English

Decentralized Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning with Networked Agents: Recent Advances

Machine Learning 2019-12-10 v1 Artificial Intelligence Multiagent Systems Systems and Control Systems and Control Optimization and Control Machine Learning

Abstract

Multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) has long been a significant and everlasting research topic in both machine learning and control. With the recent development of (single-agent) deep RL, there is a resurgence of interests in developing new MARL algorithms, especially those that are backed by theoretical analysis. In this paper, we review some recent advances a sub-area of this topic: decentralized MARL with networked agents. Specifically, multiple agents perform sequential decision-making in a common environment, without the coordination of any central controller. Instead, the agents are allowed to exchange information with their neighbors over a communication network. Such a setting finds broad applications in the control and operation of robots, unmanned vehicles, mobile sensor networks, and smart grid. This review is built upon several our research endeavors in this direction, together with some progresses made by other researchers along the line. We hope this review to inspire the devotion of more research efforts to this exciting yet challenging area.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1912.03821,
  title  = {Decentralized Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning with Networked Agents: Recent Advances},
  author = {Kaiqing Zhang and Zhuoran Yang and Tamer Başar},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1912.03821},
  year   = {2019}
}

Comments

This is a invited submission to a Special Issue of the Journal of Frontiers of Information Technology & Electronic Engineering (FITEE). Most of the contents are based on the Sec. 4 in our recent overview arXiv:1911.10635, with focus on the setting of decentralized MARL with networked agents

R2 v1 2026-06-23T12:39:33.526Z