Exploring Active Inference and Model Predictive Path Integral Control: A Journey from Low-Level Commands to Task and Motion Planning

In an ever-evolving society, the demand for autonomous robots equipped with human-level capabilities is becoming increasingly imperative. Various factors, such as an aging population and a shortage of labor for repetitive and physically demanding tasks, have underscored the need for capable autonomous robots to assist us in our daily activities....

Multi-Modal MPPI and Active Inference for Reactive Task and Motion Planning

Task and Motion Planning (TAMP) has progressed significantly in solving intricate manipulation tasks in recent years, but the robust execution of these plans remains less touched. Particularly, generalizing to diverse geometric scenarios is still challenging during execution. In this work, we propose a reactive TAMP method to deal with...

Wind farm control for wake-loss compensation, thrust balancing and load-limiting of turbines

As renewable energy sources such as wind farms become dominant, new challenges emerge for operating and controlling them. Traditionally, wind farm control aims to dispatch power set-points to individual turbines to maximize energy extraction and, thus, their usage as assets. Yet, grid balance and frequency support are fundamental in presence...

Sampling-Based MPC with Learning-Based Trajectory Predictions for Interaction-Aware Motion Planning: Autonomous navigation in urban canals

With the world’s population recently surpassing the 8 billion mark, population growth poses significant challenges on the planet. This growth is particularly evident in urban areas, and as a consequence, cities must find innovative ways to accommodate the increasing pressure on the current road infrastructure. In Amsterdam, a city with an...

Integrated nonlinear model predictive control for automated driving

This work presents a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control (NMPC) scheme to perform evasive maneuvers and avoid rear-end collisions. Rear-end collisions are among the most common road fatalities. To reduce the risk of collision, it is necessary for the controller to react as quickly as possible and exploit the full vehicle maneuverability (i.e.,...

Model Predictive Control for Automated Driving and Collision Avoidance: Design of an integrated NMPC with simultaneous lateral and longitudinal control via steering and braking

The automotive sector has seen a rapid transition towards autonomous driving with an aim to achieve SAE Level 5 vehicle. The incessant drive for innovation has resulted in modern passenger cars equipped with plethora of control technologies such as ABS, VSC, AFS via EPS assist etc. all working respectively in various critical and non-critical...

Hybrid Force-Position Control of the Motion Compensated Gangway

Motion compensation for personnel transfer has greatly reduced costs and increased accessibility for offshore assets operation and maintenance. Solutions exist using hexapods or gangways that make a stiff connection by clamping to a customized offshore structure. State of the art gangways allow for a stepless workflow and have a rubber tip which...

Performance evaluation of a smart buffer control at a wastewater treatment plant

Real time control (RTC) is increasingly seen as a viable method to optimise the functioning of wastewater systems. Model exercises and case studies reported in literature claim a positive impact of RTC based on results without uncertainty analysis and flawed evaluation periods. This paper describes two integrated RTC strategies at the wastewater...

Symbiosis of double skin facade and indoor climate installation

The demands of a better indoor air quality at lower energy consumption and lower investments cost push scientist and designers towards new technical solutions in the building industry. This thesis defines potential practical benefits of applying the double skin fae (DSF) in office buildings. The main question is to what extent the double skin...