A Forward Reachability Perspective on Robust Control Invariance and Discount Factors in Reachability Analysis
CoRR(2023)
Abstract
Control invariant sets are crucial for various methods that aim to design
safe control policies for systems whose state constraints must be satisfied
over an indefinite time horizon. In this article, we explore the connections
among reachability, control invariance, and Control Barrier Functions (CBFs).
Unlike prior formulations based on backward reachability concepts, by examining
a forward reachability problem, we are able to establish a strong link between
these three concepts. First, our findings show that the inevitable Forward
Reachable Tube (FRT), which is the set of states such that every trajectory
reaching the FRT must have passed through a given initial set of states, is
precisely this initial set of states itself if it is a robust control invariant
set with a differentiable boundary. We highlight that this statement may not
hold if the boundary is not differentiable. Next, we formulate a differential
game between the control and disturbance, where the inevitable FRT is
characterized by the zero-superlevel set of the value function. By
incorporating a discount factor in the cost function of the game, the barrier
constraint of the CBF naturally arises as the constraint that is imposed on the
optimal control policy. Combining these results, the value function of our FRT
formulation serves as a CBF-like function, and conversely, any valid CBF is
also a forward reachability value function inside the control invariant set,
thereby revealing the inverse optimality of the CBF. This strong link we
establish between the reachability problem and the barrier constraint, while
guaranteeing the continuity of the value function, is not achievable by
previous backward reachability-based formulations. As such, our work fills a
crucial gap in the existing literature that is vital for constructing valid
CBFs to ensure safety.
MoreTranslated text
Key words
forward reachability perspective,reachability analysis,robust control invariance
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