This paper presents a novel vision-based approach for tracking deformable contour targets using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) through combining image moments descriptor and a Policy Iteration scheme ensuring stability and generalization of knowledge to new tasks. This computationally efficient and optimal control scheme is suitable for diverse dynamic environments such as the surveillance and tracking of targets with evolving features. Due to the ability of the proposed scheme to comprehend an optimization output, the generated control sequence, from an offline successively approximated policy, makes the process less challenging. The proposed methodology is validated through extensive simulations and real-word exper-iments of environmental target surveillance using an octorotor UAV.

A novel method for optimal motion planning in the context of a class of dynamical system is proposed in this work. Our approach is based on the design of a provably safe and convergent actor structure, which is optimized via a policy iteration method. The proposed actor has wide applications, from control of mechanical systems to providing acceleration commands for more complex robotic platforms. Extra care is taken to provide theoretical guarantees, and the scheme is validated against an existing sampling-based planner.

In this work, a tube-based nearly optimal solution to motion planning in unknown workspaces is presented. The advantages of reactive motion planning are combined with a Policy Iteration Reinforcement Learning scheme to yield a novel solution for unknown workspaces that inherits provable safety, convergence and optimality. Moreover, in simply-connected workspaces, our method is proven to asymptotically provide the globally optimal path. Our method is compared against a provably asymptotically optimal RRT⋆method, as well as a relevant reactive method and provides satisfactory performance, closely matching or outperforming the former.

This work proposes a novel and provably correct method for three-dimensional optimal motion planning in complex environments. Our approach models the 3D motion planning problem by solving streamlines of the potential fluid flow, filling a gap in traditional motion planning techniques by guaranteeing a closed-loop, smooth and natural-looking navigation solution. Special emphasis is given to an inherent challenge of artificial potential field (APF) methods, namely establishing proofs of safety and stability over the entire optimization process. A model-based actor-critic reinforcement learning algorithm is introduced to approximate the optimal solution to the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation and update the controller parameters in a deterministic manner. Through a series of ROS-Gazebo software-in-the-loop simulations the proposed methodology demonstrates robustness and outperforms widely used methods such as the RRT∗, highlighting its contribution to the field of 3D optimal motion planning.

In this work, an Integral Reinforcement Learning (RL) framework is employed to provide provably safe, convergent and almost globally optimal policies in a novel Off-Policy Iterative method for simply-connected workspaces. This restriction stems from the impossibility of strictly global navigation in multiply connected manifolds, and is necessary for formulating continuous solutions. The current method generalizes and improves upon previous results, where parametrized controllers hindered the method in scope and results. Through enhancing the traditional reactive paradigm with RL, the proposed scheme is demonstrated to outperform both previous reactive methods as well as an RRT* method in path length, cost function values and execution times, indicating almost global optimality.

In this paper, a novel method based on Artificial Potential Field (APF) theory is presented, for optimal motion planning in fully-known, static workspaces, for multiple final goal configurations. Optimization is achieved through a Reinforcement Learning (RL) framework. More specifically, the parameters of the underlying potential field are adjusted through a policy gradient algorithm in order to minimize a cost function. The main novelty of the proposed scheme lies in the method that provides optimal policies for multiple final positions, in contrast to most existing methodologies that consider a single final configuration. An assessment of the optimality of our results is conducted by comparing our novel motion planning scheme against a RRT* method.

In this work, a novel solution to the optimal motion planning problem is proposed, through a continuous, deterministic and provably correct approach, with guaranteed safety and which is based on a parametrized Artificial Potential Field (APF). In particular, Reinforcement Learning (RL) is applied to adjust appropriately the parameters of the underlying potential field towards minimizing the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) error. The proposed method, outperforms consistently a Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT*) method and consists a fertile advancement in the optimal motion planning problem.