Optimal control of mechanical systems (Q2477189)

Summary: We consider a class of nonlinear optimal control problems, which can be called ``optimal control problems in mechanics.'' We deal with control systems whose dynamics can be described by a system of Euler-Lagrange or Hamilton equations. Using the variational structure of the solution of the corresponding boundary value problems, we reduce the initial optimal control problem to an auxiliary problem of multiobjective programming. This technique makes it possible to apply some consistent numerical approximations of a multiobjective optimization problem to the initial optimal control problem. For solving the auxiliary problem, we propose an implementable numerical algorithm.