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We consider challenging dynamic programming models where the associated Bellman equation, and the value and policy iteration algorithms commonly exhibit complex and even pathological behavior. Our analysis is based on the new notion of…
In this paper we propose a novel algorithm, factored value iteration (FVI), for the approximate solution of factored Markov decision processes (fMDPs). The traditional approximate value iteration algorithm is modified in two ways. For one,…
Meta-heuristic algorithms are widely used to tackle complex optimization problems, including nonlinear, multimodal, and high-dimensional tasks. However, many existing methods suffer from premature convergence, limited exploration, and…
While there is an extensive body of research on the analysis of Value Iteration (VI) for discounted cumulative-reward MDPs, prior work on analyzing VI for (undiscounted) average-reward MDPs has been limited, and most prior results focus on…
Approximate dynamic programming algorithms, such as approximate value iteration, have been successfully applied to many complex reinforcement learning tasks, and a better approximate dynamic programming algorithm is expected to further…
Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs) are fundamental to decision-making under uncertainty. We introduce a novel scalable approach to accelerate upper bound estimation in Point-Based Value Iteration (PBVI) algorithms, the…
Stochastic planning can be reduced to probabilistic inference in large discrete graphical models, but hardness of inference requires approximation schemes to be used. In this paper we argue that such applications can be disentangled along…
This paper presents a new safety specification method that is robust against errors in the probability distribution of disturbances. Our proposed distributionally robust safe policy maximizes the probability of a system remaining in a…
This paper studies an accelerated fitted value iteration (FVI) algorithm to solve high-dimensional Markov decision processes (MDPs). FVI is an approximate dynamic programming algorithm that has desirable theoretical properties. However, it…
In this work, we propose a novel Bregman ADMM with nonlinear dual update to solve the Bethe variational problem (BVP), a key optimization formulation in graphical models and statistical physics. Our algorithm provides rigorous convergence…
We are concerned with optimization in a broad sense through the lens of solving variational inequalities (VIs) -- a class of problems that are so general that they cover as particular cases minimization of functions, saddle-point (minimax)…
Bayesian (deep) neural networks (BNN) are often more attractive than the vanilla point-estimate deep learning in various aspects including uncertainty quantification, robustness to noise, resistance to overfitting, and more. The variational…
Stochastic optimization algorithms update models with cheap per-iteration costs sequentially, which makes them amenable for large-scale data analysis. Such algorithms have been widely studied for structured sparse models where the sparsity…
In this work an iterative algorithm based on unsupervised learning is presented, specifically on a Restricted Boltzmann Machine (RBM) to solve a perfect matching problem on a bipartite weighted graph. Iteratively is calculated the weights…
Value iteration is a fundamental algorithm for solving Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). It computes the maximal $n$-step payoff by iterating $n$ times a recurrence equation which is naturally associated to the MDP. At the same time, value…
We propose an optimal algorithm for solving the longest path problem in undirected weighted graphs. By using graph partitioning and dynamic programming, we obtain an algorithm that is significantly faster than other state-of-the-art…
Distributed inference/estimation in Bayesian framework in the context of sensor networks has recently received much attention due to its broad applicability. The variational Bayesian (VB) algorithm is a technique for approximating…
Generalized variational inference (GVI) provides an optimization-theoretic framework for statistical estimation that encapsulates many traditional estimation procedures. The typical GVI problem is to compute a distribution of parameters…
Solving the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation is important in many domains including control, robotics and economics. Especially for continuous control, solving this differential equation and its extension the Hamilton-Jacobi-Isaacs…
In this paper, we propose a deterministic algorithm that approximates the optimal path cover on weighted undirected graphs. Based on the 1/2-Approximation Path Cover Algorithm by Moran et al., we add a procedure to remove the redundant…