{"635724":{"#nid":"635724","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Aerospace Engineering Professor Evangelos Theodorou Receives $16M ARO Grant to Study Autonomous Systems","body":[{"value":"\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\r\n\u003Cp\u003EA proposal put forth by School of Aerospace Engineering professor \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.ae.gatech.edu\/people\/evangelos-theodorou\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEvangelos Theodorou\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E to explore the fundamental questions influencing learning control for autonomous systems has been approved by the Army Research Office, an element of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command\u0026rsquo;s Army Research Laboratory.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe five-year, $1.6 million project, \u0026quot;\u003Cem\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFrom Information Theoretic Control and Learning to Non-Equilibrium Stochastic Thermodynamics: Connections, Interdependencies and Scalable Algorithms\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u0026quot; will support Theodorou and his co-PI, University of California-Berkeley physics professor \u003Cstrong\u003EMike DeWeese\u003C\/strong\u003E in their investigation of the fundamental questions that influence learning control in autonomous systems.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;This is a project for basic research which allow us to think big and think holistically across disciplines,\u0026rdquo; said Theodorou, who heads up Georgia Tech\u0026#39;s \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/pwp.gatech.edu\/acds\/\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAutonomous Control and Decision Systems \u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/a\u003Elaboratory.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026ldquo;Ultimately we want to push the frontier on stochastic optimal control theory and non-equilibrium stochastic thermodynamics to explore new connections and directions that can lead to novel algorithms for decision making under uncertainty. I think this research will have huge impact not only in Autonomy but is also in applied and statistical physics\u0026quot;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EThe duo\u0026#39;s research could bear much fruit for ARO and for basic research, as it will take into account the dynamic and uncertain environments in which autonomous systems in the military routinely operate. Their work will focus in on decision-making, learning, and adaptation -- qualities whose optimization and improvement are heavily influenced by computational, thermodynamic and energetic constraints. Their collaboration will draw on Theodorou and DeWeese\u0026#39;s expertise in stochastic optimal control and information theory, statistical physics, and machine learning.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAdds Theodorou:\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0026quot;We will take a holistic view of the learning and control technology embedded in autonomous systems to address foundational questions such as: what is thermodynamics efficiency of decision-making algorithms and is there a unifying theory for the thermodynamics of computation in decision making? What is the role that nonlinearity, noise and morphology play in control of complex systems? How does low-level organization and architecture relate to computation and performance? Can existing connections between information theory and stochastic control generalize to systems operating at multiple temporal and spatiotemporal scales? What are the underlying trade-offs and computational mechanism for switching between model-free and model-based decision making?\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cdiv\u003E\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/div\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":"","field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Theodorou will collaborate with UC Berkeley physics professor Mike DeWeese "}],"uid":"27836","created_gmt":"2020-05-27 19:10:04","changed_gmt":"2020-05-27 19:10:04","author":"Kathleen Moore","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2020-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2020-05-27T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"592616":{"id":"592616","type":"image","title":"Prof. Evangelos Theodorou","body":null,"created":"1497282894","gmt_created":"2017-06-12 15:54:54","changed":"1497282894","gmt_changed":"2017-06-12 15:54:54","alt":"Prof. Evangelos Theodorou","file":{"fid":"225866","name":"Theodoru-300.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Theodoru-300_0.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/Theodoru-300_0.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":99908,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/Theodoru-300_0.jpg?itok=z3TxRXzb"}}},"media_ids":["592616"],"groups":[{"id":"1237","name":"College of Engineering"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"74531","name":"autonomous systems"},{"id":"184942","name":"autonomous learning"},{"id":"184155","name":"control systems"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39521","name":"Robotics"},{"id":"39541","name":"Systems"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}