Reinforcement Learning (RL) is currently one of the most commonly used techniques for traffic signal control (TSC), which can adaptively adjusted traffic signal phase and duration according to real-time traffic data. However, a fully centralized RL approach is beset with difficulties in a multi-network scenario because of exponential growth in state-action space with increasing intersections. Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) can overcome the high-dimension problem by employing the global control of each local RL agent, but it also brings new challenges, such as the failure of convergence caused by the non-stationary Markov Decision Process (MDP). In this paper, we introduce an off-policy nash deep Q-Network (OPNDQN) algorithm, which mitigates the weakness of both fully centralized and MARL approaches. The OPNDQN algorithm solves the problem that traditional algorithms cannot be used in large state-action space traffic models by utilizing a fictitious game approach at each iteration to find the nash equilibrium among neighboring intersections, from which no intersection has incentive to unilaterally deviate. One of main advantages of OPNDQN is to mitigate the non-stationarity of multi-agent Markov process because it considers the mutual influence among neighboring intersections by sharing their actions. On the other hand, for training a large traffic network, the convergence rate of OPNDQN is higher than that of existing MARL approaches because it does not incorporate all state information of each agent. We conduct an extensive experiments by using Simulation of Urban MObility simulator (SUMO), and show the dominant superiority of OPNDQN over several existing MARL approaches in terms of average queue length, episode training reward and average waiting time.

Drug dosing is an important application of AI, which can be formulated as a Reinforcement Learning (RL) problem. In this paper, we identify two major challenges of using RL for drug dosing: delayed and prolonged effects of administering medications, which break the Markov assumption of the RL framework. We focus on prolongedness and define PAE-POMDP (Prolonged Action Effect-Partially Observable Markov Decision Process), a subclass of POMDPs in which the Markov assumption does not hold specifically due to prolonged effects of actions. Motivated by the pharmacology literature, we propose a simple and effective approach to converting drug dosing PAE-POMDPs into MDPs, enabling the use of the existing RL algorithms to solve such problems. We validate the proposed approach on a toy task, and a challenging glucose control task, for which we devise a clinically-inspired reward function. Our results demonstrate that: (1) the proposed method to restore the Markov assumption leads to significant improvements over a vanilla baseline; (2) the approach is competitive with recurrent policies which may inherently capture the prolonged effect of actions; (3) it is remarkably more time and memory efficient than the recurrent baseline and hence more suitable for real-time dosing control systems; and (4) it exhibits favorable qualitative behavior in our policy analysis.

Reinforcement learning (RL) is one of the most important branches of AI. Due to its capacity for self-adaption and decision-making in dynamic environments, reinforcement learning has been widely applied in multiple areas, such as healthcare, data markets, autonomous driving, and robotics. However, some of these applications and systems have been shown to be vulnerable to security or privacy attacks, resulting in unreliable or unstable services. A large number of studies have focused on these security and privacy problems in reinforcement learning. However, few surveys have provided a systematic review and comparison of existing problems and state-of-the-art solutions to keep up with the pace of emerging threats. Accordingly, we herein present such a comprehensive review to explain and summarize the challenges associated with security and privacy in reinforcement learning from a new perspective, namely that of the Markov Decision Process (MDP). In this survey, we first introduce the key concepts related to this area. Next, we cover the security and privacy issues linked to the state, action, environment, and reward function of the MDP process, respectively. We further highlight the special characteristics of security and privacy methodologies related to reinforcement learning. Finally, we discuss the possible future research directions within this area.

Collaboration among industrial Internet of Things (IoT) devices and edge networks is essential to support computation-intensive deep neural network (DNN) inference services which require low delay and high accuracy. Sampling rate adaption which dynamically configures the sampling rates of industrial IoT devices according to network conditions, is the key in minimizing the service delay. In this paper, we investigate the collaborative DNN inference problem in industrial IoT networks. To capture the channel variation and task arrival randomness, we formulate the problem as a constrained Markov decision process (CMDP). Specifically, sampling rate adaption, inference task offloading and edge computing resource allocation are jointly considered to minimize the average service delay while guaranteeing the long-term accuracy requirements of different inference services. Since CMDP cannot be directly solved by general reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms due to the intractable long-term constraints, we first transform the CMDP into an MDP by leveraging the Lyapunov optimization technique. Then, a deep RL-based algorithm is proposed to solve the MDP. To expedite the training process, an optimization subroutine is embedded in the proposed algorithm to directly obtain the optimal edge computing resource allocation. Extensive simulation results are provided to demonstrate that the proposed RL-based algorithm can significantly reduce the average service delay while preserving long-term inference accuracy with a high probability.

In inverse reinforcement learning (IRL), a learning agent infers a reward function encoding the underlying task using demonstrations from experts. However, many existing IRL techniques make the often unrealistic assumption that the agent has access to full information about the environment. We remove this assumption by developing an algorithm for IRL in partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs). We address two limitations of existing IRL techniques. First, they require an excessive amount of data due to the information asymmetry between the expert and the learner. Second, most of these IRL techniques require solving the computationally intractable forward problem -- computing an optimal policy given a reward function -- in POMDPs. The developed algorithm reduces the information asymmetry while increasing the data efficiency by incorporating task specifications expressed in temporal logic into IRL. Such specifications may be interpreted as side information available to the learner a priori in addition to the demonstrations. Further, the algorithm avoids a common source of algorithmic complexity by building on causal entropy as the measure of the likelihood of the demonstrations as opposed to entropy. Nevertheless, the resulting problem is nonconvex due to the so-called forward problem. We solve the intrinsic nonconvexity of the forward problem in a scalable manner through a sequential linear programming scheme that guarantees to converge to a locally optimal policy. In a series of examples, including experiments in a high-fidelity Unity simulator, we demonstrate that even with a limited amount of data and POMDPs with tens of thousands of states, our algorithm learns reward functions and policies that satisfy the task while inducing similar behavior to the expert by leveraging the provided side information.

As various city agencies and mobility operators navigate toward innovative mobility solutions, there is a need for strategic flexibility in well-timed investment decisions in the design and timing of mobility service regions, i.e. cast as "real options" (RO). This problem becomes increasingly challenging with multiple interacting RO in such investments. We propose a scalable machine learning based RO framework for multi-period sequential service region design & timing problem for mobility-on-demand services, framed as a Markov decision process with non-stationary stochastic variables. A value function approximation policy from literature uses multi-option least squares Monte Carlo simulation to get a policy value for a set of interdependent investment decisions as deferral options (CR policy). The goal is to determine the optimal selection and timing of a set of zones to include in a service region. However, prior work required explicit enumeration of all possible sequences of investments. To address the combinatorial complexity of such enumeration, we propose a new variant "deep" RO policy using an efficient recurrent neural network (RNN) based ML method (CR-RNN policy) to sample sequences to forego the need for enumeration, making network design & timing policy tractable for large scale implementation. Experiments on multiple service region scenarios in New York City (NYC) shows the proposed policy substantially reduces the overall computational cost (time reduction for RO evaluation of > 90% of total investment sequences is achieved), with zero to near-zero gap compared to the benchmark. A case study of sequential service region design for expansion of MoD services in Brooklyn, NYC show that using the CR-RNN policy to determine optimal RO investment strategy yields a similar performance (0.5% within CR policy value) with significantly reduced computation time (about 5.4 times faster).

Abstract-- In replacing fossil fuels with renewable energy resources for carbon neutrality, the unbalanced resource production of intermittent wind and photovoltaic (PV) power is a critical issue for peer-to-peer (P2P) power trading. To address this issue, a reinforcement learning (RL) technique is introduced in this paper. For RL, a graph convolutional network (GCN) and a bi-directional long short-term memory (Bi-LSTM) network are jointly applied to P2P power trading between nanogrid clusters, based on cooperative game theory. The flexible and reliable DC nanogrid is suitable for integrating renewable energy for a distribution system. Each local nanogrid cluster takes the position of prosumer, focusing on power production and consumption simultaneously. For the power management of nanogrid cluster, multi-objective optimization is applied to each local nanogrid cluster with the Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Charging/discharging of an electric vehicle (EV) is executed considering the intermittent characteristics of wind and PV power production. RL algorithms, such as GCN-convolutional neural network (CNN) layers for deep Q-learning network (DQN), GCN-LSTM layers for deep recurrent Q-learning network (DRQN), GCN-Bi-LSTM layers for DRQN, and GCN-Bi-LSTM layers for proximal policy optimization (PPO), are used for simulations. Power management of nanogrid clusters with P2P power trading is simulated on a distribution test feeder in real time, and the proposed GCN-Bi-LSTM-PPO technique achieving the lowest electricity cost among the RL algorithms used for comparison reduces the electricity cost by 36.7%, averaging over nanogrid clusters. Keywords: Deep reinforcement learning, P2P power trading, Nanogrid, Power management, Renewable energy I.INTRODUCTION The widespread use of distributed energy resources (DERs) has significantly altered how energy is generated, transported, and used along the energy pipeline. A more decentralized and open electrical network is made possible with increased number of prosumers--individuals who produce and consume energy simultaneously. As a result of this context, new opportunities and difficulties for power systems have emerged. Peer-to-peer (P2P) power trading is a novel paradigm of distribution systems with a utility grid (UT) related to carbon neutrality and renewable energy generation [1]. P2P power trading has become a viable alternative for prosumers looking to actively participate in the energy market. Moreover, P2P trading gives end users more flexibility, increases possibilities to use clean energy, and aids in the transition to a low-carbon energy system. In addition to this, the other participants in the power market can also profit by lowering the peak electricity demand, lowering operating and maintenance expenses, and enhancing the dependability of the electrical system.

Despite great recent advances achieved by deep neural networks (DNNs), they are often vulnerable to adversarial attacks. Intensive research efforts have been made to improve the robustness of DNNs; however, most empirical defenses can be adaptively attacked again, and the theoretically certified robustness is limited, especially on large-scale datasets. One potential root cause of such vulnerabilities for DNNs is that although they have demonstrated powerful expressiveness, they lack the reasoning ability to make robust and reliable predictions. In this paper, we aim to integrate domain knowledge to enable robust learning with the reasoning paradigm. In particular, we propose a certifiably robust learning with reasoning pipeline (CARE), which consists of a learning component and a reasoning component. Concretely, we use a set of standard DNNs to serve as the learning component to make semantic predictions, and we leverage the probabilistic graphical models, such as Markov logic networks (MLN), to serve as the reasoning component to enable knowledge/logic reasoning. However, it is known that the exact inference of MLN (reasoning) is #P-complete, which limits the scalability of the pipeline. To this end, we propose to approximate the MLN inference via variational inference based on an efficient expectation maximization algorithm. In particular, we leverage graph convolutional networks (GCNs) to encode the posterior distribution during variational inference and update the parameters of GCNs (E-step) and the weights of knowledge rules in MLN (M-step) iteratively. We conduct extensive experiments on different datasets and show that CARE achieves significantly higher certified robustness compared with the state-of-the-art baselines. We additionally conducted different ablation studies to demonstrate the empirical robustness of CARE and the effectiveness of different knowledge integration.

We provide a unifying approximate dynamic programming framework that applies to a broad variety of problems involving sequential estimation. We consider first the construction of surrogate cost functions for the purposes of optimization, and we focus on the special case of Bayesian optimization, using the rollout algorithm and some of its variations. We then discuss the more general case of sequential estimation of a random vector using optimal measurement selection, and its application to problems of stochastic and adaptive control. We distinguish between adaptive control of deterministic and stochastic systems: the former are better suited for the use of rollout, while the latter are well suited for the use of rollout with certainty equivalence approximations. As an example of the deterministic case, we discuss sequential decoding problems, and a rollout algorithm for the approximate solution of the Wordle and Mastermind puzzles, recently developed in the paper [BBB22].

Active tracking of space noncooperative object that merely relies on vision camera is greatly significant for autonomous rendezvous and debris removal. Considering its Partial Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) property, this paper proposes a novel tracker based on deep recurrent reinforcement learning, named as RAMAVT which drives the chasing spacecraft to follow arbitrary space noncooperative object with high-frequency and near-optimal velocity control commands. To further improve the active tracking performance, we introduce Multi-Head Attention (MHA) module and Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) layer into RAMAVT, which remarkably improve the representative ability of neural network with almost no extra computational cost. Extensive experiments and ablation study implemented on SNCOAT benchmark show the effectiveness and robustness of our method compared with other state-of-the-art algorithm. The source codes are available on https://github.com/Dongzhou-1996/RAMAVT.