Online Planning in POMDPs with State-Requests

Raphaël Avalos, Eugenio Bargiacchi, Ann Nowe, Diederik Roijers, Frans A Oliehoek

Keywords: Planning, POMDP, State-Request, AEMS

Abstract: In key real-world problems, full state information can sometimes be obtained but only at a high cost, such as by activating more precise yet energy-intensive sensors, or by consulting a human, thereby compelling the agent to operate under partial observability. For this scenario, we propose AEMS-SR (Anytime Error Minimization Search with State Requests), a principled online planning algorithm tailored for POMDPs with state requests. By representing the search space as a graph instead of a tree, AEMS-SR avoids the exponential growth of the search space originating from state requests. Theoretical analysis demonstrates AEMS-SR's $\varepsilon$-optimality, ensuring solution quality, while empirical evaluations illustrate its effectiveness compared with AEMS and POMCP, two SOTA online planning algorithms. AEMS-SR enables efficient planning in domains characterized by partial observability and costly state requests offering practical benefits across various applications.

Submission Number: 23