However, modern approaches often produce temporal artifacts, e.g.

We present an explainable AI-enhanced supervisory control framework for multi-agent robotics that combines (i) a timed-automata supervisor for safe, auditable mode switching, (ii) robust continuous control (Lyapunov-based controller for large-angle maneuver; sliding-mode controller (SMC) with boundary layers for precision and disturbance rejection), and (iii) an explainable predictor that maps mission context to gains and expected performance (energy, error). Monte Carlo-driven optimization provides the training data, enabling transparent real-time trade-offs. We validated the approach in two contrasting domains, spacecraft formation flying and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). Despite different environments (gravity/actuator bias vs. hydrodynamic drag/currents), both share uncertain six degrees of freedom (6-DOF) rigid-body dynamics, relative motion, and tight tracking needs, making them representative of general robotic systems. In the space mission, the supervisory logic selects parameters that meet mission criteria. In AUV leader-follower tests, the same SMC structure maintains a fixed offset under stochastic currents with bounded steady error. In spacecraft validation, the SMC controller achieved submillimeter alignment with 21.7% lower tracking error and 81.4% lower energy consumption compared to Proportional-Derivative PD controller baselines. At the same time, in AUV tests, SMC maintained bounded errors under stochastic currents. These results highlight both the portability and the interpretability of the approach for safety-critical, resource-constrained multi-agent robotics.

While Reinforcement Learning (RL) has achieved remarkable progress in legged locomotion control, it often suffers from performance degradation in out-of-distribution (OOD) conditions and discrepancies between the simulation and the real environments. Instead of mainly relying on domain randomization (DR) to best cover the real environments and thereby close the sim-to-real gap and enhance robustness, this work proposes an emerging decoupled framework that acquires fast online adaptation ability and mitigates the sim-to-real problems in unfamiliar environments by isolating stance-leg control and swing-leg control. Various simulation and real-world experiments demonstrate its effectiveness against horizontal force disturbances, uneven terrains, heavy and biased payloads, and sim-to-real gap.

Free-roaming dollies enhance filmmaking with dynamic movement, but challenges in automated camera control remain unresolved. Our study advances this field by applying Reinforcement Learning (RL) to automate dolly-in shots using free-roaming ground-based filming robots, overcoming traditional control hurdles. We demonstrate the effectiveness of combined control for precise film tasks by comparing it to independent control strategies. Our robust RL pipeline surpasses traditional Proportional-Derivative controller performance in simulation and proves its efficacy in real-world tests on a modified ROSBot 2.0 platform equipped with a camera turret. This validates our approach's practicality and sets the stage for further research in complex filming scenarios, contributing significantly to the fusion of technology with cinematic creativity. This work presents a leap forward in the field and opens new avenues for research and development, effectively bridging the gap between technological advancement and creative filmmaking.

In this paper, we present a subsystem, using Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), for search and rescue missions, focusing on people detection, face recognition and tracking of identified individuals. The proposed solution integrates a UAV with ROS2 framework, that utilizes multiple convolutional neural networks (CNN) for search missions. System identification and PD controller deployment are performed for autonomous UAV navigation. The ROS2 environment utilizes the YOLOv11 and YOLOv11-pose CNNs for tracking purposes, and the dlib library CNN for face recognition. The system detects a specific individual, performs face recognition and starts tracking. If the individual is not yet known, the UAV operator can manually locate the person, save their facial image and immediately initiate the tracking process. The tracking process relies on specific keypoints identified on the human body using the YOLOv11-pose CNN model. These keypoints are used to track a specific individual and maintain a safe distance. To enhance accurate tracking, system identification is performed, based on measurement data from the UAVs IMU. The identified system parameters are used to design PD controllers that utilize YOLOv11-pose to estimate the distance between the UAVs camera and the identified individual. The initial experiments, conducted on 14 known individuals, demonstrated that the proposed subsystem can be successfully used in real time. The next step involves implementing the system on a large experimental UAV for field use and integrating autonomous navigation with GPS-guided control for rescue operations planning.

This work focuses on the design of a deep learning-based autonomous driving system deployed and tested on the real-world MIT Racecar to assess its effectiveness in driving scenarios. The Deep Neural Network (DNN) translates raw image inputs into real-time steering commands in an end-to-end learning fashion, following the imitation learning framework. The key design challenge is to ensure that DNN predictions are accurate and fast enough, at a high sampling frequency, and result in smooth vehicle operation under different operating conditions. In this study, we design and compare various DNNs, to identify the most effective approach for real-time autonomous driving. In designing the DNNs, we adopted an incremental design approach that involved enhancing the model capacity and dataset to address the challenges of real-world driving scenarios. We designed a PD system, CNN, CNN-LSTM, and CNN-NODE, and evaluated their performance on the real-world MIT Racecar. While the PD system handled basic lane following, it struggled with sharp turns and lighting variations. The CNN improved steering but lacked temporal awareness, which the CNN-LSTM addressed as it resulted in smooth driving performance. The CNN-NODE performed similarly to the CNN-LSTM in handling driving dynamics, yet with slightly better driving performance. The findings of this research highlight the importance of iterative design processes in developing robust DNNs for autonomous driving applications. The experimental video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNNYgU--iaY.

This paper addresses the problem of hierarchical task control, where a robotic system must perform multiple subtasks with varying levels of priority. A commonly used approach for hierarchical control is the null-space projection technique, which ensures that higher-priority tasks are executed without interference from lower-priority ones. While effective, the state-of-the-art implementations of this method rely on low-level controllers, such as PID controllers, which can be prone to suboptimal solutions in complex tasks. This paper presents a novel framework for hierarchical task control, integrating the null-space projection technique with the path integral control method. Our approach leverages Monte Carlo simulations for real-time computation of optimal control inputs, allowing for the seamless integration of simpler PID-like controllers with a more sophisticated optimal control technique. Through simulation studies, we demonstrate the effectiveness of this combined approach, showing how it overcomes the limitations of traditional

The intrinsic nonlinearities of soft robots present significant control but simultaneously provide them with rich computational potential. Reservoir computing (RC) has shown effectiveness in online learning systems for controlling nonlinear systems such as soft actuators. Conventional RC can be extended into physical reservoir computing (PRC) by leveraging the nonlinear dynamics of soft actuators for computation. This paper introduces a PRC-based online learning framework to control the motion of a pneumatic soft bending actuator, utilizing another pneumatic soft actuator as the PRC model. Unlike conventional designs requiring two RC models, the proposed control system employs a more compact architecture with a single RC model. Additionally, the framework enables zero-shot online learning, addressing limitations of previous PRC-based control systems reliant on offline training. Simulations and experiments validated the performance of the proposed system. Experimental results indicate that the PRC model achieved superior control performance compared to a linear model, reducing the root-mean-square error (RMSE) by an average of over 37% in bending motion control tasks. The proposed PRC-based online learning control framework provides a novel approach for harnessing physical systems' inherent nonlinearities to enhance the control of soft actuators.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have experienced tremendous growth over the past two decades, and they have been utilized in diverse civilian and public domain applications like power line inspection [1], monitoring mining areas [2], wildlife conservation and monitoring [3], border protection [4], infrastructure and building inspection [5], and precision agriculture [6], among others. Multirotor UAVs, particularly quadrotors, have become the most widely used platforms due to their vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) capabilities, efficient hovering, and overall flight effectiveness. Although several conventional control techniques have been developed and tested effectively (via simulations and in real time) for quadrotor navigation and control, recently, learning-based algorithms and techniques have gained significant momentum because they improve quadrotor modeling and subsequently navigation and control. The learning-based methodology offers alternatives to parameter tuning and estimation, learning, and understanding of the environment. Representative published surveys on developing and adopting machine learning (ML), deep learning (DL), or reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms for UAV modeling and control include [7], [8], [9], [10], [11], while the recently completed survey in [12] focuses on multirotor navigation and control based on online learning.