Agents
CodeR: Issue Resolving with Multi-Agent and Task Graphs
Chen, Dong, Lin, Shaoxin, Zeng, Muhan, Zan, Daoguang, Wang, Jian-Gang, Cheshkov, Anton, Sun, Jun, Yu, Hao, Dong, Guoliang, Aliev, Artem, Wang, Jie, Cheng, Xiao, Liang, Guangtai, Ma, Yuchi, Bian, Pan, Xie, Tao, Wang, Qianxiang
The rapidly growing capability of Large Language Models (LLMs) is dramatically reshaping many industries [2, 3, 4]. The most recent release of GPT-4o [5] demonstrates a significant leap in multi-modal capabilities and artificial intelligence (AI)-human interaction, whilst maintaining the same level of text generation, reasoning, and code intelligence as GPT-4-Turbo [6]. LLMs can interact with humans and the world as humans do, it is considered a starting point for LLMs to take over tasks from humans or collaborate naturally with humans. Issue resolving is one of the software engineering tasks experimented with LLMs that is particularly relevant in practice. SWE-bench [1] collects 2,294 real-world issues from 12 popular Python libraries.
AndroidWorld: A Dynamic Benchmarking Environment for Autonomous Agents
Rawles, Christopher, Clinckemaillie, Sarah, Chang, Yifan, Waltz, Jonathan, Lau, Gabrielle, Fair, Marybeth, Li, Alice, Bishop, William, Li, Wei, Campbell-Ajala, Folawiyo, Toyama, Daniel, Berry, Robert, Tyamagundlu, Divya, Lillicrap, Timothy, Riva, Oriana
Autonomous agents that execute human tasks by controlling computers can enhance human productivity and application accessibility. However, progress in this field will be driven by realistic and reproducible benchmarks. We present AndroidWorld, a fully functional Android environment that provides reward signals for 116 programmatic tasks across 20 real-world Android apps. Unlike existing interactive environments, which provide a static test set, AndroidWorld dynamically constructs tasks that are parameterized and expressed in natural language in unlimited ways, thus enabling testing on a much larger and more realistic suite of tasks. Reward signals are derived from the computer's system state, making them durable across task variations and extensible across different apps. To demonstrate AndroidWorld's benefits and mode of operation, we introduce a new computer control agent, M3A. M3A can complete 30.6% of the AndroidWorld's tasks, leaving ample room for future work. Furthermore, we adapt a popular desktop web agent to work on Android, which we find to be less effective on mobile, suggesting future research is needed to achieve universal, cross-domain agents. Finally, we conduct a robustness analysis by testing M3A against a range of task variations on a representative subset of tasks, demonstrating that variations in task parameters can significantly alter a task's complexity and, consequently, an agent's performance, highlighting the importance of testing agents under diverse conditions. AndroidWorld and the experiments in this paper are available at https://github.com/google-research/android_world.
Adaptive Opponent Policy Detection in Multi-Agent MDPs: Real-Time Strategy Switch Identification Using Running Error Estimation
Mridul, Mohidul Haque, Khan, Mohammad Foysal, Rizvee, Redwan Ahmed, Khan, Md Mosaddek
In Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL), accurately perceiving opponents' strategies is essential for both cooperative and adversarial contexts, particularly within dynamic environments. While Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO) and related algorithms such as Actor-Critic with Experience Replay (ACER), Trust Region Policy Optimization (TRPO), and Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) perform well in single-agent, stationary environments, they suffer from high variance in MARL due to non-stationary and hidden policies of opponents, leading to diminished reward performance. Additionally, existing methods in MARL face significant challenges, including the need for inter-agent communication, reliance on explicit reward information, high computational demands, and sampling inefficiencies. These issues render them less effective in continuous environments where opponents may abruptly change their policies without prior notice. Against this background, we present OPS-DeMo (Online Policy Switch-Detection Model), an online algorithm that employs dynamic error decay to detect changes in opponents' policies. OPS-DeMo continuously updates its beliefs using an Assumed Opponent Policy (AOP) Bank and selects corresponding responses from a pre-trained Response Policy Bank. Each response policy is trained against consistently strategizing opponents, reducing training uncertainty and enabling the effective use of algorithms like PPO in multi-agent environments. Comparative assessments show that our approach outperforms PPO-trained models in dynamic scenarios like the Predator-Prey setting, providing greater robustness to sudden policy shifts and enabling more informed decision-making through precise opponent policy insights.
Demonstrating HumanTHOR: A Simulation Platform and Benchmark for Human-Robot Collaboration in a Shared Workspace
Wang, Chenxu, Du, Boyuan, Xu, Jiaxin, Li, Peiyan, Guo, Di, Liu, Huaping
Human-robot collaboration (HRC) in a shared workspace has become a common pattern in real-world robot applications and has garnered significant research interest. However, most existing studies for human-in-the-loop (HITL) collaboration with robots in a shared workspace evaluate in either simplified game environments or physical platforms, falling short in limited realistic significance or limited scalability. To support future studies, we build an embodied framework named HumanTHOR, which enables humans to act in the simulation environment through VR devices to support HITL collaborations in a shared workspace. To validate our system, we build a benchmark of everyday tasks and conduct a preliminary user study with two baseline algorithms. The results show that the robot can effectively assist humans in collaboration, demonstrating the significance of HRC. The comparison among different levels of baselines affirms that our system can adequately evaluate robot capabilities and serve as a benchmark for different robot algorithms. The experimental results also indicate that there is still much room in the area and our system can provide a preliminary foundation for future HRC research in a shared workspace. More information about the simulation environment, experiment videos, benchmark descriptions, and additional supplementary materials can be found on the website: https://sites.google.com/view/humanthor/.
Deep Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning for Utility-Based Infrastructural Maintenance Optimization
van Remmerden, Jesse, Kenter, Maurice, Roijers, Diederik M., Andriotis, Charalampos, Zhang, Yingqian, Bukhsh, Zaharah
In this paper, we introduce Multi-Objective Deep Centralized Multi-Agent Actor-Critic (MO- DCMAC), a multi-objective reinforcement learning (MORL) method for infrastructural maintenance optimization, an area traditionally dominated by single-objective reinforcement learning (RL) approaches. Previous single-objective RL methods combine multiple objectives, such as probability of collapse and cost, into a singular reward signal through reward-shaping. In contrast, MO-DCMAC can optimize a policy for multiple objectives directly, even when the utility function is non-linear. We evaluated MO-DCMAC using two utility functions, which use probability of collapse and cost as input. The first utility function is the Threshold utility, in which MO-DCMAC should minimize cost so that the probability of collapse is never above the threshold. The second is based on the Failure Mode, Effects, and Criticality Analysis (FMECA) methodology used by asset managers to asses maintenance plans. We evaluated MO-DCMAC, with both utility functions, in multiple maintenance environments, including ones based on a case study of the historical quay walls of Amsterdam. The performance of MO-DCMAC was compared against multiple rule-based policies based on heuristics currently used for constructing maintenance plans. Our results demonstrate that MO-DCMAC outperforms traditional rule-based policies across various environments and utility functions.
Risk Sensitivity in Markov Games and Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning: A Systematic Review
Ghaemi, Hafez, Jamshidi, Shirin, Mashreghi, Mohammad, Ahmadabadi, Majid Nili, Kebriaei, Hamed
Markov games (MGs) and multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) are studied to model decision making in multi-agent systems. Traditionally, the objective in MG and MARL has been risk-neutral, i.e., agents are assumed to optimize a performance metric such as expected return, without taking into account subjective or cognitive preferences of themselves or of other agents. However, ignoring such preferences leads to inaccurate models of decision making in many real-world scenarios in finance, operations research, and behavioral economics. Therefore, when these preferences are present, it is necessary to incorporate a suitable measure of risk into the optimization objective of agents, which opens the door to risk-sensitive MG and MARL. In this paper, we systemically review the literature on risk sensitivity in MG and MARL that has been growing in recent years alongside other areas of reinforcement learning and game theory. We define and mathematically describe different risk measures used in MG and MARL and individually for each measure, discuss articles that incorporate it. Finally, we identify recent trends in theoretical and applied works in the field and discuss possible directions of future research.
Boosting Robustness in Preference-Based Reinforcement Learning with Dynamic Sparsity
Muslimani, Calarina, Grooten, Bram, Mamillapalli, Deepak Ranganatha Sastry, Pechenizkiy, Mykola, Mocanu, Decebal Constantin, Taylor, Matthew E.
For autonomous agents to successfully integrate into human-centered environments, agents should be able to learn from and adapt to humans in their native settings. Preference-based reinforcement learning (PbRL) is a promising approach that learns reward functions from human preferences. This enables RL agents to adapt their behavior based on human desires. However, humans live in a world full of diverse information, most of which is not relevant to completing a particular task. It becomes essential that agents learn to focus on the subset of task-relevant environment features. Unfortunately, prior work has largely ignored this aspect; primarily focusing on improving PbRL algorithms in standard RL environments that are carefully constructed to contain only task-relevant features. This can result in algorithms that may not effectively transfer to a more noisy real-world setting. To that end, this work proposes R2N (Robust-to-Noise), the first PbRL algorithm that leverages principles of dynamic sparse training to learn robust reward models that can focus on task-relevant features. We study the effectiveness of R2N in the Extremely Noisy Environment setting, an RL problem setting where up to 95% of the state features are irrelevant distractions. In experiments with a simulated teacher, we demonstrate that R2N can adapt the sparse connectivity of its neural networks to focus on task-relevant features, enabling R2N to significantly outperform several state-of-the-art PbRL algorithms in multiple locomotion and control environments.
Realtime Dynamic Gaze Target Tracking and Depth-Level Estimation
Seraj, Esmaeil, Bhate, Harsh, Talamonti, Walter
Transparent Displays (TDs) are cutting-edge visual technologies that allow users to see digital content superimposed over physical environments with a variety of applications in dynamic Head-Up Displays (HUDs) in vehicles [1, 2, 3], augmented reality glasses [4, 5, 6], and smart windows in commercial buildings [7]. Their ability to blend digital information with the real world offers significant advancements in fields such as navigation, interactive advertising, robotics [8, 9, 10, 11], and immersive user interfaces and feedback [12, 13, 14, 15, 16]. Imagine a transparent display, such as a dynamic HUD in a vehicle, that not only shows essential metrics like speed, fuel levels, and engine status but also overlays navigational cues directly onto the road ahead, highlighting paths, directions, pedestrians, and other vehicles [2, 1, 17]. Beyond practical utilities, such dynamic HUDs could enhance the journey by identifying points of interest, e.g., service stations, or even serve as platforms for entertainment and work-related activities. However, realizing this vision introduces significant challenges, particularly in tracking the user's gaze across an ever-changing array of widgets and information layers projected onto the transparent display. Moreover, the accurate estimation of gaze depth levels is crucial, especially because of the display's transparency and the potential for the human gaze to interact with or pass through specific widgets, necessitating a system that can precisely discern the focus of a user's attention between virtual overlays and real-world objects to enhance both interactivity and safety [18]. The dynamic nature of this problem, coupled with the need for real-time processing, sets a complex problem space for effectively identifying and monitoring what the user is focusing on at any given moment.
VillagerAgent: A Graph-Based Multi-Agent Framework for Coordinating Complex Task Dependencies in Minecraft
Dong, Yubo, Zhu, Xukun, Pan, Zhengzhe, Zhu, Linchao, Yang, Yi
In this paper, we aim to evaluate multi-agent systems against complex dependencies, including spatial, causal, and temporal constraints. First, we construct a new benchmark, named VillagerBench, within the Minecraft environment.VillagerBench comprises diverse tasks crafted to test various aspects of multi-agent collaboration, from workload distribution to dynamic adaptation and synchronized task execution. Second, we introduce a Directed Acyclic Graph Multi-Agent Framework VillagerAgent to resolve complex inter-agent dependencies and enhance collaborative efficiency. This solution incorporates a task decomposer that creates a directed acyclic graph (DAG) for structured task management, an agent controller for task distribution, and a state manager for tracking environmental and agent data. Our empirical evaluation on VillagerBench demonstrates that VillagerAgent outperforms the existing AgentVerse model, reducing hallucinations and improving task decomposition efficacy. The results underscore VillagerAgent's potential in advancing multi-agent collaboration, offering a scalable and generalizable solution in dynamic environments. The source code is open-source on GitHub (https://github.com/cnsdqd-dyb/VillagerAgent).
SynthAI: A Multi Agent Generative AI Framework for Automated Modular HLS Design Generation
Sheikholeslam, Seyed Arash, Ivanov, Andre
In this paper, we introduce SynthAI, a new method for the automated creation of High-Level Synthesis (HLS) designs. SynthAI integrates ReAct agents, Chain-of-Thought (CoT) prompting, web search technologies, and the Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) framework within a structured decision graph. This innovative approach enables the systematic decomposition of complex hardware design tasks into multiple stages and smaller, manageable modules. As a result, SynthAI produces synthesizable designs that closely adhere to user-specified design objectives and functional requirements. We further validate the capabilities of SynthAI through several case studies, highlighting its proficiency in generating complex, multi-module logic designs from a single initial prompt. The SynthAI code is provided via the following repo: \url{https://github.com/sarashs/FPGA_AGI}