Examples

The PSOPT distribution includes a large collection of worked examples, each provided with complete source code and a CMake build target. The examples serve both as regression tests and as templates for new problems: for most applications, the quickest way to get started is to copy the example closest to your problem and modify it.

The examples span a range of application domains and problem features, including:

Aerospace and astronautics Multiphase launch vehicle ascent, low-thrust orbit transfers, the zero-propellant maneuver of the International Space Station, atmospheric re-entry, and missile trajectory optimisation.

Classic benchmark problems The brachistochrone, Bryson–Denham, Breakwell, and other standard problems from the optimal control literature, which are useful for verifying the software and for teaching.

Singular and non-smooth problems Problems with singular arcs and bang-bang controls, which illustrate the use of integrated-residual transcription and mesh refinement.

Mixed-integer problems Problems involving integer-valued static parameters and mixed continuous and discrete-valued controls.

Delayed systems Problems whose dynamics involve time-delayed state variables.

Parameter estimation Single and multiphase parameter estimation problems with sampled observations, including the computation of confidence bounds on the estimated parameters.

Robotics, mechanical and chemical engineering Trajectory optimisation for robotic manipulators, crane control, and dynamic optimisation of chemical processes.

The full, up-to-date list of examples can be browsed in the examples folder of the GitHub repository. Many of the examples are also described in detail, with results, in the PSOPT Application Examples Document.