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Solving the Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) problem optimally is known to be NP-Hard for both make-span and total arrival time minimization. While many algorithms have been developed to solve MAPF problems, there is no dominating optimal MAPF algorithm that works well in all types of problems and no standard guidelines for when to use which algorithm. In this work, we develop the deep convolutional network MAPFAST (Multi-Agent Path Finding Algorithm SelecTor), which takes a MAPF problem instance and attempts to select the fastest algorithm to use from a portfolio of algorithms. We improve the performance of our model by including single-agent shortest paths in the instance embedding given to our model and by utilizing supplemental loss functions in addition to a classification loss. We evaluate our model on a large and diverse dataset of MAPF instances, showing that it outperforms all individual algorithms in its portfolio as well as the state-of-the-art optimal MAPF algorithm selector. We also provide an analysis of algorithm behavior in our dataset to gain a deeper understanding of optimal MAPF algorithms&#39; strengths and weaknesses to help other researchers leverage different heuristics in algorithm designs.

AAMAS 2021

MAPFAST: A Deep Algorithm Selector for Multi Agent Path Finding using Shortest Path Embeddings

AAMAS is the largest and most influential conference in the area of agents and multiagent systems, bringing together researchers and practitioners in all areas of agent technology and providing and internationally renowned high-profile forum for publishing and finding out about the latest developments in the field. AAMAS is the flagship conference of the non-profit International Foundation for Autonomous Agents and Multiagent Systems (IFAAMAS).  

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Solving the Multi-Agent Path Finding (MAPF) problem optimally is known to be NP-Hard for both make-span and total arrival time minimization. While many algorithms have been developed to solve MAPF problems, there is no dominating optimal MAPF algorithm that works well in all types of problems and no standard guidelines for when to use which algorithm. In this work, we develop the deep convolutional network MAPFAST (Multi-Agent Path Finding Algorithm SelecTor), which takes a MAPF problem instance and attempts to select the fastest algorithm to use from a portfolio of algorithms. We improve the performance of our model by including single-agent shortest paths in the instance embedding given to our model and by utilizing supplemental loss functions in addition to a classification loss. We evaluate our model on a large and diverse dataset of MAPF instances, showing that it outperforms all individual algorithms in its portfolio as well as the state-of-the-art optimal MAPF algorithm selector. We also provide an analysis of algorithm behavior in our dataset to gain a deeper understanding of optimal MAPF algorithms' strengths and weaknesses to help other researchers leverage different heuristics in algorithm designs.

technical paper

In this work, we investigate the impact of two approaches to agent desynchronization on task allocation in decentralized swarms: variation in response threshold and variation in response duration. We focus on swarms consisting of simple threshold-based stimulus response agents and examine how they respond to dynamically changing task demands in a logistics re-supply problem.

Comparison of Desynchronization Methods for a Decentralized Swarm on a Logistical Resupply Problem

Watermarking has become a popular and attractive technique to protect the Intellectual Property (IP) of Deep Learning (DL) models. However, very few studies explore the possibility of watermarking Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) models. Common approaches in the DL context embed backdoors into the protected model and use special samples to verify the model ownership. These solutions are easy to be detected, and can potentially affect the performance and behaviors of the target model. Such limitations make existing solutions less applicable to safety- and security-critical tasks and scenarios, where DRL has been widely used.

Temporal Watermarks for Deep Reinforcement Learning Models

Although reinforcement learning has been successfully applied in many domains in recent years, we still lack agents that can systematically generalize. While relational inductive biases that fit a task can improve generalization of RL agents, these biases are commonly hard-coded directly in the agent's neural architecture. In this work, we show that we can incorporate relational inductive biases, encoded in the form of relational graphs, into agents. Based on this insight, we propose Grid-to-Graph (GTG), a mapping from grid structures to relational graphs that carry useful spatial relational inductive biases when processed through a Relational Graph Convolution Network (R-GCN). We show that, with GTG, R-GCNs generalize better both in terms of in-distribution and out-of-distribution compared to baselines based on Convolutional Neural Networks and Neural Logic Machines on challenging procedurally generated environments and MinAtar. Furthermore, we show that GTG produces agents that can jointly reason over observations and environment dynamics encoded in knowledge bases.

Grid-to-Graph: Flexible Spatial Relational Inductive Biases for Reinforcement Learning

In this paper, we study the problem of deceptive reinforcement learning to preserve the privacy of a reward function. Reinforcement learning is the problem of finding a behaviour policy based on rewards received from exploratory behaviour. A key ingredient in reinforcement learning is a 
 which determines how much reward (negative or positive) is given and when. However, in some situations, we may want to keep a reward function private; that is, to make it difficult for an observer to determine the reward function used. We define the problem of privacy-preserving reinforcement learning, and present two models for solving it. These models are based on 
 -- a form of deception that 'hides the truth'. We evaluate our models both computationally and via human behavioural experiments. Results show that the resulting policies are indeed deceptive, and that participants can determine the true reward function less reliably than that of an honest agent.

Deceptive Reinforcement Learning for Privacy-Preserving Planning

Causal structure discovery from observational data is fundamental to the causal understanding of autonomous systems such as medical decision support systems, advertising campaigns and self-driving cars. This is essential to solve well-known causal decision making and prediction problems associated with those real-world applications. Recently, recursive causal discovery algorithms have gained particular attention among the research community due to their ability to provide good results by using Conditional Independent (CI) tests in smaller sub-problems. However, each of such algorithms needs a refinement function to remove undesired causal relations of the discovered graphs. Notably, with the increase of the problem size, the computation cost (i.e., the number of CI-tests) of the refinement function makes an algorithm expensive to deploy in practice. This paper proposes a generic causal structure refinement strategy that can locate the undesired relations with a small number of CI-tests, thus speeding up the algorithm for large and complex problems. We theoretically prove the correctness of our algorithm. We then empirically evaluate its performance against the state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of solution quality and completion time in synthetic and real datasets.

Accelerating Recursive Partition-Based Causal Structure Learning

We present an extension of the organizational model and infrastructure adopted in JaCaMo, that explicitly encompasses the notion of exception. We propose an exception handling mechanism for organization management in multi-agent systems. This mechanism relies on abstractions that are seamlessly integrated with organizational concepts, such as responsibilities, goals and norms.

Distributing Responsibilities for Exception Handling in JaCaMo

Evolutionary Game Theory is an application of game theory to evolving populations of organisms. Of recent interest are EGT models situated on structured populations or spatial evolutionary games. Due to the complexity added by introducing a population structure, model analysis is usually performed through agent-based Monte-Carlo simulations. However, it can be difficult to obtain desired quantities of interest from these simulations due to stochastic effects. We define a framework for modeling spatial evolutionary games using Dynamic Bayesian Networks that capture the underlying stochastic process. The resulting Dynamic Bayesian Networks can be queried for quantities of interest by performing exact inference on the network. We then propose a method for producing approximations of the spatial evolutionary game through the truncation of the corresponding DBN, taking advantage of the high symmetry of the model. This method generalizes mean-field and pair approximations in the literature for spatial evolutionary games. Furthermore, we show empirical results demonstrating the capability of the method to obtain much better accuracy than pair approximation with respect to stochastic simulations.

Approximating Spatial Evolutionary Games using Bayesian Networks

Participatory Budgeting processes are usually designed to span several years, with referenda for new budget allocations taking place regularly. This paper presents the first formalization of long-term PB. We introduce a theory of fairness for this setting, investigate under which conditions our fairness criteria can be satisfied, and analyze the computational complexity of verifying them.

Fairness in Long-Term Participatory Budgeting

In recent work, Gourvès, Lesca, and Wilczynski propose a variant of the classic housing markets model where the matching between agents and objects evolves through Pareto-improving swaps between pairs of adjacent agents in a social network. To explore the swap dynamics of their model, they pose several basic questions concerning the set of reachable matchings. In their work and other follow-up works, these questions have been studied for various classes of graphs: stars, paths, generalized stars (i.e., trees where at most one vertex has degree greater than two), trees, and cliques. For generalized stars and trees, it remains open whether a Pareto-efficient reachable matching can be found in polynomial time.

Object Allocation Over a Network of Objects: Mobile Agents with Strict Preferences

Most frameworks for computing solution concepts in hedonic games are theoretical in nature, and require complete knowledge of all agent preferences, an impractical assumption in real-world settings. This paper presents the first application of strategic hedonic game models on real-world data. We show that PAC stable solutions can reflect Members of Knesset' political positions and reveal politicians who are known to deviate from party lines. Moreover, these models compare favorably to machine learning models.

MAPFAST: A Deep Algorithm Selector for Multi Agent Path Finding using Shortest Path Embeddings

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MAPFAST: A Deep Algorithm Selector for Multi Agent Path Finding using Shortest Path Embeddings

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Next from AAMAS 2021

Comparison of Desynchronization Methods for a Decentralized Swarm on a Logistical Resupply Problem

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Multi-Agent Graph-Attention Communication and Teaming

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PRESENTATIONS

CONFERENCES

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RESOURCES

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