Abstract:
The application of big data is one of the significant features of integrated smart energy. Applying it to the file management of integrated smart energy projects is of great significance for improving the efficiency of project management and control. This article first discussed the benefits and challenges of implementing big data analysis in document management and control of integrated smart energy projects. In addition, an implementation framework for big data analysis in integrated smart energy project document management was developed, and a method for optimizing the efficiency of integrated smart energy project document management through machine learning was proposed. Using various types of data and information generated during the project document management process, the efficiency of the entire process project document control through three different machine learning methods was optimized. The result of fitting a penalty linear regression model shows that when there is enough data as a training set, the accuracy of the model achieved can reach over 95\%. By using big data analysis and machine learning to analyze the efficiency of comprehensive smart energy project document management, it is possible to track the entire process of comprehensive smart energy project documents and optimize business processes, thereby strengthening project construction control and improving project construction efficiency.

Authors:Marco Privitera, Andrea Ballo, Karim Ali Ahmed, Alfio Dario Grasso, Massimo Alioto
Title: Sub- μ W Battery-Less and Oscillator-Less Wi-Fi Backscattering Transmitter Reusing RF Signal for Harvesting, Communications, and Motion Detection
Abstract:
In this paper, a sub-uW power 802.11b backscattering transmitter is presented to enable reuse of the same incident wave for three purposes: RF harvesting, backscattering communications and position/motion sensing. The removal of the battery and any off-chip motion sensor (e.g., MEMS) enables unprecedented level of miniaturization and ubiquity, unrestricted device lifespan, low fabrication and maintenance cost. The uW power wall for WiFi transmitters is broken for the first time via local oscillator elimination, as achieved by extracting its frequency through second-order intermodulation of a twotone incident wave. The two-tone scheme also enables a cumulative harvesting/transmission/sensing sensitivity down to Pmin -19 dBm. Position/motion sensing is enabled by using the harvested voltage as a proxy for the Received Signal Strength (RSS), allowing to sense the chip location with respect to the tone generator(s) shared across tags in indoor neighborhoods.

Authors:Jeroen J. A. Keiren, Michel A. Reniers
Title: Overview of Controllability Definitions in Supervisory Control Theory
Abstract:
In the field of supervisory control theory, the literature often proposes different definitions for the same concept, making it difficult to understand how these definitions are related. This is definitely so for the fundamental notion of controllability of a supervisor w.r.t. a plant. This paper lists definitions of controllability found in the literature and studies their relationships in settings of both deterministic and nondeterministic automata. In the general context, where both the supervisor and the plant are allowed to be nondeterministic, the notions of controllability as described by Flordal and Malik, and uncontrollable event admissibility by Kushi and Takai are equivalent. These are also the only notions that imply the traditional notion of (language) controllability. From a practical perspective, one is often more interested in controllability of a supervised plant w.r.t. a plant. In this context, in addition to the previous two controllability notions, state controllability by Zhou et al. implies language controllability.

Authors:Sadredin Hokmi, Mohammad Khajenejad
Title: Linear Program-Based Stability Conditions for Nonlinear Autonomous Systems
Abstract:
This paper introduces a novel approach to evaluating the asymptotic stability of equilibrium points in both continuous-time (CT) and discrete-time (DT) nonlinear autonomous systems. By utilizing indirect Lyapunov methods and linearizing system dynamics through Jacobian matrices, the methodology replaces traditional semi-definite programming (SDP) techniques with computationally efficient linear programming (LP) conditions. This substitution substantially lowers the computational burden, including time and memory usage, particularly for high-dimensional systems. The stability criteria are developed using matrix transformations and leveraging the structural characteristics of the system, improving scalability. Several examples demonstrated the computational efficiency of the proposed approach compared to the existing SDP-based criteria, particularly for high-dimensional systems.

Authors:Michael R. Wartmann, B. Erik Ydstie
Title: Optimality Principles and Neural Ordinary Differential Equations-based Process Modeling for Distributed Control
Abstract:
Most recent advances in machine learning and analytics for process control pose the question of how to naturally integrate new data-driven methods with classical process models and control. We propose a process modeling framework enabling integration of data-driven algorithms through consistent topological properties and conservation of extensive quantities. Interconnections among process network units are represented through connectivity matrices and network graphs. We derive the system's natural objective function equivalent to the non-equilibrium entropy production in a steady state system as a driving force for the process dynamics. We illustrate how distributed control and optimization can be implemented into process network structures and how control laws and algorithms alter the system's natural equilibrium towards engineered objectives. The basic requirement is that the flow conditions can be expressed in terms of conic sector (passivity) conditions. Our formalism allows integration of fundamental conservation properties from topology with learned dynamic relations from data through sparse deep neural networks. We demonstrate in a practical example of a simple inventory control system how to integrate the basic topology of a process with a neural network ordinary differential equation model. The system specific constitutive equations are left undescribed and learned by the neural ordinary differential equation algorithm using the adjoint method in combination with an adaptive ODE solver from synthetic time-series data. The resulting neural network forms a state space model for use in e.g. a model predictive control algorithm.

Authors:Matthew Chan, Steve Sharp, Jiajian Zhu, Raman Ebrahimi
Title: Layers of a City: Network-Based Insights into San Diego's Transportation Ecosystem
Abstract:
Analyzing the structure and function of urban transportation networks is critical for enhancing mobility, equity, and resilience. This paper leverages network science to conduct a multi-modal analysis of San Diego's transportation system. We construct a multi-layer graph using data from OpenStreetMap (OSM) and the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS), representing driving, walking, and public transit layers. By integrating thousands of Points of Interest (POIs), we analyze network accessibility, structure, and resilience through centrality measures, community detection, and a proposed metric for walkability. Our analysis reveals a system defined by a stark core-periphery divide. We find that while the urban core is well-integrated, 30.3% of POIs are isolated from public transit within a walkable distance, indicating significant equity gaps in suburban and rural access. Centrality analysis highlights the driving network's over-reliance on critical freeways as bottlenecks, suggesting low network resilience, while confirming that San Diego is not a broadly walkable city. Furthermore, community detection demonstrates that transportation mode dictates the scale of mobility, producing compact, local clusters for walking and broad, regional clusters for driving. Collectively, this work provides a comprehensive framework for diagnosing urban mobility systems, offering quantitative insights that can inform targeted interventions to improve transportation equity and infrastructure resilience in San Diego.

Authors:Yujia Lu, Chong Wei, Lu Ma
Title: Reliable and Real-Time Highway Trajectory Planning via Hybrid Learning-Optimization Frameworks
Abstract:
Autonomous highway driving presents a high collision risk due to fast-changing environments and limited reaction time, necessitating reliable and efficient trajectory planning. This paper proposes a hybrid trajectory planning framework that integrates the adaptability of learning-based methods with the formal safety guarantees of optimization-based approaches. The framework features a two-layer architecture: an upper layer employing a graph neural network (GNN) trained on real-world highway data to predict human-like longitudinal velocity profiles, and a lower layer utilizing path optimization formulated as a mixed-integer quadratic programming (MIQP) problem. The primary contribution is the lower-layer path optimization model, which introduces a linear approximation of discretized vehicle geometry to substantially reduce computational complexity, while enforcing strict spatiotemporal non-overlapping constraints to formally guarantee collision avoidance throughout the planning horizon. Experimental results demonstrate that the planner generates highly smooth, collision-free trajectories in complex real-world emergency scenarios, achieving success rates exceeding 97% with average planning times of 54 ms, thereby confirming real-time capability.

Authors:Sahil Khan, Suhas Vittal, Kenneth Brown, Jonathan Baker
Title: Moveless: Minimizing Overhead on QCCDs via Versatile Execution and Low Excess Shuttling
Abstract:
One of the most promising paths towards large scale fault tolerant quantum computation is the use of quantum error correcting stabilizer codes. Just like every other quantum circuit, these codes must be compiled to hardware in a way to minimize the total physical error introduced into the system, for example either due to high latency execution or excessive gates to meet connectivity limitations of the target hardware. However, unlike arbitrary quantum circuits, all syndrome extraction circuits have several common properties, for example they have a bipartite connectivity graph, consist only of commuting subcircuits, among other properties. For the most part, compilation methods have aimed at being generic, able to map any input circuit into executables on the hardware, and therefore cannot appropriately exploit these properties and result in executables which have higher physical error. In the case of modular trapped ion systems, specifically QCCDs, this corresponds to the insertion of excessive shuttling operations necessary to realize arbitrary qubit interactions. We propose a compilation scheme explicitly tailored for the structural regularity of QEC circuits based on several key observations: 1. only ancilla or data (but not both) should be shuttled, 2. stabilizers can be executed in any order meaning we can dynamically modify circuit execution on a per-cycle basis 3. ancilla are indistinguishable meaning any can be selected to begin a stabilizer measurement and retain a fixed-point mapping between cycles, and 4. QCCD hardware limits the number of parallel operations equal to the number traps in the system, meaning fewer ancilla are necessary and can be reused. Our resulting compiler, leads to QEC circuits which are on average 3.38x faster to execute, and lead to up to two orders of magnitude of improvement in logical error rates with realistic physical error rates.

Authors:Bhargavi Chaudhary, Krishanu Nath, Subashish Datta, Indra Narayan Kar
Title: An Event-based State Estimation Approach for Positive Systems with Positive Observers
Abstract:
This article addresses the problem of state observer design for continuous-time linear positive networked systems. Considering the bandwidth constraint in the communication network, an event-measurement-based positive observer design is proposed. The physical interpretation of a positive observer differs from that of a general observer. Its primary goal is to ensure that all state estimates remain non-negative at all times. Using output measurements, a law with weighted sampling error is used to determine the sampling sequence between the system and the observer. The observer dynamics are designed using the standard Luenberger structure with the event-based sampled output information, which is updated only when an event occurs. Assuming observability and sufficient conditions for the positivity of the system, the asymptotic stability of the observer dynamics with sampled information is established. Sufficient conditions of stability and positivity are derived using linear matrix inequalities. Moreover, the design ensures that the event-based architecture is free from Zeno behavior, ensuring a positive minimum bound on the inter-execution time. In addition, numerical simulations on a three-tank system having variable cross-sections are used to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed event-based positive observer.

Authors:Kevin Co, Mickaël Begon, François Bailly, Florent Moissenet
Title: Optimal control driven functional electrical stimulation: A scoping review
Abstract:
Introduction: Rehabilitation after a neurological impairment can be supported by functional electrical stimulation (FES). However, FES is limited by early muscle fatigue, slowing down the recovery progress. The use of optimal control to reduce overstimulation and improve motion precision is gaining interest. This review aims to map the current literature state meanwhile clarifying the best practices, identifying persistent challenges, and outlining directions for future research. Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, a search was conducted up to February 2024 using the combined keywords "FES", "optimal control" or "fatigue" across five databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL Complete, Web of Science, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Citation Index). Inclusion criteria included the use of optimal control with FES for healthy individuals and those with neuromuscular disorders. Results: Among the 44 included studies, half were in silico and half in vivo, involving 87 participants, predominantly healthy young men. Twelve different motor tasks were investigated, with a focus on single joint lower limb movements. These studies principally used simple FES models, modulating pulse width or intensity to track joint angle. Conclusions: Optimal control-driven FES can deliver precise motions and reduce fatigue. Yet clinical adoption is slowed down by the lack of consensus about modelling, inconvenient model identification protocol and limited validation. Additional barriers include insufficient open-science practices, computational performance reporting and the availability of customizable commercial hardware. Comparative FES model studies and longitudinal trials with large cohorts, among other efforts, are required to improve the technology readiness level. Such advances would help clinical adoption and improve patient outcomes.

Authors:Rongqian Chen, Jun Kwon, Kefan Wu, Wei-Hsi Chen
Title: Tunable Leg Stiffness in a Monopedal Hopper for Energy-Efficient Vertical Hopping Across Varying Ground Profiles
Abstract:
We present the design and implementation of HASTA (Hopper with Adjustable Stiffness for Terrain Adaptation), a vertical hopping robot with real-time tunable leg stiffness, aimed at optimizing energy efficiency across various ground profiles (a pair of ground stiffness and damping conditions). By adjusting leg stiffness, we aim to maximize apex hopping height, a key metric for energy-efficient vertical hopping. We hypothesize that softer legs perform better on soft, damped ground by minimizing penetration and energy loss, while stiffer legs excel on hard, less damped ground by reducing limb deformation and energy dissipation. Through experimental tests and simulations, we find the best leg stiffness within our selection for each combination of ground stiffness and damping, enabling the robot to achieve maximum steady-state hopping height with a constant energy input. These results support our hypothesis that tunable stiffness improves energy-efficient locomotion in controlled experimental conditions. In addition, the simulation provides insights that could aid in the future development of controllers for selecting leg stiffness.

Authors:Abhishek Dhar, Sarthak Mishra, Spandan Roy, Daniel Axehill
Title: Adaptive Lattice-based Motion Planning
Abstract:
This paper proposes an adaptive lattice-based motion planning solution to address the problem of generating feasible trajectories for systems, represented by a linearly parameterizable non-linear model operating within a cluttered environment. The system model is considered to have uncertain model parameters. The key idea here is to utilize input/output data online to update the model set containing the uncertain system parameter, as well as a dynamic estimated parameter of the model, so that the associated model estimation error reduces over time. This in turn improves the quality of the motion primitives generated by the lattice-based motion planner using a nominal estimated model selected on the basis of suitable criteria. The motion primitives are also equipped with tubes to account for the model mismatch between the nominal estimated model and the true system model, to guarantee collision-free overall motion. The tubes are of uniform size, which is directly proportional to the size of the model set containing the uncertain system parameter. The adaptive learning module guarantees a reduction in the diameter of the model set as well as in the parameter estimation error between the dynamic estimated parameter and the true system parameter. This directly implies a reduction in the size of the implemented tubes and guarantees that the utilized motion primitives go arbitrarily close to the resolution-optimal motion primitives associated with the true model of the system, thus significantly improving the overall motion planning performance over time. The efficiency of the motion planner is demonstrated by a suitable simulation example that considers a drone model represented by Euler-Lagrange dynamics containing uncertain parameters and operating within a cluttered environment.

Authors:Tao He, Gangshan Jing
Title: Distributed Non-Uniform Scaling Control of Multi-Agent Formation via Matrix-Valued Constraints
Abstract:
Distributed formation maneuver control refers to the problem of maneuvering a group of agents to change their formation shape by adjusting the motions of partial agents, where the controller of each agent only requires local information measured from its neighbors. Although this problem has been extensively investigated, existing approaches are mostly limited to uniform scaling transformations. This article proposes a new type of local matrix-valued constraints, via which non-uniform scaling control of position formation can be achieved by tuning the positions of only two agents (i.e., leaders). Here, the non-uniform scaling transformation refers to scaling the position formation with different ratios along different orthogonal coordinate directions. Moreover, by defining scaling and translation of attitude formation, we propose a distributed control scheme for scaling and translation maneuver control of joint position-attitude formations. It is proven that the proposed controller achieves global convergence, provided that the sensing graph among agents is a 2-rooted bidirectional graph. Compared with the affine formation maneuver control approach, the proposed approach leverages a sparser sensing graph, requires fewer leaders, and additionally enables scaling transformations of the attitude formation. A simulation example is proposed to demonstrate our theoretical results.

Authors:Emad Abukhousa, Syed Sohail Feroz Syed Afroz, Fahad Alsaeed, Abdulaziz Qwbaiban, A. P. Sakis Meliopoulos
Title: Centralized Dynamic State Estimation Algorithm for Detecting and Distinguishing Faults and Cyber Attacks in Power Systems
Abstract:
As power systems evolve with increased integration of renewable energy sources, they become more complex and vulnerable to both cyber and physical threats. This study validates a centralized Dynamic State Estimation (DSE) algorithm designed to enhance the protection of power systems, particularly focusing on microgrids with substantial renewable energy integration. The algorithm utilizing a structured hypothesis testing framework, systematically identifies and differentiates anomalies caused by cyberattacks from those resulting from physical faults. This algorithm was evaluated through four case studies: a False Data Injection Attack (FDIA) via manipulation of Current Transformer (CT) ratios, a single line-to-ground (SLG) fault, and two combined scenarios involving both anomalies. Results from real-time simulations demonstrate that the algorithm effectively distinguishes between cyber-induced anomalies and physical faults, thereby significantly enhancing the reliability and security of energy systems. This research underscores the critical role of advanced diagnostic tools in protecting power systems against the growing prevalence of cyber-physical threats, enhancing the resilience of the grid and preventing potential blackouts by avoiding the mis-operation of protection relays.

Authors:Sleiman Farah, Jens Jakob Sørensen, Kary Främling, Matej Simurda
Title: Bounded fuzzy logic control for optimal scheduling of green hydrogen production and revenue maximisation
Abstract:
Hydrogen Purchase Agreements (HPAs) guarantee revenue streams that mitigate the financial risks inherent in the long-term production of green hydrogen from renewable energy sources. However, the intermittency of renewable electricity and the availability of parallel revenue opportunities in both the electricity and hydrogen markets complicate the scheduling of green hydrogen production. The scheduling should maximise the total revenue from short-term sales of electricity and hydrogen against the long-term HPA delivery obligations. This challenge is addressed by developing a Bounded Fuzzy Logic Control (BFLC) which determines the daily HPA delivery target based on day-ahead forecasts of electricity and hydrogen prices, as well as wind capacity factors. Subsequently, the daily target is imposed as a constraint in dispatch optimisation which allocates energy and hydrogen flows for each hour of the day. Revenue comparisons over several years demonstrate that the BFLC achieves total annual revenues within 9% of optimal revenues that are based on perfect foresight. The BFLC revenues consistently exceed those of steady control, with the largest differences observed under conditions of elevated price levels and variability. The BFLC provides an effective long-term scheduling of green hydrogen production, enabling realistic revenue quantification that mitigates economic risks without overlooking economically viable projects.

Authors:Sadegh Ebrahimkhani, John Lataire
Title: Kernel-Based Sparse Additive Nonlinear Model Structure Detection through a Linearization Approach
Abstract:
The choice of parameterization in Nonlinear (NL) system models greatly affects the quality of the estimated model. Overly complex models can be impractical and hard to interpret, necessitating data-driven methods for simpler and more accurate representations. In this paper, we propose a data-driven approach to simplify a class of continuous-time NL system models using linear approximations around varying operating points. Specifically, for sparse additive NL models, our method identifies the number of NL subterms and their corresponding input spaces. Under small-signal operation, we approximate the unknown NL system as a trajectory-scheduled Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) system, with LPV coefficients representing the gradient of the NL function and indicating input sensitivity. Using this sensitivity measure, we determine the NL system's structure through LPV model reduction by identifying non-zero LPV coefficients and selecting scheduling parameters. We introduce two sparse estimators within a vector-valued Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) framework to estimate the LPV coefficients while preserving their structural relationships. The structure of the sparse additive NL model is then determined by detecting non-zero elements in the gradient vector (LPV coefficients) and the Hessian matrix (Jacobian of the LPV coefficients). We propose two computationally tractable RKHS-based estimators for this purpose. The sparsified Hessian matrix reveals the NL model's structure, with numerical simulations confirming the approach's effectiveness.

Authors:Zhengyang Wei, Weichen Zhao, Chang Liu
Title: Upper bound of transient growth in accelerating and decelerating wall-driven flows using the Lyapunov method
Abstract:
This work analyzes accelerating and decelerating wall-driven flows by quantifying the upper bound of transient energy growth using a Lyapunov-type approach. By formulating the linearized Navier-Stokes equations as a linear time-varying system and constructing a time-dependent Lyapunov function, we obtain a rigorous upper bound on transient energy growth by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMI). The LMI approach can obtain the upper bound of transient energy growth that closely matches transient growth computed via the singular value decomposition of the state-transition matrix of linear time-varying systems. Our analysis captures that decelerating base flows exhibit significantly larger transient growth compared with accelerating flows. Our approach offers the advantages of providing a rigorous certificate of uniform stability and an invariant ellipsoid to bound the solution trajectory. This Lyapunov-based analysis also has the potential to be extended to input-output analysis and nonlinear analysis.

Authors:Yufeng Wu, Dennis Hong
Title: Design of Q8bot: A Miniature, Low-Cost, Dynamic Quadruped Built with Zero Wires
Abstract:
This paper introduces Q8bot, an open-source, miniature quadruped designed for robotics research and education. We present the robot's novel zero-wire design methodology, which leads to its superior form factor, robustness, replicability, and high performance. With a size and weight similar to a modern smartphone, this standalone robot can walk for over an hour on a single battery charge and survive meter-high drops with simple repairs. Its 300-dollar bill of materials includes minimal off-the-shelf components, readily available custom electronics from online vendors, and structural parts that can be manufactured on hobbyist 3D printers. A preliminary user assembly study confirms that Q8bot can be easily replicated, with an average assembly time of under one hour by a single person. With heuristic open-loop control, Q8bot achieves a stable walking speed of 5.4 body lengths per second and a turning speed of 5 radians per second, along with other dynamic movements such as jumping and climbing moderate slopes.

Authors:Krishan Kumar Gola, Shaunak Sen
Title: A Kalman Filter Algorithm with Process Noise Covariance Update
Abstract:
Stochastic models in biomolecular contexts can have a state-dependent process noise covariance. The choice of the process noise covariance is an important parameter in the design of a Kalman Filter for state estimation and the theoretical guarantees of updating the process noise covariance as the state estimate changes are unclear. Here we investigated this issue using the Minimum Mean Square Error estimator framework and an interpretation of the Kalman Filter as minimizing a weighted least squares cost using Newton's method. We found that a Kalman Filter-like algorithm with a process noise covariance update is the best linear unbiased estimator for a class of systems with linear process dynamics and a square root-dependence of the process noise covariance on the state. We proved the result for discrete-time system dynamics and then extended it to continuous-time dynamics using a limiting procedure. For nonlinear dynamics with a general dependence of process noise covariance on the state, we showed that this algorithm minimizes a quadratic approximation to a least squares cost weighted by the noise covariance. The algorithm is illustrated with an example.

Authors:Boyu Li, Zhengchen Li, Weimin Wu, Mengchu Zhou
Title: Petri Net Modeling and Deadlock-Free Scheduling of Attachable Heterogeneous AGV Systems
Abstract:
The increasing demand for automation and flexibility drives the widespread adoption of heterogeneous automated guided vehicles (AGVs). This work intends to investigate a new scheduling problem in a material transportation system consisting of attachable heterogeneous AGVs, namely carriers and shuttles. They can flexibly attach to and detach from each other to cooperatively execute complex transportation tasks. While such collaboration enhances operational efficiency, the attachment-induced synchronization and interdependence render the scheduling coupled and susceptible to deadlock. To tackle this challenge, Petri nets are introduced to model AGV schedules, well describing the concurrent and sequential task execution and carrier-shuttle synchronization. Based on Petri net theory, a firing-driven decoding method is proposed, along with deadlock detection and prevention strategies to ensure deadlock-free schedules. Furthermore, a Petri net-based metaheuristic is developed in an adaptive large neighborhood search framework and incorporates an effective acceleration method to enhance computational efficiency. Finally, numerical experiments using real-world industrial data validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm against the scheduling policy applied in engineering practice, an exact solver, and four state-of-the-art metaheuristics. A sensitivity analysis is also conducted to provide managerial insights.

Authors:Gonzalo Rivera-Sierra, Roberto Fenollosa, Juan Bisquert
Title: Organic Electrochemical Neurons: Nonlinear Tools for Complex Dynamics
Abstract:
Hybrid oscillator architectures that combine feedback oscillators with self-sustained negative resistance oscillators have emerged as a promising platform for artificial neuron design. In this work, we introduce a modeling and analysis framework for amplifier-assisted organic electrochemical neurons, leveraging nonlinear dynamical systems theory. By formulating the system as coupled differential equations describing membrane voltage and internal state variables, we identify the conditions for self-sustained oscillations and characterize the resulting dynamics through nullclines, phase-space analysis, and bifurcation behavior, providing complementary insight to standard circuit-theoretic arguments of the operation of oscillators. Our simplified yet rigorous model enables tractable analysis of circuits integrating classical feedback components (e.g., operational amplifiers) with novel devices exhibiting negative differential resistance, such as organic electrochemical transistors (OECT). This approach reveals the core mechanisms behind oscillation generation, demonstrating the utility of dynamic systems theory in understanding and designing complex hybrid circuits. Beyond neuromorphic and bioelectronic applications, the proposed framework offers a generalizable foundation for developing tunable, biologically inspired oscillatory systems in sensing, signal processing, and adaptive control.

Authors:M. F. Shakib, M. Khalil, R. Postoyan
Title: Low-dimensional observer design for stable linear systems by model reduction
Abstract:
This paper presents a low-dimensional observer design for stable, single-input single-output, continuous-time linear time-invariant (LTI) systems. Leveraging the model reduction by moment matching technique, we approximate the system with a reduced-order model. Based on this reduced-order model, we design a low-dimensional observer that estimates the states of the original system. We show that this observer establishes exact asymptotic state reconstruction for a given class of inputs tied to the observer's dimension. Furthermore, we establish an exponential input-to-state stability property for generic inputs, ensuring a bounded estimation error. Numerical simulations confirm the effectiveness of the approach for a benchmark model reduction problem.

Authors:Renyan Sun, Ashutosh Nayyar
Title: Optimal Messaging Strategy for Incentivizing Agents in Dynamic Systems
Abstract:
We consider a finite-horizon discrete-time dynamic system jointly controlled by a designer and one or more agents, where the designer can influence the agents' actions through selective information disclosure. At each time step, the designer sends a message to the agent(s) from a prespecified message space. The designer may also take an action that directly influences system dynamics and rewards. Each agent uses its received message (and its own information) to choose its action. We are interested in the setting where the designer would like to incentivize each agent to play a specific strategy. We consider a notion of incentive compatibility that is based on sequential rationality at each realization of the common information between the designer and the agent(s). Our objective is to find a messaging and action strategy for the designer that maximizes its total expected reward while incentivizing each agent to follow a prespecified strategy. Under certain assumptions on the information structure of the problem, we show that an optimal designer strategy can be computed using a backward inductive algorithm that solves a family of linear programs.

Authors:Ahmet Melih Ince, Ayse Elif Canbilen, Halim Yanikomeroglu
Title: AoI-Aware Resource Allocation with Deep Reinforcement Learning for HAPS-V2X Networks
Abstract:
Sixth-generation (6G) networks are designed to meet the hyper-reliable and low-latency communication (HRLLC) requirements of safety-critical applications such as autonomous driving. Integrating non-terrestrial networks (NTN) into the 6G infrastructure brings redundancy to the network, ensuring continuity of communications even under extreme conditions. In particular, high-altitude platform stations (HAPS) stand out for their wide coverage and low latency advantages, supporting communication reliability and enhancing information freshness, especially in rural areas and regions with infrastructure constraints. In this paper, we present reinforcement learning-based approaches using deep deterministic policy gradient (DDPG) to dynamically optimize the age-of-information (AoI) in HAPS-enabled vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks. The proposed method improves information freshness and overall network reliability by enabling independent learning without centralized coordination. The findings reveal the potential of HAPS-supported solutions, combined with DDPG-based learning, for efficient AoI-aware resource allocation in platoon-based autonomous vehicle systems.

Authors:Felix Wald, Amir Sajadi, Barry Mather, Giovanni De Carne
Title: Asynchronous Grid Connections Providing Fast-Frequency Response: System Integration Study
Abstract:
This paper presents an integration study for a power electronic-based fast-frequency response technology, an asynchronous grid connection operating as an aggregator for behindthe-meter resources and distributed generators. Both technical feasibility and techno-economic viability studies are presented. The dynamic performance of the fast-frequency response enabled by the asynchronous grid connection is validated with Power Hardware-in-the-Loop experiments and transferred to an IEEE 9-bus system in DigSilent PowerFactory for dynamic stability analysis. We demonstrate that droop-based control enhancements to the local distributed generators could allow their aggregation to provide grid-supporting functionalities and participate in the market for ancillary services. To this end, we performed a long-term simulation embedding the system within the ancillary service market framework of PJM. The fast-frequency response regulation is subsequently used to calculate the potential revenue and project the results on a 15-year investment horizon. Finally, the techno-economic analysis concludes with recommendations for enhancements to access the full potential of distributed generators on a technical and regulatory level.

Authors:Jawana Gabrielski, Ulf Häger
Title: Advancing Standard Load Profiles with Data-Driven Techniques and Recent Datasets
Abstract:
Estimating electricity consumption accurately is essential for the planning and operation of energy systems, as well as for billing processes. Standard Load Profiles (SLP) are widely used to estimate consumption patterns of different user groups. However, in Germany these SLP were formulated using historical data from over 20 years ago and have not been adjusted since. Changing electricity consumption behaviour, which leads to increasing deviations between load patterns and SLP, results in a need for a revision taking into account new data. The growing number of smart meters provides a large measurement database, which enables more accurate load modelling. This paper creates updated SLP using recent data. In addition, the assumptions of the SLP method are validated and improvements are proposed, taking into account the ease of applicability. Furthermore, a Fourier Series-based model is proposed as an alternative SLP model. The different models are compared and evaluated.

Authors:Mahmoud Ghorab, Matthias Lorenzen
Title: Multi-Waypoint Path Planning and Motion Control for Non-holonomic Mobile Robots in Agricultural Applications
Abstract:
There is a growing demand for autonomous mobile robots capable of navigating unstructured agricultural environments. Tasks such as weed control in meadows require efficient path planning through an unordered set of coordinates while minimizing travel distance and adhering to curvature constraints to prevent soil damage and protect vegetation. This paper presents an integrated navigation framework combining a global path planner based on the Dubins Traveling Salesman Problem (DTSP) with a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) strategy for local path planning and control. The DTSP generates a minimum-length, curvature-constrained path that efficiently visits all targets, while the NMPC leverages this path to compute control signals to accurately reach each waypoint. The system's performance was validated through comparative simulation analysis on real-world field datasets, demonstrating that the coupled DTSP-based planner produced smoother and shorter paths, with a reduction of about 16% in the provided scenario, compared to decoupled methods. Based thereon, the NMPC controller effectively steered the robot to the desired waypoints, while locally optimizing the trajectory and ensuring adherence to constraints. These findings demonstrate the potential of the proposed framework for efficient autonomous navigation in agricultural environments.

Authors:Loris Schneider, Marc Ungen, Elias Huber, Jan-Felix Klein
Title: Simulation-based planning of Motion Sequences for Automated Procedure Optimization in Multi-Robot Assembly Cells
Abstract:
Reconfigurable multi-robot cells offer a promising approach to meet fluctuating assembly demands. However, the recurrent planning of their configurations introduces new challenges, particularly in generating optimized, coordinated multi-robot motion sequences that minimize the assembly duration. This work presents a simulation-based method for generating such optimized sequences. The approach separates assembly steps into task-related core operations and connecting traverse operations. While core operations are constrained and predetermined, traverse operations offer substantial optimization potential. Scheduling the core operations is formulated as an optimization problem, requiring feasible traverse operations to be integrated using a decomposition-based motion planning strategy. Several solution techniques are explored, including a sampling heuristic, tree-based search and gradient-free optimization. For motion planning, a decomposition method is proposed that identifies specific areas in the schedule, which can be solved independently with modified centralized path planning algorithms. The proposed method generates efficient and collision-free multi-robot assembly procedures that outperform a baseline relying on decentralized, robot-individual motion planning. Its effectiveness is demonstrated through simulation experiments.

Authors:Niladri Dutta, Elham Abolfazli, Themistoklis Charalambous
Title: Experimentally-Driven Analysis of Stability in Connected Vehicle Platooning: Insights and Control Strategies
Abstract:
This paper presents the development of a tangible platform for demonstrating the practical implementation of cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) systems, an enhancement to the standard adaptive cruise control (ACC) concept by means of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication. It involves a detailed examination of existing longitudinal controllers and their performance in homogeneous vehicle platoons. Moreover, extensive tests are conducted using multiple autonomous experimental vehicle platform topologies to verify the effectiveness of the controller. The outcomes from both simulations and field tests affirm the substantial benefits of the proposed CACC platooning approach in longitudinal vehicle platooning scenarios. This research is crucial due to a notable gap in the existing literature; while numerous studies focus on simulated vehicle platooning systems, there is lack of research demonstrating these controllers on physical vehicle systems or robot platforms. This paper seeks to fill this gap by providing a practical demonstration of CACC systems in action, showcasing their potential for real-world application in intelligent transportation systems.

Authors:Felix Kronenwett, Georg Maier, Thomas Längle
Title: Bayesian Optimization of Process Parameters of a Sensor-Based Sorting System using Gaussian Processes as Surrogate Models
Abstract:
Sensor-based sorting systems enable the physical separation of a material stream into two fractions. The sorting decision is based on the image data evaluation of the sensors used and is carried out using actuators. Various process parameters must be set depending on the properties of the material stream, the dimensioning of the system, and the required sorting accuracy. However, continuous verification and re-adjustment are necessary due to changing requirements and material stream compositions. In this paper, we introduce an approach for optimizing, recurrently monitoring and adjusting the process parameters of a sensor-based sorting system. Based on Bayesian Optimization, Gaussian process regression models are used as surrogate models to achieve specific requirements for system behavior with the uncertainties contained therein. This method minimizes the number of necessary experiments while simultaneously considering two possible optimization targets based on the requirements for both material output streams. In addition, uncertainties are considered during determining sorting accuracies in the model calculation. We evaluated the method with three example process parameters.

Authors:Naoki Aizawa, Keita Emura, Kiminao Kogiso
Title: Malleability-Resistant Encrypted Control System with Disturbance Compensation and Real-Time Attack Detection
Abstract:
This study proposes an encrypted PID control system with a disturbance observer (DOB) using a keyed-homomorphic encryption (KHE) scheme, aiming to achieve control performance while providing resistance to malleability-based attacks. The controller integrates a DOB with a PID structure to compensate for modeling uncertainties by estimating and canceling external disturbances. To enhance security, the system is designed to output error symbols when ciphertexts are falsified during decryption or evaluation, enabling real-time detection of malleability-based signal or parameter falsification. To validate the proposed method, we conduct stage positioning control experiments and attack detection tests using an industrial linear stage. The results show that the encrypted DOB-based PID controller outperforms a conventional encrypted PID controller in terms of tracking accuracy. Furthermore, the system successfully detects two types of malleability-based attacks: one that destabilizes the control system, and another that degrades its performance. The primary contributions of this study are: (i) the implementation of a KHE-based encrypted DOB-PID controller, (ii) the improvement of control performance under uncertainties, and (iii) the experimental demonstration of attack detection capabilities in encrypted control systems.

Authors:Bidya Debnath, Mst Mostary Begum, Prashant Neupant, Brooke E. Molen, Junming Diao
Title: Design and Experimental Validation of UAV Swarm-Based Phased Arrays with MagSafe- and LEGO-Inspired RF Connectors
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel UAV swarm-based phased array antenna system that leverages MagSafe- and LEGO-inspired radio frequency (RF) connectors to address key challenges in distributed phased arrays, including inter-element oscillator synchronization, localization, phase coherence, and positional accuracy. The proposed non-threaded, hands-free connectors enable precise inter-element spacing and establish a continuous, low-loss RF signal propagation path during mid-flight docking. A multi-stage optimization of the RF connector achieves a compact form factor, DC-to-RF bandwidth, and a measured insertion loss as low as 0.2\,dB. The system architecture offers scalability in gain and frequency by adjusting the array element density per UAV and UAV dimensions. Experimental results from both stationary and in-flight tests of two UAV-based phased array prototypes align closely with simulations, demonstrating robust beam steering to multiple directions. This work delivers a practical, scalable, and low-complexity platform that enables rapid deployment for next-generation airborne communications, radar, and remote sensing applications.

Authors:Anton Pyrkin, Konstantin Kalinin
Title: Modified Smith predictor for unstable linear systems
Abstract:
The paper presents a new control algorithm for unstable linear systems with input delay. In comparison with known analogues, the control law has been designed, which is a modification of the Smith predictor, and is the simplest one to implement without requiring complex integration methods. At the same time, the problem of stabilization of a closed system is effectively solved, ensuring the boundedness of all state variables and the exponential stability of the equilibrium point.

Authors:Haosong Xiao, Chaozhe R. He
Title: Safe and Efficient Data-driven Connected Cruise Control
Abstract:
In this paper, we design a safe and efficient cruise control for the connected automated vehicle with access to motion information from multiple vehicles ahead via vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication. Position and velocity data collected from a chain of human-driven vehicles are systematically leveraged to design a connected cruise controller that smoothly responds to traffic perturbations while maximizing energy efficiency. A safety filter derived from a control barrier function provides the safety guarantee. We investigate the proposed control design's energy performance against real traffic datasets and quantify the safety filter's energy impact. It is shown that optimally utilizing V2V connectivity reduces energy consumption by more than 10\% compared to standard non-connected adaptive cruise control. Meanwhile, interesting interplays between safety filter and energy efficiency design are highlighted, revealing future research directions.

Authors:Cannon Whitney, Joseph Melville
Title: Toward Trusted Onboard AI: Advancing Small Satellite Operations using Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
A RL (Reinforcement Learning) algorithm was developed for command automation onboard a 3U CubeSat. This effort focused on the implementation of macro control action RL, a technique in which an onboard agent is provided with compiled information based on live telemetry as its observation. The agent uses this information to produce high-level actions, such as adjusting attitude to solar pointing, which are then translated into control algorithms and executed through lower-level instructions. Once trust in the onboard agent is established, real-time environmental information can be leveraged for faster response times and reduced reliance on ground control. The approach not only focuses on developing an RL algorithm for a specific satellite but also sets a precedent for integrating trusted AI into onboard systems. This research builds on previous work in three areas: (1) RL algorithms for issuing high-level commands that are translated into low-level executable instructions; (2) the deployment of AI inference models interfaced with live operational systems, particularly onboard spacecraft; and (3) strategies for building trust in AI systems, especially for remote and autonomous applications. Existing RL research for satellite control is largely limited to simulation-based experiments; in this work, these techniques are tailored by constructing a digital twin of a specific spacecraft and training the RL agent to issue macro actions in this simulated environment. The policy of the trained agent is copied to an isolated environment, where it is fed compiled information about the satellite to make inference predictions, thereby demonstrating the RL algorithm's validity on orbit without granting it command authority. This process enables safe comparison of the algorithm's predictions against actual satellite behavior and ensures operation within expected parameters.

Authors:Ethan DeVries, Jack Ferlazzo, Mustafa Ugur, Laura H. Blumenschein
Title: Deployment of Objects with a Soft Everting Robot
Abstract:
Soft everting robots present significant advantages over traditional rigid robots, including enhanced dexterity, improved environmental interaction, and safe navigation in unpredictable environments. While soft everting robots have been widely demonstrated for exploration type tasks, their potential to move and deploy payloads in such tasks has been less investigated, with previous work focusing on sensors and tools for the robot. Leveraging the navigation capabilities, and deployed body, of the soft everting robot to deliver payloads in hazardous areas, e.g. carrying a water bottle to a person stuck under debris, would represent a significant capability in many applications. In this work, we present an analysis of how soft everting robots can be used to deploy larger, heavier payloads through the inside of the robot. We analyze both what objects can be deployed and what terrain features they can be carried through. Building on existing models, we present methods to quantify the effects of payloads on robot growth and self-support, and develop a model to predict payload slip. We then experimentally quantify payload transport using soft everting robot with a variety of payload shapes, sizes, and weights and though a series of tasks: steering, vertical transport, movement through holes, and movement across gaps. Overall, the results show that we can transport payloads in a variety of shapes and up to 1.5kg in weight and that we can move through circular apertures with as little as 0.01cm clearance around payloads, carry out discrete turns up to 135 degrees, and move across unsupported gaps of 1.15m in length.

Authors:Konstantin E. Avrachenkov, Leonid B. Freidovich
Title: Derivative Estimation from Coarse, Irregular, Noisy Samples: An MLE-Spline Approach
Abstract:
We address numerical differentiation under coarse, non-uniform sampling and Gaussian noise. A maximum-likelihood estimator with $L_2$-norm constraint on a higher-order derivative is obtained, yielding spline-based solution. We introduce a non-standard parameterization of quadratic splines and develop recursive online algorithms. Two formulations -- quadratic and zero-order -- offer tradeoff between smoothness and computational speed. Simulations demonstrate superior performance over high-gain observers and super-twisting differentiators under coarse sampling and high noise, benefiting systems where higher sampling rates are impractical.

Authors:Soumo Emmanuel Arnaud, Marcello Calisti, Athanasios Polydoros
Title: Data-Driven Greenhouse Climate Regulation in Lettuce Cultivation Using BiLSTM and GRU Predictive Control
Abstract:
Efficient greenhouse management is essential for sustainable food production in response to a growing global population. However, maintaining optimal indoor climates requires significant energy and resources, making advanced control systems critical for economic viability and environmental sustainability. Traditional greenhouse models are often complex and imprecise, limiting the effectiveness of conventional control strategies. To address these challenges, this study investigates data-driven predictive control methods using Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) and Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural networks. Our experiments showed that GRU-based predictive control reduced temperature and humidity violations by up to 5\% and required 40\% less computation time than the LSTM approach, all while maintaining equivalent economic performance and crop yield. These findings demonstrate that GRU-based predictive control offers a more efficient and practical solution for real-time greenhouse climate regulation in precision agriculture.

Authors:Khushal Chaudhari, Krishanu Nath, Manas Kumar Bera
Title: Deep Neuro-Adaptive Sliding Mode Controller for Higher-Order Heterogeneous Nonlinear Multi-Agent Teams with Leader
Abstract:
This letter proposes a deep neural network (DNN)-based neuro-adaptive sliding mode control (SMC) strategy for leader-follower tracking in multi-agent systems with higher-order, heterogeneous, nonlinear, and unknown dynamics under external disturbances. The DNN is used to compensate the unknown nonlinear dynamics with higher accuracy than shallow neural networks (NNs) and SMC ensures robust tracking. This framework employs restricted potential functions within a set-theoretic paradigm to ensure system trajectories remain bounded within a compact set, improving robustness against approximation errors and external disturbances. The control scheme is grounded in non-smooth Lyapunov stability theory, with update laws derived for both inner and outer layer network weights of DNN. A numerical example is simulated that showcases the proposed controller's effectiveness, adaptability, and robustness.

Authors:Nicolò Mazzi, Ken Mckinnon, Hongyu Zhang
Title: Adaptive Benders decomposition and enhanced SDDP for multistage stochastic programs with block-separable multistage recourse
Abstract:
This paper proposes an algorithm to efficiently solve multistage stochastic programs with block separable recourse where each recourse problem is a multistage stochastic program with stage-wise independent uncertainty. The algorithm first decomposes the full problem into a reduced master problem and subproblems using Adaptive Benders decomposition. The subproblems are then solved by an enhanced SDDP. The enhancement includes (1) valid bounds at each iteration, (2) a path exploration rule, (3) cut sharing among subproblems, and (4) guaranteed δ-optimal convergence. The cuts for the subproblems are then shared by calling adaptive oracles. The key contribution of the paper is the first algorithm for solving this class of problems. The algorithm is demonstrated on a power system investment planning problem with multi-timescale uncertainty. The case study results show that (1) the proposed algorithm can efficiently solve this type of problem, (2) deterministic wind modelling underestimate the objective function, and (3) stochastic modelling of wind leads to different investment decisions.

Authors:Amirhossein Samii, Redmer de Haan, Nikolaos Bekiaris-Liberis
Title: Experimental Implementation and Validation of Predictor-Based CACC for Vehicular Platoons With Distinct Actuation Delays
Abstract:
We provide experimental validation, in a pair of vehicles, of a recently introduced predictor-based cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC) design, developed for achieving delay compensation in heterogeneous vehicular platoons subject to long actuation delays that may be distinct for each individual vehicle. We provide the explicit formulae of the control design that is implemented, accounting for the effect of zero-order hold and sampled measurements; as well as we obtain vehicle and string stability conditions numerically, via derivation of the transfer functions relating the speeds of pairs of consecutive vehicles. We also present consistent simulation results for a platoon with a larger number of vehicles, under digital implementation of the controller. Both the simulation and experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the predictor-based CACC design in guaranteeing individual vehicle stability, string stability, and tracking, despite long/distinct actuation delays.

Authors:Kaito Ito, Haruhiro Kume, Hideaki Ishii
Title: Ensemble Control of Stochastic Oscillators via Periodic and Feedback Control
Abstract:
We address the problem of steering the phase distribution of oscillators all receiving the same control input to a given target distribution. In a large population limit, the distribution of oscillators can be described by a probability density. Then, our problem can be seen as that of ensemble control with a constraint on the steady-state density. In particular, we consider the case where oscillators are subject to stochastic noise, for which the theoretical understanding is still lacking. First, we characterize the reachability of the phase distribution under periodic feedforward control via the Fourier coefficients of the target density and the phase sensitivity function of oscillators. This enables us to design a periodic input that makes the stationary distribution of oscillators closest to the target by solving a convex optimization problem. Next, we devise an ensemble control method combining periodic and feedback control, where the feedback component is designed to accelerate the convergence of the distribution of oscillators. We exhibit some convergence results for the proposed method, including a result that holds even under measurement errors in the phase distribution. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by a numerical example.

Authors:I-Chieh Lee, He Huang
Title: Projecting the New Body: How Body Image Evolves During Learning to Walk with a Wearable Robot
Abstract:
Advances in wearable robotics challenge the traditional definition of human motor systems, as wearable robots redefine body structure, movement capability, and perception of their own bodies. We measured gait performance and perceived body images via Selected Coefficient of Perceived Motion, SCoMo, after each training session. Based on human motor learning theory extended to wearer-robot systems, we hypothesized that learning the perceived body image when walking with a robotic leg co-evolves with the actual gait improvement and becomes more certain and more accurate to the actual motion. Our result confirmed that motor learning improved both physical and perceived gait pattern towards normal, indicating that via practice the wearers incorporated the robotic leg into their sensorimotor systems to enable wearer-robot movement coordination. However, a persistent discrepancy between perceived and actual motion remained, likely due to the absence of direct sensation and control of the prosthesis from wearers. Additionally, the perceptual overestimation at the later training sessions might limit further motor improvement. These findings suggest that enhancing the human sense of wearable robots and frequent calibrating perception of body image are essential for effective training with lower limb wearable robots and for developing more embodied assistive technologies.

Authors:Ganesh Teja Theertham, Santhosh Kumar Varanasi, Phanindra Jampana
Title: Minimum Attention Control (MAC) in a Receding Horizon Framework with Applications
Abstract:
Minimum Attention Control (MAC) is a control technique that provides minimal input changes to meet the control objective. Mathematically, the zero norm of the input changes is used as a constraint for the given control objective and minimized with respect to the process dynamics. In this paper, along with the zero norm constraint, stage costs are also considered for reference tracking in a receding horizon framework. For this purpose, the optimal inputs of the previous horizons are also considered in the optimization problem of the current horizon. An alternating minimization algorithm is applied to solve the optimization problem (Minimum Attention Model Predictive Control (MAMPC)). The outer step of the optimization is a quadratic program, while the inner step, which solves for sparsity, has an analytical solution. The proposed algorithm is implemented on two case studies: a four-tank system with slow dynamics and a fuel cell stack with fast dynamics. A detailed comparative study of the proposed algorithm with standard MPC indicates sparse control actions with a tradeoff in the tracking error.

Authors:Julian Kanz, Christian Gesell, Christina Bonfert, David Werbunat, Alexander Grathwohl, Julian Aguilar, Martin Vossiek, Christian Waldschmidt
Title: UAV-Borne Digital Radar System for Coherent Multistatic SAR Imaging
Abstract:
Advancements in analog-to-digital converter (ADC) technology have enabled higher sampling rates, making it feasible to adopt digital radar architectures that directly sample the radio-frequency (RF) signal, eliminating the need for analog downconversion. This digital approach supports greater flexibility in waveform design and signal processing, particularly through digital modulation schemes like orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM). This paper presents a digital radar system mounted on an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV), which employs OFDM waveforms for coherent multistatic synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging in the L-band. The radar setup features a primary UAV node responsible for signal transmission and monostatic data acquisition, alongside secondary nodes that operate in a receive-only mode. These secondary nodes capture the radar signal reflected from the scene as well as a direct sidelink signal. RF signals from both the radar and sidelink paths are sampled and processed offline. To manage data storage efficiently, a trigger mechanism is employed to record only the relevant portions of the radar signal. The system maintains coherency in both fast-time and slow-time domains, which is essential for multistatic SAR imaging. Because the secondary nodes are passive, the system can be easily scaled to accommodate a larger swarm of UAVs. The paper details the full signal processing workflow for both monostatic and multistatic SAR image formation, including an analysis and correction of synchronization errors that arise from the uncoupled operation of the nodes. The proposed coherent processing method is validated through static radar measurements, demonstrating coherency achieved by the concept. Additionally, a UAV-based bistatic SAR experiment demonstrates the system's performance by producing high-resolution monostatic, bistatic, and combined multistatic SAR images.

Authors:Tianyi Zhong, David Angeli
Title: A Truthful Mechanism Design for Distributed Optimisation Algorithms in Networks with Self-interested Agents
Abstract:
Enhancing resilience in multi-agent systems in the face of selfish agents is an important problem that requires further characterisation. This work develops a truthful mechanism that avoids self-interested and strategic agents maliciously manipulating the algorithm. We prove theoretically that the proposed mechanism incentivises self-interested agents to participate and follow the provided algorithm faithfully. Additionally, the mechanism is compatible with any distributed optimisation algorithm that can calculate at least one subgradient at a given point. Finally, we present an illustrative example that shows the effectiveness of the mechanism.

Authors:Sohrab Rezaei, Ali Khaki-Sedigh
Title: Comparative Analysis of Data-Driven Predictive Control Strategies
Abstract:
This paper compares data-driven predictive control strategies by examining their theoretical foundations, assumptions, and applications. The three most widely recognized and consequential methods, Data Enabled Predictive Control, Willems-Koopman Predictive Control, Model-Free Adaptive Predictive Control are employed. Each of these strategies is systematically reviewed, and the primary theories supporting it are outlined. Following analysis, a discussion is provided regarding their fundamental assumptions, emphasizing their influence on control effectiveness. A numerical example is presented as a benchmark for comparison to enable a rigorous performance evaluation.

Authors:Ridma Ganganath, Simone Servadio, David Lee
Title: Star Tracker Misalignment Compensation in Deep Space Navigation Through Model-Based Estimation
Abstract:
This work presents a novel adaptive framework for simultaneously estimating spacecraft attitude and sensor misalignment. Uncorrected star tracker misalignment can introduce significant pointing errors that compromise mission objectives in GPS-denied environments. To address this challenge, the proposed architecture integrates a Bayesian Multiple-Model Adaptive Estimation (MMAE) framework operating over an N x N x N 3D hypothesis grid. Each hypothesis employs a 9-state Multiplicative Extended Kalman Filter (MEKF) to estimate attitude, angular velocity, and gyroscope bias using TRIAD-based vector measurements. A key contribution is the development of a robust grid refinement strategy that uses hypothesis diversity and weighted-mean grid centering to prevent the premature convergence commonly encountered in classical, dominant model-based refinement triggers. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the proposed method reduces the final misalignment RMSE relative to classical approaches, achieving arcsecond-level accuracy. The resulting framework offers a computationally tractable and statistically robust solution for in-flight calibration, enhancing the navigational autonomy of resource-constrained spacecraft.

Authors:Lida Shahbandari, Mohammad Mansouri
Title: Biogeography-Based Optimization of Fuzzy Controllers for Improved Quarter Car Suspension Performance
Abstract:
This study proposes optimized Type-I and Type-II fuzzy controllers for automotive suspension systems to enhance ride comfort and stability under road disturbances (step/sine inputs), addressing the lack of systematic performance comparisons in existing literature. We integrate Biogeography-Based Optimization (BBO), Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), and Genetic Algorithms (GA) to tune controller parameters for a quarter car model, with emphasis on BBO's underexplored efficacy. MATLAB Simulink simulations demonstrate that BBO-optimized Type-II fuzzy control reduces body displacement by 22% and acceleration by 18% versus baseline methods under step disturbances, while maintaining computational efficiency. The framework provides practical, high-performance solutions for modern vehicles, particularly electric and autonomous platforms where vibration attenuation and energy efficiency are critical.

Authors:Amin Behboudifar, Chen Jing
Title: Whale Optimization Algorithms based fractional order fuzzy PID controller for Depth of Anesthesia
Abstract:
One of the most important surgical factors is Depth of Anesthesia (DOA) control in patients. The main problem is to overcome the uncertainty and nonlinearity of the system, due to different physiological parameters of the patient's body and maintain DOA of patients in desired range during surgery. This study demonstrates a fractional order fuzzy PID controller (FOFPID) and fractional order PID controller (FOPID) to the problem. The Whale Optimization Algorithms (WOA) is used to optimized the parameters of proposed controllers. The orders of derivative and integral fractional controller is achieved by WOA. The results indicate that FOFPID has a better performance than FOPID. To check the performance of the controllers in presence of uncertainty, physiological logical model of 8 patients has been investigated. The modeling is based on Pharmacodynamic and Pharmacokinetic model. The results show the performance of the proposed method.

Authors:Ali Khosravani Nezhad, AmirReza Kosari, Rasoul Askari
Title: Computing Longitudinal Dynamic Derivatives of a VTOL Aircraft Using CFD Simulations and Forced-Oscillation Model
Abstract:
This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of dynamic aerodynamic derivatives during aircraft transition phases using advanced CFD simulations and forced oscillation testing. Two case studies are examined: a three dimensional fighter aircraft (Standard Dynamic Model, SDM) and a UT24 eVTOL model. The transition phase from vertical hover to forward cruise is analyzed with harmonic oscillation techniques to capture unsteady aerodynamic forces and moments. Grid sensitivity studies and multi zone meshing strategies ensure simulation accuracy, while ANSYS Fluent finite volume solver and coupled pressure velocity algorithms provide high fidelity results. Dynamic derivatives are derived from variations in angle of attack, flight path, and rotational movements, with experimental and numerical data validating the approach. The findings offer valuable insights for robust control design and stability analysis, supporting future advancements in urban air mobility and aerospace engineering. Overall, this approach demonstrates substantial promise for optimizing aircraft performance during critical transition phases. These results pave the way for future innovations

Authors:Niklas Dieckow, Katharina Ostaszewski, Philip Heinisch, Henriette Struckmann, Hendrik Ranocha
Title: Real-time rail vehicle localisation using spatially resolved magnetic field measurements
Abstract:
This work presents two complementary real-time rail vehicle localization methods based on magnetic field measurements and a pre-recorded magnetic map. The first uses a particle filter reweighted via magnetic similarity, employing a heavy-tailed non-Gaussian kernel for enhanced stability. The second is a stateless sequence alignment technique that transforms real-time magnetic signals into the spatial domain and matches them to the map using a similarity measure. Experiments with operational train data show that the particle filter achieves track-selective, sub-5-meter accuracy over 21.6 km, though its performance degrades at low speeds and during cold starts. Accuracy tests were constrained by the GNSS-based reference system. In contrast, the alignment-based method excels in cold-start scenarios, localizing within 30 m in 92 % of tests (100 % using top-3 matches). A hybrid approach combines both methods$\unicode{x2014}$alignment-based initialization followed by particle filter tracking. Runtime analysis confirms real-time capability on consumer-grade hardware. The system delivers accurate, robust localization suitable for safety-critical rail applications.

Authors:Bowen Li, Junting Chen
Title: Radio Map Assisted Routing and Predictive Resource Allocation over Dynamic Low Altitude Networks
Abstract:
Dynamic low altitude networks offer significant potential for efficient and reliable data transport via unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) relays which usually operate with predetermined trajectories. However, it is challenging to optimize the data routing and resource allocation due to the time-varying topology and the need to control interference with terrestrial systems. Traditional schemes rely on time-expanded graphs with uniform and fine time subdivisions, making them impractical for interference-aware applications. This paper develops a dynamic space-time graph model with a cross-layer optimization framework that converts a joint routing and predictive resource allocation problem into a joint bottleneck path planning and resource allocation problem. We develop explicit deterministic bounds to handle the channel uncertainty and prove a monotonicity property in the problem structure that enables us to efficiently reach the globally optimal solution to the predictive resource allocation subproblem. Then, this approach is extended to multi-commodity transmission tasks through time-frequency allocation, and a bisection search algorithm is developed to find the optimum solution by leveraging the monotonicity of the feasible set family. Simulations verify that the single-commodity algorithm approaches global optimality with more than 30 dB performance gain over the classical graph-based methods for delay-sensitive and large data transportation. At the same time, the multi-commodity method achieves 100X improvements in dense service scenarios and enables an additional 20 dB performance gain by data segmenting.

Authors:Taewon Kang, Ji-Wook Kwon, Il Bae, Jin Hyo Kim
Title: Monocular Vision-Based Swarm Robot Localization Using Equilateral Triangular Formations
Abstract:
Localization of mobile robots is crucial for deploying robots in real-world applications such as search and rescue missions. This work aims to develop an accurate localization system applicable to swarm robots equipped only with low-cost monocular vision sensors and visual markers. The system is designed to operate in fully open spaces, without landmarks or support from positioning infrastructures. To achieve this, we propose a localization method based on equilateral triangular formations. By leveraging the geometric properties of equilateral triangles, the accurate two-dimensional position of each participating robot is estimated using one-dimensional lateral distance information between robots, which can be reliably and accurately obtained with a low-cost monocular vision sensor. Experimental and simulation results demonstrate that, as travel time increases, the positioning error of the proposed method becomes significantly smaller than that of a conventional dead-reckoning system, another low-cost localization approach applicable to open environments.

Authors:Selma Cheshmeh Khavar, Arya Abdollahi
Title: Research on Sectionalizing Switches Placement Problem of Distribution System Automation Based on Multi-Objective Optimization Analysis
Abstract:
Achieving high distribution-reliability levels and concurrently minimizing operating costs can be considered as the main issues in distribution system optimization. Determination of the optimal number and location of automation devices in the distribution system network is an essential issue from the reliability and economical points of view. To address these issues, this paper develops a multi-objective model, wherein the primary objective, optimal automation devices placement is implemented aiming at minimizing the operating costs, while in the second objective the reliability indices improvement is taken into account. So, modified non dominated sorting genetic algorithm, is developed and presented to solve this multi-objective mixed-integer non-linear programming problem. The feasibility of the proposed algorithm examined by application to two distribution feeders of the Tabriz distribution network containing the third feeder of the Azar substation with a distributed generation unit and first and third feeders of ElGoli substation which form a double feed feeder.

Authors:Abhijan Theja, Mayukha Pal
Title: An Explainable Equity-Aware P2P Energy Trading Framework for Socio-Economically Diverse Microgrid
Abstract:
Fair and dynamic energy allocation in community microgrids remains a critical challenge, particularly when serving socio-economically diverse participants. Static optimization and cost-sharing methods often fail to adapt to evolving inequities, leading to participant dissatisfaction and unsustainable cooperation. This paper proposes a novel framework that integrates multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming (MILP), cooperative game theory, and a dynamic equity-adjustment mechanism driven by reinforcement learning (RL). At its core, the framework utilizes a bi-level optimization model grounded in Equity-regarding Welfare Maximization (EqWM) principles, which incorporate Rawlsian fairness to prioritize the welfare of the least advantaged participants. We introduce a Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) agent that dynamically adjusts socio-economic weights in the optimization objective based on observed inequities in cost and renewable energy access. This RL-powered feedback loop enables the system to learn and adapt, continuously striving for a more equitable state. To ensure transparency, Explainable AI (XAI) is used to interpret the benefit allocations derived from a weighted Shapley value. Validated across six realistic scenarios, the framework demonstrates peak demand reductions of up to 72.6%, and significant cooperative gains. The adaptive RL mechanism further reduces the Gini coefficient over time, showcasing a pathway to truly sustainable and fair energy communities.

Authors:Francesco Ceccanti, Aldo Bischi, Umberto Desideri, Andrea Baccioli
Title: Toward Sustainable Vertical Farming: Impacts of Environmental Factors and Energy Mix on Performance and Costs
Abstract:
The increasing interest in vertical farming arises from its ability to ensure consistent, high-quality, and pest-free vegetable production while supporting synergies with energy systems and urban development. Accordingly, standardized design and operation guidelines are essential to improve energy efficiency and lower costs. This study analyzes the production performance and energy consumption of a vertical farming system, assessing its efficiency, sustainability, and economic viability. A total of 162 scenarios were evaluated by combining three levels of temperature, photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), and CO2 concentration across three distinct climatic zones, namely Norway, China, and Dubai, which also differ from a socio-environmental viewpoint. Two insulation thicknesses were also tested in each scenario. Results indicate that due to the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning and dehumidification (HVACD) system, neither the insulation layer nor the external climate significantly influences crop productivity. PPFD proved to be the dominant factor in crop growth (correlation: 0.85), followed by CO2 (0.36) and indoor temperature (0.22). PPFD also emerged as the primary driver of overall energy consumption (correlation: 0.73), as it affects both lighting and HVACD loads. Notably, the lowest specific energy consumption (SEC) coincided with the lowest crop productivity (55 kg/m2). The levelized cost of lettuce (LCoL), balancing productivity and energy use, identified the most cost-effective setup as 24C, 250 PPFD, 1400 ppm CO2, with insulation, consistent across all climates. Ultimately, only nearly decarbonized energy systems can support vertical farming without increasing CO2 emissions compared to imported lettuce.

Authors:Hamza Mettali, Rousset François, Eric Bideaux, Clausse Marc
Title: Optimal Integration Of Heat-Pump And Solar Thermal Energy In The Pre-heating Loop Of Wood And Gas Boiler Based District Heating System
Abstract:
The integration of renewable sources is essential for decarbonizing heat production in district energy networks. Beyond biomass-based solutions, solar thermal energy, with or without heat pumps, presents a significant opportunity. However, system performance is highly dependent on outdoor and setpoint temperatures. This study aims to optimize system design using a multi-criteria approach that considers techno-economic and environmental (CO2) factors. A Mixed-Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model is developed, incorporating temperature discretization for problem linearization and capturing key dynamic characteristics of heat generators. The model improves convergence, reducing a 19% MIP gap in 26 hours to 10% in 12 hours by dissipating 6% excess solar heat. A multi-scenario analysis under two carbon taxation levels and different CO2 emission cases revealed solar integration up to 11,932 m${}^2$ but increased gas reliance (50%) and TES losses (49%). Wood boiler inclusion reduced solar dependency, covering 45% of heat, lowered LCOH, but limited renewable penetration. Higher carbon taxes boosted solar adoption but faced storage inefficiencies, while biomass enhanced cost efficiency and system stability.

Authors:Takumi Kato, Zhi Li Hu
Title: Rapid Modeling Architecture for Lightweight Simulator to Accelerate and Improve Decision Making for Industrial Systems
Abstract:
Designing industrial systems, such as building, improving, and automating distribution centers and manufacturing plants, involves critical decision-making with limited information in the early phases. The lack of information leads to less accurate designs of the systems, which are often difficult to resolve later. It is effective to use simulators to model the designed system and find out the issues early. However, the modeling time required by conventional simulators is too long to allow for rapid model creation to meet decision-making demands. In this paper, we propose a Rapid Modeling Architecture (RMA) for a lightweight industrial simulator that mitigates the modeling burden while maintaining the essential details in order to accelerate and improve decision-making. We have prototyped a simulator based on the RMA and applied it to the actual factory layout design problem. We also compared the modeling time of our simulator to that of an existing simulator, and as a result, our simulator achieved a 78.3% reduction in modeling time compared to conventional simulators.

Authors:Maryann Rui, Munther A. Dahleh
Title: Learning clusters of partially observed linear dynamical systems
Abstract:
We study the problem of learning clusters of partially observed linear dynamical systems from multiple input-output trajectories. This setting is particularly relevant when there are limited observations (e.g., short trajectories) from individual data sources, making direct estimation challenging. In such cases, incorporating data from multiple related sources can improve learning. We propose an estimation algorithm that leverages different data requirements for the tasks of clustering and system identification. First, short impulse responses are estimated from individual trajectories and clustered. Then, refined models for each cluster are jointly estimated using multiple trajectories. We establish end-to-end finite sample guarantees for estimating Markov parameters and state space realizations and highlight trade-offs among the number of observed systems, the trajectory lengths, and the complexity of the underlying models.

Authors:Juntao Lin, Xianghao Zhan
Title: Sensor Drift Compensation in Electronic-Nose-Based Gas Recognition Using Knowledge Distillation
Abstract:
Due to environmental changes and sensor aging, sensor drift challenges the performance of electronic nose systems in gas classification during real-world deployment. Previous studies using the UCI Gas Sensor Array Drift Dataset reported promising drift compensation results but lacked robust statistical experimental validation and may overcompensate for sensor drift, losing class-related variance.To address these limitations and improve sensor drift compensation with statistical rigor, we first designed two domain adaptation tasks based on the same electronic nose dataset: using the first batch to predict the remaining batches, simulating a controlled laboratory setting; and predicting the next batch using all prior batches, simulating continuous training data updates for online training. We then systematically tested three methods: our proposed novel Knowledge Distillation (KD) method, the benchmark method Domain Regularized Component Analysis (DRCA), and a hybrid method KD-DRCA, across 30 random test set partitions on the UCI dataset. We showed that KD consistently outperformed both DRCA and KD-DRCA, achieving up to an 18% improvement in accuracy and 15% in F1-score, demonstrating KD's superior effectiveness in drift compensation. This is the first application of KD for electronic nose drift mitigation, significantly outperforming the previous state-of-the-art DRCA method and enhancing the reliability of sensor drift compensation in real-world environments.

Authors:Mario Costanza, Antonino Pagano, Samuel Margueron, Ilenia Tinnirello, Roberto La Rosa
Title: An Energy-Autonomous and Battery-Free Resistive Sensor using a Time-Domain to Digital Conversion with Bluetooth Low Energy connectivity
Abstract:
This paper introduces an innovative Energy-Autonomous Wireless Sensing Node (EAWSN) that addresses power constraints by harnessing ambient light for energy. It combines this energy harvesting capability with the Time Domain to Digital Conversion (TDDC) technique for efficient and accurate measurements of resistive sensors. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication ensures data can be transmitted wirelessly to a base station, providing a promising solution for various applications, particularly in environments with limited access to wired power sources, enabling long-term, maintenance-free operation by eliminating batteries. Experimental results showed a linear relationship between the test resistance R_m and the measured number of clock pulses N_m within the sensor's operating range.

Authors:Saugat Ghimire, Vaithianathan "Mani" Venkatasubramanian, Gilles Torresan
Title: Impact of Communication Delay and Sampling on Small-Signal Stability of IBR-rich Power Systems
Abstract:
The growing adoption of inverter-based resources (IBRs) has introduced unprecedented dynamics in power systems, resulting in oscillations across a broad spectrum of frequencies. Communication delay between the plant-level control and the inverter-level control in IBR plants has been recognized as one of the causes of such oscillations and a factor that impacts the system's stability. The control signals from the plant-level controller also experience sampling, with the sampled values held constant by the hold elements for the duration of the sampling period. This also has a bearing on the response of IBR plants. In this paper, we analyze the impacts of communication delay and sampling of control signals between plant-level control and inverter-level control of grid-following IBR plants on the small-signal stability of power systems. The underlying fundamentals of communication delay and sampling are revisited to explain the observed responses. Our findings emphasize the unique effects of communication delay and sampling period on the stability of IBR-rich power systems and suggest strategies to mitigate their detrimental impacts. The work also highlights the need for more accurate approaches for small-signal stability analysis of such systems.

Authors:Aria Delshad, Maryam Babazadeh
Title: A Distributed Actor-Critic Algorithm for Fixed-Time Consensus in Nonlinear Multi-Agent Systems
Abstract:
This paper proposes a reinforcement learning (RL)-based backstepping control strategy to achieve fixed time consensus in nonlinear multi-agent systems with strict feedback dynamics. Agents exchange only output information with their neighbors over a directed communication graph, without requiring full state measurements or symmetric communication. Achieving fixed time consensus, where convergence occurs within a pre-specified time bound that is independent of initial conditions is faced with significant challenges due to the presence of unknown nonlinearities, inter-agent couplings, and external disturbances. This work addresses these challenges by integrating actor critic reinforcement learning with a novel fixed time adaptation mechanism. Each agent employs an actor critic architecture supported by two estimator networks designed to handle system uncertainties and unknown perturbations. The adaptation laws are developed to ensure that all agents track the leader within a fixed time regardless of their initial conditions. The consensus and tracking errors are guaranteed to converge to a small neighborhood of the origin, with the convergence radius adjustable through control parameters. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and highlight its advantages over state-of-the-art methods in terms of convergence speed and robustness.

Authors:Haoyang Zhang, Mina Montazeri, Philipp Heer, Koen Kok, Nikolaos G. Paterakis
Title: Arbitrage Tactics in the Local Markets via Hierarchical Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning
Abstract:
Strategic bidding tactics employed by prosumers in local markets, including the Local Electricity Market (LEM) and Local Flexibility Market (LFM), have attracted significant attention due to their potential to enhance economic benefits for market participants through optimized energy management and bidding. While existing research has explored strategic bidding in a single market with multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) algorithms, arbitrage opportunities across local markets remain unexplored. This paper introduces a hierarchical MARL (HMARL) algorithm designed to enable aggregator arbitrage across multiple local markets. The strategic behavior of these aggregators in local markets is modeled as a two-stage Markov game: the first stage involves the LEM, while the second stage encompasses both the LFM and the balancing market. To solve this two-stage Markov game, the HMARL framework assigns two sub-agents to each aggregator, a primary sub-agent and a secondary sub-agent. Without the arbitrage strategy, these sub-agents operate in silos, with the primary sub-agent focusing on first-stage profits and the secondary sub-agent on second-stage profits, each employing independent MARLs. On the contrary, when implementing the arbitrage strategy with the proposed HMARL, the sub-agents communicate and coordinate to perform arbitrage across multiple local markets, enhancing overall efficiency. The case study, conducted under a scenario where all aggregators employ the arbitrage strategy, shows that despite higher initial costs in the LEM, this strategy generates substantial savings in the LFM and the balancing market, resulting in a total profit increase of $40.6\%$ on average. This highlights the capability of the proposed HMARL to address the two-stage Markov game and facilitate arbitrage across local markets, thereby enhancing profitability for participants.

Authors:Yacob Medhin, Simone Servadio
Title: The Sustainability of the Leo Orbit Capacity via Risk-Driven Active Debris Removal
Abstract:
The growing number of space debris in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) jeopardizes long-term orbital sustainability, requiring efficient risk assessment for active debris removal (ADR) missions. This study presents the development and validation of Filtered Modified MITRI (FMM), an enhanced risk index designed to improve the prioritization of high-criticality debris. Leveraging the MOCAT-MC simulation framework, we conducted a comprehensive performance evaluation and sensitivity analysis to probe the robustness of the FMM formulation. The results demonstrate that while the FMM provides superior identification of high-risk targets for annual removal campaigns, a nuanced performance trade-off exists between risk models depending on the operational removal cadence. The analysis also confirms that physically grounded mass terms are indispensable for practical risk assessment. By providing a validated open source tool and critical insights into the dynamics of risk, this research enhances our ability to select optimal ADR targets and ensure the long-term viability of LEO operations.

Authors:Luke Brantingham, Jason Grover
Title: Automating Capacitor Part Selection with Dual-Objective Optimization
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel framework for optimizing capacitor selection in electronic design using multi-objective linear and non-linear constrained optimization techniques. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this approach in minimizing cost and board area while meeting critical performance requirements.

Authors:Junnan Pan, Prodromos Sotiriadis, Vladislav Nenchev, Ferdinand Englberger
Title: Improving Functional Reliability of Near-Field Monitoring for Emergency Braking in Autonomous Vehicles
Abstract:
Autonomous vehicles require reliable hazard detection. However, primary sensor systems may miss near-field obstacles, resulting in safety risks. Although a dedicated fast-reacting near-field monitoring system can mitigate this, it typically suffers from false positives. To mitigate these, in this paper, we introduce three monitoring strategies based on dynamic spatial properties, relevant object sizes, and motion-aware prediction. In experiments in a validated simulation, we compare the initial monitoring strategy against the proposed improvements. The results demonstrate that the proposed strategies can significantly improve the reliability of near-field monitoring systems.

Authors:Süleyman Özkurt, Adrian Grimm, Walter Fichter
Title: Constrained Control Allocation With Continuous-Time Rate Constraints: Three-Dimensional Case
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel quadratic programming (QP) approach for constrained control allocation that directly incorporates continuous-time actuator rate constraints without requiring slack variables. Over-actuated aircraft configurations, particularly prevalent in eVTOL and military applications, require control allocation algorithms to distribute commanded control moments among available actuators while respecting position and rate constraints. Existing methods such as direct allocation, pseudo-inverse, cascaded generalized inverse, and exact redistributed pseudo-inverse either cannot handle rate constraints in continuous time or require discretization approaches that compromise performance. Current QP methods that incorporate rate constraints rely on slack variables to ensure feasibility, which prevents full utilization of the attainable moment set and degrades allocation performance. The proposed methodology addresses this limitation by calculating the attainable moment set from both position and rate constraints through convex hull operations, then ensuring feasibility by scaling unattainable commanded moments to the boundary of the attainable moment set while preserving their direction. This approach guarantees the feasibility of the optimization problem without slack variables. The method is validated through simulation on an F-18 fighter aircraft control allocation problem, demonstrating equivalent performance to the established exact redistributed pseudo-inverse method while providing smoother actuator behavior and enhanced constraint satisfaction. Results show that incorporating continuous-time rate constraints leads to improved actuator tracking, reduced overshoot, and more precise adherence to position limits, which is essential for aircraft safety, ride comfort, and actuator longevity.

Authors:Yuliang Fu, Guanghui Wen, Dan Zhao, Wei Xing Zheng, Xiaolei Li
Title: Event-Triggered Resilient Consensus of Networked Euler-Lagrange Systems Under Byzantine Attacks
Abstract:
The resilient consensus problem is investigated in this paper for a class of networked Euler-Lagrange systems with event-triggered communication in the presence of Byzantine attacks. One challenge that we face in addressing the considered problem is the inapplicability of existing resilient decision algorithms designed for one-dimensional multi-agent systems. This is because the networked Euler-Lagrange systems fall into the category of multi-dimensional multi-agent systems with coupling among state vector components. To address this problem, we propose a new resilient decision algorithm. This algorithm constructs auxiliary variables related to the coordinative objectives for each normal agent, and transforms the considered resilient consensus problem into the consensus problem of the designed auxiliary variables. Furthermore, to relax the constraints imposed on Byzantine agent behavior patterns within continuous-time scenarios, the event-triggered communication scheme is adopted. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated through case studies.

Authors:Shijie Huang, Sergio Grammatico
Title: Sequential feedback optimization with application to wind farm control
Abstract:
This paper develops a sequential-linearization feedback optimization framework for driving nonlinear dynamical systems to an optimal steady state. A fundamental challenge in feedback optimization is the requirement of accurate first-order information of the steady-state input-output mapping, which is computationally prohibitive for high-dimensional nonlinear systems and often leads to poor performance when approximated around a fixed operating point. To address this limitation, we propose a sequential algorithm that adaptively updates the linearization point during optimization, maintaining local accuracy throughout the trajectory. We prove convergence to a neighborhood of the optimal steady state with explicit error bounds. To reduce the computational burden of repeated linearization operations, we further develop a multi-timescale variant where linearization updates occur at a slower timescale than optimization iterations, achieving significant computational savings while preserving convergence guarantees. The effectiveness of the proposed framework is demonstrated via numerical simulations of a realistic wind farm control problem. The results validate both the theoretical convergence predictions and the expected computational advantages of our multi-timescale formulation.

Authors:Michelangelo Bin, David Angeli
Title: On an Abstraction of Lyapunov and Lagrange Stability
Abstract:
This paper studies a set-theoretic generalization of Lyapunov and Lagrange stability for abstract systems described by set-valued maps. Lyapunov stability is characterized as the property of inversely mapping filters to filters, Lagrange stability as that of mapping ideals to ideals. These abstract definitions unveil a deep duality between the two stability notions, enable a definition of global stability for abstract systems, and yield an agile generalization of the stability theorems for basic series, parallel, and feedback interconnections, including a small-gain theorem. Moreover, it is shown that Lagrange stability is abstractly identical to other properties of interest in control theory, such as safety and positivity, whose preservation under interconnections can be thus studied owing to the developed stability results.

Authors:Sumeadh MS, Kevin Dsouza, Ravi Prakash
Title: CPED-NCBFs: A Conformal Prediction for Expert Demonstration-based Neural Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
Among the promising approaches to enforce safety in control systems, learning Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) from expert demonstrations has emerged as an effective strategy. However, a critical challenge remains: verifying that the learned CBFs truly enforce safety across the entire state space. This is especially difficult when CBF is represented using neural networks (NCBFs). Several existing verification techniques attempt to address this problem including SMT-based solvers, mixed-integer programming (MIP), and interval or bound-propagation methods but these approaches often introduce loose, conservative bounds. To overcome these limitations, in this work we use CPED-NCBFs a split-conformal prediction based verification strategy to verify the learned NCBF from the expert demonstrations. We further validate our method on point mass systems and unicycle models to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed theory.

Authors:Debadrita Banerjee, Debjani Mitra, Rajesh Dey, Mudassir Khan, Lalan Kumar
Title: Multi Target Observability
Abstract:
In this paper, we mainly focus on the problem of multi-target observability, focusing on the unique state estimation criteria for multiple targets. We derive the condition which is necessary as well as sufficient for observability using bearing angles with multiple higher-order dynamics observed by a single observer. We then establish an alternative notion of observability by analyzing ambiguous target trajectories and deriving the condition which is NECNDSUF (Nec. and Suff.) for multi-target observability, considering three types of measurements: Doppler-only, bearing-only, and combined Doppler and bearing measurements, which offers insights that can improve target distinguishability, trajectory reconstruction, and overall tracking accuracy.

Authors:Xi Xi, Boniface Kinyanjui, Daniel M. Kammen
Title: Preventing an Extractive Green Hydrogen Industry: Risks and Benefits of Grid Expansion and Green Hydrogen in and for Kenya
Abstract:
This study evaluates the role of grid-connected hydrogen electrolyzers in advancing a cost-effective and in particular an equitable green hydrogen industry in Kenya to serve both domestic and international needs and markets. Using a multi-nodal capacity expansion model with county-level spatial resolution, we assess how electrolyzer deployment affects electricity cost, grid flexibility, and carbon intensity under various renewable and demand scenarios. Results show that electrolyzers enable up to 30 percent reduction in levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and US\$460 million in cumulative system cost savings by 2050 compared to a business-as-usual scenario. As a flexible demand available to absorb surplus generation, electrolyzers reduce curtailment and support large-scale wind integration while still requiring a diverse mix of renewable electricity. The resulting hydrogen reaches a levelized cost of \$3.2 per kg by 2050, and its carbon intensity from electricity use falls below one kg carbon dioxide per kg of hydrogen, suggesting likely compliance with international certification thresholds. Benefits persist across all demand trajectories, though their scale depends on the pace of wind expansion. Spatial analyses reveal unequal distribution of infrastructure gains, underscoring the need for equity-oriented planning. These findings suggest that grid-integrated hydrogen, if planned in coordination with wind investment, transmission, and equitable infrastructure deployment, can reduce costs, support certification, and promote a more equitable model of hydrogen development. In other words, connecting electrolyzers to the grid will not only make green hydrogen in Kenya but also for Kenya.

Authors:M. A. Belabbas, A. Olshevsky
Title: Interpretable Gradient Descent for Kalman Gain
Abstract:
We derive a decomposition for the gradient of the innovation loss with respect to the filter gain in a linear time-invariant system, decomposing as a product of an observability Gramian and a term quantifying the ``non-orthogonality" between the estimation error and the innovation. We leverage this decomposition to give a convergence proof of gradient descent to the optimal Kalman gain, specifically identifying how recovery of the Kalman gain depends on a non-standard observability condition, and obtaining an interpretable geometric convergence rate.

Authors:Obumneme Zimuzor Nwafor, Mohammed Abdul Majeed Al Hooti
Title: Artificial Intelligence for Green Hydrogen Yield Prediction and Site Suitability using SHAP-Based Composite Index: Focus on Oman
Abstract:
As nations seek sustainable alternatives to fossil fuels, green hydrogen has emerged as a promising strategic pathway toward decarbonisation, particularly in solar-rich arid regions. However, identifying optimal locations for hydrogen production requires the integration of complex environmental, atmospheric, and infrastructural factors, often compounded by limited availability of direct hydrogen yield data. This study presents a novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) framework for computing green hydrogen yield and site suitability index using mean absolute SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) values. This framework consists of a multi-stage pipeline of unsupervised multi-variable clustering, supervised machine learning classifier and SHAP algorithm. The pipeline trains on an integrated meteorological, topographic and temporal dataset and the results revealed distinct spatial patterns of suitability and relative influence of the variables. With model predictive accuracy of 98%, the result also showed that water proximity, elevation and seasonal variation are the most influential factors determining green hydrogen site suitability in Oman with mean absolute shap values of 2.470891, 2.376296 and 1.273216 respectively. Given limited or absence of ground-truth yield data in many countries that have green hydrogen prospects and ambitions, this study offers an objective and reproducible alternative to subjective expert weightings, thus allowing the data to speak for itself and potentially discover novel latent groupings without pre-imposed assumptions. This study offers industry stakeholders and policymakers a replicable and scalable tool for green hydrogen infrastructure planning and other decision making in data-scarce regions.

Authors:Marwan Hassini, Colette Mintsa-Eya, Eduardo Redondo-Iglesias, Pascal Venet
Title: Influence of Cell Position on the Capacity of Retired Batteries: Experimental and Statistical Studies
Abstract:
Understanding how batteries perform after automotive use is crucial to determining their potential for reuse. This article presents experimental results aimed at advancing knowledge of retired battery performance. Three modules extracted from electric vehicles were tested. Their performance was assessed, and the results were analyzed statistically using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The 36 retired cells exhibited a high level of performance, albeit with significant variation. On average, the cells had a 95% state of health capacity with a dispersion of 2.4%. ANOVA analysis suggests that cell performance is not correlated with their position inside the module. These results demonstrate the need to evaluate dispersion within retired batteries and to develop thermal management and balancing systems for second-life batteries.

Authors:Yanni Jiwan-Mercier, Barış Dönmez, Güneş Karabulut-Kurt, Sébastien Loranger
Title: Diffraction and Scattering Modeling for Laser Power Beaming in Lunar Environment
Abstract:
Reliable energy delivery is a critical requirement for long-term lunar missions, particularly in regions with limited solar access, such as polar craters and during extended lunar nights. Optical Power Beaming (OPB) using high-power lasers offers a promising alternative to conventional solar power, but the effects of suspended lunar dust on beam propagation remain poorly understood. This study introduces a detailed simulation model that incorporates both diffraction and height-dependent scattering by the electrostatically suspended lunar regolith. Un like prior approaches, which assumed uniform dust layers or center-to-center transmission loss, our model uses generalized diffraction theory and refractive index gradients derived from particle density to assess beam deformation and attenuation. The results show that even in ground-to-ground scenarios, lunar dust significantly degrades energy transfer efficiency, dropping from 57% to 3.7% over 50 km in dust-free vs. dusty conditions with 175 nm particles. Increasing the particle size to 250 nm limits the viable transmission range to below 30 km at 6% efficiency. The study further demonstrates that raising the laser source height can improve efficiency, achieving 91% for a distance of 5 km and 25% at 50 km when the source is positioned 12 m above ground. These findings underscore the importance of system elevation and dust modeling in lunar OPB design and reveal the mission-critical role of particle size distribution, especially in environments disturbed by human activity.

Authors:L. D. Couto, K. Haghverdi, F. Guo, K. Trad, G. Mulder
Title: Identifiability Analysis of a Pseudo-Two-Dimensional Model & Single Particle Model-Aided Parameter Estimation
Abstract:
This contribution presents a parameter identification methodology for the accurate and fast estimation of model parameters in a pseudo-two-dimensional (P2D) battery model. The methodology consists of three key elements. First, the data for identification is inspected and specific features herein that need to be captured are included in the model. Second, the P2D model is analyzed to assess the identifiability of the physical model parameters and propose alternative parameterizations that alleviate possible issues. Finally, diverse operating conditions are considered that excite distinct battery dynamics which allows the use of different low-order battery models accordingly. Results show that, under low current conditions, the use of low-order models achieve parameter estimates at least 500 times faster than using the P2D model at the expense of twice the error. However, if accuracy is a must, these estimated parameters can be used to initialize the P2D model and perform the identification in half of the time.

Authors:Janani S K, Shishir Kolathaya
Title: Fixed time convergence guarantees for Higher Order Control Barrier Functions
Abstract:
We present a novel method for designing higher-order Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) that guarantee convergence to a safe set within a user-specified finite. Traditional Higher Order CBFs (HOCBFs) ensure asymptotic safety but lack mechanisms for fixed-time convergence, which is critical in time-sensitive and safety-critical applications such as autonomous navigation. In contrast, our approach imposes a structured differential constraint using repeated roots in the characteristic polynomial, enabling closed-form polynomial solutions with exact convergence at a prescribed time. We derive conditions on the barrier function and its derivatives that ensure forward invariance and fixed-time reachability, and we provide an explicit formulation for second-order systems. Our method is evaluated on three robotic systems - a point-mass model, a unicycle, and a bicycle model and benchmarked against existing HOCBF approaches. Results demonstrate that our formulation reliably enforces convergence within the desired time, even when traditional methods fail. This work provides a tractable and robust framework for real-time control with provable finite-time safety guarantees.

Authors:Mehul Anand, Shishir Kolathaya
Title: Safety Certification in the Latent space using Control Barrier Functions and World Models
Abstract:
Synthesising safe controllers from visual data typically requires extensive supervised labelling of safety-critical data, which is often impractical in real-world settings. Recent advances in world models enable reliable prediction in latent spaces, opening new avenues for scalable and data-efficient safe control. In this work, we introduce a semi-supervised framework that leverages control barrier certificates (CBCs) learned in the latent space of a world model to synthesise safe visuomotor policies. Our approach jointly learns a neural barrier function and a safe controller using limited labelled data, while exploiting the predictive power of modern vision transformers for latent dynamics modelling.

Authors:Ming Lei, Shufan Wu
Title: Robust Probability Hypothesis Density Filtering: Theory and Algorithms
Abstract:
Multi-target tracking (MTT) serves as a cornerstone technology in information fusion, yet faces significant challenges in robustness and efficiency when dealing with model uncertainties, clutter interference, and target interactions. Conventional approaches like Gaussian Mixture PHD (GM-PHD) and Cardinalized PHD (CPHD) filters suffer from inherent limitations including combinatorial explosion, sensitivity to birth/death process parameters, and numerical instability. This study proposes an innovative minimax robust PHD filtering framework with four key contributions: (1) A theoretically derived robust GM-PHD recursion algorithm that achieves optimal worst-case error control under bounded uncertainties; (2) An adaptive real-time parameter adjustment mechanism ensuring stability and error bounds; (3) A generalized heavy-tailed measurement likelihood function maintaining polynomial computational complexity; (4) A novel partition-based credibility weighting method for extended targets. The research not only establishes rigorous convergence guarantees and proves the uniqueness of PHD solutions, but also verifies algorithmic equivalence with standard GM-PHD. Experimental results demonstrate that in high-clutter environments, this method achieves a remarkable 32.4% reduction in OSPA error and 25.3% lower cardinality RMSE compared to existing techniques, while maintaining real-time processing capability at 15.3 milliseconds per step. This breakthrough lays a crucial foundation for reliable MTT in safety-critical applications.

Authors:Honghao Wu, Kemi Ding, Li Qiu
Title: Minimum Clustering of Matrices Based on Phase Alignment
Abstract:
Coordinating multi-agent systems requires balancing synchronization performance and controller implementation costs. To this end, we classify agents by their intrinsic properties, enabling each group to be controlled by a uniform controller and thus reducing the number of unique controller types required. Existing centralized control methods, despite their capability to achieve high synchronization performance with fewer types of controllers, suffer from critical drawbacks such as limited scalability and vulnerability to single points of failure. On the other hand, distributed control strategies, where controllers are typically agent-dependent, result in the type of required controllers increasing proportionally with the size of the system. This paper introduces a novel phase-alignment-based framework to minimize the type of controllers by strategically clustering agents with aligned synchronization behaviors. Leveraging the intrinsic phase properties of complex matrices, we formulate a constrained clustering problem and propose a hierarchical optimization method combining recursive exact searches for small-scale systems and scalable stochastic approximations for large-scale networks. This work bridges theoretical phase analysis with practical control synthesis, offering a cost-effective solution for large-scale multi-agent systems. The theoretical results applied for the analysis of a 50-agent network illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.

Authors:Sihang Wei, Melkior Ornik, Hiroyasu Tsukamoto
Title: Conformal Contraction for Robust Nonlinear Control with Distribution-Free Uncertainty Quantification
Abstract:
We present a novel robust control framework for continuous-time, perturbed nonlinear dynamical systems with uncertainty that depends nonlinearly on both the state and control inputs. Unlike conventional approaches that impose structural assumptions on the uncertainty, our framework enhances contraction-based robust control with data-driven uncertainty prediction, remaining agnostic to the models of the uncertainty and predictor. We statistically quantify how reliably the contraction conditions are satisfied under dynamics with uncertainty via conformal prediction, thereby obtaining a distribution-free and finite-time probabilistic guarantee for exponential boundedness of the trajectory tracking error. We further propose the probabilistically robust control invariant (PRCI) tube for distributionally robust motion planning, within which the perturbed system trajectories are guaranteed to stay with a finite probability, without explicit knowledge of the uncertainty model. Numerical simulations validate the effectiveness of the proposed robust control framework and the performance of the PRCI tube.

Authors:Stella Slad, Burkhard Luy
Title: Single spin exact gradients for the optimization of complex pulses and pulse sequences
Abstract:
The efficient computer optimization of magnetic resonance pulses and pulse sequences involves the calculation of a problem-adapted cost function as well as its gradients with respect to all controls applied. The gradients generally can be calculated as a finite difference approximation, as a GRAPE approximation, or as an exact function, e.g. by the use of the augmented matrix exponentiation, where the exact gradient should lead to best optimization convergence. However, calculation of exact gradients is computationally expensive and analytical exact solutions to the problem would be highly desirable. As the majority of todays pulse optimizations involve a single spin 1/2, which can be represented by simple rotation matrices in the Bloch space or by their corresponding Cayley-Klein/quaternion parameters, the derivations of analytical exact gradient functions appear to be feasible. Taking two optimization types, the optimization of point-to-point pulses using 3D-rotations and the optimization of universal rotation pulses using quaternions, analytical solutions for gradients with respect to controls have been derived. Controls in this case can be conventional $x$ and $y$ pulses, but also $z$-controls, as well as gradients with respect to amplitude and phase of a pulse shape. In addition, analytical solutions with respect to pseudo controls, involving holonomic constraints to maximum rf-amplitudes, maximum rf-power, or maximum rf-energy, are introduced. Using the hyperbolic tangent function, maximum values are imposed in a fully continuous and differentiable way. The obtained analytical gradients allow the calculation two orders of magnitude faster than the augmented matrix exponential approach. The exact gradients for different controls are finally compared in a number of optimizations involving broadband pulses for $^{15}$N, $^{13}$C, and $^{19}$F applications.

Authors:Maria Margarida Mascarenhas, Jilles De Blauwe, Mikael Amelin, Hussain Kazmi
Title: Leveraging Asynchronous Cross-border Market Data for Improved Day-Ahead Electricity Price Forecasting in European Markets
Abstract:
Accurate short-term electricity price forecasting is crucial for strategically scheduling demand and generation bids in day-ahead markets. While data-driven techniques have shown considerable prowess in achieving high forecast accuracy in recent years, they rely heavily on the quality of input covariates. In this paper, we investigate whether asynchronously published prices as a result of differing gate closure times (GCTs) in some bidding zones can improve forecasting accuracy in other markets with later GCTs. Using a state-of-the-art ensemble of models, we show significant improvements of 22% and 9% in forecast accuracy in the Belgian (BE) and Swedish bidding zones (SE3) respectively, when including price data from interconnected markets with earlier GCT (Germany-Luxembourg, Austria, and Switzerland). This improvement holds for both general as well as extreme market conditions. Our analysis also yields further important insights: frequent model recalibration is necessary for maximum accuracy but comes at substantial additional computational costs, and using data from more markets does not always lead to better performance - a fact we delve deeper into with interpretability analysis of the forecast models. Overall, these findings provide valuable guidance for market participants and decision-makers aiming to optimize bidding strategies within increasingly interconnected and volatile European energy markets.

Authors:Artun Sel, Mehmet Koruturk, Erdi Sayar
Title: Estimation of Regions of Attraction for Nonlinear Systems via Coordinate-Transformed TS Models and Piecewise Quadratic Lyapunov Functions
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel approach for computing enlarged Region of Attractions (ROA) for nonlinear dynamical systems through the integration of multiple coordinate transformations and piecewise quadratic Lyapunov functions within the Takagi-Sugeno (TS) modeling framework. While existing methods typically follow a single-path approach of original system $\rightarrow$ TS model $\rightarrow$ ROA computation, the proposed methodology systematically applies a sequence of coordinate transformations to generate multiple system representations, each yielding distinct ROA estimations. Specifically, the approach transforms the original nonlinear system using transformation matrices $T_1, T_2, \ldots, T_N$ to obtain $N$ different coordinate representations, constructs corresponding TS models for each transformed system, and computes individual ROAs using piecewise quadratic Lyapunov functions. The final ROA estimate is obtained as the union of all computed regions, leveraging the flexibility inherent in piecewise quadratic Lyapunov functions compared to traditional quadratic approaches. The enhanced methodology demonstrates significant improvements in ROA size estimation compared to conventional single-transformation techniques, as evidenced through comparative analysis with existing TS-based stability methods.

Authors:Seangleng Khe, Parin Chaipunya, Athikom Bangviwat
Title: A Stackelberg Game of Demand Response from the Aggregator's Perspective
Abstract:
In this paper, we investigate on the modeling of demand response activities between the single aggregator and multiple participating consumers. The model incorporates the bilevel structure that naturally occurs in the information structure and decision sequence, where the aggregator assumes the role of a leader and the participating consumers play the role of followers. The proposed model is demonstrated to be effective in load control, helping the aggregator to meet the target reduction while the consumers pay cheaper electricity bill.

Authors:Edward J. Oughton, Andrew Renton, Daniel Mac Marnus, Craig J. Rodger
Title: Assessing the economic benefits of space weather mitigation investment decisions: Evidence from Aotearoa New Zealand
Abstract:
Space weather events pose a growing threat to modern economies, yet their macroeconomic consequences still remain underexplored. This study presents the first dedicated economic assessment of geomagnetic storm impacts on Aotearoa New Zealand, quantifying potential GDP losses across seven disruption and mitigation scenarios due to an extreme coronal mass ejection (CME). The primary focus is upon the damaging impacts of geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) on the electrical power transmission network. The goal is to support decision-making around space weather mitigation investments by providing a first-order approximation of their potential economic benefits. We find that in the absence of mitigation, a severe but realistic storm could result in up to NZ\$8.36 billion in lost GDP, with more than half stemming from cascading supply chain effects. Yet, even less severe scenarios incur losses exceeding NZ\$3 billion. Importantly, research-led operational strategies, such as optimized switching and islanding, can avoid up to NZ\$370 million in losses for as little as NZ\$500,000 in expenditure, delivering a benefit-cost ratio of 740 to 1. Moreover, physical protections such as GIC blocking devices further reduce disruption to as low as NZ\$1.12 billion, with avoided GDP losses up to NZ\$2.3 billion, and benefit-cost returns up to 80 to 1. When also acknowledging unmodelled impacts, including multi-billion losses in capital equipment and long-term revenue, the economic rationale for pre-emptive mitigation becomes even more pertinent. Future research needs to integrate the modelling of capital and revenue losses for strategically important industrial facilities.

Authors:Adam Uchytil, Milan Korda, Jiří Zemánek
Title: Data-driven control of a magnetohydrodynamic flow
Abstract:
We demonstrate the feedback control of a weakly conducting magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) flow via Lorentz forces generated by externally applied electric and magnetic fields. Specifically, we steer the flow of an electrolyte toward prescribed velocity or vorticity patterns using arrays of electrodes and electromagnets positioned around and beneath a fluid reservoir, with feedback provided by planar particle image velocimetry (PIV). Control is implemented using a model predictive control (MPC) framework, in which control signals are computed by minimizing a cost function over the predicted evolution of the flow. The predictor is constructed entirely from data using Koopman operator theory, which enables a linear representation of the underlying nonlinear fluid dynamics. This linearity allows the MPC problem to be solved by alternating between two small and efficiently solvable convex quadratic programs (QPs): one for the electrodes and one for the electromagnets. The resulting controller runs in a closed loop on a standard laptop, enabling real-time control of the flow. We demonstrate the functionality of the approach through experiments in which the flow is shaped to match a range of reference velocity fields and a time-varying vorticity field.

Authors:Ali Pirmoradi, Han Hao, Kaisarbek Omirzakhov, Alexander J. Geers, Firooz Aflatouni
Title: A single chip 1.024 Tb/s silicon photonics PAM4 receiver
Abstract:
Energy-efficient high-bandwidth interconnects play a key role in computing systems. Advances in silicon photonic electro-optic modulators and wavelength selective components have enabled the utilization of wavelength-division-multiplexing (WDM) in integrated optical transceivers, offering a high data-rate operation while achieving enhanced energy efficiency, bandwidth density, scalability, and the reach required for data-centers. Here, we report the demonstration of a single chip optical WDM PAM4 receiver, where by co-integration of a 32-channel optical demultiplexer (O-DeMux) with autonomous wavelength tuning and locking at a near-zero power consumption and a 32-channel ultra-low power concurrent electrical detection system, a record chip energy efficiency of under 0.38 pJ/bit is measured. The implemented 32 channel monolithic WDM optical receiver chip achieves an end-to-end latency of under 100 ps and a bit-error-rate of less than 10-12 with no equalization, pre-distortion, or digital-signal-processing, while operating at 1.024 Tb/s aggregate data-rate on a single input fiber, the largest reported data-rate for a WDM PAM4 receiver chip to date. The receiver bandwidth density of more than 3.55 Tb/s/mm2 corresponds to more than an order-of-magnitude larger bandwidth density-energy efficiency product compared to the state-of-the-art optical PAM4 receivers for beyond 100Gb/s links. The chip, integrated using GlobalFoundries 45CLO CMOS-photonic process, can be used for implementation of energy-efficient high data-rate optical links for AI applications.

Authors:Fahimeh Orvati Nia, Hai Lin
Title: Traffic-Aware Pedestrian Intention Prediction
Abstract:
Accurate pedestrian intention estimation is crucial for the safe navigation of autonomous vehicles (AVs) and hence attracts a lot of research attention. However, current models often fail to adequately consider dynamic traffic signals and contextual scene information, which are critical for real-world applications. This paper presents a Traffic-Aware Spatio-Temporal Graph Convolutional Network (TA-STGCN) that integrates traffic signs and their states (Red, Yellow, Green) into pedestrian intention prediction. Our approach introduces the integration of dynamic traffic signal states and bounding box size as key features, allowing the model to capture both spatial and temporal dependencies in complex urban environments. The model surpasses existing methods in accuracy. Specifically, TA-STGCN achieves a 4.75% higher accuracy compared to the baseline model on the PIE dataset, demonstrating its effectiveness in improving pedestrian intention prediction.

Authors:Mohamad Charara, Martin De Montigny, Nivine Abou Daher, Hanane Dagdougui, Antoine Lesage-Landry
Title: Mixed-integer Second-Order Cone Programming for Multi-period Scheduling of Flexible AC Transmission System Devices
Abstract:
With the increasing energy demand and the growing integration of renewable sources of energy, power systems face operational challenges such as overloads, losses, and stability concerns, particularly as networks operate near their capacity limits. Flexible alternating current transmission system (FACTS) devices are essential to ensure reliable grid operations and enable the efficient integration of renewable energy. This work introduces a mixed-integer second-order cone programming (MISOCP) model for the multi-period scheduling of key FACTS devices in electric transmission systems. The proposed model integrates four key control mechanisms: (i) on-load tap changers (OLTCs) for voltage regulation via discrete taps; (ii) static synchronous compensators (STATCOMs) and (iii) shunt reactors for reactive power compensation; and (iv) thyristor-controlled series capacitors (TCSCs) for adjustable impedance and flow control. The objective is to minimize active power losses using a limited number of control actions while meeting physical and operational constraints at all times throughout the defined time horizon. To ensure tractability, the model employs a second-order cone relaxation of the power flow. Device-specific constraints are handled via binary expansion and linearization: OLTCs and shunt reactors are modelled with discrete variables, STATCOMs through reactive power bounds, and TCSCs using a reformulation-linearization technique (RLT). A multi-period formulation captures the sequential nature of decision making, ensuring consistency across time steps. The model is evaluated on the IEEE 9-bus, 30-bus, and RTS96 test systems, demonstrating its ability to reduce losses, with potential applicability to larger-scale grids.

Authors:Pramit Karmakar, Siddharth B, Chinmay Murlidhar Kadnur Rao
Title: Integrated Switched Capacitor Array and Synchronous Charge Extraction with Adaptive Hybrid MPPT for Piezoelectric Harvesters
Abstract:
Energy Harvesting technologies will play a fundamental role in the development of the next generation of electronic systems as well as in advancing the development of sustainable infrastructure. One of the critical challenges in EH is utilizing ambient vibrations to harvest energy. Piezo Energy Harvesting, which uses ambient vibrations, is a promising technology in energy harvesting and a self-powered technology. However, it suffers from several practical challenges. Some of these challenges include narrow bandwidth, non-linearity, and impedance mismatch, among others. This paper presents a novel, simulated Piezo Energy Harvesting (PEH) framework that addresses some of these challenges. The proposed model is designed to be adaptive and effective against the inherent non-linearity of PEH. This detailed model covers a non-linear piezo, Synchronous Electric Charge Extraction (SECE), Hybrid Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) and a Switched Capacitor Array (SCA). The SECE extracts the maximum charge accumulated on the piezo every time the piezo reaches the mechanical extremum. The Bouc-Wen model has been used to establish nonlinearity in the system. The hybrid MPPT exhibits significant improvement over conventional P&O, while the SCA-tuned system demonstrates resilience against variable frequency input.

Authors:Carl Collmann, Bitan Banerjee, Ahmad Nimr, Gerhard Fettweis
Title: A Practical Analysis: Understanding Phase Noise Modelling in Time and Frequency Domain for Phase-Locked Loops
Abstract:
In MIMO systems, the presence of phase noise is a significant factor that can degrade performance. For MIMO testbeds build from SDR devices, phase noise cannot be ignored, particular in applications that require phase synchronization. This is especially relevant in MIMO systems that employ digital beamforming, where precise phase alignment is crucial. Accordingly, accurate phase noise modelling of SDR devices is essential. However, the information provided in data sheets for different SDR models varies widely and is often insufficient for comprehensive characterization of their phase noise performance. While numerical simulations of PLL phase noise behavior are documented in the literature, there is a lack of extensive measurements supported by appropriate system modelling. In this work, we present a practical phase noise modeling methodology applied to an SDR from the USRP X310 series. Based on measurement data, we derive estimates of key PLL performance indicators such as cycle-to-cycle jitter, oscillator constants, and PLL bandwidth. Furthermore, we propose a parametric model for the phase noise PSD of the PLL circuit and provide corresponding parameter estimates. This model can be used for further investigation into the impact of phase noise on MIMO system performance implemented by similar SDR devices.

Authors:Hyeongmin Choe, SooJean Han
Title: Advantages of Feedback in Distributed Data-Gathering for Accurate and Power-Efficient State-Estimation
Abstract:
In distributed target-tracking sensor networks, efficient data gathering methods are necessary to save communication resources and assure information accuracy. This paper proposes a Feedback (FB) distributed data-gathering method which lets the central unit feed information back to the mobile sensors; each sensor then uses it to cancel redundant transmissions and reduce communication congestion. We rigorously compare its performance, in terms of mean-squared error (MSE) and cost of power per sensor, against more conventional Non-Feedback (NF) architectures by evaluating conditions of feasibility and advantage under different architecture specifications (e.g., communication delay rate, power cost rate, maximum back-off time, sampling period, observation noise). Here, we defined the advantage as the performance gain achieved by FB over NF, while FB is said to be feasible if the advantage region is nonempty. Our theoretical analyses show that the feasibility of FB depends more on the communication power cost, while the advantage depends on the sensors' propagation delay per transmission interval; we derive concrete conditions under which these outcomes hold. Using extensive numerical simulations under a variety of settings, we confirm the accuracy of the derived conditions, and show that our theoretical results hold even for more complex scenarios where the simplifying assumptions no longer hold.

Authors:Jonathan Olivares, Tyler Depe, Rakeshkumar Mahto
Title: Reconfigurable Battery Systems for Enhanced Fast Charging in Electric Vehicles
Abstract:
The adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) is rapidly growing as a key solution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However, prolonged charging times remain a significant barrier to widespread EV usage, especially for individuals without access to fast charging infrastructure. This paper explores the potential of reconfigurable battery systems to reduce EV charging times without compromising battery life. We propose innovative battery pack configurations that dynamically adjust the arrangement of cells to optimize charging performance. Simulations were conducted using MATLAB and Simulink to compare the efficiency of various battery configurations, focusing on charging times, state of charge (SOC), voltage, and current under different conditions. The results demonstrate that connecting more batteries in series through reconfigurability in battery packs can significantly reduce charging times while maintaining operational safety. This study offers insights into how reconfigurable battery designs can provide a practical solution for faster, more efficient home-based EV charging, making EV ownership more accessible and sustainable.

Authors:Andrey Bryutkin, Matthew E. Levine, Iñigo Urteaga, Youssef Marzouk
Title: Canonical Bayesian Linear System Identification
Abstract:
Standard Bayesian approaches for linear time-invariant (LTI) system identification are hindered by parameter non-identifiability; the resulting complex, multi-modal posteriors make inference inefficient and impractical. We solve this problem by embedding canonical forms of LTI systems within the Bayesian framework. We rigorously establish that inference in these minimal parameterizations fully captures all invariant system dynamics (e.g., transfer functions, eigenvalues, predictive distributions of system outputs) while resolving identifiability. This approach unlocks the use of meaningful, structure-aware priors (e.g., enforcing stability via eigenvalues) and ensures conditions for a Bernstein--von Mises theorem -- a link between Bayesian and frequentist large-sample asymptotics that is broken in standard forms. Extensive simulations with modern MCMC methods highlight advantages over standard parameterizations: canonical forms achieve higher computational efficiency, generate interpretable and well-behaved posteriors, and provide robust uncertainty estimates, particularly from limited data.

Authors:Adhwaa Alchaab, Ayman Younis, Dario Pompili
Title: Demo: Secure Edge Server for Network Slicing and Resource Allocation in Open RAN
Abstract:
Next-Generation Radio Access Networks (NGRAN) aim to support diverse vertical applications with strict security, latency, and Service-Level Agreement (SLA) requirements. These demands introduce challenges in securing the infrastructure, allocating resources dynamically, and enabling real-time reconfiguration. This demo presents SnSRIC, a secure and intelligent network slicing framework that mitigates a range of Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks in Open RAN environments. SnSRIC incorporates an AI-driven xApp that dynamically allocates Physical Resource Blocks (PRBs) to active users while enforcing slice-level security. The system detects anomalous behavior, distinguishes between benign and malicious devices, and uses the E2 interface to throttle rogue signaling while maintaining service continuity for legitimate users.

Authors:Chen Cai, Ernesto Dickel Saraiva, Ya-jun Pan, Steven Liu
Title: MPC-based Coarse-to-Fine Motion Planning for Robotic Object Transportation in Cluttered Environments
Abstract:
This letter presents a novel coarse-to-fine motion planning framework for robotic manipulation in cluttered, unmodeled environments. The system integrates a dual-camera perception setup with a B-spline-based model predictive control (MPC) scheme. Initially, the planner generates feasible global trajectories from partial and uncertain observations. As new visual data are incrementally fused, both the environment model and motion planning are progressively refined. A vision-based cost function promotes target-driven exploration, while a refined kernel-perceptron collision detector enables efficient constraint updates for real-time planning. The framework accommodates closed-chain kinematics and supports dynamic replanning. Experiments on a multi-arm platform validate its robustness and adaptability under uncertainties and clutter.

Authors:Pradyumna Kunchala, Ashish Patwari
Title: A Leap-on-Success Exhaustive Search Method to Find Optimal Robust Minimum Redundancy Arrays (RMRAs): New Array Configurations for Sensor Counts 11 to 20
Abstract:
Two-fold redundant sparse arrays (TFRAs) are designed to maintain accurate direction estimation even in the event of a single sensor failure, leveraging the deliberate coarray redundancy infused into their design. Robust Minimum Redundancy Arrays (RMRAs), a specialized class of TFRAs, optimize this redundancy to achieve the maximum possible aperture for a given number of sensors. However, finding optimal RMRA configurations is an NP-hard problem, with prior research reporting optimal solutions only for arrays of up to ten sensors. This paper presents newly discovered optimal RMRA configurations for array sizes 11 to 15, identified using a novel Leap-on-Success exhaustive search algorithm that efficiently reduces computational effort by terminating the search upon locating optimal solutions. The robustness of these arrays was validated under all single-element failure scenarios using MATLAB simulations, confirming their superior resilience compared to some existing TFRAs vulnerable to failures at specific sensor positions. Furthermore, near-optimal configurations for array sizes 16 to 20 are also reported, highlighting the potential applicability of the proposed method for larger array designs given sufficient computational resources. This work not only advances the state-of-the-art in RMRA design but also introduces an effective search methodology that can be leveraged for future explorations in array configuration optimization.

Authors:Obumneme Nwafor, Chioma Nwafor, Amro Zakaria, Nkechi Nwankwo
Title: A Feed-Forward Artificial Intelligence Pipeline for Sustainable Desalination under Climate Uncertainties: UAE Insights
Abstract:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) relies heavily on seawater desalination to meet over 90% of its drinking water needs. Desalination processes are highly energy intensive and account for approximately 15% of the UAE's electricity consumption, contributing to over 22% of the country's energy-related CO2 emissions. Moreover, these processes face significant sustainability challenges in the face of climate uncertainties such as rising seawater temperatures, salinity, and aerosol optical depth (AOD). AOD greatly affects the operational and economic performance of solar-powered desalination systems through photovoltaic soiling, membrane fouling, and water turbidity cycles. This study proposes a novel pipelined two-stage predictive modelling architecture: the first stage forecasts AOD using satellite-derived time series and meteorological data; the second stage uses the predicted AOD and other meteorological factors to predict desalination performance efficiency losses. The framework achieved 98% accuracy, and SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations) was used to reveal key drivers of system degradation. Furthermore, this study proposes a dust-aware rule-based control logic for desalination systems based on predicted values of AOD and solar efficiency. This control logic is used to adjust the desalination plant feed water pressure, adapt maintenance scheduling, and regulate energy source switching. To enhance the practical utility of the research findings, the predictive models and rule-based controls were packaged into an interactive dashboard for scenario and predictive analytics. This provides a management decision-support system for climate-adaptive planning.

Authors:Viktor Sinitsyn, Nils Schlautmann, Florian Schwaiger, Florian Holzapfel
Title: Streamlined Airborne Software Development for Large UAVs: From Unified Data Collection to Automated Code Generation
Abstract:
The aerospace industry has experienced significant transformations over the last decade, driven by technological advancements and innovative solutions in goods and personal transportation. This evolution has spurred the emergence of numerous start-ups that now face challenges traditionally encountered by established aerospace companies. Among these challenges is the efficient processing of digital intra-device communication interfaces for onboard equipment - a critical component for ensuring seamless system integration and functionality. Addressing this challenge requires solutions that emphasize clear and consistent interface descriptions, automation of processes, and reduced labor-intensive efforts. This paper presents a novel process and toolchain designed to streamline the development of digital interfaces and onboard software, which our team has successfully applied in several completed projects. The proposed approach focuses on automation and flexibility while maintaining compliance with design assurance requirements.

Authors:Haomiaomiao Wang, Conor Fennell, Swati Poojary, Mingming Liu
Title: A SUMO-Based Digital Twin for Evaluation of Conventional and Electric Vehicle Networks
Abstract:
Digital twins are increasingly applied in transportation modelling to replicate real-world traffic dynamics and evaluate mobility and energy efficiency. This study presents a SUMO-based digital twin that simulates mixed ICEV-EV traffic on a major motorway segment, leveraging multi-sensor data fusion from inductive loops, GPS probes, and toll records. The model is validated under both complete and partial information scenarios, achieving 93.1% accuracy in average speed estimation and 97.1% in average trip length estimation. Statistical metrics, including KL Divergence and Wasserstein Distance, demonstrate strong alignment between simulated and observed traffic patterns. Furthermore, CO2 emissions were overestimated by only 0.8-2.4%, and EV power consumption underestimated by 1.0-5.4%, highlighting the model's robustness even with incomplete vehicle classification information.

Authors:Guanyu Qian, Haoxian Yan, Xiaofan Cui
Title: Fast-Response Variable-Frequency Series-Capacitor Buck VRM Through Integrated Control Approaches
Abstract:
Fast-response voltage regulation is essential for data-center Voltage Regulation Modules (VRMs) powering Artificial Intelligence (AI) workloads, which exhibit both small-amplitude fluctuations and abrupt full-load steps. This paper introduces a control scheme that integrates a linear controller and a nonlinear controller for variable-frequency Series-Capacitor Buck (SCB) converters. First, an accurate small-signal model is derived via a Switching-Synchronized Sampled State-Space (5S) framework, yielding discrete-time transfer functions and root-locus insights for direct digital design. A critical concern for SCB converters is series-capacitor oscillation during heavy load steps if the strict switching sequence is not maintained. To accelerate large-signal transients, a time-optimal control strategy based on Pontryagins Maximum Principle (PMP) relaxes the switching constraints to compute time-optimal switching sequences. A transition logic is then proposed to integrate the high-bandwidth small-signal controller and the large-signal controller. Simulations demonstrate a rapid output voltage recovery under a heavy load step-up, over ten times faster than a linear controller-only design. Preliminary hardware tests indicate a stable rejection to heavy load disturbances with zero steady-state error.

Authors:Hiroki Sakamoto, Kazuhiro Sato
Title: Compression Method for Deep Diagonal State Space Model Based on $H^2$ Optimal Reduction
Abstract:
Deep learning models incorporating linear SSMs have gained attention for capturing long-range dependencies in sequential data. However, their large parameter sizes pose challenges for deployment on resource-constrained devices. In this study, we propose an efficient parameter reduction method for these models by applying $H^{2}$ model order reduction techniques from control theory to their linear SSM components. In experiments, the LRA benchmark results show that the model compression based on our proposed method outperforms an existing method using the Balanced Truncation, while successfully reducing the number of parameters in the SSMs to $1/32$ without sacrificing the performance of the original models.

Authors:Juan A. Martinez-Velasco, Alexandre Serrano-Fontova, Ricard Bosch-Tous, Pau Casals-Torrens
Title: Survey on Methods for Detection, Classification and Location of Faults in Power Systems Using Artificial Intelligence
Abstract:
Components of electrical power systems are susceptible to failures caused by lightning strikes, aging or human errors. These faults can cause equipment damage, affect system reliability, and results in expensive repair costs. As electric power systems are becoming more complex, traditional protection methods face limitations and shortcomings. Faults in power systems can occur at anytime and anywhere, can be caused by a natural disaster or an accident, and their occurrence can be hardly predicted or avoided; therefore, it is crucial to accurately estimate the fault location and quickly restore service. The development of methods capable of accurately detecting, locating and removing faults is essential (i.e. fast isolation of faults is necessary to maintain the system stability at transmission levels; accurate and fast detection and location of faults are essential for increasing reliability and customer satisfaction at distribution levels). This has motivated the development of new and more efficient methods. Methods developed to detect and locate faults in power systems can be divided into two categories, conventional and artificial intelligence-based techniques. Although the utilization of artificial intelligence (AI) techniques offer tremendous potential, they are challenging and time consuming (i.e. many AI techniques require training data for processing). This paper presents a survey of the application of AI techniques to fault diagnosis (detection, classification and location of faults) of lines and cables of power systems at both transmission and distribution levels. The paper provides a short introduction to AI concepts, a brief summary of the application of AI techniques to power system analysis and design, and a discussion on AI-based fault diagnosis methods.

Authors:Venkatraman Renganathan, Sabyasachi Mondal, Antonios Tsourdos
Title: Predictive & Trust-based Multi-Agent Coordination
Abstract:
This paper presents a trust-based predictive multi-agent consensus protocol that analyses neighbours' anticipation data and makes coordination decisions. Agents in the network share their future predicted data over a finite look-ahead horizon with their neighbours and update their predictions in a rolling-horizon fashion. The prediction data is then used by agents to learn both the trust and the commitment traits exhibited by their neighbours over time. The proposed protocol is named as the Anticipatory Distributed Coordination (ADC) protocol. Lyapunov theory-based agreement convergence between agents is provided, followed by demonstrations using numerical simulations.

Authors:Zihao Zhou, Zipeng Dai, Linyi Huang, Cui Yang, Youjun Xiang, Jie Tang, Kai-kit Wong
Title: UavNetSim-v1: A Python-based Simulation Platform for UAV Communication Networks
Abstract:
In unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) networks, communication protocols and algorithms are essential for cooperation and collaboration between UAVs. Simulation provides a cost-effective solution for prototyping, debugging, and analyzing protocols and algorithms, avoiding the prohibitive expenses of field experiments. In this paper, we present ``UavNetSim-v1'', an open-source Python-based simulation platform designed for rapid development, testing, and evaluating the protocols and algorithms in UAV networks. ``UavNetSim-v1'' provides most of the functionalities developers may need, including routing/medium access control (MAC) protocols, topology control algorithms and mobility/energy models, while maintaining ease of use. Furthermore, the platform supports comprehensive performance evaluation and features an interactive visualization interface for in-depth algorithm analysis. In short, ``UavNetSim-v1'' lends itself to both rapid prototyping and educational purposes, and can serve as a lightweight yet powerful alternative to mature network simulators for UAV communication research.

Authors:Boyou Chen, Kaihan Zhang, Austin Moore, Bochen Jia, Mengqiu Cao
Title: Electric Vehicle Public Charging Equity Considerations: A Systematic Review
Abstract:
Public electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure is crucial for accelerating EV adoption and reducing transportation emissions; however, disparities in infrastructure access have raised significant equity concerns. This systematic review synthesizes existing knowledge and identifies gaps regarding equity in EV public charging research. Following structured review protocols, 91 peer-reviewed studies from Scopus and Google Scholar were analyzed, focusing explicitly on equity considerations. The findings indicate that current research on EV public charging equity mainly adopted geographic information systems (GIS), network optimization, behavioral modeling, and hybrid analytical frameworks, yet lacks consistent normative frameworks for assessing equity outcomes. Equity assessments highlight four key dimensions: spatial accessibility, cost burdens, reliability and usability, and user awareness and trust. Socio-economic disparities, particularly income, housing tenure, and ethnicity, frequently exacerbate inequitable access, disproportionately disadvantaging low-income, renter, and minority populations. Additionally, infrastructure-specific choices, including charger reliability, strategic location, and pricing strategies, significantly influence adoption patterns and equity outcomes. However, existing literature primarily reflects North American, European, and Chinese contexts, revealing substantial geographical and methodological limitations. This review suggests the need for more robust normative evaluations of equity, comprehensive demographic data integration, and advanced methodological frameworks, thereby guiding targeted, inclusive, and context-sensitive infrastructure planning and policy interventions.

Authors:Azfar Azdi Arfakhsyad, Aufa Nasywa Rahman, Larasati Kinanti, Ahmad Ataka Awwalur Rizqi, Hannan Nur Muhammad
Title: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Data-Driven Modeling Software with Integrated 9-Axis IMUGPS Sensor Fusion and Data Filtering Algorithm
Abstract:
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) have emerged as versatile platforms, driving the demand for accurate modeling to support developmental testing. This paper proposes data-driven modeling software for UAV. Emphasizes the utilization of cost-effective sensors to obtain orientation and location data subsequently processed through the application of data filtering algorithms and sensor fusion techniques to improve the data quality to make a precise model visualization on the software. UAV's orientation is obtained using processed Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) data and represented using Quaternion Representation to avoid the gimbal lock problem. The UAV's location is determined by combining data from the Global Positioning System (GPS), which provides stable geographic coordinates but slower data update frequency, and the accelerometer, which has higher data update frequency but integrating it to get position data is unstable due to its accumulative error. By combining data from these two sensors, the software is able to calculate and continuously update the UAV's real-time position during its flight operations. The result shows that the software effectively renders UAV orientation and position with high degree of accuracy and fluidity

Authors:Shu Zhang, James Y. Z. Liu, Dominic Liao-McPherson
Title: Integrating Planning and Predictive Control Using the Path Feasibility Governor
Abstract:
The motion planning problem of generating dynamically feasible, collision-free trajectories in non-convex environments is a fundamental challenge for autonomous systems. Decomposing the problem into path planning and path tracking improves tractability, but integrating these components in a theoretically sound and computationally efficient manner is challenging. We propose the Path Feasibility Governor (PathFG), a framework for integrating path planners with nonlinear Model Predictive Control (MPC). The PathFG manipulates the reference passed to the MPC controller, guiding it along a path while ensuring constraint satisfaction, stability, and recursive feasibility. The PathFG is modular, compatible with replanning, and improves computational efficiency and reliability by reducing the need for long prediction horizons. We prove safety and asymptotic stability with a significantly expanded region of attraction, and validate its real-time performance through a simulated case study of quadrotor navigation in a cluttered environment.

Authors:Emilio Carrizosa, Martina Fischetti, Roshell Haaker, Juan Miguel Morales
Title: Counterfactual optimization for fault prevention in complex wind energy systems
Abstract:
Machine Learning models are increasingly used in businesses to detect faults and anomalies in complex systems. In this work, we take this approach a step further: beyond merely detecting anomalies, we aim to identify the optimal control strategy that restores the system to a safe state with minimal disruption. We frame this challenge as a counterfactual problem: given a Machine Learning model that classifies system states as either good or anomalous, our goal is to determine the minimal adjustment to the system's control variables (i.e., its current status) that is necessary to return it to the good state. To achieve this, we leverage a mathematical model that finds the optimal counterfactual solution while respecting system specific constraints. Notably, most counterfactual analysis in the literature focuses on individual cases where a person seeks to alter their status relative to a decision made by a classifier, such as for loan approval or medical diagnosis. Our work addresses a fundamentally different challenge: optimizing counterfactuals for a complex energy system, specifically an offshore wind turbine oil type transformer. This application not only advances counterfactual optimization in a new domain but also opens avenues for broader research in this area. Our tests on real world data provided by our industrial partner show that our methodology easily adapts to user preferences and brings savings in the order of 3 million euros per year in a typical farm.

Authors:Zhe Chen, Huichao Zhao, Yongfeng Jiang, Minghui Bai, Lun Li, Jicheng Chen
Title: PGD-based optimization of 3D bobsleigh track centerlines from 2D centerlines for simulation applications
Abstract:
The centerline of a bobsleigh track defines its geometry and is essential for simulation modeling. To reduce bBobsleigh training costs, leveraging the centerline of the bobsleigh track to construct a virtual environment that closely replicates real competitive settings presents a promising solution. However, publicly available centerline data are typically limited and it is imprecise to construct a training system solely based on 2-dimensional (2D) centerline. To address this practical issue, this paper proposes a method for generating a 3-dimensional (3D) track centerline based on 2D centerline data. Incorporating international track design regulations, the method formulates an optimization problem that considers total track length, height difference, slope constraints, and geometric continuity. A Projected Gradient Descent (PGD) algorithm is used to solve the optimization problem. The generated 3D centerlines are compared with real track data, and the results show that the method can reproduce realistic centerline trends from original or scaled 2D data. For the selected track segment, the relative errors in total length, height difference, and average slope are within 1.7%, 3.2% and 4.1%, respectively, for real 2D data and within 1.1%, 3.5% and 4.3% respectively for scaled data. All slope values remain within the allowable limits. Moreover, by adjusting the segmentation or modifying the weight of height difference in the cost function, various centerline styles applicable to different competitions can be generated. Under different segmentation and weight factors, the maximum errors reach up to 4.4%, 4.8%, and 9.8%, and 4.4%, 4.8%, and 10.0%, respectively. The proposed method provides a flexible and efficient tool for supporting bobsleigh track centerline design.

Authors:Samuel Chevalier, William A. Wheeler
Title: Identifying the Smallest Adversarial Load Perturbations that Render DC-OPF Infeasible
Abstract:
What is the globally smallest load perturbation that renders DC-OPF infeasible? Reliably identifying such "adversarial attack" perturbations has useful applications in a variety of emerging grid-related contexts, including machine learning performance verification, cybersecurity, and operational robustness of power systems dominated by stochastic renewable energy resources. In this paper, we formulate the inherently nonconvex adversarial attack problem by applying a parameterized version of Farkas' lemma to a perturbed set of DC-OPF equations. Since the resulting formulation is very hard to globally optimize, we also propose a parameterized generation control policy which, when applied to the primal DC-OPF problem, provides solvability guarantees. Together, these nonconvex problems provide guaranteed upper and lower bounds on adversarial attack size; by combining them into a single optimization problem, we can efficiently "squeeze" these bounds towards a common global solution. We apply these methods on a range of small- to medium-sized test cases from PGLib, benchmarking our results against the best adversarial attack lower bounds provided by Gurobi 12.0's spatial Branch and Bound solver.

Authors:Tian-Li Wu, Hsin-Jou Ho, Chia-Wei Liu, Yi-Chen Chen
Title: Demonstration of TFTs 3D Monolithically Integrated on GaN HEMTs using Cascode Configuration with High Breakdown Voltage (>1900V)
Abstract:
This study demonstrates 3D monolithic integration of amorphous indium-gallium-zinc oxide (a-IGZO) thin-film transistors (TFTs) on Gallium Nitride (GaN) high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) in a cascode configuration, achieving high breakdown voltage capabilities exceeding 1900 V. Two device configurations, differing in a-IGZO channel thickness (30 nm / 10 nm), are fabricated and evaluated. Sample B, with a 10 nm a-IGZO channel, demonstrates superior electrical performance, including a high ON/OFF current ratio (~10^7), low subthreshold swing (SS), and a high breakdown voltage exceeding 1900 V comparable to standalone GaN power HEMTs. The results highlight the feasibility and potential of 3D integrated TFT on GaN power HEMTs, paving the way for new opportunities for the TFTs for high voltage applications.

Authors:Javal Vyas, Mehmet Mercangoz
Title: Autonomous Control Leveraging LLMs: An Agentic Framework for Next-Generation Industrial Automation
Abstract:
The increasing complexity of modern chemical processes, coupled with workforce shortages and intricate fault scenarios, demands novel automation paradigms that blend symbolic reasoning with adaptive control. In this work, we introduce a unified agentic framework that leverages large language models (LLMs) for both discrete fault-recovery planning and continuous process control within a single architecture. We adopt Finite State Machines (FSMs) as interpretable operating envelopes: an LLM-driven planning agent proposes recovery sequences through the FSM, a Simulation Agent executes and checks each transition, and a Validator-Reprompting loop iteratively refines invalid plans. In Case Study 1, across 180 randomly generated FSMs of varying sizes (4-25 states, 4-300 transitions), GPT-4o and GPT-4o-mini achieve 100% valid-path success within five reprompts-outperforming open-source LLMs in both accuracy and latency. In Case Study 2, the same framework modulates dual-heater inputs on a laboratory TCLab platform (and its digital twin) to maintain a target average temperature under persistent asymmetric disturbances. Compared to classical PID control, our LLM-based controller attains similar performance, while ablation of the prompting loop reveals its critical role in handling nonlinear dynamics. We analyze key failure modes-such as instruction following lapses and coarse ODE approximations. Our results demonstrate that, with structured feedback and modular agents, LLMs can unify high-level symbolic planningand low-level continuous control, paving the way towards resilient, language-driven automation in chemical engineering.

Authors:Brian R Larson, Ehsan Ahmad
Title: Formalization of the AADL Run-Time Services with Time
Abstract:
The Architecture Analysis & Design Language (AADL) is an architecture description language for design of cyber-physical systems--machines controlled by software. The AADL standard, SAE International AS5506D, describes Run-Time Services (RTS) to be provided to execute AADL models in accordance with semantics defined by the standard. The RTS of primary concern are transport services and timing services. Although, the study presented in [1] sets a foundation for the formal semantics of AADL, but without modeling time. This paper extends and simplifies this formalization using a modal logic defined by a Kripke structure, to explicitly include time. The RTS defined in the AADL standard are also expanded to support reactive state-transition machines of the Behavior Specification annex standard language (BA) and its closely-related, formally-defined counterpart, the Behavior Language for Embedded Systems with Software (BLESS). An example of AADL RTS with time, implemented by the High Assurance Modeling and Rapid Engineering for Embedded Systems (HAMR) for state-transition machine behavior written in BLESS, is also presented.

Authors:Pietro Kristović, Andrej Jokić, Mircea Lazar
Title: Dynamic Output-Feedback Controller Synthesis for Dissipativity from Noisy Input-State Data
Abstract:
In this paper we propose a dynamic output-feedback controller synthesis method for discrete-time linear time-invariant systems. The synthesis goal is to render closed-loop system dissipative with respect to a given generic unstructured quadratic supply rate, while the system dynamics is partially represented by input-state data corrupted by a bounded disturbance. The controller synthesis is performed with respect to all systems which are consistent with the available data, and it is formulated in terms of a linear matrix inequality parametrized by a scalar variable, so that the synthesis can be performed using line search and convex optimization. Within the considered setting, the proposed synthesis procedure is non-conservative in a sense that it is based on conditions which are both necessary and sufficient.

Authors:Sean Smith, Emmanuel Witrant, Ya-Jun Pan
Title: Stream Function-Based Navigation for Complex Quadcopter Obstacle Avoidance
Abstract:
This article presents a novel stream function-based navigational control system for obstacle avoidance, where obstacles are represented as two-dimensional (2D) rigid surfaces in inviscid, incompressible flows. The approach leverages the vortex panel method (VPM) and incorporates safety margins to control the stream function and flow properties around virtual surfaces, enabling navigation in complex, partially observed environments using real-time sensing. To address the limitations of the VPM in managing relative distance and avoiding rapidly accelerating obstacles at close proximity, the system integrates a model predictive controller (MPC) based on higher-order control barrier functions (HOCBF). This integration incorporates VPM trajectory generation, state estimation, and constraint handling into a receding-horizon optimization problem. The 2D rigid surfaces are enclosed using minimum bounding ellipses (MBEs), while an adaptive Kalman filter (AKF) captures and predicts obstacle dynamics, propagating these estimates into the MPC-HOCBF for rapid avoidance maneuvers. Evaluation is conducted using a PX4-powered Clover drone Gazebo simulator and real-time experiments involving a COEX Clover quadcopter equipped with a 360 degree LiDAR sensor.

Authors:Jonas Schweiger, Ruaridh Macdonald
Title: Techno-economic analysis of decarbonized backup power systems using scenario-based stochastic optimization
Abstract:
In the context of growing concerns about power disruptions, grid reliability and the need for decarbonization, this study evaluates a broad range of clean backup power systems (BPSs) to replace traditional emergency diesel generators. A scenario-based stochastic optimization framework using actual load profiles and outage probabilities is proposed to assess the most promising options from a pool of 27 technologies. This framework allows a comparison of cost-effectiveness and environmental impact of individual technologies and hybrid BPSs across various scenarios. The results highlight the trade-off between total annual system cost and emissions. Significant emission reductions can be achieved at moderate cost increases but deep decarbonization levels incur higher costs. Primary and secondary batteries are included in optimal clean fuel-based systems across all decarbonization levels, combining cost-effective power delivery and long-term storage benefits. The findings highlight the often-overlooked importance of fuel replacement on both emissions and costs. Among the assessed technologies, ammonia generators and hydrogen fuel cells combined with secondary iron-air batteries emerge as cost-effective solutions for achieving decarbonization goals. To ensure a broad range of applicability, the study outlines the impact of emergency fuel purchases, varying demand patterns and demand response options on the optimal BPS. The research findings are valuable for optimizing the design of clean BPSs to economically meet the needs of many facility types and decarbonization targets.

Authors:Saif Ahmad, Seifeddine Ben Elghali, Hafiz Ahmed
Title: Coordinated Fast Frequency Regulation in Dynamic Virtual Power Plants via Disturbance Estimation
Abstract:
In the context of dynamic virtual power plants (DVPPs), the integration of frequency containment reserve (FCR) and fast frequency control (FFC) enabled via local compensation of power imbalance represents a significant advancement in decentralized frequency regulation. However, they still have to cope with the limited power and energy capacities associated with commonly available storage solutions. This work combines a disturbance estimation based decentralized local control with distributed imbalance compensation in the event of local shortfall. The layered architecture facilitates fast local corrections in power setpoints while enabling coordination between neighbouring DVPP nodes to leverage the aggregated capacity, ensuring scalable and efficient operation suitable for renewable-heavy future grids. The proposed approach is validated on an illustrative 4-bus system with a high percentage of renewables.

Authors:Erick Mejia Uzeda, Mireille E. Broucke
Title: On Regular Regressors in Adaptive Control
Abstract:
This paper addresses a shortcoming in adaptive control, that the property of a regressor being persistently exciting (PE) is not well-behaved. One can construct regressors that upend the commonsense notion that excitation should not be created out of nothing. To amend the situation, a notion of regularity of regressors is needed. We are naturally led to a broad class of regular regressors that enjoy the property that their excitation is always confined to a subspace, a foundational result called the PE decomposition. A geometric characterization of regressor excitation opens up new avenues for adaptive control, as we demonstrate by formulating a number of new adaptive control problems.

Authors:Giacomo Baggio, Marco Fabris
Title: How Complex is a Complex Network? Insights from Linear Systems Theory
Abstract:
This paper leverages linear systems theory to propose a principled measure of complexity for network systems. We focus on a network of first-order scalar linear systems interconnected through a directed graph. By locally filtering out the effect of nodal dynamics in the interconnected system, we propose a new quantitative index of network complexity rooted in the notion of McMillan degree of a linear system. First, we show that network systems with the same interconnection structure share the same complexity index for almost all choices of their interconnection weights. Then, we investigate the dependence of the proposed index on the topology of the network and the pattern of heterogeneity of the nodal dynamics. Specifically, we find that the index depends on the matching number of subgraphs identified by nodal dynamics of different nature, highlighting the joint impact of network architecture and component diversity on overall system complexity.

Authors:Mustafa Shabani, Alireza Nasiri, Hassan Nafardi
Title: Forex Trading Robot Using Fuzzy Logic
Abstract:
In this study, we propose a fuzzy system for conducting short-term transactions in the forex market. The system is designed to enhance common strategies in the forex market using fuzzy logic, thereby improving the accuracy of transactions. Traditionally, technical strategies based on oscillator indicators have relied on predefined ranges for indicators such as Relative Strength Index (RSI), Commodity Channel Indicator (CCI), and Stochastic to determine entry points for trades. However, the use of these classic indicators has yielded suboptimal results due to the changing nature of the market over time. In our proposed approach, instead of employing classical indicators, we introduce a fuzzy Mamdani system for each indicator. The results obtained from these systems are then combined through voting to design a trading robot. Our findings demonstrate a considerable increase in the profitability factor compared to three other methods. Additionally, net profit, gross profit, and maximum capital reduction are calculated and compared across all approaches.

Authors:Samuel Hayward, Martin Doff-Sotta, Michael Merlin, Matthew Williams, Thomas Morstyn
Title: Optimal Placement of Smart Hybrid Transformers in Distribution Networks
Abstract:
Hybrid transformers are a relatively new technology that combine conventional power transformers with power electronics to provide voltage and reactive power control capabilities in distribution networks. This paper proposes a novel method of determining the optimal location and utilisation of hybrid transformers in 3-phase distribution networks to maximise the net present value of hybrid transformers based on their ability to increase the export of power produced by distributed generators over their operational lifespan. This has been accomplished through sequential linear programming, a key feature of which is the consideration of nonlinear characteristics and constraints relating to hybrid transformer power electronics and control capabilities. Test cases were carried out in a modified version of the Cigre European Low Voltage Distribution Network Benchmark, which has been extended by connecting it with two additional low voltage distribution test networks. All test case results demonstrate that the installation and utilisation of hybrid transformers can improve the income earned from exporting excess active power, justifying their installation cost (with the highest net present value being £6.56 million, resulting from a 45.53 percent increase in estimated annual profits due to coordinated HT compensation).

Authors:Nikita Savin, Elena Ambrosovskaya, Dmitry Romaev, Anton Proskurnikov
Title: Assessing Linear Control Strategies for Zero-Speed Fin Roll Damping
Abstract:
Roll stabilization is a critical aspect of ship motion control, particularly for vessels operating in low-speed or zero-speed conditions, where traditional hydrodynamic fins lose their effectiveness. In this paper, we consider a roll damping system, developed by Navis JSC, based on two actively controlled zero-speed fins. Unlike conventional fin stabilizers, zero-speed fins employ a drag-based mechanism and active oscillations to generate stabilizing forces even when the vessel is stationary. We propose a simple linear control architecture that, however, accounts for nonlinear drag forces and actuator limitations. Simulation results on a high-fidelity vessel model used for HIL testing demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Authors:Ferhat Bayar, Onur Salan, Erdogan Aydin, Haci Ilhan
Title: Adaptive Communication Through Exploiting RIS, SSK, and CIM for Improved Reliability and Efficiency
Abstract:
In this paper, we present a novel communication system model that integrates reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS), spatial shift keying (SSK), and code index modulation (CIM) based on Hadamard coding called RIS based transmit SSK-CIM (RIS-CIM-TSSK). By leveraging RIS, the system adapts rapidly to dynamic environments, enhancing error rates and overall reliability. SSK facilitates the transmission of additional passive information while eliminating the need for multiple radio frequency (RF) chains, thereby reducing complexity. CIM enhances passive information transmission through frequency domain spreading, which may increase signal obfuscation. This proposed scheme not only improves energy efficiency but also offers a robust solution for reliable communication in modern wireless networks, paving the way for smarter and more adaptable implementations. We consider a suboptimal, low-complexity detector for the proposed scheme and also address the blind case for phase adjustment of the RIS. Finally, we present the simulation results for the proposed system model across various configurations, including different numbers of receive and transmit antennas, varying reflecting elements of the RIS, and different code lengths.

Authors:Avi Shaked, Nan Messe
Title: Automated Reasoning for Vulnerability Management by Design
Abstract:
For securing systems, it is essential to manage their vulnerability posture and design appropriate security controls. Vulnerability management allows to proactively address vulnerabilities by incorporating pertinent security controls into systems designs. Current vulnerability management approaches do not support systematic reasoning about the vulnerability postures of systems designs. To effectively manage vulnerabilities and design security controls, we propose a formally grounded automated reasoning mechanism. We integrate the mechanism into an open-source security design tool and demonstrate its application through an illustrative example driven by real-world challenges. The automated reasoning mechanism allows system designers to identify vulnerabilities that are applicable to a specific system design, explicitly specify vulnerability mitigation options, declare selected controls, and thus systematically manage vulnerability postures.

Authors:Grace E. Calkins, Jay W. McMahon, Alireza Doostan, David C. Woffinden
Title: Risk-Aware Aerocapture Guidance Through a Probabilistic Indicator Function
Abstract:
Aerocapture is sensitive to trajectory errors, particularly for low-cost missions with imprecise navigation. For such missions, considering the probability of each failure mode when computing guidance commands can increase performance. A risk-aware aerocapture guidance algorithm is proposed that uses a generative-modeling-based probabilistic indicator function to estimate escape, impact, or capture probabilities. The probability of each mode is incorporated into corrective guidance commands to increase the likelihood of successful capture. The proposed method is evaluated against state-of-the-art numeric predictor-corrector guidance algorithms in high-uncertainty scenarios where entry interface dispersions lead to nontrivial failure probabilities. When using a probabilistic indicator function in guidance, 69% to 100% of recoverable cases are saved in near-escape and near-impact scenarios. In addition, the probabilistic indicator is compared to a first-order fading memory filter for density estimation, showing improvements in apoapsis error even when a fading filter is included. The probabilistic indicator function can also accurately predict failure probability for dispersions outside its training data, showing generalizability. The proposed risk-aware aerocapture guidance algorithm improves capture performance and robustness to entry interface state dispersions, especially for missions with high navigation uncertainty.

Authors:S. Ali Hosseini, Nima Karbasizadeh, S. Hassan HosseiniNia
Title: Higher-Order Harmonics Reduction in Reset-Based Control Systems: Application to Precision Positioning Systems
Abstract:
To address the limitations imposed by Bode's gain-phase relationship in linear controllers, a reset-based filter called the Constant in gain- Lead in phase (CgLp) filter has been introduced. This filter consists of a reset element and a linear lead filter. However, the sequencing of these two components has been a topic of debate. Positioning the lead filter before the reset element in the loop leads to noise amplification in the reset signal, whereas placing the lead filter after the reset element results in the magnification of higher-order harmonics. This study introduces a tunable lead CgLp structure in which the lead filter is divided into two segments, enabling a balance between noise reduction and higher-order harmonics mitigation. Additionally, a filtering technique is proposed, employing a target-frequency-based approach to mitigate nonlinearity in reset control systems in the presence of noise. The effectiveness of the proposed methods in reducing nonlinearity is demonstrated through both frequency domain and time-domain analyses using a simulated precision positioning system as a case study.

Authors:Anton Plaksin, Georgios Rigas
Title: Domain Adaptation of Drag Reduction Policy to Partial Measurements
Abstract:
Feedback control of fluid-based systems poses significant challenges due to their high-dimensional, nonlinear, and multiscale dynamics, which demand real-time, three-dimensional, multi-component measurements for sensing. While such measurements are feasible in digital simulations, they are often only partially accessible in the real world. In this paper, we propose a method to adapt feedback control policies obtained from full-state measurements to setups with only partial measurements. Our approach is demonstrated in a simulated environment by minimising the aerodynamic drag of a simplified road vehicle. Reinforcement learning algorithms can optimally solve this control task when trained on full-state measurements by placing sensors in the wake. However, in real-world applications, sensors are limited and typically only on the vehicle, providing only partial measurements. To address this, we propose to train a Domain Specific Feature Transfer (DSFT) map reconstructing the full measurements from the history of the partial measurements. By applying this map, we derive optimal policies based solely on partial data. Additionally, our method enables determination of the optimal history length and offers insights into the architecture of optimal control policies, facilitating their implementation in real-world environments with limited sensor information.

Authors:Brian Brown, Michael King
Title: Gramians for a New Class of Nonlinear Control Systems Using Koopman and a Novel Generalized SVD
Abstract:
Model reduction with error bounds in nonlinear systems with non-affine control inputs remains an active field of research. In this work we present a construction for Controllability and Observability Gramians in a class of non-affine control input systems satisfying certain induced norm properties. We do so using a combination of representational forms, including a novel function decomposition that resembles linear Singular Value Decomposition (SVD), in tandem with an additional unconventional decomposition of the dynamics, and Koopman operator theory. The resulting representation allows one to place error bounds on the $H_{\infty}$ norm on a reduced-order representation of the system computed using finite-dimensional nonlinear Controllability and Observability Gramians.

Authors:Yizhou Luo, Kwan-Wu Chin, Ruyi Guan, Xi Xiao, Caimeng Wang, Jingyin Feng, Tengjiao He
Title: Optimizing Age of Trust and Throughput in Multi-Hop UAV-Aided IoT Networks
Abstract:
Devices operating in Internet of Things (IoT) networks may be deployed across vast geographical areas and interconnected via multi-hop communications. Further, they may be unguarded. This makes them vulnerable to attacks and motivates operators to check on devices frequently. To this end, we propose and study an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)-aided attestation framework for use in IoT networks with a charging station powered by solar. A key challenge is optimizing the trajectory of the UAV to ensure it attests as many devices as possible. A trade-off here is that devices being checked by the UAV are offline, which affects the amount of data delivered to a gateway. Another challenge is that the charging station experiences time-varying energy arrivals, which in turn affect the flight duration and charging schedule of the UAV. To address these challenges, we employ a Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) solution to optimize the UAV's charging schedule and the selection of devices to be attested during each flight. The simulation results show that our solution reduces the average age of trust by 88% and throughput loss due to attestation by 30%.

Authors:RenKai Wang, ZhiGang Shang
Title: Modeling and control of a low-cost multirotor hybrid aerial underwater vehicle
Abstract:
This paper presents a comprehensive modeling and control framework for a low-cost multirotor hybrid aerial-aquatic vehicle (MHAUV) capable of seamless air-water transitions. A hybrid dynamics model is proposed to account for the distinct hydrodynamic and aerodynamic forces across three operational zones: aerial, aquatic, and transitional hybrid regions. The model incorporates variable buoyancy, added mass effects, and fluid resistance, with thrust characteristics of submerged propellers analyzed through computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. A hierarchical control strategy is developed, combining twisting sliding mode control (TWSMC) for robust attitude stabilization during medium transitions with cascade PID controllers for precise motion tracking in homogeneous media. Experimental validation using a modified FPV quadrotor prototype demonstrates the effectiveness of the approach, achieving steady-state height errors below 0.1 m and attitude fluctuations under 5° during repeated water-crossing maneuvers. The results highlight the system's adaptability to fluid medium variations while maintaining cost-effectiveness and operational simplicity.

Authors:Aditya Kale, Marcos Netto, Xinyang Zhou
Title: Efficient streaming dynamic mode decomposition
Abstract:
We propose a reformulation of the streaming dynamic mode decomposition method that requires maintaining a single orthonormal basis, thereby reducing computational redundancy. The proposed efficient streaming dynamic mode decomposition method results in a constant-factor reduction in computational complexity and memory storage requirements. Numerical experiments on representative canonical dynamical systems show that the enhanced computational efficiency does not compromise the accuracy of the proposed method.

Authors:Roshan Nepal, Roozbeh Abbasi, Brandon Brown, Adunni Oginni, Norman Zhou, George Shaker
Title: Towards Long-Range, Battery-less Water Leak Detection: A LoRa-Based Approach
Abstract:
This paper presents a battery-less, self-powered water leak detection system that utilizes LoRa communication for long-range, real-time monitoring. The system harvests hydroelectric energy through a layered stack of conductive nanomaterials and metals, achieving a peak short-circuit current of over 500 mA and 1.65 V open-circuit voltage upon exposure to water. To address LoRa's higher power demands, an energy management subsystem -- comprising a DC-DC boost converter and a 100 mF supercapacitor -- ensures stable power delivery for the LLCC68 LoRa module. Experimental results demonstrate the system's ability to detect leaks as shallow as 0.5 mm, activate within 50 seconds across varying water depths, and transmit data reliably over LoRaWAN. This solution eliminates battery dependency, offering a scalable, maintenance-free approach for industrial, commercial, and residential applications, while advancing sustainable IoT infrastructure.

Authors:Paul Trodden, José M. Maestre, Hideaki Ishii
Title: On the Limits of Robust Control Under Adversarial Disturbances
Abstract:
This paper addresses a fundamental and important question in control: under what conditions does there fail to exist a robust control policy that keeps the state of a constrained linear system within a target set, despite bounded disturbances? This question has practical implications for actuator and sensor specification, feasibility analysis for reference tracking, and the design of adversarial attacks in cyber-physical systems. While prior research has predominantly focused on using optimization to compute control-invariant sets to ensure feasible operation, our work complements these approaches by characterizing explicit sufficient conditions under which robust control is fundamentally infeasible. Specifically, we derive novel closed-form, algebraic expressions that relate the size of a disturbance set -- modelled as a scaled version of a basic shape -- to the system's spectral properties and the geometry of the constraint sets.

Authors:Shreyan Banerjee, Luna Gava, Aasifa Rounak, Vikram Pakrashi
Title: Benchmarking Spiking Neurons for Linear Quadratic Regulator Control of Multi-linked Pole on a Cart: from Single Neuron to Ensemble
Abstract:
The emerging field of neuromorphic computing for edge control applications poses the need to quantitatively estimate and limit the number of spiking neurons, to reduce network complexity and optimize the number of neurons per core and hence, the chip size, in an application-specific neuromorphic hardware. While rate-encoding for spiking neurons provides a robust way to encode signals with the same number of neurons as an ANN, it often lacks precision. To achieve the desired accuracy, a population of neurons is often needed to encode the complete range of input signals. However, using population encoding immensely increases the total number of neurons required for a particular application, thus increasing the power consumption and on-board resource utilization. A transition from two neurons to a population of neurons for the LQR control of a cartpole is shown in this work. The near-linear behavior of a Leaky-Integrate-and-Fire neuron can be exploited to achieve the Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) control of a cartpole system. This has been shown in simulation, followed by a demonstration on a single-neuron hardware, known as Lu.i. The improvement in control performance is then demonstrated by using a population of varying numbers of neurons for similar control in the Nengo Neural Engineering Framework, on CPU and on Intel's Loihi neuromorphic chip. Finally, linear control is demonstrated for four multi-linked pendula on cart systems, using a population of neurons in Nengo, followed by an implementation of the same on Loihi. This study compares LQR control in the NEF using $7$ control and $7$ neuromorphic performance metrics, followed by a comparison with other conventional spiking and non-spiking controllers.

Authors:David Manheim, Aidan Homewood
Title: Limits of Safe AI Deployment: Differentiating Oversight and Control
Abstract:
Oversight and control (collectively, supervision) are often invoked as key levers for ensuring that AI systems are accountable, reliable, and able to fulfill governance and management requirements. However, the concepts are frequently conflated or insufficiently distinguished in academic and policy discourse, undermining efforts to design or evaluate systems that should remain under meaningful human supervision. This paper undertakes a targeted critical review of literature on supervision outside of AI, along with a brief summary of past work on the topic related to AI. We then differentiate control as being ex-ante or real-time, and operational rather than policy or governance. In contrast, oversight is either a policy and governance function, or is ex-post. We suggest that control aims to prevent failures. In contrast, oversight often focuses on detection, remediation, or incentives for future prevention; all preventative oversight strategies nonetheless necessitate control. Building on this foundation, we make three contributions. First, we propose a theoretically-informed yet policy-grounded framework that articulates the conditions under which each mechanism is possible, where they fall short, and what is required to make them meaningful in practice. Second, we outline how supervision methods should be documented and integrated into risk management, and drawing on the Microsoft Responsible AI Maturity Model, we outline a maturity model for AI supervision. Third, we explicitly highlight some boundaries of these mechanisms, including where they apply, where they fail, and where it is clear that no existing methods suffice. This foregrounds the question of whether meaningful supervision is possible in a given deployment context, and can support regulators, auditors, and practitioners in identifying both present limitations and the need for new conceptual and technical advances.

Authors:Evangelos Ntouros, Pavel Kelley, Ewoud Smeur
Title: Airspeed estimation for UAVs using only propeller feedback
Abstract:
This work introduces a novel analytical model for estimating the airspeed of fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) using solely propeller power and rotational speed measurements. The model can be used to replace Pitot-tube-based airspeed sensors, or contribute to redundancy in airspeed estimation. It does not require knowledge of the vehicle's dynamic model and is computationally lightweight. It leverages power and rotational speed feedback, which is readily available from modern Electronic Speed Controllers (ESCs), thereby enabling seamless integration with existing systems and off-the-shelf components. A systematic approach is followed to derive the model structure based on least squares optimization and regularization techniques on Blade Element Momentum (BEM) simulation, wind tunnel, and flight test datasets. The final model generalizes well achieving a normalized Root Mean Square Error (nRMSE) of 5% on unseen flight data. The model parameters can be identified either offline, using flight logs with airspeed measurements, or in-flight, using a lightweight identification method based only on Global Positioning System (GPS) velocity data. The resulting system provides a robust and computationally efficient solution for real-time airspeed estimation across diverse fixed-wing UAV platforms.

Authors:Maryam Farahmandrad, Stefan Goetz
Title: Statistical-Spatial Model for Motor Potentials Evoked Through Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for the Development of Closed-Loop Procedures
Abstract:
The primary motor cortex appears to be in the center of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). It is one of few locations that provide directly observable responses, and its physiology serves as model or reference for almost all other TMS targets, e.g., through the motor threshold and spatial targeting relative to its position. It furthermore sets the safety limits for the entire brain. Its easily detectable responses have led to closed-loop methods for a range of aspects, e.g., for automated thresholding, amplitude tracking, and targeting. The high variability of brain stimulation methods would substantially benefit from fast unbiased closed-loop methods. However, the development of more potent methods would early on in the design phase require proper models that allowed tuning and testing with sufficient without a high number of experiments, which are time-consuming and expensive or even impossible at the needed scale. On the one hand, theoretical researchers without access to experiments miss realistic spatial response models of brain stimulation to develop better methods. On the other hand, subjects should potentially not be exposed to early closed-loop-methods without sufficient prior testing as not yet well tuned feed-back as needed for closed-loop operation is known to erratic behavior. To bridge this gap, we developed a digital-twin-style population model that generates motor evoked potentials in response to virtual stimuli and includes statistical information on spatial (coil position and orientation) as well as recruitment in the population to represent inter- and intra-individual variability. The model allows users to simulate different subjects and millions of runs for software-in-the loop testing. The model includes all code to stimulate further development.

Authors:Xiang Zhao, My Ha Dao
Title: An Adaptive Port Technique for Synthesising Rotational Components in Component Modal Synthesis Approaches
Abstract:
Component Modal Synthesis (CMS) is a reduced order modelling method widely used for large-scale complex systems. It can effectively approximate system-level models through component synthesis, in which the repetitive geometrical components are modelled once and synthesised together. However, the conventional CMS only applies to systems with stationary components connected by strictly compatible ports, limiting it from modelling systems with moving components. This paper presents an adaptive port (AP) technique to extend CMS approaches for modelling parametric systems with rotational parts. To demonstrate the capability of the AP technique, we apply it to the Static Condensation Reduced Basis Element (SCRBE), one widely used variant of CMS approaches. The AP-based SCRBE (AP-SCRBE) can enforce the synthesis of rotational-stationary components over a shared adaptive port when the connecting surfaces of two components are discretisation-wise incompatible, which happens when one component moves relative to the others. Numerical experiments on the NREL 5MW wind turbine show that, in the context of rotational-stationary component synthesis, the AP-SCRBE can accurately and efficiently model the rotating rotor with pitch rotation of blades. It can produce almost identical results to a high-fidelity finite element model at two to three orders faster speeds.

Authors:Gaeun Kim, Hyungbo Shim
Title: Determination of Bandwidth of Q-filter in Disturbance Observers to Guarantee Transient and Steady State Performance under Measurement Noise
Abstract:
Q-filter-based disturbance observer (DOB) is one of the most widely used robust controller due to its design simplicity. Such simplicity arises from that reducing the time constant of low pass filters, not only ensures robust stability but also enhances nominal performance recovery -- ability to recover the trajectory of nominal closed-loop system. However, in contrast to noise-free environment, excessively small time constant can rather damage the nominal performance recovery under measurement noise. That is, minimizing time constant is no longer immediately guaranteeing nominal performance recovery. Motivated by this observation, this paper concentrates on determination of time constant to ensure transient and steady state performance. This analysis uses Lyapunov method based on the coordinate change inspired by the singular perturbation theory. As a result, we present an affordable noise level and open interval for the time constant that guarantees both the required performances. The analysis can also lead to theoretical demonstration on that excessively reducing time constant is assured to achieve target performance only for noise-free case.

Authors:An-Yi Huang, Hong-Xin Shen, Zhao Li, Cong Sun, Chao Sheng, Zheng-Zhong Kuai
Title: Global Optimization of Multi-Flyby Trajectories for Multi-Orbital-Plane Constellations Inspection
Abstract:
The rapid expansion of mega-constellations in low Earth orbits has posed significant challenges to space traffic management, necessitating periodic inspections of satellites to ensure the sustainability of the space environment when economically feasible. This study addresses the orbital design challenge associated with inspecting numerous satellites distributed across multiple orbital planes through flybys by proposing an innovative orbital-plane-based inspection strategy. The proposed methodology reformulates the multi-satellite flyby problem into a multi-rendezvous trajectory planning problem by proposing an analytical approach to determine a maneuver-free inspection orbit that enables flyby of all satellites within a specific orbital plane. Additionally, a three-layer global optimization framework is developed to tackle this problem. The first layer establishes an approximate cost evaluation model for orbital plane visitation sequences, utilizing a genetic algorithm to identify the optimal sequence from a vast array of candidate planes, thereby maximizing inspection targets while minimizing fuel consumption. The second layer constructs a mixed-integer programming model to locally refine the rendezvous epochs and orbital parameters of each inspection orbit to reduce the total velocity increment. The third layer accurately computes the optimal impulsive maneuvers and trajectories between inspection orbits. In contrast to traditional low-Earth orbit rendezvous optimization frameworks, the proposed framework fully leverages the adjustable freedom in inclination and right ascension of the ascending node (RAAN) of inspection orbits, significantly reducing the total velocity increment. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively address the trajectory optimization problem associated with constellation inspection for tens of thousands of satellites.

Authors:Lucien Genge, Felix Müsgens
Title: Green Ammonia: A Techno-Economic Supply Chain Optimization
Abstract:
Green ammonia is emerging as a strategic intermediary within green energy supply chains, serving effectively as both an industrial commodity and hydrogen carrier. This study provides a techno-economic analysis of green ammonia supply chains, comparing cost-effective pathways from global production to European consumers, and evaluates ammonia alongside alternative hydrogen carriers. Gaseous hydrogen consistently remains the most economical import option for Europe, though ammonia holds a narrowing cost advantage over liquid hydrogen (from 16 % in 2030 to 10 % by 2040). Competitive ammonia suppliers, notably Morocco, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, benefit from low renewable energy costs, with significant price reductions expected by 2040, driven by falling costs for electricity, electrolysers, and conversion technologies. Optimal transport modes vary by consumer demand and distance: trucks are ideal for low demands at all distances, rail for medium ranges, and pipelines for high-demand scenarios. By 2040, ammonia will primarily serve direct-use applications, as hydrogen consumers increasingly shift to direct hydrogen supplies. Policymakers should prioritize pipeline infrastructure for hydrogen distribution, cautiously invest in ammonia's short- to medium-term infrastructure advantages, and limit long-term reliance on ammonia as a hydrogen carrier to mitigate stranded asset risks.

Authors:S. Z. Sayed Hassen, A. Aboudonia, J. Lygeros
Title: A Data-Driven Model Predictive Controller to manage epidemics: The case of SARS-CoV-2 in Mauritius
Abstract:
This work investigates the benefits of implementing a systematic approach to social isolation policies during epidemics. We develop a mixed integer data-driven model predictive control (MPC) scheme based on an SIHRD model which is identified from available data. The case of the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (also known as COVID-19) in Mauritius is used as a reference point with data obtained during the period December 2021 to May 2022. The isolation scheme is designed with the control decision variable taking a finite set of values corresponding to the desired level of isolation. The control input is further restricted to shifting between levels only after a minimum amount of time. The simulation results validate our design, showing that the need for hospitalisation remains within the capacity of the health centres, with the number of deaths considerably reduced by raising the level of isolation for short periods of time with negligible social and economic impact. We also show that the introduction of additional isolation levels results in a smoother containment approach with a considerably reduced hospitalisation burden.

Authors:Weiyi Yang, Yu Yuan, Mingsheng Shang
Title: Robust Input Shaping Control for Flexible Structures Based on Unscented Kalman Filter
Abstract:
With the rapid development of industrial automation and smart manufacturing, the control of flexible structures and underactuated systems has become a critical research focus. Residual vibrations in these systems not only degrade operational efficiency but also pose risks to structural integrity and longevity. Traditional input shaping techniques, while effective, often suffer from performance degradation due to parameter inaccuracies and environmental disturbances. To address these challenges, this paper introduces an innovative unscented Kalman filter-based zero vibration derivative input shaping (UZS) method. The proposed approach combines two key innovations: 1) a data-driven Unscented Kalman Filterfor real-time system parameter identification, and 2) a zero-vibration derivative (ZVD) input shaper for robust vibration suppression. To validate the effectiveness of UZS, we conducted extensive experiments on a vertical flexible beam platform, and the results demonstrate significant improvements over state-of-the-art methods. Additionally, we have made the experimental datasets publicly available to facilitate further research. The findings highlight UZS's potential for practical applications in industrial automation, robotics, and precision engineering.

Authors:Roberto Sotero, Jose Sanchez-Bornot
Title: Tunnelling Through Time Series: A Probabilistic Visibility Graph for Local and Global Pattern Discovery
Abstract:
The growing availability of high-resolution, long-term time series data has highlighted the need for methods capable of capturing both local and global patterns. To address this, we introduce the Probabilistic Visibility Graph (PVG), a novel approach inspired by the quantum tunnelling phenomenon. The PVG extends the classical Visibility Graph (VG) by introducing probabilistic connections between time points that are obstructed in the VG due to intermediate values. We demonstrate the PVG's effectiveness in capturing long-range dependencies through simulations of amplitude-modulated signals and analysis of electrocorticography (ECoG) data under rest and anesthesia conditions. Key results show that the PVG presents distinct network properties between rest and anesthesia, with rest exhibiting stronger small-worldness and scale-free behavior, reflecting a hub-dominated, centralized connectivity structure, compared to anesthesia. These findings highlight the PVG's potential for analyzing complex signals with interacting temporal scales, offering new insights into neural dynamics and other real-world phenomena.

Authors:Zhizhuo Zhang, Hao Peng, Xiaoli Bai
Title: Imitation Learning for Satellite Attitude Control under Unknown Perturbations
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel satellite attitude control framework that integrates Soft Actor-Critic (SAC) reinforcement learning with Generative Adversarial Imitation Learning (GAIL) to achieve robust performance under various unknown perturbations. Traditional control techniques often rely on precise system models and are sensitive to parameter uncertainties and external perturbations. To overcome these limitations, we first develop a SAC-based expert controller that demonstrates improved resilience against actuator failures, sensor noise, and attitude misalignments, outperforming our previous results in several challenging scenarios. We then use GAIL to train a learner policy that imitates the expert's trajectories, thereby reducing training costs and improving generalization through expert demonstrations. Preliminary experiments under single and combined perturbations show that the SAC expert can rotate the antenna to a specified direction and keep the antenna orientation reliably stable in most of the listed perturbations. Additionally, the GAIL learner can imitate most of the features from the trajectories generated by the SAC expert. Comparative evaluations and ablation studies confirm the effectiveness of the SAC algorithm and reward shaping. The integration of GAIL further reduces sample complexity and demonstrates promising imitation capabilities, paving the way for more intelligent and autonomous spacecraft control systems.

Authors:Vairavan Palaniappan, Adam H. Ross, Amit Ranjan Trivedi, Debjit Pal
Title: HERCULES: Hardware accElerator foR stoChastic schedULing in hEterogeneous Systems
Abstract:
Efficient workload scheduling is a critical challenge in modern heterogeneous computing environments, particularly in high-performance computing (HPC) systems. Traditional software-based schedulers struggle to efficiently balance workload distribution due to high scheduling overhead, lack of adaptability to dynamic workloads, and suboptimal resource utilization. These pitfalls are compounded in heterogeneous systems, where differing computational elements can have vastly different performance profiles. To resolve these hindrances, we present a novel FPGA-based accelerator for stochastic online scheduling (SOS). We modify a greedy cost selection assignment policy by adapting existing cost equations to engage with discretized time before implementing them into a hardware accelerator design. Our design leverages hardware parallelism, precalculation, and precision quantization to reduce job scheduling latency. By introducing a hardware-accelerated approach to real-time scheduling, this paper establishes a new paradigm for adaptive scheduling mechanisms in heterogeneous computing systems. The proposed design achieves high throughput, low latency, and energy-efficient operation, offering a scalable alternative to traditional software scheduling methods. Experimental results demonstrate consistent workload distribution, fair machine utilization, and up to 1060x speedup over single-threaded software scheduling policy implementations. This makes the SOS accelerator a strong candidate for deployment in high-performance computing system, deeplearning pipelines, and other performance-critical applications.

Authors:Logan A. Burnett, Umme Mahbuba Nabila, Majdi I. Radaideh
Title: Variational Digital Twins
Abstract:
While digital twins (DT) hold promise for providing real-time insights into complex energy assets, much of the current literature either does not offer a clear framework for information exchange between the model and the asset, lacks key features needed for real-time implementation, or gives limited attention to model uncertainty. Here, we aim to solve these gaps by proposing a variational digital twin (VDT) framework that augments standard neural architectures with a single Bayesian output layer. This lightweight addition, along with a novel VDT updating algorithm, lets a twin update in seconds on commodity GPUs while producing calibrated uncertainty bounds that can inform experiment design, control algorithms, and model reliability. The VDT is evaluated on four energy-sector problems. For critical-heat-flux prediction, uncertainty-driven active learning reaches R2 = 0.98 using 47 % fewer experiments and one-third the training time of random sampling. A three-year renewable-generation twin maintains R2 > 0.95 for solar output and curbs error growth for volatile wind forecasts via monthly updates that process only one month of data at a time. A nuclear reactor transient cooldown twin reconstructs thermocouple signals with R2 > 0.99 and preserves accuracy after 50 % sensor loss, demonstrating robustness to degraded instrumentation. Finally, a physics-informed Li-ion battery twin, retrained after every ten discharges, lowers voltage mean-squared error by an order of magnitude relative to the best static model while adapting its credible intervals as the cell approaches end-of-life. These results demonstrate that combining modest Bayesian augmentation with efficient update schemes turns conventional surrogates into uncertainty-aware, data-efficient, and computationally tractable DTs, paving the way for dependable models across industrial and scientific energy systems.

Authors:Philip Colangelo, Ayse K. Coskun, Jack Megrue, Ciaran Roberts, Shayan Sengupta, Varun Sivaram, Ethan Tiao, Aroon Vijaykar, Chris Williams, Daniel C. Wilson, Zack MacFarland, Daniel Dreiling, Nathan Morey, Anuja Ratnayake, Baskar Vairamohan
Title: Turning AI Data Centers into Grid-Interactive Assets: Results from a Field Demonstration in Phoenix, Arizona
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fueling exponential electricity demand growth, threatening grid reliability, raising prices for communities paying for new energy infrastructure, and stunting AI innovation as data centers wait for interconnection to constrained grids. This paper presents the first field demonstration, in collaboration with major corporate partners, of a software-only approach--Emerald Conductor--that transforms AI data centers into flexible grid resources that can efficiently and immediately harness existing power systems without massive infrastructure buildout. Conducted at a 256-GPU cluster running representative AI workloads within a commercial, hyperscale cloud data center in Phoenix, Arizona, the trial achieved a 25% reduction in cluster power usage for three hours during peak grid events while maintaining AI quality of service (QoS) guarantees. By orchestrating AI workloads based on real-time grid signals without hardware modifications or energy storage, this platform reimagines data centers as grid-interactive assets that enhance grid reliability, advance affordability, and accelerate AI's development.

Authors:Nicola Cibin, Bas Mulder, Herman Carstens, Peter Palensky, Alexandru Ştefanov
Title: Cyber Attacks Detection, Prevention, and Source Localization in Digital Substation Communication using Hybrid Statistical-Deep Learning
Abstract:
The digital transformation of power systems is accelerating the adoption of IEC 61850 standard. However, its communication protocols, including Sampled Values (SV), lack built-in security features such as authentication and encryption, making them vulnerable to malicious packet injection. Such cyber attacks can delay fault clearance or trigger unintended circuit breaker operations. While most existing research focuses on detecting cyber attacks in digital substations, intrusion prevention systems have been disregarded because of the risk of potential communication network disruptions. This paper proposes a novel method using hybrid statistical-deep learning for the detection, prevention, and source localization of IEC 61850 SV injection attacks. The method uses exponentially modified Gaussian distributions to model communication network latency and long short-term memory and Elman recurrent neural network to detect anomalous variations in the estimated probability distributions. It effectively discards malicious SV frames with minimal processing overhead and latency, maintains robustness against communication network latency variation and time-synchronization issues, and guarantees a near-zero false positive rate in non-attack scenarios. Comprehensive validation is conducted on three testbeds involving industrial-grade devices, hardware-in-the-loop simulations, virtualized intelligent electronic devices and merging units, and high-fidelity emulated communication networks. Results demonstrate the method's suitability for practical deployment in IEC 61850-compliant digital substations.

Authors:Oren Fivel, Matan Rudman, Kobi Cohen
Title: Control-Optimized Deep Reinforcement Learning for Artificially Intelligent Autonomous Systems
Abstract:
Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has become a powerful tool for complex decision-making in machine learning and AI. However, traditional methods often assume perfect action execution, overlooking the uncertainties and deviations between an agent's selected actions and the actual system response. In real-world applications, such as robotics, mechatronics, and communication networks, execution mismatches arising from system dynamics, hardware constraints, and latency can significantly degrade performance. This work advances AI by developing a novel control-optimized DRL framework that explicitly models and compensates for action execution mismatches, a challenge largely overlooked in existing methods. Our approach establishes a structured two-stage process: determining the desired action and selecting the appropriate control signal to ensure proper execution. It trains the agent while accounting for action mismatches and controller corrections. By incorporating these factors into the training process, the AI agent optimizes the desired action with respect to both the actual control signal and the intended outcome, explicitly considering execution errors. This approach enhances robustness, ensuring that decision-making remains effective under real-world uncertainties. Our approach offers a substantial advancement for engineering practice by bridging the gap between idealized learning and real-world implementation. It equips intelligent agents operating in engineering environments with the ability to anticipate and adjust for actuation errors and system disturbances during training. We evaluate the framework in five widely used open-source mechanical simulation environments we restructured and developed to reflect real-world operating conditions, showcasing its robustness against uncertainties and offering a highly practical and efficient solution for control-oriented applications.

Authors:Gennadi Saiko, Timothy Burton, Faraz Sadrzadeh-Afsharazar, Shota Yamashita, Kenshin Shimono, Yasuyuki Kakihana, Alexandre Douplik
Title: Observation of Blood Flow in Major Neck Vessels Modulated 1 by Physiological Maneuvers
Abstract:
Large neck vessels (carotid artery and internal jugular vein, IJV) offer a unique opportunity to monitor hemodynamics non-invasively by optical means. The primary shortcoming of past work has been the focus on healthy volunteers in normal physiological conditions and well-controlled environments. To drive the technology closer to the bedside, testing is required under more re-alistic conditions, including in pathologies and real-world environments (e.g., similar toICU or emergency care settings). The primary goal of the current work was to extend the range of physiological maneuvers for blood flow modulation by introducing new maneuvers and ob-serving PPG response to them. The data from the necks of two healthy volunteers in a supine position were collected by clinical PPG and in-house built PPG sensors, accompanied by ECG signal collection. Seven maneuvers (abdominojugular test, breath holding, Valsalva, proximal occlusion of right IJV, distal occlusion of right IJV, proximal occlusion of left IJV, distal occlusion of left IJV) were performed in sequence with 1 min allocated for each maneuver. The 1 min was split into three segments: baseline (15 s), experiment (15 s), and recovery (30 s). Thus, the overall du-ration of the experiment was 7 min. AC amplitude from clinical PPG, DC amplitudes from in-house built PPG, and ECG signal were compared during all seven physiological maneuvers. Newly proposed maneuvers (Valsalva and IJV occlusions) demonstrated modulation of blood flow, which was more significant than previously reported maneuvers (abdominojugular test and breath holding). The proposed physiological maneuvers demonstrate high potential as instruments for modulating blood flow in major neck vessels.

Authors:Javier Castellano, Ignacio Villanueva
Title: Graph Neural Networks in Wind Power Forecasting
Abstract:
We study the applicability of GNNs to the problem of wind energy forecasting. We find that certain architectures achieve performance comparable to our best CNN-based benchmark. The study is conducted on three wind power facilities using five years of historical data. Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) variables were used as predictors, and models were evaluated on a 24 to 36 hour ahead test horizon.

Authors:Ilias Mitrai
Title: Discovering interpretable piecewise nonlinear model predictive control laws via symbolic decision trees
Abstract:
In this paper, we propose symbolic decision trees as surrogate models for approximating model predictive control laws. The proposed approach learns simultaneously the partition of the input domain (splitting logic) as well as local nonlinear expressions for predicting the control action leading to interpretable piecewise nonlinear control laws. The local nonlinear expressions are determined by the learning problem and are modeled using a set of basis functions. The learning task is posed as a mixed integer optimization, which is solved to global optimality with state-of-the-art global optimization solvers. We apply the proposed approach to a case study regarding the control of an isothermal reactor. The results show that the proposed approach can learn the control law accurately, leading to closed-loop performance comparable to that of a standard model predictive controller. Finally, comparison with existing interpretable models shows that the symbolic trees achieve both lower prediction error and superior closed-loop performance.

Authors:Giulio Ruffini
Title: The algorithmic regulator
Abstract:
The regulator theorem states that, under certain conditions, any optimal controller must embody a model of the system it regulates, grounding the idea that controllers embed, explicitly or implicitly, internal models of the controlled. This principle underpins neuroscience and predictive brain theories like the Free-Energy Principle or Kolmogorov/Algorithmic Agent theory. However, the theorem is only proven in limited settings. Here, we treat the deterministic, closed, coupled world-regulator system $(W,R)$ as a single self-delimiting program $p$ via a constant-size wrapper that produces the world output string~$x$ fed to the regulator. We analyze regulation from the viewpoint of the algorithmic complexity of the output, $K(x)$. We define $R$ to be a \emph{good algorithmic regulator} if it \emph{reduces} the algorithmic complexity of the readout relative to a null (unregulated) baseline $\varnothing$, i.e., \[ Δ= K\big(O_{W,\varnothing}\big) - K\big(O_{W,R}\big) > 0. \] We then prove that the larger $Δ$ is, the more world-regulator pairs with high mutual algorithmic information are favored. More precisely, a complexity gap $Δ> 0$ yields \[ \Pr\big((W,R)\mid x\big) \le C\,2^{\,M(W{:}R)}\,2^{-Δ}, \] making low $M(W{:}R)$ exponentially unlikely as $Δ$ grows. This is an AIT version of the idea that ``the regulator contains a model of the world.'' The framework is distribution-free, applies to individual sequences, and complements the Internal Model Principle. Beyond this necessity claim, the same coding-theorem calculus singles out a \emph{canonical scalar objective} and implicates a \emph{planner}. On the realized episode, a regulator behaves \emph{as if} it minimized the conditional description length of the readout.

Authors:Tony Lindeberg
Title: Time-causal and time-recursive wavelets
Abstract:
When to apply wavelet analysis to real-time temporal signals, where the future cannot be accessed, it is essential to base all the steps in the signal processing pipeline on computational mechanisms that are truly time-causal. This paper describes how a time-causal wavelet analysis can be performed based on concepts developed in the area of temporal scale-space theory, originating from a complete classification of temporal smoothing kernels that guarantee non-creation of new structures from finer to coarser temporal scale levels. By necessity, convolution with truncated exponential kernels in cascade constitutes the only permissable class of kernels, as well as their temporal derivatives as a natural complement to fulfil the admissibility conditions of wavelet representations. For a particular way of choosing the time constants in the resulting infinite convolution of truncated exponential kernels, to ensure temporal scale covariance and thus self-similarity over temporal scales, we describe how mother wavelets can be chosen as temporal derivatives of the resulting time-causal limit kernel. By developing connections between wavelet theory and scale-space theory, we characterize and quantify how the continuous scaling properties transfer to the discrete implementation, demonstrating how the proposed time-causal wavelet representation can reflect the duration of locally dominant temporal structures in the input signals. We propose that this notion of time-causal wavelet analysis could be a valuable tool for signal processing tasks, where streams of signals are to be processed in real time, specifically for signals that may contain local variations over a rich span of temporal scales, or more generally for analysing physical or biophysical temporal phenomena, where a fully time-causal analysis is called for to be physically realistic.

Authors:Noah Rhodes
Title: PowerPlots: An Open Source Power Grid Visualization and Data Analysis Framework for Academic Research
Abstract:
Data visualization is important for developing an understanding of a complex system. PowerPlots.jl is a data visualization tool for power grids, one of the most complex systems in the world. The design of PowerPlots.jl is intended to facilitate exploration of power grid data while performing research and to facilitate communication of research findings to an audience. Several tools created to support this software also facilitate analysis of power grid data by transforming the data into graph topology or data-frame data formats that are more compatible for some applications. The high level of flexibility in PowerPlots.jl enables researchers who are developing and analyzing methods for solving novel power grid problems to better understand and communicate the complexities of their research.

Authors:Raktim Bhattacharya
Title: Robust Cislunar Navigation via LFT-Based $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ Filtering with Bearing-Only Measurements
Abstract:
This paper develops a robust estimation framework for cislunar navigation that embeds the Circular Restricted Three-Body Problem (CR3BP) dynamics and bearing-only optical measurements within a Linear Fractional Transformation (LFT) representation. A full-order $\mathcal{H}_\infty$ observer is synthesized with explicit $\mathcal{L}_2$ performance bounds. The formulation yields a nonlinear estimator that operates directly on the governing equations and avoids reliance on local linearizations. Dominant nonlinearities are expressed as structured real uncertainties, while measurement fidelity is represented through range-dependent weighting with Earth-Moon distances reconstructed from line-of-sight geometry. The sensing architecture assumes passive star-tracker-class optical instruments, eliminating the need for time-of-flight ranging or precision clocks. Simulations demonstrate bounded estimation errors and smooth position tracking over multiple orbital periods, with the largest deviations observed in the out-of-plane states, consistent with the stiffness of the vertical dynamics and the limitations of angle-only observability. Application to a Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) illustrates that the framework can achieve robust onboard navigation with bounded estimation errors with flight-representative sensors.

Authors:Ardavan Rahimian
Title: Steady-State Spread Bounds for Graph Diffusion via Laplacian Regularisation
Abstract:
We study how far a diffusion process on a graph can drift from a designed starting pattern when that pattern is produced using Laplacian regularisation. Under standard stability conditions for undirected, entrywise nonnegative graphs, we give a closed-form, instance-specific upper bound on the steady-state spread, measured as the relative change between the final and initial profiles. The bound separates two effects: (i) an irreducible term determined by the graph's maximum node degree, and (ii) a design-controlled term that shrinks as the regularisation strength increases (following an inverse square-root law). This leads to a simple design rule: given any target limit on spread, one can choose a sufficient regularisation strength in closed form. Although one motivating application is array beamforming, where the initial pattern is the squared magnitude of the beamformer weights, the result applies to any scenario that first enforces Laplacian smoothness and then evolves by linear diffusion on a graph. Overall, the guarantee is non-asymptotic, easy to compute, and certifies how much steady-state deviation can occur.

Authors:S. Rasoul Etesami
Title: A Fixed Point Framework for the Existence of EFX Allocations
Abstract:
We consider the problem of the existence of an envy-free allocation up to any good (EFX) for linear valuations and establish new results by connecting this problem to a fixed point framework. Specifically, we first use randomized rounding to extend the discrete EFX constraints into a continuous space and show that an EFX allocation exists if and only if the optimal value of the continuously extended objective function is nonpositive. In particular, we demonstrate that this optimization problem can be formulated as an unconstrained difference of convex (DC) program, which can be further simplified to the minimization of a piecewise linear concave function over a polytope. Leveraging this connection, we show that the proposed DC program has a nonpositive optimal objective value if and only if a well-defined continuous vector map admits a fixed point. Crucially, we prove that the reformulated fixed point problem satisfies all the conditions of Brouwer's fixed point theorem, except that self-containedness is violated by an arbitrarily small positive constant. To address this, we propose a slightly perturbed continuous map that always admits a fixed point. This fixed point serves as a proxy for the fixed point (if it exists) of the original map, and hence for an EFX allocation through an appropriate transformation. Our results offer a new approach to establishing the existence of EFX allocations through fixed point theorems. Moreover, the equivalence with DC programming enables a more efficient and systematic method for computing such allocations (if one exists) using tools from nonlinear optimization. Our findings bridge the discrete problem of finding an EFX allocation with two continuous frameworks: solving an unconstrained DC program and identifying a fixed point of a continuous vector map.

Authors:Mohamed Shamseldein
Title: A Hybrid GNN-IZR Framework for Fast and Empirically Robust AC Power Flow Analysis in Radial Distribution Systems
Abstract:
The Alternating Current Power Flow (ACPF) problem forces a trade-off between the speed of data-driven models and the reliability of analytical solvers. This paper introduces a hybrid framework that synergizes a Graph Neural Network (GNN) with the Implicit Z-Bus Recursive (IZR) method, a robust, non-iterative solver for radial distribution networks. The framework employs a physics-informed GNN for rapid initial predictions and invokes the IZR solver as a failsafe for stressed cases identified by a two-stage trigger. A failure is defined as any solution with a maximum power mismatch exceeding 0.1 p.u., a significant operational deviation. On a challenging test set of 7,500 stressed scenarios for the IEEE 33-bus system, the GNN-only model failed on 13.11 % of cases. In contrast, the hybrid framework identified all potential failures, delegating them to the IZR solver to achieve a 0.00 % failure rate, empirically matching the 100 % success rate of the analytical solver on this specific test set. An expanded ablation study confirms that both physics-informed training and Z-bus sensitivity features are critical, collaboratively reducing the GNN's failure rate from 98.72 % (data-only) to 13.11 %. The hybrid approach demonstrates a pragmatic path to achieving the empirical reliability of an analytical solver while leveraging GNN speed, enabling a significant increase in the number of scenarios analyzable in near real-time.

Authors:Joshua Taylor
Title: Convex Pollution Control of Wastewater Treatment Systems
Abstract:
We design a model-predictive controller for managing the actuators in sewer networks. It minimizes flooding and combined-sewer overflow during rain and pollution at other times. To make the problem tractable, we use a convex relaxation of the microbial growth kinetics and a physically motivated linearization of the mass flow bilinearities. With these approximations, the trajectory optimization in each control period is a second-order cone program. In simulation, the controller releases roughly 15% less pollutant mass than a conventional controller while treating nearly the same volume of flow. It does so by better balancing the flow over the treatment plants and over time.

Authors:Yue wu
Title: A Trustworthy Industrial Fault Diagnosis Architecture Integrating Probabilistic Models and Large Language Models
Abstract:
There are limitations of traditional methods and deep learning methods in terms of interpretability, generalization, and quantification of uncertainty in industrial fault diagnosis, and there are core problems of insufficient credibility in industrial fault diagnosis. The architecture performs preliminary analysis through a Bayesian network-based diagnostic engine and features an LLM-driven cognitive quorum module with multimodal input capabilities. The module conducts expert-level arbitration of initial diagnoses by analyzing structured features and diagnostic charts, prioritizing final decisions after conflicts are identified. To ensure the reliability of the system output, the architecture integrates a confidence calibration module based on temperature calibration and a risk assessment module, which objectively quantifies the reliability of the system using metrics such as expected calibration error (ECE). Experimental results on a dataset containing multiple fault types showed that the proposed framework improved diagnostic accuracy by more than 28 percentage points compared to the baseline model, while the calibrated ECE was reduced by more than 75%. Case studies have confirmed that HCAA effectively corrects misjudgments caused by complex feature patterns or knowledge gaps in traditional models, providing novel and practical engineering solutions for building high-trust, explainable AI diagnostic systems for industrial applications.

Authors:Aymeric Fabre
Title: Optimising Battery Energy Storage System Trading via Energy Market Operator Price Forecast
Abstract:
In electricity markets around the world, the ability to anticipate price movements with precision can be the difference between profit and loss, especially for fast-acting assets like battery energy storage systems (BESS). As grid volatility increases due to renewables and market decentralisation, operators and forecasters alike face growing pressure to transform prediction into strategy. Yet while forecast data is abundant, especially in advanced markets like Australia's National Electricity Market (NEM), its practical value in driving real-world BESS trading decisions remains largely unexplored. This thesis dives into that gap. This work addresses a key research question: Can the accuracy of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) energy price forecasts be systematically leveraged to develop a reliable and profitable battery energy storage system trading algorithm? Despite the availability of AEMO price forecasts, no existing framework evaluates their reliability or incorporates them into practical BESS trading strategies. By analysing patterns in forecast accuracy based on time of day, forecast horizon, and regional variations, this project creates a novel, forecast-informed BESS trading model to optimise arbitrage financial returns. The performance of this forecast-driven algorithm is benchmarked against a basic trading algorithm with no knowledge of forecast data. The study further explores the potential of machine learning techniques to predict future energy prices by enhancing AEMO forecasts to govern a more advanced trading strategy. The research outcomes will inform future improvements in energy market trading models and promote more efficient BESS integration into market operations.

Authors:Tianhua Gao
Title: A Dimension-Decomposed Learning Framework for Online Disturbance Identification in Quadrotor SE(3) Control
Abstract:
Quadrotor stability under complex dynamic disturbances and model uncertainties poses significant challenges. One of them remains the underfitting problem in high-dimensional features, which limits the identification capability of current learning-based methods. To address this, we introduce a new perspective: Dimension-Decomposed Learning (DiD-L), from which we develop the Sliced Adaptive-Neuro Mapping (SANM) approach for geometric control. Specifically, the high-dimensional mapping for identification is axially ``sliced" into multiple low-dimensional submappings (``slices"). In this way, the complex high-dimensional problem is decomposed into a set of simple low-dimensional tasks addressed by shallow neural networks and adaptive laws. These neural networks and adaptive laws are updated online via Lyapunov-based adaptation without any pre-training or persistent excitation (PE) condition. To enhance the interpretability of the proposed approach, we prove that the full-state closed-loop system exhibits arbitrarily close to exponential stability despite multi-dimensional time-varying disturbances and model uncertainties. This result is novel as it demonstrates exponential convergence without requiring pre-training for unknown disturbances and specific knowledge of the model.

Authors:Yue Wang
Title: SPARC: Spine with Prismatic and Revolute Compliance for Quadruped Robot
Abstract:
We present SPARC, a compact, open-source 3-DoF sagittal-plane spine module that combines revolute (pitch) and prismatic (axial) motion with programmable task-space impedance for quadruped robots. The system integrates three torque-controlled actuators, a custom 1 kHz control board, and a protected power unit in a 1.26 kg package, enabling closed-loop stiffness and damping shaping along x, z, and theta. We develop an RNEA-based computed-acceleration controller with smooth Stribeck friction compensation to render spring-damper behavior without explicit inertia shaping. Bench experiments validate the approach. Quasi-static push-pull tests show linear force-displacement characteristics with commanded horizontal stiffness spanning 300-700 N/m and <= 1.5% relative error (R^2 >= 0.992, narrow 95% CIs). Dynamic displace-and-release trials confirm mass-spring-damper responses over multiple damping settings, with small, interpretable phase deviations due to configuration-dependent inertia and low-speed friction effects. A task-space PD controller produces roughly linear stiffness but with greater variability and coupling sensitivity. SPARC provides a portable platform for systematic studies of spine compliance in legged locomotion and will be released with complete hardware and firmware resources.

Authors:Georg Schildbach
Title: Robust MPC for Large-scale Linear Systems
Abstract:
State-of-the-art approaches of Robust Model Predictive Control (MPC) are restricted to linear systems of relatively small scale, i.e., with no more than about 5 states. The main reason is the computational burden of determining a robust positively invariant (RPI) set, whose complexity suffers from the curse of dimensionality. The recently proposed approach of Deadbeat Robust Model Predictive Control (DRMPC) is the first that does not rely on an RPI set. Yet it comes with the full set of essential system theoretic guarantees. DRMPC is hence a viable option, in particular, for large-scale systems. This paper introduces a detailed design procedure for DRMPC. It is shown that the optimal control problem generated for DRMPC has exactly the same computational complexity as Nominal MPC. A numerical study validates its applicability to randomly generated large-scale linear systems of various dimensions.

Authors:Zikai Zhang
Title: Dynamic Causal Attack Graph based Cyber-security Risk Assessment Framework for CTCS System
Abstract:
Protecting the security of the train control system is a critical issue to ensure the safe and reliable operation of high-speed trains. Scientific modeling and analysis for the security risk is a promising way to guarantee system security. However, the representation and assessment of the multi-staged, causally related, and temporal-dynamic changed attack dependencies are difficult in the train control system. To solve the above challenges, a security assessment framework based on the Dynamical Causality Attack Graph (DCAG) model is introduced in this paper. Firstly, the DCAG model is generated based on the attack graph with consideration of temporal attack propagation and multi-stage attack event causality propagation. Then, the DCAG model is analyzed based on Bayesian inference and logic gateway-based inference. Through the case analysis of the CTCS-3 system, the security assessment framework is validated. With the DCAG-based security assessment framework, we can not only perform appropriate security risk quantification calculations, but also explore the importance of different attacks on system security risks, which is helpful in adjusting the cyber security defense policy.

Authors:Antonino pagano
Title: Real-Time Estimation of Equivalent Series Resistance for Predicting Output Capacitor Failures in Boost Converters
Abstract:
Output capacitors are among the most critical components in power electronic converters, as their degradation directly affects system stability and reliability. A key indicator of capacitor health is the Equivalent Series Resistance (ESR), whose progressive increase is strongly correlated with aging and imminent failure. This paper presents a real-time technique for estimating the ESR of output capacitors in boost converters, with the aim of enabling early fault prediction and condition-based maintenance. The proposed method leverages online parameter estimation to extract ESR values without interrupting converter operation. The estimation algorithm has been implemented on a low-cost STM32 Nucleo platform, demonstrating both computational efficiency and suitability for embedded applications. Experimental validation confirms that the approach provides accurate ESR tracking under varying load and operating conditions, allowing timely detection of abnormal capacitor behavior and preventing unexpected system failures.

Authors:Saber Omidi
Title: SDC-Based Model Predictive Control: Enhancing Computational Feasibility for Safety-Critical Quadrotor Control
Abstract:
Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) is widely used for controlling high-speed robotic systems such as quadrotors. However, its significant computational demands often hinder real-time feasibility and reliability, particularly in environments requiring robust obstacle avoidance. This paper proposes a novel SDC-Based Model Predictive Control (MPC) framework, which preserves the high-precision performance of NMPC while substantially reducing computational complexity by over 30%. By reformulating the nonlinear quadrotor dynamics through the State-Dependent Coefficient (SDC) method, the original nonlinear program problem is transformed into a sequential quadratic optimization problem. The controller integrates an integral action to eliminate steady-state tracking errors and imposes constraints for safety-critical obstacle avoidance. Additionally, a disturbance estimator is incorporated to enhance robustness against external perturbations. Simulation results demonstrate that the SDC-Based MPC achieves comparable tracking accuracy to NMPC, with greater efficiency in terms of computation times, thereby improving its suitability for real-time applications. Theoretical analysis further establishes the stability and recursive feasibility of the proposed approach.

Authors:Po-Heng Chou
Title: Modeling the Unlicensed Band Allocation for LAA With Buffering Mechanism
Abstract:
In this letter, we propose an analytical model and conduct simulation experiments to study listen-before-talk-based unlicensed band allocation with the buffering mechanism for the License-Assisted Access (LAA) packets in the heterogeneous networks. In such a network, unlicensed band allocation for LAA and Wi-Fi is an important issue, which may affect the quality of service for both systems significantly. We evaluate the performance of these unlicensed band allocations in terms of the acceptance rate of both LAA and Wi-Fi packets. This letter provides the guidelines for designing the channel occupation phase and buffer threshold of the LAA systems.

Authors:Po-Heng Chou
Title: Unlicensed Band Allocation for Heterogeneous Networks
Abstract:
Based on the License-Assisted Access (LAA) small cell architecture, the LAA coexisting with Wi-Fi heterogeneous networks provides LTE mobile users with high bandwidth efficiency as the unlicensed channels are shared among LAA and Wi-Fi. However, LAA and Wi-Fi interfere with each other when both systems use the same unlicensed channel in heterogeneous networks. In such a network, unlicensed band allocation for LAA and Wi-Fi is an important issue that may affect the quality of service (QoS) of both systems significantly. In this paper, we propose an analytical model and conduct simulation experiments to study four allocations for the unlicensed band: unlicensed full allocation (UFA), unlicensed time-division allocation (UTA), and UFA/UTA with buffering mechanism (UFAB and UTAB) for the LAA data packets. We evaluate the performance of these unlicensed band allocation schemes in terms of the acceptance rate of both LAA and Wi-Fi packet data in the LAA buffer queue. Our study provides guidelines for designing the channel occupation phase and the buffer size of the LAA small cell.

Authors:Charles L. Wang
Title: MathBode: Frequency-Domain Fingerprints of LLM Mathematical Reasoning
Abstract:
This paper presents MathBode, a dynamic diagnostic for mathematical reasoning in large language models (LLMs). Instead of one-shot accuracy, MathBode treats each parametric problem as a system: we drive a single parameter sinusoidally and fit first-harmonic responses of model outputs and exact solutions. This yields interpretable, frequency-resolved metrics -- gain (amplitude tracking) and phase (lag) -- that form Bode-style fingerprints. Across five closed-form families (linear solve, ratio/saturation, compound interest, 2x2 linear systems, similar triangles), the diagnostic surfaces systematic low-pass behavior and growing phase lag that accuracy alone obscures. We compare several models against a symbolic baseline that calibrates the instrument ($G \approx 1$, $ϕ\approx 0$). Results separate frontier from mid-tier models on dynamics, providing a compact, reproducible protocol that complements standard benchmarks with actionable measurements of reasoning fidelity and consistency. We open-source the dataset and code to enable further research and adoption.

Authors:Pietro Bruschi
Title: A Hierarchical Control Architecture for Space Robots in On-Orbit Servicing Operations
Abstract:
In-Orbit Servicing and Active Debris Removal require advanced robotic capabilities for capturing and detumbling uncooperative targets. This work presents a hierarchical control framework for autonomous robotic capture of tumbling objects in space. A simulation environment is developed, incorporating sloshing dynamics of the chaser, a rarely studied effect in space robotics. The proposed controller combines an inner Lyapunov-based robust control loop for multi-body dynamics with an outer loop addressing an extended inverse kinematics problem. Simulation results show improved robustness and adaptability compared to existing control schemes.

Authors:Petar Radanliev
Title: Red Teaming Quantum-Resistant Cryptographic Standards: A Penetration Testing Framework Integrating AI and Quantum Security
Abstract:
This study presents a structured approach to evaluating vulnerabilities within quantum cryptographic protocols, focusing on the BB84 quantum key distribution method and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) approved quantum-resistant algorithms. By integrating AI-driven red teaming, automated penetration testing, and real-time anomaly detection, the research develops a framework for assessing and mitigating security risks in quantum networks. The findings demonstrate that AI can be effectively used to simulate adversarial attacks, probe weaknesses in cryptographic implementations, and refine security mechanisms through iterative feedback. The use of automated exploit simulations and protocol fuzzing provides a scalable means of identifying latent vulnerabilities, while adversarial machine learning techniques highlight novel attack surfaces within AI-enhanced cryptographic processes. This study offers a comprehensive methodology for strengthening quantum security and provides a foundation for integrating AI-driven cybersecurity practices into the evolving quantum landscape.

Authors:Michael Sebek
Title: Quaternionic Pole Placement via Companion Forms and the Ackermann Formula
Abstract:
We present an extension of state-feedback pole placement for quaternionic systems, based on companion forms and the Ackermann formula. For controllable single-input quaternionic LTI models, we define a companion polynomial that right-annihilates its companion matrix, characterize spectra via right-eigenvalue similarity classes, and prove coefficient-matching design in controllable coordinates. We then derive a coordinate-free Ackermann gain expression valid for real target polynomials, and state its scope and limitations. Short examples demonstrate correctness, practical use, and numerical simplicity.

Authors:Luis van Sandbergen
Title: Optimized Operation of Standalone Battery Energy Storage Systems in the Cross-Market Energy Arbitrage Business
Abstract:
The provision of renewable electricity is the foundation for a sustainable future. To achieve the goal of sustainable renewable energy, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) could play a key role to counteract the intermittency of solar and wind generation power. In order to aid the system, the BESS can simply charge at low wholesale prices and discharge during high prices, which is also called energy arbitrage. However, the real-time execution of energy arbitrage is not straightforward for many companies due to the fundamentally different behavior of storages compared to conventional power plants. In this work, the optimized operation of standalone BESS in the cross-market energy arbitrage business is addressed by describing a generic framework for trading integrated BESS operation, the development of a suitable backtest engine and a specific optimization-based strategy formulation for cross-market optimized BESS operation. In addition, this strategy is tested in a case study with a sensitivity analysis to investigate the influence of forecast uncertainty. The results show that the proposed strategy allows an increment in revenues by taking advantage of the increasing market volatility. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis shows the robustness of the proposed strategy, as only a moderate portion of revenues will be lost if real forecasts are adopted.

Authors:Wentao Tang
Title: Data-Driven State Observers for Measure-Preserving Systems
Abstract:
The increasing use of data-driven control strategies gives rise to the problem of learning-based state observation. Motivated by this need, the present work proposes a data-driven approach for the synthesis of state observers for discrete-time nonlinear systems with measure-preserving dynamics. To this end, Kazantzis-Kravaris/Luenburger (KKL) observers are shown to be well-defined, where the observer design boils down to determining a nonlinear injective mapping of states and its pseudo-inverse. For its learning-based construction, the KKL observer is related to the Koopman and Perron-Frobenius operators, defined on a Sobolev-type reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS) on which they are shown to be normal operators and thus have a spectral resolution. Hence, observer synthesis algorithms, based on kernel interpolation/regression routines for the desired injective mapping in the observer and its pseudo-inverse, have been proposed in various settings of available dataset -- (i) many orbits, (ii) single long orbit, and (iii) snapshots. Theoretical error analyses are provided, and numerical studies on a chaotic Lorenz system are demonstrated.

Authors:Chih-Yuan Chiu
Title: Approximately Optimal Toll Design for Efficiency and Equity in Arc-Based Traffic Assignment Models
Abstract:
Congestion pricing policies have emerged as promising traffic management tools to alleviate traffic congestion caused by travelers' selfish routing behaviors. The core principle behind deploying tolls is to impose monetary costs on frequently overcrowded routes, to incentivize self-interested travelers to select less easily congested routes. Recent literature has focused on toll design based on arc-based traffic assignment models (TAMs), which characterize commuters as traveling through a traffic network by successively selecting an outgoing arc from every intermediate node along their journey. However, existing tolling mechanisms predicated on arc-based TAMs often target the design of a single congestion-minimizing toll, ignoring crucial fairness considerations, such as the financial impact of high congestion fees on low-income travelers. To address these shortcomings, in this paper, we pose the dual considerations of efficiency and equity in traffic routing as bilevel optimization problems. Since such problems are in general computationally intractable to solve precisely, we construct a linear program approximation by introducing a polytope approximation for the set of all tolls that induce congestion-minimizing traffic flow patterns. Finally, we provide numerical results that validate our theoretical conclusions.

Authors:Surov Maksim
Title: Orbital Stabilization and Time Synchronization of Unstable Periodic Motions in Underactuated Robots
Abstract:
This paper presents a control methodology for achieving orbital stabilization with simultaneous time synchronization of periodic trajectories in underactuated robotic systems. The proposed approach extends the classical transverse linearization framework to explicitly incorporate time-desynchronization dynamics. To stabilize the resulting extended transverse dynamics, we employ a combination of time-varying LQR and sliding-mode control. The theoretical results are validated experimentally through the implementation of both centralized and decentralized control strategies on a group of six Butterfly robots.

Authors:Mazen Alamir
Title: On continuous-time sparse identification of nonlinear polynomial systems
Abstract:
This paper leverages recent advances in high derivatives reconstruction from noisy-time series and sparse multivariate polynomial identification in order to improve the process of parsimoniously identifying, from a small amount of data, unknown Single-Input/Single-Output nonlinear dynamics of relative degree up to 4. The methodology is illustrated on the Electronic Throttle Controlled automotive system.

Authors:Masako Kishida
Title: Distributionally Robust Safety Verification of Neural Networks via Worst-Case CVaR
Abstract:
Ensuring the safety of neural networks under input uncertainty is a fundamental challenge in safety-critical applications. This paper builds on and expands Fazlyab's quadratic-constraint (QC) and semidefinite-programming (SDP) framework for neural network verification to a distributionally robust and tail-risk-aware setting by integrating worst-case Conditional Value-at-Risk (WC-CVaR) over a moment-based ambiguity set with fixed mean and covariance. The resulting conditions remain SDP-checkable and explicitly account for tail risk. This integration broadens input-uncertainty geometry-covering ellipsoids, polytopes, and hyperplanes-and extends applicability to safety-critical domains where tail-event severity matters. Applications to closed-loop reachability of control systems and classification are demonstrated through numerical experiments, illustrating how the risk level $\varepsilon$ trades conservatism for tolerance to tail events-while preserving the computational structure of prior QC/SDP methods for neural network verification and robustness analysis.

Authors:Farhad Farokhi
Title: Privacy-Preserving State Estimation with Crowd Sensors: An Information-Theoretic Respective
Abstract:
Privacy-preserving state estimation for linear time-invariant dynamical systems with crowd sensors is considered. At any time step, the estimator has access to measurements from a randomly selected sensor from a pool of sensors with pre-specified models and noise profiles. A Luenberger-like observer is used to fuse the measurements with the underlying model of the system to recursively generate the state estimates. An additive privacy-preserving noise is used to constrain information leakage. Information leakage is measured via mutual information between the identity of the sensors and the state estimate conditioned on the actual state of the system. This captures an omnipotent adversary that not only can access state estimates but can also gather direct high-quality state measurements. Any prescribed level of information leakage is shown to be achievable by appropriately selecting the variance of the privacy-preserving noise. Therefore, privacy-utility trade-off can be fine-tuned.

Authors:Avi Shaked
Title: Reproducing a Security Risk Assessment Using Computer Aided Design
Abstract:
Security risk assessment is essential in establishing the trustworthiness and reliability of modern systems. While various security risk assessment approaches exist, prevalent applications are "pen and paper" implementations that -- even if performed digitally using computers -- remain prone to authoring mistakes and inconsistencies. Computer-aided design approaches can transform security risk assessments into more rigorous and sustainable efforts. This is of value to both industrial practitioners and researchers, who practice security risk assessments to reflect on systems' designs and to contribute to the discipline's state-of-the-art. In this article, we report the application of a model-based security design tool to reproduce a previously reported security assessment. The main contributions are: 1) an independent attempt to reproduce a refereed article describing a real security risk assessment of a system; 2) comparison of a new computer-aided application with a previous non-computer-aided application, based on a published, real-world case study; 3) a showcase for the potential advantages -- for both practitioners and researchers -- of using computer-aided design approaches to analyze reports and to assess systems.

Authors:Shoupu Wan
Title: Qompiler: A Traceable Quantum Circuit Synthesizer for Arbitrary Hamiltonians
Abstract:
We present a quantum compiler framework that bridges the gap between physics modeling and quantum software development. At the core of this framework is a versatile quantum circuit synthesizer capable of decomposing arbitrary Hamiltonians into quantum circuits, represented using a platform-independent B-Tree-based intermediate representation. The B-Tree structure encodes information for gate lineage, enabling detailed tracing information of quantum circuit gates and facilitating circuit verification. The intermediate representation serves as a universal, hardware-agnostic carrier of compiled code, allowing it to be readily rendered on most quantum hardware backends and transpiled into other quantum circuit languages. We demonstrate rendering the intermediate representation into executable quantum circuits in Qiskit and Cirq. We can also transpile the intermediate representation into OpenQASM for broader compatibility.

Authors:Qihang Chen
Title: Unified Crew Planning and Replanning Optimization in Multi-Line Metro Systems Considering Workforce Heterogeneity
Abstract:
Metro crew planning is a key component of smart city development as it directly impacts the operational efficiency and service reliability of public transportation. With the rapid expansion of metro networks, effective multi-line scheduling and emergency management have become essential for large-scale seamless operations. However, current research focuses primarily on individual metro lines,with insufficient attention on cross-line coordination and rapid replanning during disruptions. Here, a unified optimization framework is presented for multi-line metro crew planning and replanning with heterogeneous workforce. Specifically, a hierarchical time-space network model is proposed to represent the unified crew action space, and computationally efficient constraints and formulations are derived for the crew's heterogeneous qualifications and preferences. Solution algorithms based on column generation and shortest path adjustment are further developed, utilizing the proposed network model. Experiments with real data from Shanghai and Beijing Metro demonstrate that the proposed methods outperform benchmark heuristics in both cost reduction and task completion,and achieve notable efficiency gains by incorporating cross-line operations, particularly for urgent tasks during disruptions. This work highlights the role of global optimization and cross-line coordination in multi-line metro system operations, providing insights into the efficient and reliable functioning of public transportation in smart cities.

Authors:Walden Marshall
Title: Factored Output Feedback Controller Synthesis with Locality Constraints for Spatially-Invariant Systems
Abstract:
We consider H2 output feedback controller synthesis with pre-specified constraints on spatial communication distance (locality) for spatially-invariant systems using two factored controller frameworks: the system-level parameterization and the input-output parameterization. In our main result, we show that in both frameworks, output feedback controller synthesis with locality constraints can be formulated as a convex problem in finitely many transfer function variables, admitting the use of standard numerical solution techniques. The number of decision variables in the optimal controller design problem scales linearly with the distance of allowed communication. We also show that the optimal controller design problems for the system-level and input-ouptput parameterizations are equivalent for the chosen system of interest. We present numerical examples to illustrate the tradeoff between communication sparsity and performance.

Authors:Thomas Chaffey
Title: Circuit realization and hardware linearization of monotone operator equilibrium networks
Abstract:
It is shown that the port behavior of a resistor-diode network corresponds to the solution of a ReLU monotone operator equilibrium network (a neural network in the limit of infinite depth), giving a parsimonious construction of a neural network in analog hardware. We furthermore show that the gradient of such a circuit can be computed directly in hardware, using a procedure we call hardware linearization. This allows the network to be trained in hardware, which we demonstrate with a device-level circuit simulation. We extend the results to cascades of resistor-diode networks, which can be used to implement feedforward and other asymmetric networks. We finally show that different nonlinear elements give rise to different activation functions, and introduce the novel diode ReLU which is induced by a non-ideal diode model.

Authors:Alejandro D. Mousist
Title: ASTREA: Introducing Agentic Intelligence for Orbital Thermal Autonomy
Abstract:
This paper presents ASTREA, the first agentic system deployed on flight-heritage hardware (TRL 9) for autonomous spacecraft operations. Using thermal control as a representative use case, we integrate a resource-constrained Large Language Model (LLM) agent with a reinforcement learning controller in an asynchronous architecture tailored for space-qualified platforms. Ground experiments show that LLM-guided supervision improves thermal stability and reduces violations, confirming the feasibility of combining semantic reasoning with adaptive control under hardware constraints. However, on-orbit validation aboard the International Space Station (ISS) reveals performance degradation caused by inference latency mismatched with the rapid thermal cycles characteristic of Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites. These results highlight both the opportunities and current limitations of agentic LLM-based systems in real flight environments, providing practical design guidelines for future space autonomy.

Authors:Rashid Mushkani
Title: Right-to-Override for Critical Urban Control Systems: A Deliberative Audit Method for Buildings, Power, and Transport
Abstract:
Automation now steers building HVAC, distribution grids, and traffic signals, yet residents rarely have authority to pause or redirect these systems when they harm inclusivity, safety, or accessibility. We formalize a Right-to-Override (R2O) - defining override authorities, evidentiary thresholds, and domain-validated safe fallback states - and introduce a Deliberative Audit Method (DAM) with playbooks for pre-deployment walkthroughs, shadow-mode trials, and post-incident review. We instantiate R2O/DAM in simulations of smart-grid load shedding, building HVAC under occupancy uncertainty, and multi-agent traffic signals. R2O reduces distributional harm with limited efficiency loss: load-shedding disparity in unserved energy drops from 5.61x to 0.69x with constant curtailment; an override eliminates two discomfort-hours for seniors at an energy cost of 77 kWh; and median pedestrian wait falls from 90.4 s to 55.9 s with a 6.0 s increase in mean vehicle delay. We also contribute a policy standard, audit worksheets, and a ModelOps integration pattern to make urban automation contestable and reviewable.

Authors:Reza Pirayeshshirazinezhad
Title: Explainable AI-Enhanced Supervisory Control for High-Precision Spacecraft Formation
Abstract:
We use artificial intelligence (AI) and supervisory adaptive control systems to plan and optimize the mission of precise spacecraft formation. Machine learning and robust control enhance the efficiency of spacecraft precision formation of the Virtual Telescope for X-ray Observation (VTXO) space mission. VTXO is a precise formation of two separate spacecraft making a virtual telescope with a one-kilometer focal length. One spacecraft carries the lens and the other spacecraft holds the camera to observe high-energy space objects in the X-ray domain with 55 milli-arcsecond angular resolution accuracy. Timed automata for supervisory control, Monte Carlo simulations for stability and robustness evaluation, and integration of deep neural networks for optimal estimation of mission parameters, satisfy the high precision mission criteria. We integrate deep neural networks with a constrained, non-convex dynamic optimization pipeline to predict optimal mission parameters, ensuring precision mission criteria are met. AI framework provides explainability by predicting the resulting energy consumption and mission error for a given set of mission parameters. It allows for transparent, justifiable, and real-time trade-offs, a capability not present in traditional adaptive controllers. The results show reductions in energy consumption and improved mission accuracy, demonstrating the capability of the system to address dynamic uncertainties and disturbances.

Authors:Eric Guiffo Kaigom
Title: Deep Generative and Discriminative Digital Twin endowed with Variational Autoencoder for Unsupervised Predictive Thermal Condition Monitoring of Physical Robots in Industry 6.0 and Society 6.0
Abstract:
Robots are unrelentingly used to achieve operational efficiency in Industry 4.0 along with symbiotic and sustainable assistance for the work-force in Industry 5.0. As resilience, robustness, and well-being are required in anti-fragile manufacturing and human-centric societal tasks, an autonomous anticipation and adaption to thermal saturation and burns due to motors overheating become instrumental for human safety and robot availability. Robots are thereby expected to self-sustain their performance and deliver user experience, in addition to communicating their capability to other agents in advance to ensure fully automated thermally feasible tasks, and prolong their lifetime without human intervention. However, the traditional robot shutdown, when facing an imminent thermal saturation, inhibits productivity in factories and comfort in the society, while cooling strategies are hard to implement after the robot acquisition. In this work, smart digital twins endowed with generative AI, i.e., variational autoencoders, are leveraged to manage thermally anomalous and generate uncritical robot states. The notion of thermal difficulty is derived from the reconstruction error of variational autoencoders. A robot can use this score to predict, anticipate, and share the thermal feasibility of desired motion profiles to meet requirements from emerging applications in Industry 6.0 and Society 6.0.

Authors:Vahab Rostampour
Title: Stabilising Lifetime PD Models under Forecast Uncertainty
Abstract:
Estimating lifetime probabilities of default (PDs) under IFRS~9 and CECL requires projecting point--in--time transition matrices over multiple years. A persistent weakness is that macroeconomic forecast errors compound across horizons, producing unstable and volatile PD term structures. This paper reformulates the problem in a state--space framework and shows that a direct Kalman filter leaves non--vanishing variability. We then introduce an anchored observation model, which incorporates a neutral long--run economic state into the filter. The resulting error dynamics exhibit asymptotic stochastic stability, ensuring convergence in probability of the lifetime PD term structure. Simulation on a synthetic corporate portfolio confirms that anchoring reduces forecast noise and delivers smoother, more interpretable projections.

Authors:Mona Ghassemi
Title: Design of Reliable and Resilient Electric Power Systems for Wide-Body All-Electric Aircraft
Abstract:
To achieve net-zero emissions by 2050, all-electric transportation is a promising option. In the U.S., the transportation sector contributes the largest share (29 percent) of greenhouse gas emissions. While electric vehicles are approaching maturity, aviation is only beginning to develop electrified aircraft for commercial flights. More than 75 percent of aviation emissions come from large aircraft, and this impact will worsen with 4-5 percent annual air travel growth. Aircraft electrification has led to two types: more electric aircraft (MEA) and all-electric aircraft (AEA). A MEA replaces subsystems such as hydraulics with electric alternatives, whereas an AEA uses electrically driven subsystems and provides thrust fully from electrochemical energy units (EEUs). For wide-body AEA, thrust demand is about 25 MW plus 1 MW for non-thrust loads, creating major challenges for electric power system (EPS) design. Achieving maximum power density requires minimizing mass and volume. Increasing voltage into the kilovolt range using medium-voltage direct current (MVDC) is a feasible option to enhance power transfer. Consequently, designing an MVDC EPS for wide-body AEA is critical. Because EPS failures could jeopardize passenger safety, reliability and resilience are essential. This chapter presents a load-flow model for DC systems to determine power flows in both normal and single-contingency conditions, followed by analysis of optimal MVDC EPS architectures. A complete EPS for wide-body AEA is introduced, with EEUs and non-propulsion loads located, distances estimated, and flow studies performed. Multiple architectures are evaluated for reliability, power density, power loss, and cost to identify optimal solutions.

Authors:Soheil Espahbodini Nia
Title: FMT$^{x}$: An Efficient and Asymptotically Optimal Extension of the Fast Marching Tree for Dynamic Replanning
Abstract:
Path planning in dynamic environments remains a core challenge in robotics, especially as autonomous systems are deployed in unpredictable spaces such as warehouses and public roads. While algorithms like Fast Marching Tree (FMT$^{*}$) offer asymptotically optimal solutions in static settings, their single-pass design prevents path revisions which are essential for real-time adaptation. On the other hand, full replanning is often too computationally expensive. This paper introduces FMT$^{x}$, an extension of the Fast Marching Tree algorithm that enables efficient and consistent replanning in dynamic environments. We revisit the neighbor selection rule of FMT$^{*}$ and demonstrate that a minimal change overcomes its single-pass limitation, enabling the algorithm to update cost-to-come values upon discovering better connections without sacrificing asymptotic optimality or computational efficiency. By maintaining a cost-ordered priority queue and applying a selective update condition that uses an expanding neighbor to identify and trigger the re-evaluation of any node with a potentially suboptimal path, FMT$^{x}$ ensures that suboptimal routes are efficiently repaired as the environment evolves. This targeted strategy preserves the inherent efficiency of FMT$^{*}$ while enabling robust adaptation to changes in obstacle configuration. FMT$^{x}$ is proven to recover an asymptotically optimal solution after environmental changes. Experimental results demonstrate that FMT$^{x}$ outperforms the influential replanner RRT$^{x}$, reacting more swiftly to dynamic events with lower computational overhead and thus offering a more effective solution for real-time robotic navigation in unpredictable worlds.

Authors:Patrick Kreidl
Title: Admission Control for Inelastic Traffic on a Link Shared by Deadline-Driven Elastic Traffic
Abstract:
Consider a (logical) link between two distributed data centers with available bandwidth designated for both deadline-driven elastic traffic, such as for scheduled synchronization services, and profitable inelastic traffic, such as for real-time streaming services. Admission control in this setting is cast as a stochastic shortest path problem, with state space derived from (discretization of) the elastic flow's size/deadline and action space corresponding to alternative subsets of admitted inelastic flows: the probabilistic model expresses uncertainty in both the link's available bandwidth and the inelastic flows' offered loads, while the objective function captures both congestion avoidance and the option to specify a desired minimum elastic rate. Its solution is shown to (i) balance the accumulation of instantaneous inelastic reward with the risk of missing the elastic deadline and (ii) exhibit a degree of robustness to link & flow modeling errors that is tunable via choice of the desired minimum elastic rate. Also discussed are state augmentations that befit urgent or non-interruptible inelastic traffic.

Authors:Ian Jessen
Title: UTM Performance Under Stressing Scenarios
Abstract:
Proliferation of new classes of airspace participants, including uncrewed and advanced aerial mobility vehicles, necessitates the development and deployment of novel airspace management solutions, such as the Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) system and the Provider of Services to UAM (PSU) Network. The efficacy of such systems has been demonstrated on multiple occasions via real-world deployments in limited test environments, however exploration of system behavior under stressing conditions requires the development of appropriate modeling and simulation (M&S) environments. Autonomy Networks for Advanced Mobility at Lincoln Laboratory (ANAMLL) is a virtual Systems Integration Laboratory (SIL) designed to host federated autonomy networks, such as a UTM or PSU Network, and to enable test and validation at scales not available in real-world deployments. As an example of ANAMLL's utility, we explore the performance of a representative UTM network during a stressing demand scenario. In a close examination of the demand scenario, ANAMLL demonstrates a UTM system demand point at which in-flight replanning can no longer be accomplished within an allowable time window. In a second analysis of the same scenario, ANAMLL demonstrates the impact of network connectivity performance on end-user airspace access.

Authors:Patrick Kreidl
Title: A Markov Decision Process Model for Intrusion Tolerance Problems
Abstract:
We formulate and analyze a simplest Markov decision process model for intrusion tolerance problems, assuming that (i) each attack proceeds through one or more steps before the system's security fails, (ii) defensive responses that target these intermediate steps may only sometimes thwart the attack and (iii) reset responses that are sensible upon discovering an attack's completion may not always recover from the security failure. The analysis shows that, even in the ideal case of perfect detectors, it can be sub-optimal in the long run to employ defensive responses while under attack; that is, depending on attack dynamics and response effectiveness, the total overhead of ongoing defensive countermeasures can exceed the total risk of intermittent security failures. The analysis similarly examines the availability loss versus the risk reduction of employing preemptive resets, isolating key factors that determine whether system recovery is best initiated reactively or proactively. We also discuss model extensions and related work looking towards intrusion tolerance applications with (i) imperfect or controllable detectors, (ii) multiple types of attacks, (iii) continuous-time dynamics or (iv) strategic attackers.

Authors:Patrick Kreidl
Title: Sensor Management in Multi-Stage Stochastic Control Problems with Imperfect State Information
Abstract:
Technological advancements in miniaturization and wireless communications are yielding more affordable and versatile sensors and, in turn, more applications in which a network of sensors can be actively managed to best support overall decision-making objectives. We propose modeling the opportunity for sensor management within multi-stage stochastic control problems with imperfect state information. Such formulations inherently assume the state of the modeled environment cannot be accessed directly but instead the controller can observe only noisy measurements of the state and, therefore, at each decision stage some form of state estimation is required before a control is actuated. The notion of sensor management arises when the modeled controls not only affect the subsequent evolution of the state but can also affect the nature of future measurements and, hence, the quality of state estimates that drive future control decisions. In principle, the optimal strategy for any appropriately modeled multi-stage stochastic control problem with imperfect state information (with or without opportunity for sensor management) is the solution to a dynamic program; in practice, the computational requirements are typically prohibitive yet dynamic programming methods are still useful to guide the development of effective suboptimal strategies. In this spirit, we model the opportunity for sensor management within small-scale examples of two well-studied dynamic programming formulations, namely (1) the finite-state/finite-action Partially-Observable Markov Decision Process (PO-MDP) and (2) the Linear-Quadratic-Gaussian Regulator (LQGR). These examples admit solvable dynamic programs and confirm how the interplay between sensing and acting is a natural by-product of a dynamic programming solution.

Authors:Hossein Rastgoftar
Title: Steering Opinion through Dynamic Stackelberg Optimization
Abstract:
This paper employs the Friedkin-Johnsen (FJ) model to describe the dynamics of opinion evolution within a social network. Under the FJ framework, the society is divided into two subgroups that include stubborn agents and regular agents. The opinions of stubborn agents are not influenced by regular agents, whereas the opinions of regular agents evolve based on the opinions of their neighboring agents. By defining the origin as the desired collective opinion of the society, the objective of the paper is to minimize deviations from this desired opinion. To achieve this, a Stackelberg game is established between the stubborn and regular subgroups, where the opinion adjustments of the stubborn agents and the openness variables of regular agents serve as the decision variables. The proposed solution approach integrates quadratic programming and dynamic programming to optimize these decision variables at each discrete time step using forward and backward propagation.

Authors:Ayush Pandey
Title: Parameter Robustness in Data-Driven Estimation of Dynamical Systems
Abstract:
We study the robustness of system estimation to parametric perturbations in system dynamics and initial conditions. We define the problem of sensitivity-based parametric uncertainty quantification in dynamical system estimation. The main contribution of this paper is the development of a novel robustness metric for estimation of parametrized linear dynamical systems with and without control actions. For the computation of this metric, we delineate the uncertainty contributions arising from control actions, system dynamics, and initial conditions. Furthermore, to validate our theoretical findings, we establish connections between these new results and the existing literature on the robustness of model reduction. This work provides guidance for selecting estimation methods based on tolerable levels of parametric uncertainty and paves the way for new cost functions in data-driven estimation that reward sensitivity to a desired subset of parameters while penalizing others.

Authors:Pradyumna Kaushal
Title: VehiclePassport: A GAIA-X-Aligned, Blockchain-Anchored Privacy-Preserving, Zero-Knowledge Digital Passport for Smart Vehicles
Abstract:
Modern vehicles accumulate fragmented lifecycle records across OEMs, owners, and service centers that are difficult to verify and prone to fraud. We propose VehiclePassport, a GAIA-X-aligned digital passport anchored on blockchain with zero-knowledge proofs (ZKPs) for privacy-preserving verification. VehiclePassport immutably commits to manufacturing, telemetry, and service events while enabling selective disclosure via short-lived JWTs and Groth16 proofs. Our open-source reference stack anchors hashes on Polygon zkEVM at <$0.02 per event, validates proofs in <10 ms, and scales to millions of vehicles. This architecture eliminates paper-based KYC, ensures GDPR-compliant traceability, and establishes a trustless foundation for insurance, resale, and regulatory applications in global mobility data markets.

Authors:Zhongjun Ni
Title: Data-Driven Smart Maintenance of Historic Buildings
Abstract:
Digital transformation in the built environment offers new opportunities to improve building maintenance through data-driven approaches. Smart monitoring, predictive modeling, and artificial intelligence can enhance decision-making and enable proactive strategies. The preservation of historic buildings is an important scenario where preventive maintenance is essential to ensure long-term sustainability while protecting heritage values. This thesis presents a comprehensive solution for data-driven smart maintenance of historic buildings, integrating Internet of Things (IoT), cloud computing, edge computing, ontology-based data modeling, and machine learning to improve indoor climate management, energy efficiency, and conservation practices. This thesis advances data-driven conservation of historic buildings by combining smart monitoring, digital twins, and artificial intelligence. The proposed methods enable preventive maintenance and pave the way for the next generation of heritage conservation strategies.

Authors:Marcel Blattner
Title: Tangential Action Spaces: Geometry, Memory and Cost in Holonomic and Nonholonomic Agents
Abstract:
Living systems balance energetic efficiency with the capacity for path-dependent effects. We introduce Tangential Action Spaces (TAS), a geometric framework that models embodied agents as hierarchies of manifolds linked by projections from physical states to cognitive representations and onward to intentions. Lifts from intentions back to actions may follow multiple routes that differ in energy cost and in whether they leave memory-like traces. Under explicit assumptions, we prove: (i) if the physical-to-cognitive map is locally invertible, there is a unique lift that minimises instantaneous energy and yields no path-dependent memory; any memory requires strictly positive excess energy. (ii) If multiple physical states map to a cognitive state (a fibration), the energy-minimising lift is the metric-weighted pseudoinverse of the projection. (iii) In systems with holonomy, excess energy grows quadratically with the size of the induced memory for sufficiently small loops, establishing a local cost-memory law. These results motivate a classification of embodied systems by the origin of path dependence: intrinsically conservative, conditionally conservative, geometrically nonconservative, and dynamically nonconservative. Numerical examples illustrate each case. We also present a reflective extension (rTAS) in which perception depends on a learnable model state; a block metric formalises an effort-learning trade-off, and cross-curvature terms couple physical and model holonomy. Simulations of single- and two-agent settings show role asymmetries and sensitivity to coupling. TAS provides a geometric language linking embodiment, memory, and energetic cost, yielding testable predictions and design guidelines for biological and robotic systems.

Authors:Eliseo Curcio
Title: Introducing LCOAI: A Standardized Economic Metric for Evaluating AI Deployment Costs
Abstract:
As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes foundational to enterprise infrastructure, organizations face growing challenges in accurately assessing the full economic implications of AI deployment. Existing metrics such as API token costs, GPU-hour billing, or Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) fail to capture the complete lifecycle costs of AI systems and provide limited comparability across deployment models. This paper introduces the Levelized Cost of Artificial Intelligence (LCOAI), a standardized economic metric designed to quantify the total capital (CAPEX) and operational (OPEX) expenditures per unit of productive AI output, normalized by valid inference volume. Analogous to established metrics like LCOE (levelized cost of electricity) and LCOH (levelized cost of hydrogen) in the energy sector, LCOAI offers a rigorous, transparent framework to evaluate and compare the cost-efficiency of vendor API deployments versus self-hosted, fine-tuned models. We define the LCOAI methodology in detail and apply it to three representative scenarios, OpenAI GPT-4.1 API, Anthropic Claude Haiku API, and a self-hosted LLaMA-2-13B deployment demonstrating how LCOAI captures critical trade-offs in scalability, investment planning, and cost optimization. Extensive sensitivity analyses further explore the impact of inference volume, CAPEX, and OPEX variability on lifecycle economics. The results illustrate the practical utility of LCOAI in procurement, infrastructure planning, and automation strategy, and establish it as a foundational benchmark for AI economic analysis. Policy implications and areas for future refinement, including environmental and performance-adjusted cost metrics, are also discussed.

Authors:Justin London
Title: Design of an Efficient Three-Level Buck-Boost Converter in PSIM
Abstract:
Compared to conventional converters, a three-level buck-boost (3L-BB) converter offers higher efficiency, reduced switching losses, and increased power density. We design a 3L-BB converter given certain voltage and current specifications in PSIM. We simulate the circuit in PSIM and analyze the power, voltage, and current waveforms by comparing the observed simulated values in PSIM with their mathematically driven theoretical values. We examine its power efficiencies and determine if the circuit meets given DC distribution specifications. We show that the proposed three-phase design, which uses two DC-DC single-ended primary-conductor converters (SEPICs), is power efficient and is a compelling solution for high-power and high-voltage applications.

Authors:Arman Javan Sekhavat Pishkhani
Title: Gray-Box Computed Torque Control for Differential-Drive Mobile Robot Tracking
Abstract:
This study presents a learning-based nonlinear algorithm for tracking control of differential-drive mobile robots. The Computed Torque Method (CTM) suffers from inaccurate knowledge of system parameters, while Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) algorithms are known for sample inefficiency and weak stability guarantees. The proposed method replaces the black-box policy network of a DRL agent with a gray-box Computed Torque Controller (CTC) to improve sample efficiency and ensure closed-loop stability. This approach enables finding an optimal set of controller parameters for an arbitrary reward function using only a few short learning episodes. The Twin-Delayed Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (TD3) algorithm is used for this purpose. Additionally, some controller parameters are constrained to lie within known value ranges, ensuring the RL agent learns physically plausible values. A technique is also applied to enforce a critically damped closed-loop time response. The controller's performance is evaluated on a differential-drive mobile robot simulated in the MuJoCo physics engine and compared against the raw CTC and a conventional kinematic controller.

Authors:Uwe D. Hanebeck
Title: Newton-Flow Particle Filters based on Generalized Cramér Distance
Abstract:
We propose a recursive particle filter for high-dimensional problems that inherently never degenerates. The state estimate is represented by deterministic low-discrepancy particle sets. We focus on the measurement update step, where a likelihood function is used for representing the measurement and its uncertainty. This likelihood is progressively introduced into the filtering procedure by homotopy continuation over an artificial time. A generalized Cramér distance between particle sets is derived in closed form that is differentiable and invariant to particle order. A Newton flow then continually minimizes this distance over artificial time and thus smoothly moves particles from prior to posterior density. The new filter is surprisingly simple to implement and very efficient. It just requires a prior particle set and a likelihood function, never estimates densities from samples, and can be used as a plugin replacement for classic approaches.

Authors:Ekansh Singh
Title: Design and Testing of a Low-Cost 3D-Printed Servo Gimbal for Thrust Vector Control in Model Rockets
Abstract:
Thrust vector control (TVC) is a key mechanism for stabilizing rockets during flight, yet conventional implementations remain costly and technically inaccessible to students and hobbyists. This paper presents the design, fabrication, and testing of a low-cost, 3D-printed, servo-driven two-dimensional gimbal developed for model rocket applications. The gimbal underwent more than 60 CAD iterations, with servo selection guided by torque, response time, and stability requirements. A high-speed camera and Fusion 360 parameter simulations were used to emulate dynamic instability, enabling evaluation of angular deflection, servo responsiveness, and structural durability. The results demonstrated stable actuation within plus or minus 5 degrees, with response times on the average order of 44.5 ms, while limitations included servo fatigue and pin-joint stress under extended loading. The project highlights the feasibility of student-accessible thrust vector control systems and their potential as a reproducible platform for STEM education and experimental aerospace research.

Authors:Noah Shore
Title: The Coherent Multiplex: Scalable Real-Time Wavelet Coherence Architecture
Abstract:
The Coherent Multiplex is formalized and validated as a scalable, real-time system for identifying, analyzing, and visualizing coherence among multiple time series. Its architecture comprises a fast spectral similarity layer based on cosine similarity metrics of Fourier-transformed signals, and a sparse time-frequency layer for wavelet coherence. The system constructs and evolves a multilayer graph representing inter-signal relationships, enabling low-latency inference and monitoring. A simulation prototype demonstrates functionality across 8 synthetic channels with a high similarity threshold for further computation, with additional opportunities for scaling the architecture up to support thousands of input signals with constrained hardware. Applications discussed include neuroscience, finance, and biomedical signal analysis.

Authors:Joshua Shay Kricheli
Title: SNIC bifurcation and its Application to MEMS
Abstract:
This project focuses on a method to extract a frequency comb in mechanical means, for general interest and numerous practical applications in MEMS. The method of execution is the implementation of a beam that is exhibiting non-linear dynamics that is perturbed and analyzed for its transverse vibrations. The perturbation is an external harmonic driver with a chosen small amplitude and frequency (which is slightly detuned from the beam eigenfrequency), that when engaged with the unperturbed beam oscillations, causes it reach a state of "injection pulling" - an effect that occurs when one harmonic oscillator is coupled with a second one and causes it to oscillate in a frequency near its own. This causes the beam to reach SNIC bifurcation, rendering a frequency comb as desired. Theoretical analysis showed that the problem can be modelled using a non-linear equation of the beam, that translates to a form of the non-linear Duffing equation. While a solution to the dynamics function of the beam is hard to obtain in practice due to mathematical difficulties, a slow evolution model is suggested that is composed of functions of a amplitude and phase. Using several additional mathematical assumptions, the amplitude is seen to be related to the phase, while the phase equation solution is seen to be of the form of Adler's equation. These assumptions ultimately reduce the entire behaviour of the beam to a relatively simple solution to the Adler equation, which has a known analytical solution. Computerized numerical simulations are run on it to check the results and compare them to the theory and desired outcome. The results agreed with the theory and produce the expected frequency comb, showing the assumptions to be valid in extracting the comb.

Authors:Andrea Iannelli
Title: Adaptive control mechanisms in gradient descent algorithms
Abstract:
The problem of designing adaptive stepsize sequences for the gradient descent method applied to convex and locally smooth functions is studied. We take an adaptive control perspective and design update rules for the stepsize that make use of both past (measured) and future (predicted) information. We show that Lyapunov analysis can guide in the systematic design of adaptive parameters striking a balance between convergence rates and robustness to computational errors or inexact gradient information. Theoretical and numerical results indicate that closed-loop adaptation guided by system theory is a promising approach for designing new classes of adaptive optimization algorithms with improved convergence properties.

Authors:Steven P. Reinhardt
Title: AI Data Centers Need Pioneers to Deliver Scalable Power via Offgrid AI
Abstract:
The scalable computing revolution of the late '80s through mid- '00s forged a new technical and economic model for computing that delivered massive societal impact, but its economic benefit has driven scalability to sizes that are now exhausting the energy grid's capacity. Our time demands a new revolution in scalable energy, mirroring in key ways the scalable computing revolution; e.g., compelling economic forces, use of mass-market components, overcoming foibles of those components, judicious use of physical locality, and the the difficult integration into an effective system. The offgrid AI approach closely fits this mold, combining local mostly renewable generation and storage to power an AI data center, starting offgrid. Obstacles to delivering this approach are social, technical, and project, but the potential is massive. I argue that the offgrid-AI approach needs pioneers among both system developers and AI-data-center operators to move it quickly from concept to large-scale deployment.

Authors:Tam W. Nguyen
Title: A Predictive Framework for Adversarial Energy Depletion in Inbound Threat Scenarios
Abstract:
This paper presents a predictive framework for adversarial energy-depletion defense against a maneuverable inbound threat (IT). The IT solves a receding-horizon problem to minimize its own energy while reaching a high-value asset (HVA) and avoiding interceptors and static lethal zones modeled by Gaussian barriers. Expendable interceptors (EIs), coordinated by a central node (CN), maintain proximity to the HVA and patrol centers via radius-based tether costs, deny attack corridors by harassing and containing the IT, and commit to intercept only when a geometric feasibility test is confirmed. No explicit opponent-energy term is used, and the formulation is optimization-implementable. No simulations are included.

Authors:Tam W. Nguyen
Title: Fast RLS Identification Leveraging the Linearized System Sparsity: Predictive Cost Adaptive Control for Quadrotors
Abstract:
This paper presents a centralized predictive cost adaptive control (PCAC) strategy for the position and attitude control of quadrotors. PCAC is an optimal, prediction-based control method that uses recursive least squares (RLS) to identify model parameters online, enabling adaptability in dynamic environments. Addressing challenges with black-box approaches in systems with complex couplings and fast dynamics, this study leverages the unique sparsity of quadrotor models linearized around hover points. By identifying only essential parameters related to nonlinear couplings and dynamics, this approach reduces the number of parameters to estimate, accelerates identification, and enhances stability during transients. Furthermore, the proposed control scheme removes the need for an attitude setpoint, typically required in conventional cascaded control designs.

Authors:Jaafar Gaber
Title: Observer-Free Sliding Mode Control via Structured Decomposition: a Smooth and Bounded Control Framework
Abstract:
In this paper, we introduce an observer-free sliding mode control (SMC) method based on explicit structural compensation via the decomposition \( s = α- β\). The proposed formulation eliminates the need for state observers and higher-order derivatives, reduces chattering, and yields smooth, bounded control signal. Simulation results confirms its robustness and stability on benchmark nonlinear systems (pendulum, Van der Pol, Duffing, and networked systems) under noise, disturbances, and parameter variations. A Lyapunov-based stability proof confirms convergence. This method provides a scalable and practical alternative to traditional SMC, well suited for embedded and distributed environments.

Authors:Andreas Mueller
Title: On the Performance of Linear Adaptive Filters driven by the Ergodic Chaotic Logistic Map
Abstract:
Chaotic dynamical systems are increasingly considered for use in coding and transmission systems. This stems from their parameter sensitivity and spectral characteristics. The latter are relevant for channel estimation methods. In particular the logistic map $f_λ=λx\left( 1-x\right) $ has been employed in chaotic coding and spread spectrum transmission systems. For $λ=4$ the statistical properties of sequences generated by $f_4$ are considered as ideal drive signals for channel estimation schemes. This assumption is proven in the present paper. To this end the higher order statistical moments and the autocorrelation of time series generated by $f_4$ are derived. It is shown that for $λ=4$ the zero mean time series is uncorrelated. The adaptation performance of finite impulse response (FIR) digital adaptive filters (DAF) used for channel estimation is analyzed. It is shown that using zero mean sequences of $f_4$ leads to the maximal possible FIR DAF performance. An optimal value for the damping parameter in the LMS scheme is derived that leads to the maximal performance and ensures stability. The analytic considerations are confirmed by simulation results.

Authors:Luis David Pabon Ospina
Title: Assessment of Power System Stability Considering Multiple Time-Scale Dynamics: Insights into Hopf Bifurcations in Presence of GFL and GFM IBRs
Abstract:
Real power systems exhibit dynamics that evolve across a wide range of time scales, from very fast to very slow phenomena. Historically, incorporating these wide-ranging dynamics into a single model has been impractical. As a result, power engineers rely on time-scale decomposition to simplify models. When fast phenomena are evaluated, slow dynamics are neglected (assumed stable), and vice versa. This paper challenges this paradigm by showing the importance of assessing power system stability while considering multiple time scales simultaneously. Using the concept of Hopf bifurcations, it exemplifies instability issues that would be missed if multi-time-scale dynamics are not considered. Although this work employs both grid-following and grid-forming inverter-based resource models, it is not a direct comparison. Instead, it presents a case study demonstrating how one technology can complement the other from a multi time-scale dynamics perspective.

Authors:Thomas Gallien
Title: Beyond Fixed Morphologies: Learning Graph Policies with Trust Region Compensation in Variable Action Spaces
Abstract:
Trust region-based optimization methods have become foundational reinforcement learning algorithms that offer stability and strong empirical performance in continuous control tasks. Growing interest in scalable and reusable control policies translate also in a demand for morphological generalization, the ability of control policies to cope with different kinematic structures. Graph-based policy architectures provide a natural and effective mechanism to encode such structural differences. However, while these architectures accommodate variable morphologies, the behavior of trust region methods under varying action space dimensionality remains poorly understood. To this end, we conduct a theoretical analysis of trust region-based policy optimization methods, focusing on both Trust Region Policy Optimization (TRPO) and its widely used first-order approximation, Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). The goal is to demonstrate how varying action space dimensionality influence the optimization landscape, particularly under the constraints imposed by KL-divergence or policy clipping penalties. Complementing the theoretical insights, an empirical evaluation under morphological variation is carried out using the Gymnasium Swimmer environment. This benchmark offers a systematically controlled setting for varying the kinematic structure without altering the underlying task, making it particularly well-suited to study morphological generalization.

Authors:Yiwei Liu
Title: Singularity-free prescribed performance guaranteed control for perturbed system
Abstract:
This paper addresses the prescribed performance control (PPC) challenge for high-order nonlinear systems affected by mismatched disturbances. The research aims to prevent singularity issues arising from error boundary violations during abrupt changes in reference trajectories. We introduce a novel transformation function with infinite-order differentiability at connection points, advancing beyond mere continuous differentiability. Utilizing this transformation function, we develop a comprehensive transformation strategy that ensures: (1) errors remain within prescribed boundaries when reference trajectories are smooth, and (2) errors return to prescribed boundaries within a specified timeframe following abrupt changes in reference trajectories. Additionally, the complexity explosion issue inherent in backstepping design is effectively resolved. Simulation results corroborate the validity of the proposed theoretical advancements.

Authors:Hamid Jahanian
Title: PFD or PDF: Rethinking the Probability of Failure in Mitigation Safety Functions
Abstract:
SIL (Safety Integrity Level) allocation plays a crucial role in defining the design requirements for Safety Functions (SFs) within high-risk industries. SIL is typically determined based on the estimated Probability of Failure on Demand (PFD), which must remain within permissible limits to manage risk effectively. Extensive research has been conducted on determining target PFD and SIL, with a stronger emphasis on preventive SFs than on mitigation SFs. In this paper, we address a rather conceptual issue: we argue that PFD is not an appropriate reliability measure for mitigation SFs to begin with, and we propose an alternative approach that leverages the Probability Density Function (PDF) and the expected degree of failure as key metrics. The principles underlying this approach are explained and supported by detailed mathematical formulations. Furthermore, the practical application of this new methodology is illustrated through case studies.

Authors:Imran Khan
Title: [Social] Allostasis: Or, How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love The Noise
Abstract:
The notion of homeostasis typically conceptualises biological and artificial systems as maintaining stability by resisting deviations caused by environmental and social perturbations. In contrast, (social) allostasis proposes that these systems can proactively leverage these very perturbations to reconfigure their regulatory parameters in anticipation of environmental demands, aligning with von Foerster's ``order through noise'' principle. This paper formulates a computational model of allostatic and social allostatic regulation that employs biophysiologically inspired signal transducers, analogous to hormones like cortisol and oxytocin, to encode information from both the environment and social interactions, which mediate this dynamic reconfiguration. The models are tested in a small society of ``animats'' across several dynamic environments, using an agent-based model. The results show that allostatic and social allostatic regulation enable agents to leverage environmental and social ``noise'' for adaptive reconfiguration, leading to improved viability compared to purely reactive homeostatic agents. This work offers a novel computational perspective on the principles of social allostasis and their potential for designing more robust, bio-inspired, adaptive systems

Authors:Adil Faisal
Title: Feedback Linearization for Replicator Dynamics: A Control Framework for Evolutionary Game Convergence
Abstract:
This paper demonstrates the first application of feedback linearization to replicator dynamics, driving the evolution of non-convergent evolutionary games to systems with guaranteed global asymptotic stability.

Authors:H. Yoshioka
Title: Graphon Mean-Field Logit Dynamic: Derivation, Computation, and Applications
Abstract:
We present a graphon mean-field logit dynamic, a stationary mean-field game based on logit interactions. This dynamic emerges from a stochastic control problem involving a continuum of nonexchangeable and interacting agents and reduces to solving a continuum of Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equations connected through a graphon that models the connections among agents. Using a fixed-point argument, we prove that this HJB system admits a unique solution in the space of bounded functions when the discount rate is high (i.e., agents are myopic). Under certain assumptions, we also establish regularity properties of the system, such as equi-continuity. We propose a finite difference scheme for computing the HJB system and prove the uniqueness and existence of its numerical solutions. The mean-field logit dynamic is applied to a case study on inland fisheries resource management in the upper Tedori River of Japan. A series of computational cases are then conducted to investigate the dependence of the dynamic on both the discount rate and graphon.

Authors:Zihan Wang
Title: PUB: A Plasma-Propelled Ultra-Quiet Blimp with Two-DOF Vector Thrusting
Abstract:
This study presents the design and control of a Plasma-propelled Ultra-silence Blimp (PUB), a novel aerial robot employing plasma vector propulsion for ultra-quiet flight without mechanical propellers. The system utilizes a helium-lift platform for extended endurance and a four-layer ring asymmetric capacitor to generate ionic wind thrust. The modular propulsion units allow flexible configuration to meet mission-specific requirements, while a two-degree-of-freedom (DOF) head enables thrust vector control. A closed-loop slip control scheme is implemented for stable maneuvering. Flight experiments demonstrate full-envelope capability, including take-off, climb, hover, descent, and smooth landing, confirming the feasibility of plasma vector propulsion, the effectiveness of DOF vector control, and the stability of the control system. Owing to its low acoustic signature, structural simplicity, and high maneuverability, PUB is well suited for noise-sensitive, enclosed, and near-space applications.

Authors:Mohamad T. Shahab
Title: Adaptive Control with Set-Point Tracking and Linear-like Closed-loop Behavior
Abstract:
In this paper, we consider the problem of set-point tracking for a discrete-time plant with unknown plant parameters belonging to a convex and compact uncertainty set. We carry out parameter estimation for an associated auxiliary plant, and a pole-placement-based control law is employed. We prove that this adaptive controller provides desirable linear-like closed-loop behavior which guarantees a bound consisting of: exponential decay with respect to the initial condition, a linear-like convolution bound with respect to the exogenous inputs, and a constant scaled by the square root of the constant in the denominator of the parameter estimator update law. This implies that the system has a bounded gain. Moreover, asymptotic tracking is also proven when the disturbance is constant.

Authors:Mogens Plessen
Title: Nominal Evaluation Of Automatic Multi-Sections Control Potential In Comparison To A Simpler One- Or Two-Sections Alternative With Predictive Spray Switching
Abstract:
Automatic Section Control (ASC) is a long-standing trend for spraying in agriculture. It promises to minimise spray overlap areas. The core idea is to (i) switch off spray nozzles on areas that have already been sprayed, and (ii) to dynamically adjust nozzle flow rates along the boom bar that holds the spray nozzles when velocities of boom sections vary during turn maneuvers. ASC is not possible without sensors for accurate positioning data. Spraying and the movement of modern wide boom bars are highly dynamic processes. In addition, many uncertainty factors have an effect such as cross wind drift, nozzle clogging in open-field conditions, etc. In view of this complexity, the natural question arises if a simpler alternative exist. Therefore, ASC is compared to a proposed simpler one- or two-sections alternative that uses predictive spray switching. The comparison is provided under nominal conditions. Agricultural spraying is intrinsically linked to area coverage path planning and spray switching logic. Combinations of two area coverage path planning and switching logics as well as 3 sections-setups are compared. The three sections-setups differ by controlling 48 sections, 2 sections or controlling all nozzles uniformly with the same control signal as one single section. Methods are evaluated on 10 diverse real-world field examples, including non-convex field contours, freeform mainfield lanes and multiple obstacle areas. An economic cost analysis is provided to compare the methods. A preferred method is suggested that (i) minimises area coverage pathlength, (ii) offers intermediate overlap, (iii) is suitable for manual driving by following a pre-planned predictive spray switching logic for an area coverage path plan, and (iv) and in contrast to ASC can be implemented sensor-free and at low cost. Surprisingly strong economic arguments are found to not recommend ASC for small farms.

Authors:John W. Sheppard
Title: Risk-Based Prognostics and Health Management
Abstract:
It is often the case that risk assessment and prognostics are viewed as related but separate tasks. This chapter describes a risk-based approach to prognostics that seeks to provide a tighter coupling between risk assessment and fault prediction. We show how this can be achieved using the continuous-time Bayesian network as the underlying modeling framework. Furthermore, we provide an overview of the techniques that are available to derive these models from data and show how they might be used in practice to achieve tasks like decision support and performance-based logistics. This work is intended to provide an overview of the recent developments related to risk-based prognostics, and we hope that it will serve as a tutorial of sorts that will assist others in adopting these techniques.

Authors:John W. Sheppard
Title: Overview of Complex System Design
Abstract:
This chapter serves as an introduction to systems engineering focused on the broad issues surrounding realizing complex integrated systems. What is a system? We pose a number of possible definitions and perspectives, but leave open the opportunity to consider the system from the target context where it will be used. Once we have a system in mind, we acknowledge the fact that this system needs to integrate a variety of pieces, components, subsystems, in order for it to accomplish its task. Therefore, we concern ourselves at the boundaries and interfaces of different technologies and disciplines to determine how best to achieve that integration. Next we raise the specter that this integrated system is complex. Complexity can be defined in a number of ways. For one, the sheer number of subsystems or components can be a measure of complexity. We could also consider the functions being performed by the system and how those functions interact with one another. Further, we could consider computational aspects such as the time or memory that may be needed to accomplish one or more tasks. The extent to which new behaviors might emerge from the system can also be regarded as an element of complexity. In the end, complexity is that characteristic of a system that defines the associated challenges along the life of the system, so we are concerned with how to manage that complexity. Finally, realization refers to the process by which our complex integrated system moves from concept to deployment and subsequent support. It refers to the entire design, development, manufacture, deployment, operation, and support life cycle. Of particular note here, however, is that we focus on systems that, by their very nature, are complex. In other words, we are interested in large, complicated, interacting beasts that are intended to perform difficult tasks and meet a wide variety of end-user needs.

Authors:Xinli Guo
Title: Two-Instrument Screening under Soft Budget Constraints
Abstract:
We study soft budget constraints in multi-tier public finance when an upper-tier government uses two instruments: an ex-ante grant schedule and an ex-post rescue. Under convex rescue costs and standard primitives, the three-stage leader-follower problem collapses to one dimensional screening with a single allocation index: the cap on realized rescue. A hazard-based characterization delivers a unified rule that nests (i) no rescue, (ii) a threshold-cap with commitment, and (iii) a threshold--linear--cap without commitment. The knife-edge for eliminating bailouts compares the marginal cost at the origin to the supremum of a virtual weight, and the comparative statics show how greater curvature tightens caps while discretion shifts transfers toward front loading by lowering the effective grant weight. The framework provides a portable benchmark for mechanism design and yields testable implications for policy and empirical work on intergovernmental finance.

Authors:Halima El Badaoui
Title: A Structured Framework for Prioritizing Unsafe Control Actions in STPA: Case Study on eVTOL Operations
Abstract:
Systems Theoretic Process Analysis (STPA) is a widely recommended method for analysing complex system safety. STPA can identify numerous Unsafe Control Actions (UCAs) and requirements depending on the level of granularity of the analysis and the complexity of the system being analysed. Managing numerous results is challenging, especially during a fast-paced development lifecycle. Extensive research has been done to optimize the efficiency of managing and prioritising the STPA results. However, maintaining the objectivity of prioritisation and communicating the prioritised results have become common challenges. In this paper, the authors present a complementary approach that incorporates inputs from both the safety analysts and domain experts to more objectively prioritise UCAs. This is done by evaluating the severity of each UCA, the impact factor of each controller or decision maker that issues the UCA, and the ranking provided by the subject matter experts who assess the UCA criticalities based on different factors. In addition, a Monte Carlo simulation is introduced to reduce subjectivity and relativity, thus enabling more objective prioritisation of the UCAs. As part of the approach to better communicate the prioritisation results and plan the next steps of system development, a dynamic-scaling prioritisation matrix was developed to capture different sets of prioritised UCAs. The approach was applied to a real project to improve the safe operations of Electric Vertical Take-off and Landing (eVTOL). The results highlighted critical UCAs that need to be prioritised for safer eVTOL operation. 318 UCAs were identified in total. Based on the application of the prioritisation methodology, 110 were recognized as high-priority UCAs to strengthen the system design.

Authors:Justin London
Title: Control Systems Analysis of a 3-Axis Photovoltatic Solar Tracker for Water Pumping
Abstract:
We propose 3-axis solar tracker water pumping system. The solar tracker can rotate and tilt using stepper/DC motors and can rise and lower on a tripod using a linear actuator. The charge generated from solar energy absorbed by photovoltaic (PV) cells in the solar panel is stored in a 12V battery that in turn powers two water diaphragm pumps using a solar charge controller. The PV uses four light photocell resistors/sensors to measure light intensity. A solar tracking algorithm determines the optimal angle for PV positioning. Using an ultrasonic sensor to measure the water level in a reservoir water tank, water is pumped from one water tank to the reservoir. Based on soil moisture sensor levels, a second water pump supplies water from the reservoir to the plant. The system is analyzed from a control systems perspective. The transfer functions, root loci, and Bode plots are generated and simulated and experimental results are provided as well as stability and steady-state error analysis.

Authors:Justin London
Title: Design and Simulation of 6T SRAM Array
Abstract:
Conventional 6T SRAM is used in microprocessors in the cache memory design. The basic 6T SRAM cell and a 6 bit memory array layout are designed in LEdit. The design and analysis of key SRAM components, sense amplifiers, decoders, write drivers and precharge circuits are also provided. The pulse voltage waveforms generated for read and write operations as well as Q and Qbar nodes are simulated in LTSpice. Parasitic capacitances are extracted and their impact on the waveforms analyzed. Static noise margin, propagation delays, and power dissipation are calculated. Comparison of SRAM read and write operational performance using CMOS transistors is made with edge-triggered D flip flops. If certain size area and ratio constraints are satisfied, the 6T cell with CMOS transistors will possess stability, speed, and power efficiency. Both theoretical and simulated results are given.

Authors:Hamed Taghavian
Title: Fundamental limitations of monotonic tracking systems
Abstract:
We consider the monotonic tracking control problem for continuous-time single-input single-output linear systems using output-feedback linear controllers in this paper. We provide the necessary and sufficient conditions for this problem to be solvable and expose its fundamental limitations: the exact feasible locations of the plant zeros, the minimum controller order possible, and the maximum decay rate achievable for the closed-loop system. The relationship between these bounds is explained by a simple geometric shape for plants with a pair of complex-conjugate zeros.

Authors:Giorgio Picci
Title: On Irreversibility and Stochastic Systems: Part One
Abstract:
We attempt to characterize irreversibility of a dynamical system from the existence of different forward and backward mathematical representations depending on the direction of the time arrow. Such different representations have been studied intensively and are shown to exist for stochastic diffusion models. In this setting one has however to face the preliminary justification of stochastic description for physical systems which are described by classical mechanics as inherently deterministic and conservative. In part one of this paper we first address this modeling problem for linear systems in a deterministic context. We show that forward-backward representations can also describe conservative finite dimensional deterministic systems when they are coupled to an infinite-dimensional conservative heat bath. A novel key observation is that the heat bath acts on the finite-dimensional conservative system by {\em state-feedback} and can shift its eigenvalues to make the system dissipative but may also generate another totally unstable model which naturally evolves backward in time. In the second part, we address the stochastic description of these two representations. Under a natural family of invariant measures the heat bath can be shown to induce a white noise input acting on the system making it look like a true dissipative diffusion.

Authors:Noboru Katayama
Title: Deep Reinforcement Learning-Based Control Strategy with Direct Gate Control for Buck Converters
Abstract:
This paper proposes a deep reinforcement learning (DRL)-based approach for directly controlling the gate signals of switching devices to achieve voltage regulation in a buck converter. Unlike conventional control methods, the proposed method directly generates gate signals using a neural network trained through DRL, with the objective of achieving high control speed and flexibility while maintaining stability. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed direct gate control (DGC) method achieves a faster transient response and stable output voltage regulation, outperforming traditional PWM-based control schemes. The DGC method also exhibits strong robustness against parameter variations and sensor noise, indicating its suitability for practical power electronics applications. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated via simulation.

Authors:H Chan
Title: Nonlinear Systems in Wireless Power Transfer Applications
Abstract:
As a novel pattern of energization, the wireless power transfer (WPT) offers a brand-new way to the energy acquisition for electric-driven devices, thus alleviating the over-dependence on the battery. This report presents three types of WPT systems that use nonlinear control methods, in order to acquire an in-depth understanding of the course of Nonlinear Systems.

Authors:Antonio Guillen-Perez
Title: From Imitation to Optimization: A Comparative Study of Offline Learning for Autonomous Driving
Abstract:
Learning robust driving policies from large-scale, real-world datasets is a central challenge in autonomous driving, as online data collection is often unsafe and impractical. While Behavioral Cloning (BC) offers a straightforward approach to imitation learning, policies trained with BC are notoriously brittle and suffer from compounding errors in closed-loop execution. This work presents a comprehensive pipeline and a comparative study to address this limitation. We first develop a series of increasingly sophisticated BC baselines, culminating in a Transformer-based model that operates on a structured, entity-centric state representation. While this model achieves low imitation loss, we show that it still fails in long-horizon simulations. We then demonstrate that by applying a state-of-the-art Offline Reinforcement Learning algorithm, Conservative Q-Learning (CQL), to the same data and architecture, we can learn a significantly more robust policy. Using a carefully engineered reward function, the CQL agent learns a conservative value function that enables it to recover from minor errors and avoid out-of-distribution states. In a large-scale evaluation on 1,000 unseen scenarios from the Waymo Open Motion Dataset, our final CQL agent achieves a 3.2x higher success rate and a 7.4x lower collision rate than the strongest BC baseline, proving that an offline RL approach is critical for learning robust, long-horizon driving policies from static expert data.

Authors:Justin London
Title: Embedded Microcontrol for Photovoltaic Water Pumping System
Abstract:
We introduce a novel 3-axis solar tracker water pumping system. The charge generated from solar energy converted by the photovolatic panel (PV) cells is stored in a 12V battery that in turn powers two water diaphragm pumps using a solar charge controller that includes an MPPT algorithm that serves as a DC-DC converter. The system is analyzed from an embedded microcontroller and embedded software perspective using Arduino. The photovoltaic panel uses four light photocell resistors (LPRs) which measure solar light intensity. An ultrasonic sensor measures the water level in a reservoir water tank. If the water level is too low, water is pumped from one water tank to the reservoir tank. Using a soil moisture sensor, another water pump pumps water from the reservoir tank to the plant if water is needed. Circuit designs for the system are provided as well as the embedded software used. Simulation and experimental results are given.

Authors:Bo Wen
Title: A Framework for Inherently Safer AGI through Language-Mediated Active Inference
Abstract:
This paper proposes a novel framework for developing safe Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) by combining Active Inference principles with Large Language Models (LLMs). We argue that traditional approaches to AI safety, focused on post-hoc interpretability and reward engineering, have fundamental limitations. We present an architecture where safety guarantees are integrated into the system's core design through transparent belief representations and hierarchical value alignment. Our framework leverages natural language as a medium for representing and manipulating beliefs, enabling direct human oversight while maintaining computational tractability. The architecture implements a multi-agent system where agents self-organize according to Active Inference principles, with preferences and safety constraints flowing through hierarchical Markov blankets. We outline specific mechanisms for ensuring safety, including: (1) explicit separation of beliefs and preferences in natural language, (2) bounded rationality through resource-aware free energy minimization, and (3) compositional safety through modular agent structures. The paper concludes with a research agenda centered on the Abstraction and Reasoning Corpus (ARC) benchmark, proposing experiments to validate our framework's safety properties. Our approach offers a path toward AGI development that is inherently safer, rather than retrofitted with safety measures.

Authors:Saddam Hussain Khan
Title: Advanced Hybrid Transformer LSTM Technique with Attention and TS Mixer for Drilling Rate of Penetration Prediction
Abstract:
Accurate prediction of the Rate of Penetration (ROP) is pivotal for drilling optimization, yet it remains a persistent challenge due to the nonlinear, dynamic, and heterogeneous nature of drilling data. This study introduces a novel hybrid deep learning architecture in which input data are first processed through a customized Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network to capture multi-scale temporal dependencies aligned with drilling operational cycles, and the resulting features are subsequently refined by an Enhanced Transformer encoder with drilling-specific positional encodings and real-time optimization. Concurrently, the same input is directed to a Time-Series Mixer (TS-Mixer) block that enables efficient cross-feature modeling of static and categorical attributes such as lithology indices and mud properties. The outputs from the enhanced Transformer and TS-Mixer are concatenated, after which an adaptive attention selectively emphasizes the most informative feature representations for accurate ROP prediction. The proposed framework fuses sequential memory, static feature interactions, global contextual learning, and dynamic feature weighting, providing a comprehensive solution to the heterogeneous and event-driven nature of drilling dynamics. Evaluation on a real-world drilling dataset demonstrates benchmark-leading performance, achieving an Rsqaure of 0.9988 and a MAPE of 1.447%, significantly surpassing standalone and hybrid baselines. Model interpretability is achieved through SHAP and LIME, and comparisons between actual and predicted curves, along with bias checks, confirm the accuracy and fairness of the model across various scenarios. This advanced hybrid approach enables dependable real-time ROP prediction, supporting the development of intelligent, cost-effective drilling optimization systems with significant operational benefits.

Authors:Igor G. Vladimirov
Title: Filtering and 1/3 Power Law for Optimal Time Discretisation in Numerical Integration of Stochastic Differential Equations
Abstract:
This paper is concerned with the numerical integration of stochastic differential equations (SDEs) which govern diffusion processes driven by a standard Wiener process. With the latter being replaced by a sequence of increments at discrete moments of time, we revisit a filtering point of view on the approximate strong solution of the SDE as an estimate of the hidden system state whose conditional probability distribution is updated using a Bayesian approach and Brownian bridges over the intermediate time intervals. For a class of multivariable linear SDEs, where the numerical solution is organised as a Kalman filter, we investigate the fine-grid asymptotic behaviour of terminal and integral mean-square error functionals when the time discretisation is specified by a sufficiently smooth monotonic transformation of a uniform grid. This leads to constrained optimisation problems over the time discretisation profile, and their solutions reveal a 1/3 power law for the asymptotically optimal grid density functions. As a one-dimensional example, the results are illustrated for the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process.

Authors:Mehmet Karahan
Title: Modeling and Simulation of an Active Car Suspension with a Robust LQR Controller under Road Disturbance, Parameter Uncertainty and White Noise
Abstract:
Vehicle suspension is important for passengers to travel comfortably and to be less exposed to effects such as vibration and shock. A good suspension system increases the road holding of vehicles, allows them to take turns safely, and reduces the risk of traffic accidents. A passive suspension system is the most widely used suspension system in vehicles due to its simple structure and low cost. Passive suspension systems do not have an actuator and therefore do not have a controller. Active suspension systems have an actuator and a controller. Although their structures are more complex and costly, they are safer. PID controller is widely used in active suspension systems due to its simple structure, reasonable cost, and easy adjustment of coefficients. In this study, a more robust LQR-controlled active suspension was designed than a passive suspension and a PID-controlled active suspension. Robustness analyses were performed for passive suspension, PID-controlled active suspension, and LQR-controlled active suspension. Suspension travel, sprung mass acceleration, and sprung mass motion simulations were performed for all three suspensions under road disturbance, under simultaneous road disturbance and parameter uncertainty and under road disturbance with white noise. A comparative analysis was performed by obtaining the rise time, overshoot, and settling time data of the suspensions under different conditions. It was observed that the LQR-controlled active suspension showed the fastest rise time, the least overshoot and had the shortest settling time. In this case, it was proven that the LQRcontrolled active suspension provided a more comfortable and safe ride compared to the other two suspension systems.

Authors:M. F. Shakib
Title: State dimension reduction of recurrent equilibrium networks with contraction and robustness preservation
Abstract:
Recurrent equilibrium networks (RENs) are effective for learning the dynamics of complex dynamical systems with certified contraction and robustness properties through unconstrained learning. While this opens the door to learning large-scale RENs, deploying such large-scale RENs in real-time applications on resource-limited devices remains challenging. Since a REN consists of a feedback interconnection of linear time-invariant (LTI) dynamics and static activation functions, this article proposes a projection-based approach to reduce the state dimension of the LTI component of a trained REN. One of the two projection matrices is dedicated to preserving contraction and robustness by leveraging the already-learned REN contraction certificate. The other projection matrix is iteratively updated to improve the accuracy of the reduced-order REN based on necessary $h_2$-optimality conditions for LTI model reduction. Numerical examples validate the approach, demonstrating significant state dimension reduction with limited accuracy loss while preserving contraction and robustness.

Authors:Oliullah Samir
Title: Attitude Determination and Control of GPS Satellites: Stabilization, Orbital Insertion, and Operational Control Mechanisms
Abstract:
Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites are essential for providing accurate navigation and timing information worldwide. Operating in medium Earth orbit (MEO), these satellites must maintain precise Earth-pointing attitudes to transmit signals effectively. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the operational dynamics, attitude determination and control systems (ADCS), and orbital insertion techniques for GPS satellites. We explore the integration of sensors and actuators, control algorithms, stabilization strategies, and the launch procedures required to deploy these satellites. Key equations related to orbital mechanics and attitude control are discussed, and references to recent technical literature are included.

Authors:Yuta Kawachi
Title: Quantifying and Visualizing Sim-to-Real Gaps: Physics-Guided Regularization for Reproducibility
Abstract:
Simulation-to-real transfer using domain randomization for robot control often relies on low-gear-ratio, backdrivable actuators, but these approaches break down when the sim-to-real gap widens. Inspired by the traditional PID controller, we reinterpret its gains as surrogates for complex, unmodeled plant dynamics. We then introduce a physics-guided gain regularization scheme that measures a robot's effective proportional gains via simple real-world experiments. Then, we penalize any deviation of a neural controller's local input-output sensitivities from these values during training. To avoid the overly conservative bias of naive domain randomization, we also condition the controller on the current plant parameters. On an off-the-shelf two-wheeled balancing robot with a 110:1 gearbox, our gain-regularized, parameter-conditioned RNN achieves angular settling times in hardware that closely match simulation. At the same time, a purely domain-randomized policy exhibits persistent oscillations and a substantial sim-to-real gap. These results demonstrate a lightweight, reproducible framework for closing sim-to-real gaps on affordable robotic hardware.

Authors:Abolfazl Lavaei
Title: Data-Driven Stochastic Control via Non-i.i.d. Trajectories: Foundations and Guarantees
Abstract:
This work establishes a crucial step toward advancing data-driven trajectory-based methods for stochastic systems with unknown mathematical dynamics. In contrast to scenario-based approaches that rely on independent and identically distributed (i.i.d.) trajectories, this work develops a data-driven framework where each trajectory is gathered over a finite horizon and exhibits temporal dependence-referred to as a non-i.i.d. trajectory. To ensure safety of dynamical systems using such trajectories, the current body of literature primarily considers dynamics subject to unknown-but-bounded disturbances, which facilitates robust analysis. While promising, such bounds may be violated in practice and the resulting worst-case robust analysis tends to be overly conservative. To overcome these fundamental challenges, this paper considers stochastic systems with unknown mathematical dynamics, influenced by process noise with unknown distributions. In the proposed framework, data is collected from stochastic systems under multiple realizations within a finite-horizon experiment, where each realization generates a non-i.i.d. trajectory. Leveraging the concept of stochastic control barrier certificates constructed from data, this work quantifies probabilistic safety guarantees with a certified confidence level. To achieve this, the proposed conditions are formulated as sum-of-squares (SOS) optimization problems, relying solely on empirical average of the collected trajectories and statistical features of the process noise. The efficacy of the approach has been validated on three stochastic benchmarks with both unknown models and noise distributions. In one case study, it is shown that while no safety controller exists for the robust analysis of the system under bounded disturbances, the proposed stochastic framework offers a safety controller with guaranteed probabilistic satisfaction.

Authors:Herbert Schmidt
Title: Analytical Treatment of Hollow Toroid Flux Tubes
Abstract:
Stray flux tubes around cylindrical poles are commonly modelled starting from the results for planar flux tubes using the circumference of the cylinder as depth. While this is a tried and tested approach, we here discuss analytical expressions using the actual axisymmetric geometry of a fraction of a hollow torus and compare their results to those of the accepted approach.

Authors:Md Abdul Gaffar
Title: Assessment of Quantitative Cyber-Physical Reliability of SCADA Systems in Autonomous Vehicle to Grid (V2G) Capable Smart Grids
Abstract:
The integration of electric vehicles (EVs) into power grids via Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) system technology is increasing day by day, but these phenomena present both advantages and disadvantages. V2G can increase grid reliability by providing distributed energy storage and ancillary services. However, on the other hand, it has a scope that encompasses the cyber-physical attack surface of the national power grid, introducing new vulnerabilities in monitoring and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems. This paper investigates the maliciousness caused by Autonomous Vehicle to Grid (AV2G) communication infrastructures and assesses their impacts on SCADA system reliability. This paper presents a quantitative reliability assessment using Bayesian attack graph combined with probabilistic capacity outage modeling based on IEEE RTS-79 system data. This work presents how AV2G-based attacks degrade system performance by using Monte Carlo simulations method, highlighting the need for cybersecurity-hardening strategies in smart grid design.

Authors:Zixuan Jiang
Title: dq Modeling for Series-Parallel Compensated Wireless Power Transfer Systems
Abstract:
Series-parallel (SP) compensated wireless power transfer (WPT) systems are widely used in some specific scenarios, such as bioelectronics and portable electronics. However, most studies are based on the phasor method and focused on the steady-state analysis, which may overlook the transient process of systems. Accordingly, inspired by the notion of coordinate transformation in the field of motor drive, this work develops a dq modeling method for SP compensated WPT systems. The proposed model effectively characterizes first-order system dynamics, facilitating enhanced measurement precision and control system development. One measurement application, dq model-based mutual inductance identification, is presented to reflect the value of the dq model. Simulation results are shown to validate the model's effectiveness, indicating that the developed model can be a good tool for the design of SP compensated WPT systems.

Authors:Orhan Gazi
Title: SNR Optimization for Common Emitter Amplifier
Abstract:
In this paper we investigate the effects of the thermal noise of the base resistance of common emitter amplifier (CEA) on the output SNR, and we show that a first order Butterworth filter at the output of the CEA significantly improves output SNR significantly and supress the performances of higher order Butterworth, Chebyshev I, II and elliptic filters. We propose a formula for the selection of cut-off frequency of analog filters for given orders to achieve significant SNR improvement at CEA output. Considering the filter complexity and output SNR improvement, we can conclude that the first order Butterworth filter outperforms Chebyshev I, II and elliptic filters.

Authors:Ayan Mahalanobis
Title: Symplectic Elimination
Abstract:
We develop the symplectic elimnation algorithm. This algorithm using simple row operations reduce a symplectic matrix to a diagonal matrix. This algorithm gives rise to a decomposition of an arbitrary matrix into a product of a symplectic matrix and a reduced matrix. This decomposition is similar to the SR decomposition studied for a long time, which is analogous to the QR decomposition.

Authors:Manuel Schimmer
Title: Controller Design of an Airship
Abstract:
Airships offer unique operational advantages due to their ability to generate lift via buoyancy, enabling low-speed flight and stationary hovering. These capabilities make them ideal for missions requiring endurance and precision positioning. However, they also present significant control challenges: their large, lightweight structures are highly sensitive to environmental disturbances, and conventional aerodynamic control surfaces lose effectiveness during low-speed or hover flight. The objective of this thesis is to develop a robust control strategy tailored to a vectored-thrust airship equipped with tiltable propellers. The proposed approach is based on an Extended Incremental Nonlinear Dynamic Inversion inner loop in combination with a high level outer loop, controlling the attitude and velocity of the airship. The proposed method is able to effectively control the airship over the whole envelope, including hover and high speed flight. For this, effective use of available actuators is key. This includes especially the tilt rotors, for which a control allocation method is presented. The controller's performance is validated through a series of simulation-based test scenarios, including aggressive maneuvering, gust rejection, atmospheric turbulence, and significant parameter mismatches. The controller is compared against an alternative controller developed at the institute, offering insight into the trade-offs between direct inversion and incremental control approaches. Results demonstrate that the proposed E-INDI controller achieves very good tracking performance and high high robustness against parameter uncertainties.

Authors:Amod Kant Agrawal
Title: Our Cars Can Talk: How IoT Brings AI to Vehicles
Abstract:
Bringing AI to vehicles and enabling them as sensing platforms is key to transforming maintenance from reactive to proactive. Now is the time to integrate AI copilots that speak both languages: machine and driver. This article offers a conceptual and technical perspective intended to spark interdisciplinary dialogue and guide future research and development in intelligent vehicle systems, predictive maintenance, and AI-powered user interaction.

Authors:Ulises Pérez-Ventura
Title: The Bode Plots for Sliding-Mode Control Design
Abstract:
This paper develops a unified frequency-domain framework for the analysis of sliding-mode control systems, encompassing both discontinuous and Lipschitz-continuous implementations. Using describing function (DF) theory, closed-form expressions are derived for the amplitude and frequency of chattering oscillations, as well as equivalent gain (EG) models that enable closed-loop sensitivity analysis. The proposed methodology captures the influence of actuator dynamics, control parameters, and disturbance profiles on steady-state performance. Theoretical predictions for bias and oscillatory components are validated through simulations under both constant and sinusoidal perturbations. In the low-frequency regime, the EG-based sensitivity functions accurately predict the amplitude and phase of the system response, with tracking errors remaining within a 15\% margin, provided that the DF assumptions hold. The framework also incorporates orbital stability considerations via Loebs criterion, ensuring that chattering remains bounded. Overall, the results offer practical insight into the robust design of sliding-mode controllers, enabling systematic gain tuning that balances disturbance rejection and chattering attenuation, while accounting for actuator and sensor constraints.

Authors:Masahiko Ueda
Title: Unbeatable imitation of a friend
Abstract:
Imitation sometimes achieves success in multi-agent situations even though it is very simple. In game theory, success of imitation has been characterized by unbeatability against other agents. Previous studies specified conditions under which imitation is unbeatable in repeated games, and clarified that the existence of unbeatable imitation is strongly related to the existence of payoff-controlling strategies, called zero-determinant strategies. However, the previous studies mainly focused on ``imitation of opponents''. It was pointed out that imitation of other players in the same group and imitation of other players in the same role in other groups generally result in different outcomes. Here, we investigate the existence condition of unbeatable imitation in the latter ``imitation of friends'' situations. We find that it is stronger than the existence condition of unbeatable zero-determinant strategies, whereas both are very limited. Our findings suggest a strong relation between them even in the `imitation of friends'' situations.

Authors:Hampei Sasahara
Title: Adversarial Destabilization Attacks to Direct Data-Driven Control
Abstract:
This study investigates the vulnerability of direct data-driven control methods, specifically for the linear quadratic regulator problem, to adversarial perturbations in collected data used for controller synthesis. We consider stealthy attacks that subtly manipulate offline-collected data to destabilize the resulting closed-loop system while evading detection. To generate such perturbations, we propose the Directed Gradient Sign Method (DGSM) and its iterative variant (I-DGSM), adaptations of the fast gradient sign method originally developed for neural networks, which align perturbations with the gradient of the spectral radius of the closed-loop matrix to reduce stability. A key contribution is an efficient gradient computation technique based on implicit differentiation through the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker conditions of the underlying semidefinite program, enabling scalable and exact gradient evaluation without repeated optimization computations. To defend against these attacks, we propose two defense strategies: a regularization-based approach that enhances robustness by suppressing controller sensitivity to data perturbations and a robust data-driven control approach that guarantees closed-loop stability within bounded perturbation sets. Extensive numerical experiments on benchmark systems show that adversarial perturbations with magnitudes up to ten times smaller than random noise can destabilize controllers trained on corrupted data and that the proposed defense strategies effectively mitigate attack success rates while maintaining control performance. Additionally, we evaluate attack transferability under partial knowledge scenarios, highlighting the practical importance of protecting training data confidentiality.

Authors:Hassan Osseily
Title: Grid Stability and Power Factor Dynamics in Solar Farms Integration
Abstract:
This paper examines the impact of solar farm fluctuations on grid stability, focusing on maintaining an optimal power factor. ETAP-based simulations and case studies are used to analyze real-time grid performance under solar variability. Reactive power control strategies and advanced inverter functions are proposed for stabilization. Theoretical analysis and simulation results highlight effective integration techniques. Artificial intelligence is trailed for controlling the SVC in adaptive reactive power compensation. The study provides practical solutions for improving reliability in renewable-integrated power systems.

Authors:Tongxin Li
Title: Learning-Augmented Control: Adaptively Confidence Learning for Competitive MPC
Abstract:
We introduce Learning-Augmented Control (LAC), an approach that integrates untrusted machine learning predictions into the control of constrained, nonlinear dynamical systems. LAC is designed to achieve the "best-of-both-worlds" guarantees, i.e, near-optimal performance when predictions are accurate, and robust, safe performance when they are not. The core of our approach is a delayed confidence learning procedure that optimizes a confidence parameter online, adaptively balancing between ML and nominal predictions. We establish formal competitive ratio bounds for general nonlinear systems under standard MPC regularity assumptions. For the linear quadratic case, we derive a competitive ratio bound that is provably tight, thereby characterizing the fundamental limits of this learning-augmented approach. The effectiveness of LAC is demonstrated in numerical studies, where it maintains stability and outperforms standard methods under adversarial prediction errors.

Authors:David J Poland
Title: Boosted Enhanced Quantile Regression Neural Networks with Spatiotemporal Permutation Entropy for Complex System Prognostics
Abstract:
This paper presents a novel framework for pattern prediction and system prognostics centered on Spatiotemporal Permutation Entropy analysis integrated with Boosted Enhanced Quantile Regression Neural Networks (BEQRNNs). We address the challenge of understanding complex dynamical patterns in multidimensional systems through an approach that combines entropy-based complexity measures with advanced neural architectures. The system leverages dual computational stages: first implementing spatiotemporal entropy extraction optimized for multiscale temporal and spatial data streams, followed by an integrated BEQRNN layer that enables probabilistic pattern prediction with uncertainty quantification. This architecture achieves 81.17% accuracy in spatiotemporal pattern classification with prediction horizons up to 200 time steps and maintains robust performance across diverse regimes. Field testing across chaotic attractors, reaction-diffusion systems, and industrial datasets shows a 79% increase in critical transition detection accuracy and 81.22% improvement in long-term prediction reliability. The framework's effectiveness in processing complex, multimodal entropy features demonstrates significant potential for real-time prognostic applications.

Authors:Hyun Seok Lee
Title: Device-Free Localization Using Commercial UWB Transceivers
Abstract:
Recently, commercial ultra-wideband (UWB) transceivers have enabled not only measuring device-to-device distance but also tracking the position of a pedestrian who does not carry a UWB device. UWB-based device-free localization that does not require dedicated radar equipment is compatible with existing anchor infrastructure and can be reused to reduce hardware deployment costs. However, it is difficult to estimate the target's position accurately in real-world scenarios due to the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the cluttered environment. In this paper, we propose a deep learning (DL)-assisted particle filter to overcome these challenges. First, the channel impulse response (CIR) variance is analyzed to capture the variability induced by the target's movement. Then, a DL-based one-dimensional attention U-Net is used to extract only the reflection components caused by the target and suppress the noise components within the CIR variance profile. Finally, multiple preprocessed CIR variance profiles are used as input to a particle filter to estimate the target's position. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system is a practical and cost-effective solution for IoT and automotive applications with a root mean square error (RMSE) of about 15 cm and an average processing time of 4 ms. Furthermore, comparisons with existing state-of-the-art methods show that the proposed method provides the best performance with reasonable computational costs.

Authors:Rahul Gulia
Title: MD-OFDM: An Energy-Efficient and Low-PAPR MIMO-OFDM Variant for Resource-Constrained Applications
Abstract:
Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) combined with Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) techniques forms the backbone of modern wireless communication systems. While offering high spectral efficiency and robustness, conventional MIMO-OFDM, especially with complex equalizers like Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE), suffers from high Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAPR) and significant power consumption due to multiple active Radio Frequency (RF) chains. This paper proposes and mathematically models an alternative system, termed Multi-Dimensional OFDM (MD-OFDM), which employs a per-subcarrier transmit antenna selection strategy. By activating only one transmit antenna for each subcarrier, MD-OFDM aims to reduce PAPR, lower power consumption, and improve Bit Error Rate (BER) performance. We provide detailed mathematical formulations for BER, Energy Efficiency (EE), and PAPR, and discuss the suitability of MD-OFDM for various applications, particularly in energy-constrained and cost-sensitive scenarios such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Low-Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN). Simulation results demonstrate that MD-OFDM achieves superior BER and significantly lower PAPR compared to MMSE MIMO, albeit with a trade-off in peak overall energy efficiency due to reduced spectral multiplexing.

Authors:Tanjim Rahman
Title: Mobility Extraction and Analysis of GaN HEMTs for RF Applications Using TCAD and Experimental Data
Abstract:
This paper presents an analysis of GaN high-electron-mobility transistors (HEMTs) using both TCAD simulation and experimental characterization. The energy band structure was studied using Nextnano simulation software to observe two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) formation and carrier confinement under equilibrium conditions. Additionally, I-V and C-V data from fabricated research-grade GaN HEMTs were analyzed to extract key electrical parameters. The device demonstrated an ON current of 1.9 mA and an OFF current of 0.01 mA, indicating a strong ON/OFF current ratio. A subthreshold swing of 80 mV/decade and a DIBL of 5 mV/V were observed, confirming good gate control and short-channel suppression. The ON-resistance was 22.72 ohm per micron, with a saturation voltage of 1 V . The peak transconductance was extracted as 0.18 mS in the linear region and 0.5 mS in saturation. Field-effect mobility was calculated using the transconductance method, with a maximum value of approximately 1200 cm2/V.s at low drain bias. The combined simulation and experimental approach provided comprehensive insight into GaN HEMT behavior, enabling a deeper understanding of structure-performance relationships critical to advanced transistor design.

Authors:Mingcong Li
Title: A Risk-Aware Adaptive Robust MPC with Learned Uncertainty Quantification
Abstract:
Solving chance-constrained optimal control problems for systems subject to non-stationary uncertainties is a significant challenge.Conventional robust model predictive control (MPC) often yields excessive conservatism by relying on static worst-case assumptions, while standard stochastic MPC methods struggle when underlying uncertainty distributions are unknown a priori.This article presents a Risk-Aware Adaptive Robust MPC (RAAR-MPC) framework,a hierarchical architecture that systematically orchestrates a novel synthesis of proactive, learning-based risk assessment and reactive risk regulation. The framework employs a medium-frequency risk assessment engine, which leverages Gaussian process regression and active learning, to construct a tight, data-driven characterization of the prediction error set from operational data.Concurrently, a low-timescale outer loop implements a self-correcting update law for an adaptive safety margin to precisely regulate the empirical risk and compensate for unmodeled dynamics.This dual-timescale adaptation enables the system to rigorously satisfy chance constraints with a user-defined probability, while minimizing the conservatism inherent in traditional approaches.We formally establish that the interplay between these adaptive components guarantees recursive feasibility and ensures the closed-loop system satisfies the chance constraints up to a user-defined risk level with high probability.Numerical experiments on a benchmark DC-DC converter under non-stationary parametric uncertainties demonstrate that our framework precisely achieves the target risk level, resulting in a significantly lower average cost compared to state-of-the-art robust and stochastic MPC strategies.

Authors:Friedemann Kemm
Title: A new time-stepping strategy and boundary treatment to improve recent 2d traffic model
Abstract:
We show how a recently published 2d model for traffic flow can be further improved. Besides other improvements and simplifications, we present not only a method to compute the necessary time step restrictions, but also a subcycling for the inflow and outflow. This drastically reduces computational cost on large domains with coarse grids, i.\,e.\ for simulations of a whole region instead of a small part of a city or town.

Authors:Venkatraman Renganathan
Title: Probabilistic Robustness in the Gap Metric
Abstract:
Uncertainties influencing the dynamical systems pose a significant challenge in estimating the achievable performance of a controller aiming to control such uncertain systems. When the uncertainties are of stochastic nature, obtaining hard guarantees for the robustness of a controller aiming to hedge against the uncertainty is not possible. This issue set the platform for the development of probabilistic robust control approaches. In this work, we utilise the gap metric between the known nominal model and the unknown perturbed model of the uncertain system as a tool to gauge the robustness of a controller and formulate the gap as a random variable in the setting with stochastic uncertainties. The main results of this paper include giving a probabilistic bound on the gap exceeding a known threshold, followed by bounds on the expected gap value and probabilistic robust stability and performance guarantees in terms of the gap metric. We also provide a probabilistic controller performance certification under gap uncertainty and probabilistic guarantee on the achievable $\mathcal{H}_{\infty}$ robustness. Numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the proposed approach.

Authors:Chito A. Petilla
Title: A Case Study on Data Acquisition Systems: Relevance to Renewable Energy Technologies
Abstract:
Multiple advantages had been identified with the integration of data acquisition into any existing system configuration and implementation. Using data acquisition as a support into a monitoring system has not only improved its overall performance and reliability but also lowered its operational and maintenance cost because of its real-time data collection from node sensors. As renewable energy needs to be sustainable for it to fully support the energy demand of communities, its management and control still needs to be improved and enhanced. Smart systems are considered the next generation technological improvement of any system that exists. It is the prelude to autonomous systems from industrial applications to home automation. Data acquisition is only a part of these smart systems that help in the remote management and control of these devices. Remote monitoring functionality enhances the operation and reliability which help in making proactive decisions during critical situations and circumstances. Even with data acquisition enhancements, there is still room for improving its implementation regarding data security and privacy and accuracy of information being exchanged between nodes. Current technological advancements have already shown promising results and have widen its utilization spectrum by covering almost any field of specialization. With increasing implementation and design complexity that comes with its enhancements, challenges and issues are also faced that needs to be addressed and considered to mitigate the effects of such.

Authors:Sampson E. Nwachukwu
Title: Modelling and Control of a Buck Converter Using State-Space Averaging and Classical Feedback Techniques
Abstract:
This study presents the modeling, control design, and performance analysis of a DC-DC buck converter using state-space averaging techniques. Buck converters are essential in modern power electronics for regulating DC voltages in renewable energy and electric vehicle systems. The paper first introduces the basic operation of buck converters and emphasizes the need for voltage regulation through closed-loop control systems. A state-space averaged model is derived to simplify the nonlinear switched dynamics, enabling a more effective analysis and controller design. The small-signal transfer function from the duty cycle to the output voltage is obtained to support control development. In addition, the Proportional-Integral (PI) control based on the frequency-domain method was explored. The PI controller was tuned to achieve various phase margins and is evaluated through Bode plots, step responses, and performance metrics, revealing trade-offs between overshoot, settling time, and steady-state error. A complete simulation of the controlled buck converter verifies its ability to maintain a stable output voltage across wide input voltage variations. The results validate the effectiveness of state-space averaging in control design and highlight the robustness of feedback systems in power electronic converters.

Authors:Bülent Dağ
Title: A Generalized Stability Analysis Method with Dynamic Phasors for LV AC Microgrids
Abstract:
Representation of inductive coupling lines with conventional static phasors is the main reason of inadequacy of the existing phasors based simplified stability analysis methods for microgrids with inductive coupling lines. In the literature, dynamic phasors have been proposed for the dynamic modelling of inductive lines to conserve the simplified structure of the analysis method. In this study a generalized stability analysis method for LV AC microgrids, composed of droop controlled inverters, is presented. The proposed analysis method is based on the inclusion of dynamic phasors for inductive coupling lines into the existing phasors based stability analysis method. The results show that the stability analysis method with dynamic phasors successfully predicts the instability boundaries of LV AC microgrids.

Authors:Abd El Mageed Hag Elamin Khalid
Title: Perspective Chapter: Insights from Kalman Filtering with Correlated Noises Recursive Least-Square Algorithm for State and Parameter Estimation
Abstract:
This article explores the estimation of parameters and states for linear stochastic systems with deterministic control inputs. It introduces a novel Kalman filtering approach called Kalman Filtering with Correlated Noises Recursive Generalized Extended Least Squares (KF-CN-RGELS) algorithm, which leverages the cross-correlation between process noise and measurement noise in Kalman filtering cycles to jointly estimate both parameters and system states. The study also investigates the theoretical implications of the correlation coefficient on estimation accuracy through performance analysis involving various correlation coefficients between process and measurement noises. The research establishes a clear relationship: the accuracy of identified parameters and states is directly proportional to positive correlation coefficients. To validate the efficacy of this algorithm, a comprehensive comparison is conducted among different algorithms, including the standard Kalman filter algorithm and the augmented-state Kalman filter with correlated noises algorithm. Theoretical findings are not only presented but also exemplified through a numerical case study to provide valuable insights into practical implications. This work contributes to enhancing estimation accuracy in linear stochastic systems with deterministic control inputs, offering valuable insights for control system design and state-space modeling.

Authors:Yifan Wang
Title: A Single-Point Measurement Framework for Robust Cyber-Attack Diagnosis in Smart Microgrids Using Dual Fractional-Order Feature Analysis
Abstract:
Cyber-attacks jeopardize the safe operation of smart microgrids. At the same time, existing diagnostic methods either depend on expensive multi-point instrumentation or stringent modelling assumptions that are untenable under single-sensor constraints. This paper proposes a Fractional-Order Memory-Enhanced Attack-Diagnosis Scheme (FO-MADS) that achieves low-latency fault localisation and cyber-attack detection using only one VPQ (Voltage-Power-Reactive-power) sensor. FO-MADS first constructs a dual fractional-order feature library by jointly applying Caputo and Grünwald-Letnikov derivatives, thereby amplifying micro-perturbations and slow drifts in the VPQ signal. A two-stage hierarchical classifier then pinpoints the affected inverter and isolates the faulty IGBT switch, effectively alleviating class imbalance. Robustness is further strengthened through Progressive Memory-Replay Adversarial Training (PMR-AT), whose attack-aware loss is dynamically re-weighted via Online Hard Example Mining (OHEM) to prioritise the most challenging samples. Experiments on a four-inverter microgrid testbed comprising 1 normal and 24 fault classes under four attack scenarios demonstrate diagnostic accuracies of 96.6 % (bias), 94.0 % (noise), 92.8 % (data replacement), and 95.7 % (replay), while sustaining 96.7 % under attack-free conditions. These results establish FO-MADS as a cost-effective and readily deployable solution that markedly enhances the cyber-physical resilience of smart microgrids.

Authors:Craig S Wright
Title: Mathematical Modelling of Oscillatory Dynamics in Circular Traffic Systems
Abstract:
This paper presents a rigorous analytical model of traffic dynamics on a circular track, demonstrating the emergence of standing oscillations resulting from microscopic driver behaviour, delay responses, and proximity pressure. Without relying on simulation, we derive a series of coupled delay differential equations to model vehicular interactions. By introducing a mnemonic-based symbolic system, we establish a mathematical framework incorporating stochastic initial conditions, non-uniform reaction times, and cognitive lag. A full linear stability analysis is conducted using Fourier decomposition and modal perturbation techniques. Our results identify critical thresholds for harmonic induction, delineate the bounds of safe following distances, and reveal hysteresis in driver overcorrection. The analysis concludes with implications for autonomous vehicle control and potential suppression strategies for oscillatory instability. All derivations are purely symbolic and analytically proven.

Authors:Senol Gulgonul
Title: Revisiting Chien-Hrones-Reswick Method for an Analytical Solution
Abstract:
This study presents an analytical method for tuning PI controllers in First-Order with Time Delay (FOTD) systems, leveraging the Lambert W function. The Lambert W function enables exact pole placement, yielding analytical expressions for PI gains. The proposed approach identifies a critical condition that achieves a step response without overshoot with minimum settling time, while also providing explicit tuning rules for systems where controlled overshoot is specified. The method demonstrates strong agreement with established empirical Chien-Hrones-Reswick tuning rules for both non-overshooting and overshooting cases, bridging the gap between theoretical analysis and empirical results.

Authors:Hamid Jahanian
Title: Basic Computations in Fault Tree Analysis
Abstract:
Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a well-established method in failure analysis and is widely used in safety and reliability assessments. While FTA tools enable users to manage complex analyses effectively, they can sometimes obscure the underlying calculation processes. As a result, the soundness of FTA results often hinges on the user's expertise and familiarity with the methodology and the tool. This paper aims to explore the fundamental principles underlying both qualitative and quantitative FTA analyses, while addressing broader conceptual considerations such as coherence and consensus. By developing a deeper understanding of these concepts, engineers can improve their ability to interpret, verify, and make informed use of the outputs generated by FTA tools. This paper does not propose a novel concept in FTA but aims to compile and present a concise overview of the fundamental computations in FTA.

Authors:Zijun Meng
Title: Continuous Classification Aggregation
Abstract:
We prove that any optimal, independent, and zero unanimous fuzzy classification aggregation function of a continuum of individual classifications of $m\ge 3$ objects into $2\le p\le m$ types must be a weighted arithmetic mean. We also provide a characterization for the case when $m=p=2$.

Authors:Maksym Shamrai
Title: Closed-Form Robustness Bounds for Second-Order Pruning of Neural Controller Policies
Abstract:
Deep neural policies have unlocked agile flight for quadcopters, adaptive grasping for manipulators, and reliable navigation for ground robots, yet their millions of weights conflict with the tight memory and real-time constraints of embedded microcontrollers. Second-order pruning methods, such as Optimal Brain Damage (OBD) and its variants, including Optimal Brain Surgeon (OBS) and the recent SparseGPT, compress networks in a single pass by leveraging the local Hessian, achieving far higher sparsity than magnitude thresholding. Despite their success in vision and language, the consequences of such weight removal on closed-loop stability, tracking accuracy, and safety have remained unclear. We present the first mathematically rigorous robustness analysis of second-order pruning in nonlinear discrete-time control. The system evolves under a continuous transition map, while the controller is an $L$-layer multilayer perceptron with ReLU-type activations that are globally 1-Lipschitz. Pruning the weight matrix of layer $k$ replaces $W_k$ with $W_k+δW_k$, producing the perturbed parameter vector $\widehatΘ=Θ+δΘ$ and the pruned policy $π(\cdot;\widehatΘ)$. For every input state $s\in X$ we derive the closed-form inequality $ \|π(s;Θ)-π(s;\widehatΘ)\|_2 \le C_k(s)\,\|δW_k\|_2, $ where the constant $C_k(s)$ depends only on unpruned spectral norms and biases, and can be evaluated in closed form from a single forward pass. The derived bounds specify, prior to field deployment, the maximal admissible pruning magnitude compatible with a prescribed control-error threshold. By linking second-order network compression with closed-loop performance guarantees, our work narrows a crucial gap between modern deep-learning tooling and the robustness demands of safety-critical autonomous systems.

Authors:Md. Nisharul Hasan
Title: Predictive Maintenance Optimization for Smart Vending Machines Using IoT and Machine Learning
Abstract:
The increasing proliferation of vending machines in public and commercial environments has placed a growing emphasis on operational efficiency and customer satisfaction. Traditional maintenance approaches either reactive or time-based preventive are limited in their ability to preempt machine failures, leading to unplanned downtimes and elevated service costs. This research presents a novel predictive maintenance framework tailored for vending machines by leveraging Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and machine learning (ML) algorithms. The proposed system continuously monitors machine components and operating conditions in real time and applies predictive models to forecast failures before they occur. This enables timely maintenance scheduling, minimizing downtime and extending machine lifespan. The framework was validated through simulated fault data and performance evaluation using classification algorithms. Results show a significant improvement in early fault detection and a reduction in redundant service interventions. The findings indicate that predictive maintenance systems, when integrated into vending infrastructure, can transform operational efficiency and service reliability.

Authors:Yue Wu
Title: A Data-Driven Prescribed-Time Control Framework via Koopman Operator and Adaptive Backstepping
Abstract:
Achieving rapid and time-deterministic stabilization for complex systems characterized by strong nonlinearities and parametric uncertainties presents a significant challenge. Traditional model-based control relies on precise system models, whereas purely data-driven methods often lack formal stability guarantees, limiting their applicability in safety-critical systems. This paper proposes a novel control framework that synergistically integrates data-driven modeling with model-based control. The framework first employs the Extended Dynamic Mode Decomposition with Control (EDMDc) to identify a high-dimensional Koopman linear model and quantify its bounded uncertainty from data. Subsequently, a novel Prescribed-Time Adaptive Backstepping (PTAB) controller is synthesized based on this data-driven model. The design leverages the structural advantages of Koopman linearization to systematically handle model errors and circumvent the "explosion of complexity" issue inherent in traditional backstepping. The proposed controller is validated through simulations on the classic Van der Pol oscillator. The results demonstrate that the controller can precisely stabilize the system states to a small neighborhood of the origin within a user-prescribed time, regardless of the initial conditions, while ensuring the boundedness of all closed-loop signals. This research successfully combines the flexibility of data-driven approaches with the rigor of Lyapunov-based analysis. It provides a high-performance control strategy with quantifiable performance and pre-assignable settling time for nonlinear systems, showcasing its great potential for controlling complex dynamics.

Authors:Duc Cuong Nguyen
Title: Approximate Solution Methods for the Average Reward Criterion in Optimal Tracking Control of Linear Systems
Abstract:
This paper studies optimal control under the average-reward/cost criterion for deterministic linear systems. We derive the value function and optimal policy, and propose an approximate solution using Model Predictive Control to enable practical implementation.

Authors:Dhamdhawach Horsuwan
Title: A Spectral-Based Tuning Criterion for PI Controllers in IPDT Systems With Unified Tracking and Disturbance Rejection Performance
Abstract:
This paper proposes a spectral-based tuning method for proportional-integral (PI) controllers in integrating-plus-dead-time (IPDT) systems. The design objective is to achieve unified exponential decay for both reference tracking and disturbance rejection by minimizing the spectral abscissa of the closed-loop system. A second-order semi-discrete model accurately captures the integrator and delay dynamics while enabling efficient dominant pole extraction. These discrete-time poles are mapped to continuous time and refined using Newton-Raphson iterations on the exact transcendental characteristic equation. The method produces a unique PI gain set without requiring heuristic trade-offs or weighting parameters. Comparative simulations demonstrate that the proposed tuning achieves faster convergence and improved robustness margins compared to classical rules (Ziegler-Nichols, SIMC) and integral performance criteria (IAE, ITAE). The approach provides a transparent and computationally efficient framework for PI control in delay-dominant systems.

Authors:Keun Soo Yim
Title: Evaluation of a Foundational Model and Stochastic Models for Forecasting Sporadic or Spiky Production Outages of High-Performance Machine Learning Services
Abstract:
Time series forecasting models have diverse real world applications (e.g., from electricity metrics to software workload). Latest foundational models trained for time series forecasting show strengths (e.g., for long sequences and in zero-shot settings). However, foundational model was not yet used for forecasting rare, spiky events, i.e., a challenging target because those are a corner case of extreme events. In this paper, we optimize a state-of-the-art foundational model to forecast sporadic or spiky production outages of high-performance machine learning services powering billions of client devices. We evaluate the forecasting errors of the foundational model compared with classical stochastic forecasting models (e.g., moving average and autoregressive). The analysis helps us understand how each of the evaluated models performs for the sporadic or spiky events. For example, it identifies the key patterns in the target data that are well tracked by the foundational model vs. each of the stochastic models. We use the models with optimal parameters to estimate a year-long outage statistics of a particular root cause with less than 6% value errors.

Authors:Cristian R. Rojas
Title: A Simple Proof of Nehari's Theorem Based on Duality
Abstract:
In this technical note we provide a simple proof of Nehari's theorem on the optimal approximation by $H_\infty$ functions, based on convex duality.