Robust physical parameter identification through global linearisation of system dynamics

Using neural networks to learn dynamical models from data is a powerful technique but can also suffer from problems like brittleness, overfitting and lack of safety guarantees. These problems are particularly acute when a distributional shift is observed in the dynamics of the same underlying system, caused by different values of its physical parameters. Casting the learned models in the framework of linear systems enhances our abilities to analyse and control them. However, it does not stop them from failing when having to extrapolate outside of their training distribution. By globally linearising the system’s dynamics, using ideas from Deep Koopman Theory, and combining them with off-the-shelf estimation techniques like Kalman filtering, we demonstrate a way of knowing when and what the model does not know and respectively how much we can trust its predictions. We showcase our ideas and results in the context of different rod lengths of the classical pendulum control environment.