Alessandro Saccon
Short Biography
Alessandro Saccon is an Assistant Professor in nonlinear control and robotics at the Mechanical Engineering Department, Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e). His areas of expertise include nonlinear control and estimation, robotics, numerical optimal control and optimization, multi-body mechanics, and geometric mechanics. Alessandro’s research interests are focused on modeling, analysis, and control of complex and highly dynamical robotic and mechatronic systems. His current research efforts are directed toward the development and validation of innovative control strategies for robotic systems with multiple intermittent contacts, with application in the field of dynamic robot manipulation and locomotion.
Abstract, Prensentation Replay
Sensitivity analysis for hybrid systems with state-triggered jumps is experiencing renewed attention for planning and control of robots with intermittent contacts. The basic assumption that enables this type of analysis is that jumps are triggered when the state reaches, transversally, a sufficiently smooth switching surface. In many scenarios of practical relevance in robotics, however, this switching surface is just piecewise smooth and, moreover, a perturbation of the initial conditions or the input leads to a different number of jumps than those of the nominal trajectory. In this talk, I will present the concept of positive homogenization that allows for a sensitivity analysis in this context. Numerical simulations will be used to complement and validate the theoretical findings.