Optimal control of sets of solutions to formally guarantee constraints of disturbed linear systems

Optimal control finds an optimal input trajectory which steers an initial state to a desired final state while satisfying given state and input constraints. However, most efficient approaches are restricted to a single initial state. In this paper, we present a new approach, which combines reachability analysis with optimal control. This enables us to solve the optimal control problem for a whole set of initial states by optimizing over the set of all possible solutions. At the same time, we are able to provide formal guarantees for the satisfaction of state and input constraints. Taking the effects of sets of disturbances into account ensures that the resulting controller is robust against them, which is a big advantage over many existing approaches. We show the applicability of our approach with a vehicle-platoon example.