UTOPIC: Under-Approximation Through Optimal Control

Abstract

We consider a class of nonlinear systems of differential equations with uncertainties, i.e., with lack of knowledge in some of the parameters that is represented by a time-varying unknown bounded functions. An under-approximation of such systems consists of a subset of its reachable set, for any value of the unknown parameters. By relying on optimal control theory through Pontryagin's principle, we provide an algorithm for the under-approximation of a linear combination of the state variables in terms of a fully automated tool-chain named UTOPIC. This allows to establish tight under-approximations of common benchmarks models with dimensions as large as sixty-five.