Reinforcement Learning
DRDT3: Diffusion-Refined Decision Test-Time Training Model
Huang, Xingshuai, Wu, Di, Boulet, Benoit
Decision Transformer (DT), a trajectory modeling method, has shown competitive performance compared to traditional offline reinforcement learning (RL) approaches on various classic control tasks. However, it struggles to learn optimal policies from suboptimal, reward-labeled trajectories. In this study, we explore the use of conditional generative modeling to facilitate trajectory stitching given its high-quality data generation ability. Additionally, recent advancements in Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) have shown their linear complexity and competitive sequence modeling performance over Transformers. We leverage the Test-Time Training (TTT) layer, an RNN that updates hidden states during testing, to model trajectories in the form of DT. We introduce a unified framework, called Diffusion-Refined Decision TTT (DRDT3), to achieve performance beyond DT models. Specifically, we propose the Decision TTT (DT3) module, which harnesses the sequence modeling strengths of both self-attention and the TTT layer to capture recent contextual information and make coarse action predictions. We further integrate DT3 with the diffusion model using a unified optimization objective. With experiments on multiple tasks of Gym and AntMaze in the D4RL benchmark, our DT3 model without diffusion refinement demonstrates improved performance over standard DT, while DRDT3 further achieves superior results compared to state-of-the-art conventional offline RL and DT-based methods.
Average Reward Reinforcement Learning for Wireless Radio Resource Management
Yang, Kun, Yang, Jing, Shen, Cong
In this paper, we address a crucial but often overlooked issue in applying reinforcement learning (RL) to radio resource management (RRM) in wireless communications: the mismatch between the discounted reward RL formulation and the undiscounted goal of wireless network optimization. To the best of our knowledge, we are the first to systematically investigate this discrepancy, starting with a discussion of the problem formulation followed by simulations that quantify the extent of the gap. To bridge this gap, we introduce the use of average reward RL, a method that aligns more closely with the long-term objectives of RRM. We propose a new method called the Average Reward Off policy Soft Actor Critic (ARO SAC) is an adaptation of the well known Soft Actor Critic algorithm in the average reward framework. This new method achieves significant performance improvement our simulation results demonstrate a 15% gain in the system performance over the traditional discounted reward RL approach, underscoring the potential of average reward RL in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of wireless network optimization.
Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning for Optimal Agent Grouping in Cooperative Systems
This paper presents a hierarchical reinforcement learning (RL) approach to address the agent grouping or pairing problem in cooperative multi-agent systems. The goal is to simultaneously learn the optimal grouping and agent policy. By employing a hierarchical RL framework, we distinguish between high-level decisions of grouping and low-level agents' actions. Our approach utilizes the CTDE (Centralized Training with Decentralized Execution) paradigm, ensuring efficient learning and scalable execution. We incorporate permutation-invariant neural networks to handle the homogeneity and cooperation among agents, enabling effective coordination. The option-critic algorithm is adapted to manage the hierarchical decision-making process, allowing for dynamic and optimal policy adjustments.
Reinforcement Learning for Enhancing Sensing Estimation in Bistatic ISAC Systems with UAV Swarms
Atsu, Obed Morrison, Naoumi, Salmane, Bomfin, Roberto, Chafii, Marwa
This paper introduces a novel Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) framework to enhance integrated sensing and communication (ISAC) networks using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) swarms as sensing radars. By framing the positioning and trajectory optimization of UAVs as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process, we develop a MARL approach that leverages centralized training with decentralized execution to maximize the overall sensing performance. Specifically, we implement a decentralized cooperative MARL strategy to enable UAVs to develop effective communication protocols, therefore enhancing their environmental awareness and operational efficiency. Additionally, we augment the MARL solution with a transmission power adaptation technique to mitigate interference between the communicating drones and optimize the communication protocol efficiency. Moreover, a transmission power adaptation technique is incorporated to mitigate interference and optimize the learned communication protocol efficiency. Despite the increased complexity, our solution demonstrates robust performance and adaptability across various scenarios, providing a scalable and cost-effective enhancement for future ISAC networks.
All AI Models are Wrong, but Some are Optimal
Anand, Akhil S, Sawant, Shambhuraj, Reinhardt, Dirk, Gros, Sebastien
AI models that predict the future behavior of a system (a.k.a. predictive AI models) are central to intelligent decision-making. However, decision-making using predictive AI models often results in suboptimal performance. This is primarily because AI models are typically constructed to best fit the data, and hence to predict the most likely future rather than to enable high-performance decision-making. The hope that such prediction enables high-performance decisions is neither guaranteed in theory nor established in practice. In fact, there is increasing empirical evidence that predictive models must be tailored to decision-making objectives for performance. In this paper, we establish formal (necessary and sufficient) conditions that a predictive model (AI-based or not) must satisfy for a decision-making policy established using that model to be optimal. We then discuss their implications for building predictive AI models for sequential decision-making.
Task Delay and Energy Consumption Minimization for Low-altitude MEC via Evolutionary Multi-objective Deep Reinforcement Learning
Sun, Geng, Ma, Weilong, Li, Jiahui, Sun, Zemin, Wang, Jiacheng, Niyato, Dusit, Mao, Shiwen
The low-altitude economy (LAE), driven by unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other aircraft, has revolutionized fields such as transportation, agriculture, and environmental monitoring. In the upcoming six-generation (6G) era, UAV-assisted mobile edge computing (MEC) is particularly crucial in challenging environments such as mountainous or disaster-stricken areas. The computation task offloading problem is one of the key issues in UAV-assisted MEC, primarily addressing the trade-off between minimizing the task delay and the energy consumption of the UAV. In this paper, we consider a UAV-assisted MEC system where the UAV carries the edge servers to facilitate task offloading for ground devices (GDs), and formulate a calculation delay and energy consumption multi-objective optimization problem (CDECMOP) to simultaneously improve the performance and reduce the cost of the system. Then, by modeling the formulated problem as a multi-objective Markov decision process (MOMDP), we propose a multi-objective deep reinforcement learning (DRL) algorithm within an evolutionary framework to dynamically adjust the weights and obtain non-dominated policies. Moreover, to ensure stable convergence and improve performance, we incorporate a target distribution learning (TDL) algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can better balance multiple optimization objectives and obtain superior non-dominated solutions compared to other methods.
Investigating the Impact of Observation Space Design Choices On Training Reinforcement Learning Solutions for Spacecraft Problems
Hamilton, Nathaniel, Dunlap, Kyle, Hobbs, Kerianne L
AAS 25-147 INVESTIGATING THE IMP ACT OF OBSERVATION SP ACE DESIGN CHOICES ON TRAINING REINFORCEMENT LEARNING SOLUTIONS FOR SP ACECRAFT PROBLEMS Nathaniel Hamilton *, Kyle Dunlap, and Kerianne L. Hobbs Recent research using Reinforcement Learning (RL) to learn autonomous control for spacecraft operations has shown great success. However, a recent study showed their performance could be improved by changing the action space, i.e. control outputs, used in the learning environment. This has opened the door for finding more improvements through further changes to the environment. The work in this paper focuses on how changes to the environment's observation space can impact the training and performance of RL agents learning the spacecraft inspection task. The studies are split into two groups. The first looks at the impact of sensors that were designed to help agents learn the task. The second looks at the impact of reference frames, reorienting the agent to see the world from a different perspective. The results show the sensors are not necessary, but most of them help agents learn more optimal behavior, and that the reference frame does not have a large impact, but is best kept consistent. INTRODUCTION Autonomous spacecraft operation is a critical capability for managing the growing number of space and increasingly complex operations.
Real-Time Integrated Dispatching and Idle Fleet Steering with Deep Reinforcement Learning for A Meal Delivery Platform
Cheng, Jingyi, Azadeh, Shadi Sharif
To achieve high service quality and profitability, meal delivery platforms like Uber Eats and Grubhub must strategically operate their fleets to ensure timely deliveries for current orders while mitigating the consequential impacts of suboptimal decisions that leads to courier understaffing in the future. This study set out to solve the real-time order dispatching and idle courier steering problems for a meal delivery platform by proposing a reinforcement learning (RL)-based strategic dual-control framework. To address the inherent sequential nature of these problems, we model both order dispatching and courier steering as Markov Decision Processes. Trained via a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework, we obtain strategic policies by leveraging the explicitly predicted demands as part of the inputs. In our dual-control framework, the dispatching and steering policies are iteratively trained in an integrated manner. These forward-looking policies can be executed in real-time and provide decisions while jointly considering the impacts on local and network levels. To enhance dispatching fairness, we propose convolutional deep Q networks to construct fair courier embeddings. To simultaneously rebalance the supply and demand within the service network, we propose to utilize mean-field approximated supply-demand knowledge to reallocate idle couriers at the local level. Utilizing the policies generated by the RL-based strategic dual-control framework, we find the delivery efficiency and fairness of workload distribution among couriers have been improved, and under-supplied conditions have been alleviated within the service network. Our study sheds light on designing an RL-based framework to enable forward-looking real-time operations for meal delivery platforms and other on-demand services.
Towards Developing Socially Compliant Automated Vehicles: State of the Art, Experts Expectations, and A Conceptual Framework
Dong, Yongqi, van Arem, Bart, Farah, Haneen
Automated Vehicles (AVs) hold promise for revolutionizing transportation by improving road safety, traffic efficiency, and overall mobility. Despite the steady advancement in high-level AVs in recent years, the transition to full automation entails a period of mixed traffic, where AVs of varying automation levels coexist with human-driven vehicles (HDVs). Making AVs socially compliant and understood by human drivers is expected to improve the safety and efficiency of mixed traffic. Thus, ensuring AVs compatibility with HDVs and social acceptance is crucial for their successful and seamless integration into mixed traffic. However, research in this critical area of developing Socially Compliant AVs (SCAVs) remains sparse. This study carries out the first comprehensive scoping review to assess the current state of the art in developing SCAVs, identifying key concepts, methodological approaches, and research gaps. An expert interview was also conducted to identify critical research gaps and expectations towards SCAVs. Based on the scoping review and expert interview input, a conceptual framework is proposed for the development of SCAVs. The conceptual framework is evaluated using an online survey targeting researchers, technicians, policymakers, and other relevant professionals worldwide. The survey results provide valuable validation and insights, affirming the significance of the proposed conceptual framework in tackling the challenges of integrating AVs into mixed-traffic environments. Additionally, future research perspectives and suggestions are discussed, contributing to the research and development agenda of SCAVs.
Learning Affordances from Interactive Exploration using an Object-level Map
Wulkop, Paula, Özdemir, Halil Umut, Hüfner, Antonia, Chung, Jen Jen, Siegwart, Roland, Ott, Lionel
Many robotic tasks in real-world environments require physical interactions with an object such as pick up or push. For successful interactions, the robot needs to know the object's affordances, which are defined as the potential actions the robot can perform with the object. In order to learn a robot-specific affordance predictor, we propose an interactive exploration pipeline which allows the robot to collect interaction experiences while exploring an unknown environment. We integrate an object-level map in the exploration pipeline such that the robot can identify different object instances and track objects across diverse viewpoints. This results in denser and more accurate affordance annotations compared to state-of-the-art methods, which do not incorporate a map. We show that our affordance exploration approach makes exploration more efficient and results in more accurate affordance prediction models compared to baseline methods.