An Algorithm to Warm Start Perturbed (WASP) Constrained Dynamic Programs

Abstract: Receding horizon optimal control problems compute the solution at each time step to operate the system on a near-optimal path. However, in many practical cases, the boundary conditions, such as external inputs, constraint equations, or the objective function, vary only marginally from one time step to the next. In this case, recomputing the optimal solution at each time represents a significant burden for real-time applications. This paper proposes a novel algorithm to approximately solve a perturbed constrained dynamic program that significantly improves the computational burden when the objective function and the constraints are perturbed slightly. The method hinges on determining closed-form expressions for first-order perturbations in the optimal strategy and the Lagrange multipliers of the perturbed constrained dynamic programming problem are obtained. This information can be used to initialize any algorithm (such as the method of Lagrange multipliers, or the augmented Lagrangian method) to solve the perturbed dynamic programming problem with minimal computational resources.