Adaptive Optimal Control of Networked Nonlinear Systems With Stochastic Sensor and Actuator Dropouts Based on Reinforcement Learning

This article investigates the adaptive optimal control problem for networked discrete-time nonlinear systems with stochastic packet dropouts in both controller-to-actuator and sensor-to-controller channels. A Bernoulli model-based Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (BHJB) equation is first developed to deal with the corresponding nonadaptive optimal control problem with known system dynamics and probability models of packet dropouts. The solvability of the nonadaptive optimal control problem is analyzed, and the stability and optimality of the resulting closed-loop system are proven. Two reinforcement learning (RL)-based policy iteration (PI) and value iteration (VI) algorithms are further developed to obtain the solution to the BHJB equation, and their convergence analysis is also provided. Furthermore, in the absence of a priori knowledge of partial system dynamics and probabilities of packet dropouts, two more online RL-based PI and VI algorithms are developed by using critic–actor approximators and packet dropout probability estimator. It is shown that the concerned adaptive optimal control problem can be solved by the proposed online RL-based PI and VI algorithms. Finally, simulation studies of a single-link manipulator are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.