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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…
This paper is devoted to fair optimization in Multiobjective Markov Decision Processes (MOMDPs). A MOMDP is an extension of the MDP model for planning under uncertainty while trying to optimize several reward functions simultaneously. This…
This paper studies convergence properties of optimal values and actions for discounted and average-cost Markov Decision Processes (MDPs) with weakly continuous transition probabilities and applies these properties to the stochastic…
This paper presents a method to approximately solve stochastic optimal control problems in which the cost function and the system dynamics are polynomial. For stochastic systems with polynomial dynamics, the moments of the state can be…
It is strange but fruitful to think about the functions as random processes. Any function can be viewed as a martingale (in many different ways) with discrete time. But it can be useful to have continuous time too. Processes can emulate…
In this paper we consider the numerical approximation of infinite horizon problems via the dynamic programming approach. The value function of the problem solves a Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman (HJB) equation that is approximated by a fully…
We propose a Model Predictive Control (MPC) with a single-step prediction horizon to approximate the solution of infinite horizon optimal control problems with the expected sum of convex stage costs for constrained linear uncertain systems.…
In this paper we design hybrid control policies for hybrid systems whose mathematical models are unknown. Our contributions are threefold. First, we propose a framework for modelling the hybrid control design problem as a single Markov…
Bernstein polynomial approximation to a continuous function has a slower rate of convergence as compared to other approximation methods. "The fact seems to have precluded any numerical application of Bernstein polynomials from having been…
This dissertation makes three main contributions. First, We identify a new connection between policy gradient and dynamic programming in MMDPs and propose the Coordinate Ascent Dynamic Programming (CADP) algorithm to compute a Markov policy…
Planning under partial obervability is essential for autonomous robots. A principled way to address such planning problems is the Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP). Although solving POMDPs is computationally intractable,…
Constrained discrete optimization problems are encountered in many areas of communication and machine learning. We consider the case where the objective function satisfies Bellman's optimality principle without the constraints on which we…
We study the exploration problem with approximate linear action-value functions in episodic reinforcement learning under the notion of low inherent Bellman error, a condition normally employed to show convergence of approximate value…
We consider approximate dynamic programming for the infinite-horizon stationary $\gamma$-discounted optimal control problem formalized by Markov Decision Processes. While in the exact case it is known that there always exists an optimal…
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…
Control theory plays a pivotal role in understanding and optimizing the behavior of complex dynamical systems across various scientific and engineering disciplines. Two key frameworks that have emerged for modeling and solving control…
Markov chains are the de facto finite-state model for stochastic dynamical systems, and Markov decision processes (MDPs) extend Markov chains by incorporating non-deterministic behaviors. Given an MDP and rewards on states, a classical…
This paper is dedicated to the investigation of a new numerical method to approximate the optimal stopping problem for a discrete-time continuous state space Markov chain under partial observations. It is based on a two-step discretization…
In this paper, we propose a new policy iteration algorithm to compute the value function and the optimal controls of continuous time stochastic control problems. The algorithm relies on successive approximations using linear-quadratic…
Motivated by applications to the dynamic control of queueing networks, we develop a simulation-based scheme, the so-called multilevel Picard (MLP) approximation, for solving high-dimensional drift control problems whose states are…