Control Barrier Function
Control Barrier Functions (CBFs) are mathematical tools used to guarantee the safety of dynamical systems by ensuring that trajectories remain within a predefined "safe set," a key objective being to maximize the size of this safe set while respecting input constraints. Current research focuses on improving CBF's robustness to uncertainties (e.g., disturbances, noisy sensor data) and integrating them with various control architectures like Model Predictive Control (MPC) and reinforcement learning, often employing neural networks for adaptive parameter tuning or online CBF synthesis. This work is significant for enabling safe and reliable operation of autonomous systems in complex and unpredictable environments, with applications ranging from robotics and autonomous driving to aerospace.
Papers
Feasible Space Monitoring for Multiple Control Barrier Functions with application to Large Scale Indoor Navigation
Hardik Parwana, Mitchell Black, Bardh Hoxha, Hideki Okamoto, Georgios Fainekos, Danil Prokhorov, Dimitra Panagou
A Data-driven Method for Safety-critical Control: Designing Control Barrier Functions from State Constraints
Jaemin Lee, Jeeseop Kim, Aaron D. Ames