Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning for Optimal Agent Grouping in Cooperative Systems

Liyuan Hu

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arXiv · 2501.06554

Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning for Optimal Agent Grouping in Cooperative Systems

Liyuan Hu

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Abstract

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.

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Liyuan Hu. 2025-01-11. Hierarchical Reinforcement Learning for Optimal Agent Grouping in Cooperative Systems. https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.06554

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