Patents by Inventor STEFANO DI CAIRANO

STEFANO DI CAIRANO has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 11977374
    Abstract: A system for controlling an operation of a machine for performing a task is disclosed. The system submits a sequence of control inputs to the machine and receives a feedback signal. The system further determines, at each control step, a current control input for controlling the machine based on the feedback signal including a current measurement of a current state of the system by applying a control policy transforming the current measurement into the current control input based on current values of control parameters in a set of control parameters of a feedback controller. Furthermore, the system may iteratively update a state of the feedback controller defined by the control parameters using a prediction model predicting values of the control parameters and a measurement model updating the predicted values to produce the current values of the control parameters that explain the sequence of measurements according to a performance objective.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Marcel Menner, Karl Berntorp, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Patent number: 11947022
    Abstract: A server jointly tracks states of multiple vehicles using measurements of satellite signals received at each vehicle and parameters of the probabilistic distribution of the state of each vehicle. The server fuse states and measurements into an augmented state of the multiple vehicles and an augmented measurement of the augmented state subject to augmented measurement noise defined by a non-diagonal covariance matrix with non-zero off-diagonal elements, each non-zero off-diagonal elements relating errors in the measurements of a pair of corresponding vehicles. The server executes a probabilistic filter updating the augmented state and fuses the state of at least some of the multiple vehicles with a corresponding portion of the updated augmented state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc
    Inventors: Karl Berntorp, Marcus Greiff, Stefano Di Cairano, Kyeong Jin Kim
  • Publication number: 20240077622
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method and a system for tracking the position of the one or more moving objects. The method includes collecting GNSS measurement data of satellite signals transmitted from multiple satellites. The method further includes extracting values of a plurality of features from the GNSS measurement data. The method includes mapping the extracted values of the plurality of features to a source domain. The method includes classifying the mapped transformed plurality of features using a neural network. The neural network is trained over simulated data sampled from a source domain. The method includes identifying multipath measurements of the GNSS measurement data based on classification of the corresponding mapped transformed plurality of features. The method includes tracking the position of the one or more moving objects by processing identification of GNSS measurement data affected by multipath.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2022
    Publication date: March 7, 2024
    Inventors: Kyeong-Jin Kim, Remy Zawislak, Karl Berntorp, Marcus Greiff, Stefano Di Cairano, Kieran Parsons, Philip Orlik
  • Publication number: 20240069508
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a feedback controller and method for controlling an operation of a device at different control steps. The feedback controller comprises at least one processor, and the memory having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the feedback controller, for a control step, to collect a measurement indicative of a state of the device at the control step, and execute, recursively until a termination condition is met, a probabilistic solver parameterized on a control input to an actuator operating the device to produce a control input for the control step. The feedback controller is further configured to control the actuator operating the device based on the produced control input.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2022
    Publication date: February 29, 2024
    Inventors: Marcel Menner, Stefano Di Cairano, Karl Berntorp, Ankush Chakrabarty
  • Publication number: 20240059317
    Abstract: A control system for controlling movement of a vehicle, is disclosed. The control system is configured to construct a graph having multiple nodes defining states of the vehicle. The multiple nodes comprise an initial node defining initial state and a target node defining target state. Each pair of nodes is connected by an edge defined by collision-free motion primitives where the nodes comprise motion cusps. Multiple nodes connected through edges form a first path. A first number of motion cusps in the first path is determined and the graph is expanded to add new nodes until a termination condition is met on determining that the first number of motion cusps is above a threshold. The expansion of the graph is subjected to a constraint associated with a total number of motion cusps. Further a second path is determined having lesser motion cusps than the first path.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 19, 2022
    Publication date: February 22, 2024
    Inventors: Rien Quirynen, Yebin Wang, Stefano Di Cairano, Ahmad Ahmad, Zejiang Wang, Akshay Bhagat, Eyad Zeino
  • Patent number: 11897341
    Abstract: Embodiments of the present disclosure disclose a method and a system for controlling a motion of an electric vehicle (EV). The method includes determining a velocity profile moving the EV from an initial velocity over a period of time by minimizing the energy dissipation according to an energy-loss function. The energy-loss function maps values of acceleration and velocity of the EV to energy dissipation of the EV resulting from controlling one or multiple electric motors of the EV to move the EV at corresponding acceleration and velocity values. The velocity profile is a function of time. The method further includes controlling the one or multiple electric motors of the EV to generate a torque for moving the EV according to the velocity profile.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Marcel Menner, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Patent number: 11885894
    Abstract: A system jointly estimates states of GNSS receivers moving in a region using measurements of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The system clusters the GNSS receivers into different clusters subject to a constraint on an upper bound on each cluster and executes a set of probabilistic filters corresponding to the set of clusters to estimate the states of GNSS receivers in each cluster. Each probabilistic filter estimates the states of the GNSS receivers in a corresponding cluster by fusing the GNSS data collected from the GNSS receivers in the cluster to jointly reduce an estimation error of each of the GNSS receivers in the cluster. The DES updates the cluster assignments based on a measure of estimation error in the states of different GNSS receivers in different clusters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Marcus Greiff, Karl Berntorp, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Patent number: 11886196
    Abstract: A controller of a machine determines jointly a sequence of control inputs defining a state trajectory of the machine and a desired knowledge of the environment by solving a multivariable constrained optimization of a model of dynamics of the machine relating the state trajectory with the sequence of control inputs subject to a constraint on admissible values of the states and the control inputs defined based on the desired knowledge of the surrounding environment represented by the state of the environment and the uncertainty of the state of the environment determined from the measurements of the environment. In such a manner, the controller performs joint but imbalance optimization of the control inputs and the sensing instructions to the sensor for learning the environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2024
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Stefano Di Cairano, Angelo Domenico Bonzanini, Ali Mesbah
  • Publication number: 20240004085
    Abstract: The present disclosure discloses a system and a method for controlling a device using a compound probabilistic filter. The method comprises collecting a sequence of measurements indicative of the state of the device at different control steps. Further, the method comprises executing iteratively a compound probabilistic filter configured to track the state of the device at each of the different control steps using the sequence of measurements to produce a sequence of states of the device corresponding to the sequence of measurements. Furthermore, the method comprises controlling the device using the tracked state of the device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 13, 2022
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventors: Karl Berntorp, Marcus Greiff, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Publication number: 20240004088
    Abstract: A system jointly estimates states of GNSS receivers moving in a region using measurements of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The system clusters the GNSS receivers into different clusters subject to a constraint on an upper bound on each cluster and executes a set of probabilistic filters corresponding to the set of clusters to estimate the states of GNSS receivers in each cluster. Each probabilistic filter estimates the states of the GNSS receivers in a corresponding cluster by fusing the GNSS data collected from the GNSS receivers in the cluster to jointly reduce an estimation error of each of the GNSS receivers in the cluster. The DES updates the cluster assignments based on a measure of estimation error in the states of different GNSS receivers in different clusters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 21, 2022
    Publication date: January 4, 2024
    Inventors: Marcus Greiff, Karl Berntorp, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Patent number: 11840256
    Abstract: A global multi-vehicle decision making system is disclosed for providing real-time motion planning and coordination of one or multiple connected and automated and/or semi-automated vehicles (CAVs) in an interconnected traffic network that includes one or multiple non-controlled vehicles (NCVs), one or multiple conflict zones and one or multiple conflict-free road segments. The system includes a receiver configured to acquire infrastructure sensing signals, at least one memory configured to store map and programs, and at least one processor configured to perform steps of formulating a global mixed-integer programming (MIP) problem using the infrastructure sensing signals, computing a motion plan for each CAV and each NCV in the traffic network by solving the global MIP problem, computing an optimal sequence of entering/exiting times and a sequence of average velocities for each CAV and each NCV, and computing a velocity profile and/or one or multiple planned stops for each CAV.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 12, 2023
    Assignee: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Rien Quirynen, Stefano Di Cairano, Shreejith Ravikumar, Akshay Bhagat, Eyad Zeino
  • Publication number: 20230391477
    Abstract: A computer-implemented method for maintaining a spacecraft near an orbit comprises steps of detecting that a distance from the spacecraft to the orbit is greater than a spacecraft threshold and in response, linearizing dynamics of the spacecraft from a current time over a time horizon with respect to a high-fidelity reference trajectory to produce a state transition matrix (STM) for an uncontrolled motion of the spacecraft within the time horizon. The STM includes non-expanding eigenvectors with magnitudes less than or equal to one and expanding eigenvectors with magnitudes greater than one. The method further comprises determining a control action that changes an upcoming state of the spacecraft to a linear combination of the non-expanding eigenvectors of the STM and generating a control command to an actuator of the spacecraft.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2022
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventors: Avishai Weiss, Purnanand Elango, Stefano Di Cairano, Uros Kalabic
  • Publication number: 20230391373
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a controller for controlling an ego vehicle in an uncertain environment. The controller is caused to acquire knowledge of the environment from measurements associated with sensors the ego. The measurements are based on a state of the ego vehicle and sensing instructions associated with controlling an operation of the sensors. The controller is further caused to estimate a state of the environment, including uncertainty of a state of the at least one moving object or obstacle in the environment. Further a sequence of control inputs is determined by solving a multivariable and a multistage stochastic constrained optimization of a model of the motion of the ego vehicle. The controller is then caused to control the ego vehicle and the sensors based on the sequence of control inputs and the sequence of sensing instructions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 3, 2022
    Publication date: December 7, 2023
    Inventors: Stefano Di Cairano, Angelo Domenico Bonzanini, Ali Mesbah
  • Patent number: 11834203
    Abstract: Drift-based rendezvous control system for controlling an operation of a spacecraft to rendezvous the spacecraft to a goal region over a finite time (FT) horizon. The system including accepting data including values of spacecraft states at a specified time period within the FT horizon. A processor at the specified time period selects a set of drift regions corresponding to a desired goal region at a location on an orbit where the target is located at the specified time period. Update a controller having a model of dynamics of the spacecraft with the accepted data. Formulate the set of drift regions as a penalty in a cost function of the updated controller. Generate control commands resulting in a real-time drift-based control policy where upon entering the drift region, the thrusters are turned off in order to minimize an amount of operation of the thrusters while rendezvousing with the desired goal region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 3, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 5, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC RESEARCH LABORATORIES INC.
    Inventors: Avishai Weiss, Daniel Aguilar Marsillach, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Publication number: 20230384762
    Abstract: To control a motion of a device subject to constraints, a sequence of states and corresponding control inputs are transformed into a lifted space to determine a linear model of the dynamics of the device in the lifted space by minimizing fitting errors between the lifted states and approximation of the lifted states according to the linear control law. The fitting errors define an error model as a function bounding a data-driven envelope of a Lipschitz continuity on the fitting errors allowing to solve an optimal control problem in the lifted space according to the linear model subject to the constraints reformulated based on an evolution of the error model. The control input in the lifted space is transformed back to the original space for control.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 27, 2022
    Publication date: November 30, 2023
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Abraham P. Vinod, Giorgios Mamakoukas, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Publication number: 20230376034
    Abstract: A control system for controlling a legged robot comprises a processor and a memory. The control system initializes, in response to receiving a task, a probabilistic filter with parameters associated with a state of a reference trajectory of the legged robot, wherein the parameters are predetermined for the task and encode the reference trajectory including a combination of different reference trajectories for coordinated motion primitives of different actuators of the legged robot moving the legged robot according to the task, decodes the parameters to generate the reference trajectory, and executes, in response to receiving a feedback signal, the probabilistic filter to iteratively track the state of the reference trajectory satisfying a performance objective with respect to the state of the legged robot to update the parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 6, 2022
    Publication date: November 23, 2023
    Inventors: Marcel Menner, Stefano Di Cairano, Alexander Schperberg
  • Publication number: 20230367336
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and a method for controlling a motion of a device from an initial state to a target state in an environment having obstacles that form constraints on the motion of the device. The method includes executing a learned function trained with machine learning to generate a feasible or infeasible trajectory connecting the initial state of the device with the target state of the device while penalizing an extent of violation of at least some of the constraints to produce an initial trajectory. The method further includes solving a convex optimization problem subject to the constraints to produce an optimal trajectory that minimizes deviation from the initial trajectory and controlling the motion of the device according to the optimal trajectory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 25, 2022
    Publication date: November 16, 2023
    Inventors: Abraham Puthuvana Vinod, Sleiman Safaoui, Ankush Chakrabarty, Rien Quirynen, Nobuyuki Yoshikawa, Stefano Di Cairano
  • Patent number: 11807404
    Abstract: Systems and methods controlling an operation of a vehicle in real time to rendezvous the vehicle with a target over a finite time horizon having multiple specified time periods. Select a set of unsafe regions from stored unsafe regions, the set of unsafe regions represents regions of space around the target in which any operation of the PSNO thrusters does not avoid collision with the target, guaranteeing collision trajectories with the target. Formulating the set of unsafe regions as safety constraints, and updating a controller having a model of dynamics of the vehicle with the accepted data. Generating control commands by subjecting the updated controller to the safety constraints to produce a rendezvous trajectory that avoids the set of unsafe regions, guaranteeing an operation of at least the PSNO thrusters, in the event of partial vehicle thruster failure results in a trajectory that does not collide with the target.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: November 7, 2023
    Assignee: MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC RESEARCH LABORATORIES INC.
    Inventors: Avishai Weiss, Stefano Di Cairano, Daniel Aguilar Marsillach, Uros Kalabic
  • Publication number: 20230324859
    Abstract: A controller uses a motion trajectory for controlling a motion of a device to perform a task subject to constraints. The controller evaluates a parametric function to output predicted values for a set of discrete variables in a mixed-integer convex programming (MICP) problem for performing the task defined by the parameters. The controller fixes a first subset of discrete variables in the MICP to the predicted values outputted by the trained parametric function and updates at least some of the predicted values of a remaining subset of discrete variables to values are uniquely defined by the fixed values for the first subset of discrete variables and the constraints. Hence, the controller transforms the MICP into a convex programming (CP) problem, solves the CP problem subject to the constraints to produce a feasible motion trajectory, and controls the device according to the motion trajectory.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 10, 2022
    Publication date: October 12, 2023
    Applicant: Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories, Inc.
    Inventors: Rien Quirynen, Ankush Chakrabarty, Stefano Di Cairano, Abhishek Cauligi
  • Publication number: 20230316920
    Abstract: The present disclosure provides a system and a method for jointly controlling one or multiple connected autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and one or multiple manual connected vehicles (MCVs) moving to form traffic on the same or intersecting roads. The method includes collecting states of each of the CAVs, each of the MCVs, and each of traffic signs regulating the traffic, and solving a multi-variable mixed-integer problem (MIP) optimizing a cost function for values of control commands changing states of each CAV and values of control commands changing states of each of the traffic signs. The cost function is optimized subject to a motion model of each of the CAVs, subject to constraints modeling general traffic rules, subject to timing constraints, and subject to a motion model of each MCV. The method further includes transmitting the optimized values of the control commands to the corresponding CAVs and corresponding traffic signs.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 29, 2022
    Publication date: October 5, 2023
    Inventors: Stefano Di Cairano, Roya Firoozi, Rien Quirynen