Sequence Modeling for Time-Optimal Quadrotor Trajectory Optimization with Sampling-based Robustness Analysis

Katherine Mao, Hongzhan Yu, Ruipeng Zhang, Igor Spasojevic, Sicun Gao, Vijay Kumar

Keywords: Trajectory Planning, Imitation Learning, Robustness Analysis, Aerial Robotics

Abstract: Time-optimal trajectories drive quadrotors to their dynamic limits, but computing such trajectories involves solving non-convex problems via iterative nonlinear optimization, making them prohibitively costly for real-time applications. In this work, we investigate learning-based models that imitate a model-based time-optimal trajectory planner to accelerate trajectory generation. Given a dataset of collision-free geometric paths, we show that modeling architectures can effectively learn the patterns underlying time-optimal trajectories. We introduce a quantitative framework to analyze local analytic properties of the learned models and link them to the Backward Reachable Tube of the geometric tracking controller. To enhance robustness, we propose a data augmentation scheme that applies random perturbations to the input paths. Compared to classical planners, our method achieves substantial speedups, and we validate its real-time feasibility on a hardware quadrotor platform. Experiments demonstrate that the learned models generalize to previously unseen path lengths.

Submission Number: 1006