Saving Tokens in Rollout Control with Token Bucket Specification

Abstract: We consider a communication network over which transmissions must fulfill the so-called token bucket traffic specification, with a rollout (i.e., predictive) controller that both schedules transmissions and computes the corresponding control values. In the token bucket specification, a transmission is allowed if the current level of tokens is above a certain threshold. Recently, it has been shown that having a full bucket at the time of a set point change significantly improves the control performance as compared to when the bucket level is low. In this work, we develop mechanisms that guarantee that the bucket fills up after the controlled plant has converged to a set point. To do this, we consider two different setups. First, we consider that all transmissions over the network must fulfill the token bucket specification and show convergence to the upper sector of the bucket by adding a slight terminal cost on the bucket level. Afterwards, we consider a modified network which additionally features a direct link over which transmissions need not fulfill the token bucket specification. In this setup, we prove convergence of the bucket level exactly to the upper rim. These mechanisms enable a similar level of flexibility as event-triggered control: In converged state, little communication is used while in precarious operating conditions, a burst of transmissions is possible. Other than event-triggered approaches, the proposed methods allow to specify the network traffic beforehand by means of the token bucket. Lastly, we validate the proposed approaches in a numerical example.