Novel framework proves fast RL convergence in continuous spaces.
problem Analyzing stability in continuous state-action RL.
method Introduces a novel framework to analyze stability properties of RL.
result Highlights two key stability properties and demonstrates their satisfaction in RL.
We present an efficient algorithm for model-free episodic reinforcement learning on large (potentially continuous) state-action spaces. Our algorithm is based on a novel Q-learning policy with adaptive data-driven discretization. The central idea is to maintain a finer partition of the state-action space in regions w…
ZoomRL learns efficient strategies for large state-action spaces using a metric.
problem Handling large state-action spaces in reinforcement learning.
method ZoomRL leverages continuous bandits to adaptively discretize the joint space.
result Achieves worst-case regret of $ ilde{O}(H^{ rac{5}{2}} K^{ rac{d+1}{d+2}})$.
Kernel-UCBVI algorithm balances exploration and exploitation in metric state-action spaces.
problem Exploration-exploitation dilemma in finite-horizon reinforcement learning with metric state-action spaces.
method Kernel-UCBVI, leveraging smoothness and kernel estimators of rewards and transitions.
result First regret bound for kernel-based RL using smoothing kernels, O(H3K2d/(2d+1)). MO2 learns useful behaviours from past experience for new tasks.
problem Discovering useful behaviours from past experience and transferring them to new tasks.
method Model-Based Offline Options (MO2) framework supporting sample-efficient bottleneck option discovery over continuous state-action spaces.
result MO2 outperforms recent option learning methods on complex long-horizon continuous control tasks.
A new method estimates multi-dimensional value distributions using Hilbert space embeddings.
problem Estimating value distributions in complex, multi-dimensional reinforcement learning settings.
method Hilbert space mappings and kernel mean embeddings to estimate the kernel mean embedding of multi-dimensional value distributions.
result Uniform convergence guarantees and robust off-policy evaluation demonstrated in simulations.
Model-free Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms such as Q-learning [Watkins, Dayan 92] have been widely used in practice and can achieve human level performance in applications such as video games [Mnih et al. 15]. Recently, equipped with the idea of optimism in the face of uncertainty, Q-learning algorithms [Jin, Al…
Paper introduces SALE for better state-action learning in RL.
problem Challenges in representation learning for low-level states in RL.
method Introduces SALE, a novel approach for learning embeddings of state-action interactions.
result TD7 algorithm significantly outperforms existing continuous control algorithms.
Develops a new reinforcement learning framework for complex control problems.
problem Continuous-time extended mean field control with deterministic policies.
method Model-free sensitivity formula, deterministic policy gradient, local value and advantage-rate representations.
result Demonstrates efficiency, stability, and robustness in solving complex control problems.
Estimation of importance sampling weights for off-policy evaluation of contextual bandits often results in imbalance - a mismatch between the desired and the actual distribution of state-action pairs after weighting. In this work we present balanced off-policy evaluation (B-OPE), a generic method for estimating weights…
Real-world applications require RL algorithms to act safely. During learning process, it is likely that the agent executes sub-optimal actions that may lead to unsafe/poor states of the system. Exploration is particularly brittle in high-dimensional state/action space due to increased number of low-performing actions. …
New RL method handles large state-action spaces with complex models.
problem Complex models and large state-action spaces in reinforcement learning.
method π-KRVI, an optimistic modification of least-squares value iteration using kernel ridge regression.
result First order-optimal regret guarantees under general settings, improving over state of the art.
We seek to learn an effective policy for a Markov Decision Process (MDP) with continuous states via Q-Learning. Given a set of basis functions over state action pairs we search for a corresponding set of linear weights that minimizes the mean Bellman residual. Our algorithm uses a Kalman filter model to estimate those …
New RL method reduces sample complexity for large state-action spaces.
problem Handling large state-action spaces in RL with general Q-functions.
method Nonparametric Q-learning using kernel ridge regression.
result Sample complexity is order optimal with respect to ε and kernel complexity.
Paper tackles covariate shift in offline IL using less proficient behavior data.
problem Mitigating covariate shift in Imitation Learning with limited data coverage.
method Model-based IL from Offline Data (MILO) framework.
result MILO can combat covariate shift even with sub-optimal behavior policy data.
This work tackles model-based RL by optimizing state-action queries to learn policies with minimal data.
problem Expensive state transitions in practical RL problems limit the use of standard RL algorithms.
method Bayesian optimal experimental design to guide selection of state-action queries.
result Data-efficient RL approach that learns optimal policies with up to 1,000x less data.
We introduce a framework for model learning and planning in stochastic domains with continuous state and action spaces and non-Gaussian transition models. It is efficient because (1) local models are estimated only when the planner requires them; (2) the planner focuses on the most relevant states to the current planni…
Adaptive discretization improves model-based RL in large spaces.
problem Efficient model-based reinforcement learning in large state-action spaces.
method Optimistic one-step value iteration with adaptive discretization.
result Adaptive discretization leads to better performance and lower memory usage.
A new RL paradigm reduces state-action-value function approximation inefficiency.
problem Challenges in state-action-value function approximation for RL.
method State Action Separable Reinforcement Learning (sasRL) decouples action space from value function learning.
result sasRL achieves up to 75% better performance than state-of-the-art MDP-based RL algorithms.
RANDPOL uses randomized networks for efficient reinforcement learning in continuous state and action MDPs.
problem Efficient reinforcement learning in environments with continuous state and action spaces.
method RANDPOL uses randomized function approximation to represent policy and value functions, providing finite time guarantees and improved numerical performance.
result RANDPOL achieves better numerical performance and provides finite time guarantees compared to deep neural network based algorithms.
UA-LQE improves value function learning by selectively erasing uncertain entries in Q-matrix.
problem Improving value function learning in complex reinforcement learning tasks.
method Uncertainty-aware low-rank Q-matrix estimation (UA-LQE) algorithm.
result UA-LQE selectively erases uncertain entries in Q-matrix to improve value function approximation.
On April 13th, 2019, OpenAI Five became the first AI system to defeat the world champions at an esports game. The game of Dota 2 presents novel challenges for AI systems such as long time horizons, imperfect information, and complex, continuous state-action spaces, all challenges which will become increasingly central …
New method improves RL in continuous spaces with kernel smoothing.
problem Sample efficiency and structural assumptions in classical RL.
method Kernel smoothing model-based approach with Bernstein-style exploration bonus.
result Achieves improved regret bound in finite-horizon settings.
We consider off-policy policy evaluation when the trajectory data are generated by multiple behavior policies. Recent work has shown the key role played by the state or state-action stationary distribution corrections in the infinite horizon context for off-policy policy evaluation. We propose estimated mixture policy …
GWIL uses Gromov-Wasserstein distance to align expert and imitation agent states.
problem Cross-domain imitation learning challenges due to different system dimensions and stationary distributions.
method Gromov-Wasserstein Imitation Learning (GWIL) using Gromov-Wasserstein distance.
result GWIL effectively aligns expert and imitation agent states in various continuous control domains.
Algorithm learns diffusion processes with high-dimensional state spaces.
problem Stochastic control of unbounded diffusion processes with high-dimensional state spaces.
method Adaptive partitioning and learning algorithm that refines discretization based on estimation bias and statistical confidence.
result Established regret bounds that depend on problem parameters, extending to unbounded diffusion processes.
Proposes a value-based method for continuous control without an actor.
problem Computational infeasibility of evaluating Q-values in continuous action spaces.
method Structurally maximizable Q-functions, actor-free approach.
result Performance and sample efficiency comparable to actor-critic methods.
The paper proposes a principle for dynamically adjusting the granularity of reinforcement learning abstractions.
problem Lack of general principles for dynamically adjusting the granularity of reinforcement learning abstractions.
method The paper proposes a principle based on rate-distortion theory, formalized through a performance certificate decomposing value error into learning and abstraction error bounds.
result Soft state-action abstractions can achieve near-optimal performance under substantial lossy compression of state and action information.
HiDe learns hierarchical control for complex tasks by separating planning and control.
problem Solving long horizon control tasks with generalization to unseen scenarios.
method Functional decomposition of state-action spaces, RL-based planner, modular transfer of policy layers.
result Generalizes across unseen test environments and scales to longer horizons.
Data-efficient reinforcement learning (RL) in continuous state-action spaces using very high-dimensional observations remains a key challenge in developing fully autonomous systems. We consider a particularly important instance of this challenge, the pixels-to-torques problem, where an RL agent learns a closed-loop con…
Paper learns meaningful state and action representations from MDP trajectories.
problem Learning good state and action representations from MDP trajectories.
method Tensor decomposition, kernelization, importance sampling, low-Tucker-rank approximation.
result The learned state/action abstractions provide accurate approximations to latent block structures.
IDAC improves reinforcement learning efficiency by modeling implicit distributions.
problem Improving sample efficiency in reinforcement learning algorithms.
method IDAC uses two DGNs for a distributional critic and a semi-implicit actor to model implicit policy distributions.
result IDAC outperforms state-of-the-art algorithms on OpenAI Gym environments.
Policy gradient methods have demonstrated success in reinforcement learning tasks that have high-dimensional continuous state and action spaces. However, policy gradient methods are also notoriously sample inefficient. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the high variance in estimating the gradient of the task…
New method for natural policy gradients converges linearly.
problem Improving natural policy gradient methods for better convergence.
method Fisher-Rao gradient flow applied to state-action distributions.
result Linear convergence rate with geometry-dependent factor.
Data-efficient learning in continuous state-action spaces using very high-dimensional observations remains a key challenge in developing fully autonomous systems. In this paper, we consider one instance of this challenge, the pixels to torques problem, where an agent must learn a closed-loop control policy from pixel i…
We develop a normative framework for hierarchical model-based policy optimization based on applying second-order methods in the space of all possible state-action paths. The resulting natural path gradient performs policy updates in a manner which is sensitive to the long-range correlational structure of the induced st…
KeRNS tackles non-stationary reinforcement learning in metric spaces.
problem Non-stationary reinforcement learning in metric spaces.
method KeRNS uses time-dependent kernels to model non-stationary Markov Decision Processes (MDPs).
result KeRNS achieves a regret bound that scales with the covering dimension and total variation of the MDP.
Non-stationary reinforcement learning is challenging due to the complexity of updating value functions.
problem Challenges in non-stationary reinforcement learning, especially in updating value functions.
method Proved a worst-case complexity result for modifying reinforcement learning problems.
result Modifying reinforcement learning problems requires an amount of time almost as large as the number of states.
New RL approach uses future state and action visitation measures for better exploration.
problem Improving exploration in reinforcement learning.
method Intrinsic reward based on future state and action visitation measures, using contraction operators.
result Policies achieve good state-action space coverage and high performance.
This paper improves MADDPG's performance in discrete grid-world scenarios.
problem MADDPG struggles with discrete action spaces in grid-world tasks.
method Integrates alternative Gumbel-Softmax estimators into MADDPG.
result One alternative estimator significantly improves performance in grid-world tasks.
New method recovers diverse policies from expert data using state-action pair weighting.
problem Recovering diverse policies from expert trajectories.
method Pointwise mutual information weighted behavioral cloning.
result Effective in focusing on state-action pairs most representative of the style.
As sensor networks for health monitoring become more prevalent, so will the need to control their usage and consumption of energy. This paper presents a method which leverages the algorithm's performance and energy consumption. By utilising Reinforcement Learning (RL) techniques, we provide an adaptive framework, which…
Federated Q-learning achieves linear speedup with heterogeneity, improving sample complexity.
problem Collaborative learning in distributed RL settings with limited data sharing.
method Analyzes synchronous and asynchronous federated Q-learning, proposes importance averaging.
result Achieves linear speedup with heterogeneity, robust to local trajectory heterogeneity.
New framework for RL transfer learning with state-action mismatch.
problem High sample complexity in RL from scratch.
method Embeddings to transfer knowledge between MDPs with different state- and action-spaces.
result Successful transfer learning in scenarios with state- and action-space mismatches.
Develops a dynamic mean field theory for reinforcement learning.
problem Finite state and action Bayesian reinforcement learning in large state spaces.
method Analogies with statistical physics, interpreting probabilities as couplings and values as spins, solving mean field equations.
result State-action values are statistically independent in the asymptotic state space limit, with exact or approximate equations for computation.
Reduces policy space complexity for reinforcement learning.
problem Efficiency in exploring vast policy spaces in reinforcement learning.
method Uses Rényi divergence and l1 norm to determine sample size for accurate policy approximation. result Established error bounds for sample size requirements in model-based and model-free settings.
GUM tackles MARL by avoiding overestimation through state-marginal restriction.
problem Overestimation of values in large joint state-action spaces.
method Greedy UnMixing through state-marginal restriction and unmixing.
result Superior performance compared to existing Q-learning and general MARL algorithms.
New method improves deep policy gradient algorithms by learning relative state values.
problem High sample complexity and instability in policy gradient methods.
method Uses a new state-value function approximation based on residual variance.
result Empirical improvement across diverse continuous control tasks and algorithms.