Related papers: Transform then Explore: a Simple and Effective Tec…

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,…

Many real-world problems can be reduced to combinatorial optimization on a graph, where the subset or ordering of vertices that maximize some objective function must be found. With such tasks often NP-hard and analytically intractable,…

Combinatorial optimization problems (COPs) on the graph with real-life applications are canonical challenges in Computer Science. The difficulty of finding quality labels for problem instances holds back leveraging supervised learning…

From logistics to the natural sciences, combinatorial optimisation on graphs underpins numerous real-world applications. Reinforcement learning (RL) has shown particular promise in this setting as it can adapt to specific problem structures…

The safe application of reinforcement learning (RL) requires generalization from limited training data to unseen scenarios. Yet, fulfilling tasks under changing circumstances is a key challenge in RL. Current state-of-the-art approaches for…

Generative design refers to computational design methods that can automatically conduct design exploration under constraints defined by designers. Among many approaches, topology optimization-based generative designs aim to explore diverse…

Many traditional algorithms for solving combinatorial optimization problems involve using hand-crafted heuristics that sequentially construct a solution. Such heuristics are designed by domain experts and may often be suboptimal due to the…

Combinatorial optimization algorithms for graph problems are usually designed afresh for each new problem with careful attention by an expert to the problem structure. In this work, we develop a new framework to solve any combinatorial…

Graph problems such as traveling salesman problem, or finding minimal Steiner trees are widely studied and used in data engineering and computer science. Typically, in real-world applications, the features of the graph tend to change over…

Graphs are a natural representation for systems based on relations between connected entities. Combinatorial optimization problems, which arise when considering an objective function related to a process of interest on discrete structures,…

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…

Balancing exploration and exploitation remains a key challenge in reinforcement learning (RL). State-of-the-art RL algorithms suffer from high sample complexity, particularly in the sparse reward case, where they can do no better than to…

Exploration in environments with sparse rewards has been a persistent problem in reinforcement learning (RL). Many tasks are natural to specify with a sparse reward, and manually shaping a reward function can result in suboptimal…

Model-driven engineering problems often require complex model transformations (MTs), i.e., MTs that are chained in extensive sequences. Pertinent examples of such problems include model synchronization, automated model repair, and design…

In this paper, we evaluate the use of Reinforcement Learning (RL) to solve a classic combinatorial optimization problem: the Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem (CVRP). We formalize this problem in the RL framework and compare two of the…

A key challenge in deriving unified neural solvers for combinatorial optimization (CO) is efficient generalization of models between a given set of tasks to new tasks not used during the initial training process. To address it, we first…

We study combinatorial problems with real world applications such as machine scheduling, routing, and assignment. We propose a method that combines Reinforcement Learning (RL) and planning. This method can equally be applied to both the…

Reinforcement learning (RL) is a subfield of machine learning that focuses on developing models that can autonomously learn optimal decision-making strategies over time. In a recent pioneering paper, Wagner demonstrated how the Deep…

Reinforcement Learning (RL) enhances LLM reasoning, yet a paradox emerges as models scale: strong base models saturate standard benchmarks (e.g., MATH), yielding correct but homogeneous solutions. In such environments, the lack of failure…

Combinatorial optimization problems are pervasive across science and industry. Modern deep learning tools are poised to solve these problems at unprecedented scales, but a unifying framework that incorporates insights from statistical…