Roundabout Constrained Convex Generators: A Unified Framework for Multiply-Connected Reachable Sets

TL;DR

This paper presents RCGs, a novel set representation framework for modeling multiply-connected regions with holes, enhancing control and verification methods for safety-critical systems.

Contribution

Introduction of RCGs, a unified framework for representing multiply-connected sets with holes, extending convex generators with new formulations and closure properties.

Findings

Supports operations like linear transformations, Minkowski sums, and intersections.

Includes special cases like roundabout zonotopes and ellipsotopes for computational efficiency.

Maintains compatibility with existing optimization tools.

Abstract

This paper introduces Roundabout Constrained Convex Generators (RCGs), a set representation framework for modeling multiply connected regions in control and verification applications. The RCG representation extends the constrained convex generators framework by incorporating an inner exclusion zone, creating sets with topological holes that naturally arise in collision avoidance and safety-critical control problems. We present two equivalent formulations: a set difference representation that provides geometric intuition and a unified parametric representation that facilitates computational implementation. The paper establishes closure properties under fundamental operations, including linear transformations, Minkowski sums, and intersections with convex generator sets. We derive special cases, including roundabout zonotopes and roundabout ellipsotopes, which offer computational advantages for specific norm selections. The framework maintains compatibility with existing optimization solvers while enabling the representation of non-convex feasible regions that were previously challenging to model efficiently.