Abstract: Controlling a vehicle by producing a sequence of intermediate goals that includes specific goals, additional specific goals and optional goals, from a travel route for a prediction horizon. Testing a feasibility of each intermediate goal (IG), using a first model of motion of the vehicle and a first model of motion of the traffic, by the IG being achieved by satisfying traffic conditions and motion capabilities of the vehicle, after achieving the IG, a next goal of the specific goals and the additional specific goals can also be achieved. Compute a trajectory for each feasible IG, using a second model of motion of the vehicle and a second model of motion of the traffic, and compare each computed trajectory according to a numerical value determined by a cost function and determine satisfaction of constraints on the movement of the vehicle and the vehicle interaction with the road and the traffic.

Abstract: A control system for controlling an operation of a processing machine positioning a worktool according to a processing pattern to machine a workpiece. A memory to store a reference trajectory defined in a spatial domain by a sequence of points for positioning the worktool and defined in a time domain by a relative time for positioning the worktool on each point of the reference trajectory. A sensor to determine a state of the processing machine. A reference governor to iteratively process the reference trajectory over a receding horizon including multiple windows of points, and analytically update the relative time for positioning the worktool for some points of the reference trajectory within the receding horizon to satisfy constraints on the operation of the processing machine having the state. A controller to control the operation of the processing machine using control inputs causing the worktool to track the updated reference trajectory.

Abstract: Systems and methods for a control system for controlling a machine including a first controller to generate a first control command according to an objective of control. A second controller to generate a control input as a combination of a second control command and a third control command. Wherein the second controller generates the second control command according to the objective of control, and generates the third control command using a product of a gain with a difference between the first control command and the second control command. A motor to control the machine according to the control input.

Abstract: Methods and systems including processor configured to receive a transition indication to switch a semi-autonomous vehicle from a driving mode to another driving mode while a driver is driving the vehicle on a roadway. Wherein the driving modes include an autonomous lane keeping mode, an autonomous lane change mode and a manual mode. In response to receiving the request, use protocol data to assess a status of the vehicle's environment, a vehicle state and systems of the vehicle. Select, a set of conditions corresponding to the vehicle's state, based on one or more of the assessments. Determine, whether a switch between driving modes is initiated by the driver, by verifying if the vehicle's state satisfies the set of conditions, in order to validate if the driver actuated the vehicle into or out of a safety region.

Abstract: A multi-satellite system includes a first satellite and a second satellite configured to be separated in a predetermined distance between the satellites after being launched into space, and a tether including an optical fiber having first and second ends, wherein the first end is connected to the first satellite and the second end is connected to the second satellite, wherein a length of the tether is greater than the predetermined distance. In this case, the first satellite includes an optical transceiver connected to the first end of the optical fiber to provide a communications link to the second satellite, a spool containing partial winding of the tether, and a free space optical transceiver to provide a first communications link to a first distant satellite.

Abstract: A system control a vehicle using a friction function describing a friction between a type of surface of the road and a tire of the vehicle as a function of a slip of a wheel of the vehicle. The parameters of each friction function include an initial slope of the friction function defining a stiffness of the tire and one or combination of a peak friction, a shape factor and a curvature factor of the friction function. Upon estimating a slip and a stiffness of the tire, the system selects from the memory parameters of the friction function corresponding to the current stiffness of the tire, determines a control command using a value of the friction corresponding to the slip of the tire according to the friction function defined by the selected parameters, and submits the control command to an actuator of the vehicle.

Abstract: A controller for controlling a system with continuous and discrete elements of operation accepts measurements of a current state of the system, solves a mixed-integer model predictive control (MI-MPC) problem subject to state constraints on the state of the system to produce control inputs to the system, and submits the control inputs to the system thereby changing the state of the system. To solve the MI-MPC, the controller transforms the state constraints into state-invariant control constraints on the control inputs to the system, such that any combination of values for the control inputs, resulting in a sequence of values for the state variables that satisfy the state constraints, also satisfy the state-invariant control constraints, and solve the MI-MPC problem subject to the state constraints and the state-invariant control constraints.

Abstract: A system jointly controls vehicles according to traffic configuration of a zone of intersection of a first road and a second road. The intersection zone includes a sequencing zone and a control zone covering sections of the first and the second road in proximity to the intersection. The system groups vehicles traveling within the sequencing zone on the first and the second roads into a set of groups of the vehicles and prevents the vehicles of different groups to travel concurrently in the control zone such that the first vehicle of the following group cannot pass the last vehicle of the preceding group. The system determines motion trajectories for the vehicles of the same group traveling in the control zone on the first and the second roads to pass the intersection and transmits the motion trajectories to the corresponding vehicles.

Abstract: A controller is configured to control a system by generating a control input to an actuator changing a state of the system in accordance with the control input. The controller includes an interface configured to receive data indicative of dynamic response of the actuator and a tuner configured to determine the maximum rate of change of the control input during a control cycle using the received data indicative of dynamic response of the actuator. The controller also includes a receiver configured to receive measurements of the state of the system and a solver configured to determine a current value of the control input for controlling the controlled system based on the state of the controlled system subject to constraints on operation of the system and a constraint on the maximum rate of change of the control input, and to cause the actuator to change the state of the system according to the current value of the control input.

Abstract: A predictive controller for controlling a system subject to constraints including equality and inequality constraints on state and control variables of the system, includes an estimator to estimate a current state of the system using measurements of outputs of the system and a controller to solve, at each control step, a matrix equation of necessary optimality conditions to produce a control solution and to control the system using the control solution to change a state of the system. The matrix equation includes a block-structured matrix having a constraint Jacobian matrix of the equality constraints of the system.

Abstract: Systems and methods for an imaging system having a memory with a historical localization dictionary database having geo-located driving image sequences, such that each reference image is applied to a threshold to produce a binary representation. A sensor to acquire a sequence of input images of a dynamic scene. An encoder to determine, for each input image in the sequence, a histogram of each input image indicating a number of vertical edges at each bin of the input image and to threshold the histogram to produce a binary representation of the input image. A visual odometer to compare the binary representations of each input image and each reference image, by matching an input image against a reference image. Wherein the visual odometer determines a location of the input image based on a match between the input image and the reference image.

Abstract: A controller is configured to control a system by generating a control input to an actuator changing a state of the system in accordance with the control input. The controller includes an interface configured to receive data indicative of dynamic response of the actuator and a tuner configured to determine the maximum rate of change of the control input during a control cycle using the received data indicative of dynamic response of the actuator. The controller also includes a receiver configured to receive measurements of the state of the system and a solver configured to determine a current value of the control input for controlling the controlled system based on the state of the controlled system subject to constraints on operation of the system and a constraint on the maximum rate of change of the control input, and to cause the actuator to change the state of the system according to the current value of the control input.

Abstract: A control system of a vehicle for controlling motion of the vehicle traveling on a road shared with a set of moving objects include a memory to store a set of regions of states of lateral dynamic of the vehicle corresponding to a set of equilibrium points. Each region defines a control invariant set of the states of the lateral dynamic determined for different speeds of the vehicle, such that the vehicle having a state within a region determined for a speed is capable to maintain its states within the region while moving with the speed. Each region includes a corresponding equilibrium point and intersects with at least one adjacent region. Each equilibrium point is associated with one or multiple regions determined for different speeds.

Abstract: Controlling a vehicle by producing a sequence of intermediate goals that includes specific goals, additional specific goals and optional goals, from a travel route for a prediction horizon. Testing a feasibility of each intermediate goal (IG), using a first model of motion of the vehicle and a first model of motion of the traffic, by the IG being achieved by satisfying traffic conditions and motion capabilities of the vehicle, after achieving the IG, a next goal of the specific goals and the additional specific goals can also be achieved. Compute a trajectory for each feasible IG, using a second model of motion of the vehicle and a second model of motion of the traffic, and compare each computed trajectory according to a numerical value determined by a cost function and determine satisfaction of constraints on the movement of the vehicle and the vehicle interaction with the road and the traffic.

Abstract: A predictive controller controls a vehicle subject to equality and inequality constraints on state and control variables of the vehicle and solves a matrix equation of necessary optimality conditions to produce control inputs to control the vehicle. The controller represents the state variables as a function of the control variables using discrete-time dynamics and determines the control inputs iteratively using two levels of iterations. The first level of iterations selects active inequality constraints, updates a constraint Jacobian matrix with a low-rank update for a change in the set of active inequality constraints to include the active inequality constraints, and updates a preconditioning matrix with a low-rank factorization update, in response to the low-rank update of the constraint Jacobian matrix. The second level of iterations, nested in the first level, solves the matrix equation with the updated constraint Jacobian matrix using the updated preconditioning matrix to produce the control inputs.

Abstract: A positioning system for a global navigational satellite system (GNSS) includes a receiver to receive carrier signals and code signals transmitted from a set of GNSS satellites that include a carrier phase ambiguity as an unknown integer number of wavelengths of the carrier signal traveled between the satellite and the receiver, and a processor to track a position of the receiver. The processor is configured to determine a set of possible combinations of integer values of the carrier phase ambiguities consistent with the measurements of the carrier signal and the code signal according to one or combination of the motion model and the measurement model within bounds defined by one or combination of the process noise and the measurement noise and execute a set of position estimators determining positions of the receiver using different combinations of integer values of the carrier phase ambiguities selected from the set of possible combinations.

Abstract: Systems and methods for a control system for controlling a machine including a first controller to generate a first control command according to an objective of control. A second controller to generate a control input as a combination of a second control command and a third control command. Wherein the second controller generates the second control command according to the objective of control, and generates the third control command using a product of a gain with a difference between the first control command and the second control command. A motor to control the machine according to the control input.

Abstract: A spacecraft including a spacecraft bus and a set of thrusters for changing a pose of the spacecraft. Wherein at least two thrusters are mounted on a gimbaled boom assembly connecting the two thrusters with the spacecraft bus, such that the two thrusters are coupled thrusters sharing the same gimbal angle. A model predictive controller to produce a solution for controlling thrusters of the spacecraft by optimizing a cost function over multiple receding horizons. The cost function is composed of a cost accumulated over the multiple receding horizons, including a cost accumulated over a first horizon using a dynamics governing a north-south position of the spacecraft, and a cost accumulated over a second horizon using a model of dynamics of the spacecraft governing an east-west position. A thruster controller to operate the thrusters according to their corresponding signals.

Abstract: A control system for controlling an operation of a processing machine positioning a worktool according to a processing pattern to machine a workpiece. A memory to store a reference trajectory defined in a spatial domain by a sequence of points for positioning the worktool and defined in a time domain by a relative time for positioning the worktool on each point of the reference trajectory. A sensor to determine a state of the processing machine. A reference governor to iteratively process the reference trajectory over a receding horizon including multiple windows of points, and analytically update the relative time for positioning the worktool for some points of the reference trajectory within the receding horizon to satisfy constraints on the operation of the processing machine having the state. A controller to control the operation of the processing machine using control inputs causing the worktool to track the updated reference trajectory.

Abstract: A system for controlling a vehicle a sensor to sense measurements indicative of a state of the vehicle and a memory to store a motion model of the vehicle, a measurement model of the vehicle, and a mean and a variance of a probabilistic distribution of a state of calibration of the sensor. The motion model of the vehicle defines the motion of the vehicle from a previous state to a current state subject to disturbance caused by an uncertainty of the state of calibration of the sensor in the motion of the vehicle. The measurement model relates the measurements of the sensor to the state of the vehicle using the state of calibration of the sensor.