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We consider a constrained Markov Decision Problem (CMDP) where the goal of an agent is to maximize the expected discounted sum of rewards over an infinite horizon while ensuring that the expected discounted sum of costs exceeds a certain…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2024-11-01 Washim Uddin Mondal , Vaneet Aggarwal

This paper build on our recent work where we presented a dual stochastic optimal control formulation of the nonlinear filtering problem [1]. The constraint for the dual problem is a backward stochastic differential equations (BSDE). The…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2021-11-02 Jin Won Kim , Prashant G. Mehta

We consider a class of optimization problems over stochastic variables where the algorithm can learn information about the value of any variable through a series of costly steps; we model this information acquisition process as a Markov…

Data Structures and Algorithms · Computer Science 2025-07-25 Shuchi Chawla , Dimitris Christou , Amit Harlev , Ziv Scully

We investigate the problem of best-policy identification in discounted Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) when the learner has access to a generative model. The objective is to devise a learning algorithm returning the best policy as early as…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2021-05-11 Aymen Al Marjani , Alexandre Proutiere

We consider the reinforcement learning problem for the constrained Markov decision process (CMDP), which plays a central role in satisfying safety or resource constraints in sequential learning and decision-making. In this problem, we are…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-11-19 Jiashuo Jiang , Yinyu Ye

In contrast to the advances in characterizing the sample complexity for solving Markov decision processes (MDPs), the optimal statistical complexity for solving constrained MDPs (CMDPs) remains unknown. We resolve this question by providing…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2022-11-22 Sharan Vaswani , Lin F. Yang , Csaba Szepesvári

Many sequential decision problems involve optimizing one objective function while imposing constraints on other objectives. Constrained Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (C-POMDP) model this case with transition uncertainty and…

Markov decision processes (MDPs) and simple stochastic games (SSGs) provide a rich mathematical framework to study many important problems related to probabilistic systems. MDPs and SSGs with finite-horizon objectives, where the goal is to…

Computer Science and Game Theory · Computer Science 2012-09-18 Krishnendu Chatterjee , Rasmus Ibsen-Jensen

Markov decision processes (MDPs) with rewards are a widespread and well-studied model for systems that make both probabilistic and nondeterministic choices. A fundamental result about MDPs is that their minimal and maximal expected rewards…

Logic in Computer Science · Computer Science 2024-11-26 Kevin Batz , Benjamin Lucien Kaminski , Christoph Matheja , Tobias Winkler

In this paper, we present a novel maximum entropy formulation of the Differential Dynamic Programming algorithm and derive two variants using unimodal and multimodal value functions parameterizations. By combining the maximum entropy…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2022-03-01 Oswin So , Ziyi Wang , Evangelos A. Theodorou

Autonomous agents are limited in their ability to observe the world state. Partially observable Markov decision processes (POMDPs) formally model the problem of planning under world state uncertainty, but POMDPs with continuous actions and…

Robotics · Computer Science 2020-07-08 Dicong Qiu , Yibiao Zhao , Chris L. Baker

This paper studies stochastic optimization problems and associated Bellman equations in formats that allow for reduced dimensionality of the cost-to-go functions. In particular, we study stochastic control problems in the…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2025-05-20 Teemu Pennanen , Ari-Pekka Perkkiö

We study online learning in constrained Markov decision processes (CMDPs) with adversarial losses and stochastic hard constraints, under bandit feedback. We consider three scenarios. In the first one, we address general CMDPs, where we…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2025-02-10 Francesco Emanuele Stradi , Matteo Castiglioni , Alberto Marchesi , Nicola Gatti

We present a framework to address a class of sequential decision making problems. Our framework features learning the optimal control policy with robustness to noisy data, determining the unknown state and action parameters, and performing…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2022-01-20 Amber Srivastava , Srinivasa M Salapaka

Sequential decision problems in applications such as manipulation in warehouses, multi-step meal preparation, and routing in autonomous vehicle networks often involve reasoning about uncertainty, planning over discrete modes as well as…

Artificial Intelligence · Computer Science 2019-06-24 Shushman Choudhury , Mykel J. Kochenderfer

Safety is a fundamental challenge in reinforcement learning (RL), particularly in real-world applications such as autonomous driving, robotics, and healthcare. To address this, Constrained Markov Decision Processes (CMDPs) are commonly used…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2026-02-18 Chang Liu , Yunfan Li , Lin F. Yang

Safe reinforcement learning has been a promising approach for optimizing the policy of an agent that operates in safety-critical applications. In this paper, we propose an algorithm, SNO-MDP, that explores and optimizes Markov decision…

Machine Learning · Computer Science 2020-08-18 Akifumi Wachi , Yanan Sui

We introduce a new algorithm to solve constrained nonlinear optimal control problem, with an emphasis on low-thrust trajectory in highly nonlinear dynamics. The algorithm, dubbed Pontryagin-Bellman Differential Dynamic Programming (PDDP),…

Optimization and Control · Mathematics 2026-05-27 Yanis Sidhoum , Kenshiro Oguri

We study the policy testing problem in discounted Markov decision processes (MDPs) in the fixed-confidence setting under a generative model with static sampling. The goal is to decide whether the value of a given policy exceeds a specified…

Machine Learning · Statistics 2026-04-21 Kaito Ariu , Po-An Wang , Alexandre Proutiere , Kenshi Abe

In real life, mostly problems are dynamic. Many algorithms have been proposed to handle the static problems, but these algorithms do not handle or poorly handle the dynamic environment problems. Although, many algorithms have been proposed…

Neural and Evolutionary Computing · Computer Science 2025-09-29 Zahid Iqbal , Waseem Shahzad