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We propose a novel generalization of constrained Markov decision processes (CMDPs) that we call the \emph{semi-infinitely constrained Markov decision process} (SICMDP). Particularly, we consider a continuum of constraints instead of a…

Neural Combinatorial Optimization (NCO) is an emerging domain where deep learning techniques are employed to address combinatorial optimization problems as a standalone solver. Despite their potential, existing NCO methods often suffer from…

Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) are stochastic optimization problems that model situations where a decision maker controls a system based on its state. Partially observed Markov decision processes (POMDPs) are generalizations of MDPs where…

With the development of quantum computing, the use of quantum algorithms to solve combinatorial optimization problems on quantum computers has become a major research focus. The Quadratic Unconstrained Binary Optimization (QUBO) model…

Non-commutative polynomial optimization (NPO) problems seek to minimize the state average of a polynomial of some operator variables, subject to polynomial constraints, over all states and operators, as well as the Hilbert spaces where…

MB-DPOP is an important complete algorithm for solving Distributed Constraint Optimization Problems (DCOPs) by exploiting a cycle-cut idea to implement memory-bounded inference. However, each cluster root in the algorithm is responsible for…

In this paper, we focus on the problem of robustifying reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms with respect to model uncertainties. Indeed, in the framework of model-based RL, we propose to merge the theory of constrained Markov decision…

Model-free deep-reinforcement-based learning algorithms have been applied to a range of COPs~\cite{bello2016neural}~\cite{kool2018attention}~\cite{nazari2018reinforcement}. However, these approaches suffer from two key challenges when…

A range of quantum algorithms, especially those leveraging variational parameterization and circuit-based optimization, are being studied as alternatives for solving classically intractable combinatorial optimization problems (COPs).…

A common strategy in modern learning systems is to learn a representation that is useful for many tasks, a.k.a. representation learning. We study this strategy in the imitation learning setting for Markov decision processes (MDPs) where…

In crowd labeling, a large amount of unlabeled data instances are outsourced to a crowd of workers. Workers will be paid for each label they provide, but the labeling requester usually has only a limited amount of the budget. Since data…

This paper addresses the problem of planning under uncertainty in large Markov Decision Processes (MDPs). Factored MDPs represent a complex state space using state variables and the transition model using a dynamic Bayesian network. This…

Graphical models use the intuitive and well-studied methods of graph theory to implicitly represent dependencies between variables in large systems. They can model the global behaviour of a complex system by specifying only local factors.…

We study the problem of policy synthesis for uncertain partially observable Markov decision processes (uPOMDPs). The transition probability function of uPOMDPs is only known to belong to a so-called uncertainty set, for instance in the form…

Combinatorial optimization problem (COP) over graphs is a fundamental challenge in optimization. Reinforcement learning (RL) has recently emerged as a new framework to tackle these problems and has demonstrated promising results. However,…

We consider a dynamic programming (DP) approach to approximately solving an infinite-horizon constrained Markov decision process (CMDP) problem with a fixed initial-state for the expected total discounted-reward criterion with a…

Dynamic optimization of mean and variance in Markov decision processes (MDPs) is a long-standing challenge caused by the failure of dynamic programming. In this paper, we propose a new approach to find the globally optimal policy for…

Binary optimization has a wide range of applications in combinatorial optimization problems such as MaxCut, MIMO detection, and MaxSAT. However, these problems are typically NP-hard due to the binary constraints. We develop a novel…

Many robotics problems, from robot motion planning to object manipulation, can be modeled as mixed-integer convex programs (MICPs). However, state-of-the-art algorithms are still unable to solve MICPs for control problems quickly enough for…

Decision-making under distribution shift is a central challenge in reinforcement learning (RL), where training and deployment environments differ. We study this problem through the lens of robust Markov decision processes (RMDPs), which…