Title: Model-Based Policy Search for Automatic Tuning of Multivariate PID Controllers,
Abstract: PID control architectures are widely used in industrial applications. Despite
their low number of open parameters, tuning multiple, coupled PID controllers
can become tedious in practice. In this paper, we extend PILCO, a model-based
policy search framework, to automatically tune multivariate PID controllers
purely based on data observed on an otherwise unknown system. The system's
state is extended appropriately to frame the PID policy as a static state
feedback policy. This renders PID tuning possible as the solution of a finite
horizon optimal control problem without further a priori knowledge. The
framework is applied to the task of balancing an inverted pendulum on a seven
degree-of-freedom robotic arm, thereby demonstrating its capabilities of fast
and data-efficient policy learning, even on complex real world problems.