arXiv subjects

Erin Zaroukian

Publications and source records attributed to Erin Zaroukian.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2024

LANCAR: Leveraging Language for Context-Aware Robot Locomotion in Unstructured Environments

Navigating robots through unstructured terrains is challenging, primarily due to the dynamic environmental changes. While humans adeptly navigate such terrains by using context from their observations, creating a similar context-aware navigation system for robots is difficult. The essence of the issue lies in the acquisition and interpretation of context information, a task complicated by the inherent ambiguity of human language. In this work, we introduce LANCAR, which addresses this issue by combining a context translator with reinforcement learning (RL) agents for context-aware locomotion. LANCAR allows robots to comprehend context information through Large Language Models (LLMs) sourced from human observers and convert this information into actionable context embeddings. These embeddings, combined with the robot's sensor data, provide a complete input for the RL agent's policy network. We provide an extensive evaluation of LANCAR under different levels of context ambiguity and compare with alternative methods. The experimental results showcase the superior generalizability and adaptability across different terrains. Notably, LANCAR shows at least a 7.4% increase in episodic reward over the best alternatives, highlighting its potential to enhance robotic navigation in unstructured environments. More details and experiment videos could be found in http://raaslab.org/projects/LLM_Context_Estimation/

cs.RO↗

arXiv2022

Emergent Behaviors in Multi-Agent Target Acquisition

Only limited studies and superficial evaluations are available on agents' behaviors and roles within a Multi-Agent System (MAS). We simulate a MAS using Reinforcement Learning (RL) in a pursuit-evasion (a.k.a predator-prey pursuit) game, which shares task goals with target acquisition, and we create different adversarial scenarios by replacing RL-trained pursuers' policies with two distinct (non-RL) analytical strategies. Using heatmaps of agents' positions (state-space variable) over time, we are able to categorize an RL-trained evader's behaviors. The novelty of our approach entails the creation of an influential feature set that reveals underlying data regularities, which allow us to classify an agent's behavior. This classification may aid in catching the (enemy) targets by enabling us to identify and predict their behaviors, and when extended to pursuers, this approach towards identifying teammates' behavior may allow agents to coordinate more effectively.

cs.AI↗

arXiv2021

Survey of Recent Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning Algorithms Utilizing Centralized Training

Much work has been dedicated to the exploration of Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL) paradigms implementing a centralized learning with decentralized execution (CLDE) approach to achieve human-like collaboration in cooperative tasks. Here, we discuss variations of centralized training and describe a recent survey of algorithmic approaches. The goal is to explore how different implementations of information sharing mechanism in centralized learning may give rise to distinct group coordinated behaviors in multi-agent systems performing cooperative tasks.

cs.MA↗

arXiv2018

Measuring collaborative emergent behavior in multi-agent reinforcement learning

Multi-agent reinforcement learning (RL) has important implications for the future of human-agent teaming. We show that improved performance with multi-agent RL is not a guarantee of the collaborative behavior thought to be important for solving multi-agent tasks. To address this, we present a novel approach for quantitatively assessing collaboration in continuous spatial tasks with multi-agent RL. Such a metric is useful for measuring collaboration between computational agents and may serve as a training signal for collaboration in future RL paradigms involving humans.

cs.MA↗

arXiv2018

Adapting the Predator-Prey Game Theoretic Environment to Army Tactical Edge Scenarios with Computational Multiagent Systems

The historical origins of the game theoretic predator-prey pursuit problem can be traced back to Benda, et al., 1985 [1]. Their work adapted the predator-prey ecology problem into a pursuit environment which focused on the dynamics of cooperative behavior between predator agents. Modifications to the predator-prey ecology problem [2] have been implemented to understand how variations to predator [3] and prey [3-5] attributes, including communication [6], can modify dynamic interactions between entities that emerge within that environment [7-9]. Furthermore, the predator-prey pursuit environment has become a testbed for simulation experiments with computational multiagent systems [10-12]. This article extends the theoretical contributions of previous work by providing 1) additional variations to predator and prey attributes for simulated multiagent systems in the pursuit problem, and 2) military-relevant predator-prey environments simulating highly dynamic, tactical edge scenarios that Soldiers might encounter on future battlefields. Through this exploration of simulated tactical edge scenarios with computational multiagent systems, Soldiers will have a greater chance to achieve overmatch on the battlefields of tomorrow.

cs.MA↗