arXiv:2505.16787cs.AI2025-05

用世界模型主动寻找高信息量状态,提升强化学习样本效率

Enter the Void - Planning to Seek Entropy When Reward is Scarce

  • 用模型预测短期潜空间变化,主动探索高熵状态
  • 在MiniWorld中提速50%,仅需60%环境步数达成目标
  • 适合需要高效探索的仿真环境任务,如游戏、机器人控制

基于模型的强化学习(MBRL)通过训练世界模型预测未来,显著提升无模型方法的样本效率。这些模型占用了大部分训练计算资源,并用于完全在模拟中训练智能体,但训练完成后即被丢弃。本文提出一种新方法,在推理阶段持续利用世界模型,主动搜索具有高信息量的状态,提供比传统好奇心驱动方法更可靠的探索机制。不同于通常在每一步生成多个多步计划的模型预测控制(MPC)方法,我们设计了一种分层规划器,动态决定是否重规划、规划时长及熵搜索的承诺度。该方法可应用于任何依赖模型生成数据训练智能体的框架,我们在Dreamer上验证了其有效性:在深度生成迷宫任务MiniWorld中,收敛速度比基础Dreamer快50%,仅需其60%的环境步数;在Crafter中以三分之一的步骤达到与基线相同奖励;在DeepMind Control任务上也显示出样本效率的普遍提升。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Model-based reinforcement learning (MBRL) offers an intuitive way to increase the sample efficiency of model-free RL methods by simultaneously training a world model that learns to predict the future. These models constitute the large majority of training compute and time and they are subsequently used to train actors entirely in simulation, but once this is done they are quickly discarded. We show in this work that utilising these models at inference time can significantly boost sample efficiency. We propose a novel approach that anticipates and actively seeks out informative states using the world model's short-horizon latent predictions, offering a principled alternative to traditional curiosity-driven methods that chase outdated estimates of high uncertainty states. While many model predictive control (MPC) based methods offer similar alternatives, they typically lack commitment, synthesising multiple multi-step plans at every step. To mitigate this, we present a hierarchical planner that dynamically decides when to replan, planning horizon length, and the commitment to searching entropy. While our method can theoretically be applied to any model that trains its own actors with solely model generated data, we have applied it to Dreamer to illustrate the concept. Our method finishes MiniWorld's procedurally generated mazes 50% faster than base Dreamer at convergence and in only 60% of the environment steps that base Dreamer's policy needs; it displays reasoned exploratory behaviour in Crafter, achieves the same reward as base Dreamer in a third of the steps; planning tends to improve sample efficiency on DeepMind Control tasks.

强化学习探索策略模型预测样本效率

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