A Simple Approach to Constraint-Aware Imitation Learning with Application to Autonomous Racing

Abstract: Guaranteeing constraint satisfaction is challenging in imitation learning (IL), particularly in tasks that require operating near a system's handling limits. Traditional IL methods often struggle to enforce constraints, leading to suboptimal performance in high-precision tasks. In this paper, we present a simple approach to incorporating safety into the IL objective. Through simulations, we empirically validate our approach on an autonomous racing task with both full-state and image feedback, demonstrating improved constraint satisfaction and greater consistency in task performance compared to a baseline method.