This paper studies learning-based model predictive control (MPC) for stabilizing unknown discrete-time linear systems with hard input constraints and additive unbounded sub-Gaussian disturbances. We adopt a certainty-equivalence (CE) design that combines a switching MPC control law with online regularized least-squares (RLS) parameter estimation. The resulting switching control law blends the MPC with a saturated deadbeat controller, ensuring global closed-loop stability. Building upon non-asymptotic error bound of least-squares, we derive non-asymptotic, high-probability stability bounds for the closed-loop system under the proposed switching controller. Numerical experiments illustrate and support the theoretical findings.

This paper studies learning-based MPC for constrained stabilization of discrete-time linear systems with unknown system parameters and additive bounded disturbances. We develop a tractable homothetic-tube MPC scheme in which a high-probability parameter confidence set is generated from non-asymptotic regularized least-squares estimation, rather than assumed a priori. The resulting uncertainty set is embedded into robust tube propagation and constraint tightening, yielding a convex formulation with linear and second-order-cone constraints. We prove high-probability recursive feasibility, robust constraint satisfaction, and input-to-state stability, together with explicit non-asymptotic state bounds. A numerical example illustrates the effectiveness and theoretical guarantees.

We study conditions under which stability of the origin of stochastic differential equations is robust to small perturbations. We express robustness in two ways, firstly in the sense that stochastic stability is maintained under small parametric perturbations not exceeding a state-dependent bound vanishing at the origin but positive elsewhere, and secondly via stochastic input-to-state stability (ISS) which allows non-zero perturbations everywhere. We prove the former property assuming the existence of a Lyapunov function certifying stochastic stability of the nominal system. Under the same assumption, stochastic ISS holds under a suitable state-dependent perturbation scaling. Stochastic exponential stability is maintained under proportionally bounded perturbations and implies exponential ISS even without perturbation scaling. Finally, we propose a novel approach to stochastic integrator backstepping in pure-feedback form that uses the tools from our robustness analysis.

Value iteration (VI) is a cornerstone of dynamic programming that allows computing near-optimal feedback laws for general plant dynamics and cost functions. In practice, however, it must be stopped after finitely many iterations. This raises the question of when to stop the algorithm so that the resulting policies and value functions achieve desirable properties, like given near-optimality bounds and stability. In this context, we study deterministic, discrete-time systems with infinite-horizon (possibly discounted) costs whose inputs are generated by VI. We equip VI with a generalized stopping criterion that encompasses existing choices while allowing new ones. Our aim is to analyze the properties of the policies and value functions at the final iteration. Under mild assumptions, we first show that VI indeed terminates in a finite number of iterations. We then establish that the final policies are stabilizing by properly designing the stopping criterion, and derive explicit near-optimality bounds characterized by this choice. These results offer a design framework for the stopping criteria that balances computational effort with stability and performance guarantees.

Electrolysis stacks often exhibit suboptimal performance under constant dc power due to effects such as gas bubbles, making pulsed electrolysis a promising strategy for improving efficiency. However, additional electronic components are required to generate pulsed power, adding cost to the system. Therefore, the cost effectiveness of pulsed electrolysis relative to performance needs to be evaluated to justify the costs. Accordingly, this study presents a techno-economic analysis supported by a case study based on a simple pulsed power topology for large-scale systems. The analysis shows that, in our case study, a modest efficiency gain of 0.8% is enough to justify the additional cost, which is significantly lower than the efficiency enhancement (> 20%) reported in literature. Hence, pulsed electrolysis can be considered a viable solution for enhancing performance of large-scale electrolysis systems.

We study closed-loop stability and suboptimality for MPC and infinite-horizon optimal control solved using a surrogate model that differs from the real plant. We employ a unified framework based on quadratic costs to analyze both finite- and infinite-horizon problems, encompassing discounted and undiscounted scenarios alike. Plant-model mismatch bounds proportional to states and controls are assumed, under which the origin remains an equilibrium. Under continuity of the model and cost-controllability, exponential stability of the closed loop can be guaranteed. Furthermore, we give a suboptimality bound for the closed-loop cost recovering the optimal cost of the surrogate. The results reveal a tradeoff between horizon length, discounting and plant-model mismatch. The robustness guarantees are uniform over the horizon length, meaning that larger horizons do not require successively smaller plant-model mismatch.

We consider the adaptive control problem for discrete-time, nonlinear stochastic systems with linearly parameterised uncertainty. Assuming access to a parameterised family of controllers that can stabilise the system in a bounded set within an informative region of the state space when the parameter is well-chosen, we propose a certainty equivalence learning-based adaptive control strategy, and subsequently derive stability bounds on the closed-loop system that hold for some probabilities. We then show that if the entire state space is informative, and the family of controllers is globally stabilising with appropriately chosen parameters, high probability stability guarantees can be derived.

This paper addresses the emulation-based observer design for networked control systems (NCS) with linear plants that operate at two time scales in the presence of measurement noise. The system is formulated as a hybrid singularly perturbed dynamical system, enabling the systematic use of singular perturbation techniques to derive explicit bounds on the maximum allowable transmission intervals (MATI) for both fast and slow communication channels. Under the resulting conditions, the proposed observer guarantees that the estimation error satisfies a global exponential derivative-input-to-state stability (DISS)-like property, where the ultimate bound scales proportionally with the magnitudes of the measurement noise and the time derivative of the control input. The effectiveness of the approach is illustrated through a numerical example.

We study deterministic, discrete linear time-invariant systems with infinite-horizon discounted quadratic cost. It is well-known that standard stabilizability and detectability properties are not enough in general to conclude stability properties for the system in closed-loop with the optimal controller when the discount factor is small. In this context, we first review some of the stability conditions based on the optimal value function found in the learning and control literature and highlight their conservatism. We then propose novel (necessary and) sufficient conditions, still based on the optimal value function, under which stability of the origin for the optimal closed-loop system is guaranteed. Afterwards, we focus on the scenario where the optimal feedback law is not stabilizing because of the discount factor and the goal is to design an alternative stabilizing near-optimal static state-feedback law. We present both linear matrix inequality-based conditions and a variant of policy iteration to construct such stabilizing near-optimal controllers. The methods are illustrated via numerical examples.

We introduce TROOP, a tree-based Riccati optimistic online planner, that is designed to generate near-optimal control laws for discrete-time switched linear systems with switched quadratic costs. The key challenge that we address is balancing computational resources against control performance, which is important as constructing near-optimal inputs often requires substantial amount of computations. TROOP addresses this trade-off by adopting an online best-first search strategy inspired by A⋆, allowing for efficient estimates of the optimal value function. The control laws obtained guarantee both near-optimality and stability properties for the closed-loop system. These properties depend on the planning depth, which determines how far into the future the algorithm explores and is closely related to the amount of computations. TROOP thus strikes a balance between computational efficiency and control performance, which is illustrated by numerical simulations on an example.

We analyze the stability of general nonlinear discrete-time stochastic systems controlled by optimal inputs that minimize an infinite-horizon discounted cost. Under a novel stochastic formulation of cost-controllability and detectability assumptions inspired by the related literature on deterministic systems, we prove that uniform semi-global practical recurrence holds for the closed-loop system, where the adjustable parameter is the discount factor. Under additional continuity assumptions, we further prove that this property is robust.