Hierarchical Cognitive Control for Unknown Dynamic Systems Tracking

A general control system tracking learning framework is proposed, by which an optimal learned tracking behavior called ‘primitive’ is extrapolated to new unseen trajectories without requiring relearning. This is considered intelligent behavior and strongly related to the neuro-motor cognitive control of biological (human-like) systems that deliver suboptimal executions for tasks outside of their current knowledge base, by using previously memorized experience. However, biological systems do not solve explicit mathematical equations for solving learning and prediction tasks. This stimulates the proposed hierarchical cognitive-like learning framework, based on state-of-the-art model-free control: (1) at the low-level L1, an approximated iterative Value Iteration for linearizing the closed-loop system (CLS) behavior by a linear reference model output tracking is first employed; (2) an experiment-driven Iterative Learning Control (EDILC) applied to the CLS from the reference input to the controlled output learns simple tracking tasks called ‘primitives’ in the secondary L2 level, and (3) the tertiary level L3 extrapolates the primitives’ optimal tracking behavior to new tracking tasks without trial-based relearning. The learning framework relies only on input-output system data to build a virtual state space representation of the underlying controlled system that is assumed to be observable. It has been shown to be effective by experimental validation on a representative, coupled, nonlinear, multivariable real-world system. Able to cope with new unseen scenarios in an optimal fashion, the hierarchical learning framework is an advance toward cognitive control systems.