Resilience and Controllability of Dynamic Collective Behaviors

The network paradigm is used to gain insight into the structural root causes of the resilience of consensus in dynamic collective behaviors, and to analyze the controllability of the swarm dynamics. Here we devise the dynamic signaling network which is the information transfer channel underpinning the swarm dynamics of the directed interagent connectivity based on a topological neighborhood of interactions. The study of the connectedness of the swarm signaling network reveals the profound relationship between group size and number of interacting neighbors, which is found to be in good agreement with field observations on flock of starlings [Ballerini et al. (2008) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 105: 1232]. Using a dynamical model, we generate dynamic collective behaviors enabling us to uncover that the swarm signaling network is a homogeneous clustered small-world network, thus facilitating emergent outcomes if connectedness is maintained. Resilience of the emergent consensus is tested by introducing exogenous environmental noise, which ultimately stresses how deeply intertwined are the swarm dynamics in the physical and network spaces. The availability of the signaling network allows us to analytically establish for the first time the number of driver agents necessary to fully control the swarm dynamics

On the Projective Geometry of Kalman Filter

Convergence of the Kalman filter is best analyzed by studying the contraction of the Riccati map in the space of positive definite (covariance) matrices. In this paper, we explore how this contraction property relates to a more fundamental non-expansiveness property of filtering maps in the space of probability distributions endowed with the Hilbert metric. This is viewed as a preliminary step towards improving the convergence analysis of filtering algorithms over general graphical models.Comment: 6 page

Optimal Sampling-Based Motion Planning under Differential Constraints: the Driftless Case

Motion planning under differential constraints is a classic problem in robotics. To date, the state of the art is represented by sampling-based techniques, with the Rapidly-exploring Random Tree algorithm as a leading example. Yet, the problem is still open in many aspects, including guarantees on the quality of the obtained solution. In this paper we provide a thorough theoretical framework to assess optimality guarantees of sampling-based algorithms for planning under differential constraints. We exploit this framework to design and analyze two novel sampling-based algorithms that are guaranteed to converge, as the number of samples increases, to an optimal solution (namely, the Differential Probabilistic RoadMap algorithm and the Differential Fast Marching Tree algorithm). Our focus is on driftless control-affine dynamical models, which accurately model a large class of robotic systems. In this paper we use the notion of convergence in probability (as opposed to convergence almost surely): the extra mathematical flexibility of this approach yields convergence rate bounds - a first in the field of optimal sampling-based motion planning under differential constraints. Numerical experiments corroborating our theoretical results are presented and discussed

Cluster-based reduced-order modelling of a mixing layer

We propose a novel cluster-based reduced-order modelling (CROM) strategy of unsteady flows. CROM combines the cluster analysis pioneered in Gunzburger's group (Burkardt et al. 2006) and and transition matrix models introduced in fluid dynamics in Eckhardt's group (Schneider et al. 2007). CROM constitutes a potential alternative to POD models and generalises the Ulam-Galerkin method classically used in dynamical systems to determine a finite-rank approximation of the Perron-Frobenius operator. The proposed strategy processes a time-resolved sequence of flow snapshots in two steps. First, the snapshot data are clustered into a small number of representative states, called centroids, in the state space. These centroids partition the state space in complementary non-overlapping regions (centroidal Voronoi cells). Departing from the standard algorithm, the probabilities of the clusters are determined, and the states are sorted by analysis of the transition matrix. Secondly, the transitions between the states are dynamically modelled using a Markov process. Physical mechanisms are then distilled by a refined analysis of the Markov process, e.g. using finite-time Lyapunov exponent and entropic methods. This CROM framework is applied to the Lorenz attractor (as illustrative example), to velocity fields of the spatially evolving incompressible mixing layer and the three-dimensional turbulent wake of a bluff body. For these examples, CROM is shown to identify non-trivial quasi-attractors and transition processes in an unsupervised manner. CROM has numerous potential applications for the systematic identification of physical mechanisms of complex dynamics, for comparison of flow evolution models, for the identification of precursors to desirable and undesirable events, and for flow control applications exploiting nonlinear actuation dynamics.Comment: 48 pages, 30 figures. Revised version with additional material. Accepted for publication in Journal of Fluid Mechanic

A Survey on Continuous Time Computations

We provide an overview of theories of continuous time computation. These theories allow us to understand both the hardness of questions related to continuous time dynamical systems and the computational power of continuous time analog models. We survey the existing models, summarizing results, and point to relevant references in the literature

Estimation and control of non-linear and hybrid systems with applications to air-to-air guidance

Issued as Progress report, and Final report, Project no. E-21-67