60 citations · 153 across the 32 of their papers we have counts for
36 papers
Hybrid Feedback Sampling for Sample-Efficient Model Predictive Control
Chaoyi Pan, Zeji Yi, John Zhang +3
Thanks to its parallelizability and flexibility, sampling-based Model Predictive Control (MPC) has become widely popular for controlling real-world robotic systems. However, for hi…
A Differentiable Interior-Point Method in Single Precision
Jon Arrizabalaga, Kevin Tracy, Zachary Manchester
Primal-dual interior-point methods solve constrained convex optimization problems to tight tolerances with speed and robustness. Their solutions are also efficiently differentiable…
The Trajectory Bundle Method: Unifying Sequential-Convex Programming and Sampling-Based Trajectory Optimization
Kevin Tracy, John Z. Zhang, Jon Arrizabalaga +4
We present a unified framework for solving trajectory optimization problems in a derivative-free manner through the use of sequential convex programming. Traditionally, nonconvex o…
Realizing Robotic Swimming with Unified Fluid-Robot Multiphysics
Jeong Hun Lee, Junzhe Hu, Sofia Kwok +2
Matching the swimming efficiency and agility of fish has remained an elusive goal in underwater robotics. Such locomotion capabilities rely on complex vortex interactions between t…
Whole-Body Model-Predictive Control of Legged Robots with MuJoCo
John Z. Zhang, Taylor A. Howell, Zeji Yi +6
We demonstrate the surprising real-world effectiveness of a very simple approach to whole-body model-predictive control (MPC) of quadruped and humanoid robots: the iterative LQR (i…
Optimal Attitude Control of Large Flexible Space Structures with Distributed Momentum Actuators
Pedro Cachim, Will Kraus, Zachary Manchester +2
Recent spacecraft mission concepts propose larger payloads that have lighter, less rigid structures. For large lightweight structures, the natural frequencies of their vibration mo…
Robots with Attitude: Singularity-Free Quaternion-Based Model-Predictive Control for Agile Legged Robots
Zixin Zhang, John Z. Zhang, Shuo Yang +1
We present a model-predictive control (MPC) framework for legged robots that avoids the singularities associated with common three-parameter attitude representations like Euler ang…
Real-Time Whole-Body Control of Legged Robots with Model-Predictive Path Integral Control
Juan Alvarez-Padilla, John Z. Zhang, Sofia Kwok +2
This paper presents a system for enabling real-time synthesis of whole-body locomotion and manipulation policies for real-world legged robots. Motivated by recent advancements in r…
Building a Better B-Dot: Fast Detumbling with Non-Monotonic Lyapunov Functions
Jacob B. Willis, Paulo R. M. Fisch, Aleksei Seletskiy +1
Spacecraft detumbling with magnetic torque coils is an inherently underactuated control problem. Contemporary and classical magnetorquer detumbling methods do not adequately consid…
On the Differentiability of the Primal-Dual Interior-Point Method
Kevin Tracy, Zachary Manchester
Primal-Dual Interior-Point methods are capable of solving constrained convex optimization problems to tight tolerances in a fast and robust manner. The derivatives of the primal-du…
From Variance to Veracity: Unbundling and Mitigating Gradient Variance in Differentiable Bundle Adjustment Layers
Swaminathan Gurumurthy, Karnik Ram, Bingqing Chen +2
Various pose estimation and tracking problems in robotics can be decomposed into a correspondence estimation problem (often computed using a deep network) followed by a weighted le…
A Convex Formulation of the Soft-Capture Problem
Ibrahima Sory Sow, Geordan Gutow, Howie Choset +1
We present a fast trajectory optimization algorithm for the soft capture of uncooperative tumbling space objects. Our algorithm generates safe, dynamically feasible, and minimum-fu…
Efficient Online Learning of Contact Force Models for Connector Insertion
Kevin Tracy, Zachary Manchester, Ajinkya Jain +4
Contact-rich manipulation tasks with stiff frictional elements like connector insertion are difficult to model with rigid-body simulators. In this work, we propose a new approach f…
ReLU-QP: A GPU-Accelerated Quadratic Programming Solver for Model-Predictive Control
Arun L. Bishop, John Z. Zhang, Swaminathan Gurumurthy +2
We present ReLU-QP, a GPU-accelerated solver for quadratic programs (QPs) that is capable of solving high-dimensional control problems at real-time rates. ReLU-QP is derived by exa…
Learning Covariances for Estimation with Constrained Bilevel Optimization
Mohamad Qadri, Zachary Manchester, Michael Kaess
We consider the problem of learning error covariance matrices for robotic state estimation. The convergence of a state estimator to the correct belief over the robot state is depen…
Propulsion-Free Cross-Track Control of a LEO Small-Satellite Constellation with Differential Drag
Giusy Falcone, Jacob B. Willis, Zachary Manchester
In this work, we achieve propellantless control of both cross-track and along-track separation of a satellite formation by manipulating atmospheric drag. Increasing the differentia…
SLoMo: A General System for Legged Robot Motion Imitation from Casual Videos
John Z. Zhang, Shuo Yang, Gengshan Yang +3
We present SLoMo: a first-of-its-kind framework for transferring skilled motions from casually captured "in the wild" video footage of humans and animals to legged robots. SLoMo wo…
Data-Efficient Model Learning for Control with Jacobian-Regularized Dynamic-Mode Decomposition}
Brian E. Jackson, Jeong Hun Lee, Kevin Tracy +1
We present a data-efficient algorithm for learning models for model-predictive control (MPC). Our approach, Jacobian-Regularized Dynamic-Mode Decomposition (JDMD), offers improved…
Single-Level Differentiable Contact Simulation
Simon Le Cleac'h, Mac Schwager, Zachary Manchester +3
We present a differentiable formulation of rigid-body contact dynamics for objects and robots represented as compositions of convex primitives. Existing optimization-based approach…
Differentiable Physics Simulation of Dynamics-Augmented Neural Objects
Simon Le Cleac'h, Hong-Xing Yu, Michelle Guo +5
We present a differentiable pipeline for simulating the motion of objects that represent their geometry as a continuous density field parameterized as a deep network. This includes…
Cerberus: Low-Drift Visual-Inertial-Leg Odometry For Agile Locomotion
Shuo Yang, Zixin Zhang, Zhengyu Fu +1
We present an open-source Visual-Inertial-Leg Odometry (VILO) state estimation solution, Cerberus, for legged robots that estimates position precisely on various terrains in real t…
Differentiable Collision Detection for a Set of Convex Primitives
Kevin Tracy, Taylor A. Howell, Zachary Manchester
Collision detection between objects is critical for simulation, control, and learning for robotic systems. However, existing collision detection routines are inherently non-differe…
DiffPills: Differentiable Collision Detection for Capsules and Padded Polygons
Kevin Tracy, Taylor A. Howell, Zachary Manchester
Collision detection plays an important role in simulation, control, and learning for robotic systems. However, no existing method is differentiable with respect to the configuratio…
CALIPSO: A Differentiable Solver for Trajectory Optimization with Conic and Complementarity Constraints
Taylor A. Howell, Simon Le Cleac'h, Kevin Tracy +1
We present a new solver for non-convex trajectory optimization problems that is specialized for robotics applications. CALIPSO, or the Conic Augmented Lagrangian Interior-Point SOl…