This tutorial paper reviews a decade of advances at the intersection of machine learning and control, focusing on methods that blend machine learning flexibility with control theory’s structure to create capable, reliable, and safe autonomous systems. It covers core concepts for stability and safety, learning dynamics models to handle uncertainty, and data‑driven policy synthesis techniques such as reinforcement learning, imitation learning, and Bayesian optimization. Representative applications and open challenges are discussed, and the authors provide implementations, examples, and additional resources on their website.
By Angela P. Schoellig, Matthias A. M\"uller, Sebastian Trimpe, Melanie N. Zeilinger, Mahathi Anand, Andrea Carron, Oliver Hausd\"orfer, Victor G. Lopez, Friedrich Solowjow, Haocheng Zhao, Siqi Zhou
The paper introduces a structured method for learning linear operators in control systems using data. It leverages the framework of (semi)groups for evolution equations to establish structural assumptions and applies inverse‑problems theory to analyze learning algorithms, revealing error decompositions, convergence guarantees, and optimal regularization. Focusing on bounded operators on Hilbert spaces, the authors derive a convergent estimator for time‑varying systems, illustrating the practical power of their approach.
By Max Beier, Nicolas Hoischen, Sandra Hirche, Petar Bevanda
arXiv:2608. 13510v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Machine learning procedures are commonly evaluated in terms of predictive accuracy and computational efficiency.
By Nestor R. Barraza, Gabriel Pena
arXiv:2606. 28281v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: PAC-Bayesian bounds provide finite-sample guarantees for data-dependent randomized predictors, but applying them to learning-based control is difficult because the natural objective is a quadratic trajectory cost.
By Domagoj Herceg
arXiv:2605. 08488v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We develop a unified Lyapunov-integral quadratic constraint (IQC) framework for establishing uniform stability of first-order accelerated optimization algorithms in the $\beta$-smooth and $\gamma$-strongly convex regime.
By Don Li, Dacian Daescu
arXiv:2606. 23827v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: A data-driven method is developed for approximating value functions in deterministic optimal control problems with nonlinear control-affine dynamics.
By Mat\'ias G\'omez-Aedo, Behzad Azmi, Yuyang Huang, Dante Kalise, Karl Kunisch
arXiv:2605.28517v2 Announce Type: replace-cross
Abstract: Stochastic gradient descent with momentum (SGDM) is one of the most widely used optimization algorithms in machine learning. While optimizati...
By Yunwen Lei, Zimeng Wang, Xiaoming Yuan
arXiv:2607. 06935v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Reinforcement learning (RL) is increasingly grounded in tools from probability, optimization, and operator theory.
By Denis Belomestny, Alexander Gasnikov, Egor Gladin, Alexey Naumov, Artemy Rubtsov, Yuri Sapronov, Daniil Tiapkin, Nikita Yudin
The paper introduces a contraction framework for stochastic operators that incorporates bootstrapping, where a variable is updated using a frozen copy as a target that is refreshed every $K$ steps. By modeling the sampled update as a stochastic operator, the authors derive a finite‑time bound for i.i.d. samples that applies to any target‑update period and does not require gradient structure or uniformly bounded sampling error. The framework shows that the iterates converge geometrically in root mean square to a ball around the fixed point, with the error floor scaling with the step size, and it generalizes existing deterministic and stochastic‑gradient bounds.
arXiv:2508. 00775v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: The design of many classical optimization algorithms is driven by the certification of linear convergence rates over classes of optimization problems.
By Andrea Martin, Ian R. Manchester, Luca Furieri
arXiv:2609. 29961v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Many iterative algorithms rely on bootstrapping.
By Ids van der Werf, Sergio Rozada, Antonio G. Marques
The paper introduces BUMEX, a reinforcement learning exploration strategy that leverages a set of prior models containing the true transition kernel and reward function. By optimizing over this model set, the method derives upper and lower bounds on the Q‑function to guide exploration, providing theoretical guarantees of convergence to the optimal policy. When the model set follows a bounded‑parameter MDP structure, the optimization becomes convex, enabling finite‑time convergence under mild assumptions and demonstrating accelerated learning in simulations.
By J. S. van Hulst, W. P. M. H. Heemels, D. J. Antunes