Latent Variable Representation for Reinforcement Learning

Tongzheng Ren, Chenjun Xiao, Tianjun Zhang, Na Li, Zhaoran Wang, sujay sanghavi, Dale Schuurmans, Bo Dai

Keywords: Latent Variable Model, Markov Decision Processes, Reinforcement Learning

TL;DR: We show how the latent variable model can be used for representation learning in reinforcement learning, that can have superior empirical performance as well as complete sample complexity analysis.

Abstract: Deep latent variable models have achieved significant empirical successes in model-based reinforcement learning (RL) due to their expressiveness in modeling complex transition dynamics. On the other hand, it remains unclear theoretically and empirically how latent variable models may facilitate learning, planning, and exploration to improve the sample efficiency of RL. In this paper, we provide a representation view of the latent variable models for state-action value functions, which allows both tractable variational learning algorithm and effective implementation of the optimism/pessimism principle in the face of uncertainty for exploration. In particular, we propose a computationally efficient planning algorithm with UCB exploration by incorporating kernel embeddings of latent variable models. Theoretically, we establish the sample complexity of the proposed approach in the online and offline settings. Empirically, we demonstrate superior performance over current state-of-the-art algorithms across various benchmarks.

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Please Choose The Closest Area That Your Submission Falls Into: Reinforcement Learning (eg, decision and control, planning, hierarchical RL, robotics)

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