用动作相似性加权改进MARL的值函数过估计问题
QSIM: Mitigating Overestimation in Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning via Action Similarity Weighted Q-Learning
- 通过动作相似性构建加权目标,替代直接贪心选择
- 在多种基准上提升性能与学习稳定性,显著降低过估计
- 适合需要稳定合作强化学习的场景,如多智能体博弈
价值分解(VD)方法在协作式多智能体强化学习(MARL)中取得了显著成功。然而,其依赖最大操作符进行时序差分(TD)目标计算,导致系统性地高估Q值。这一问题在MARL中尤为严重,因联合动作空间的组合爆炸常引发学习不稳定和次优策略。为此,我们提出QSIM,一种基于动作相似性的加权Q-learning框架,通过动作相似性重构TD目标。QSIM不直接使用贪婪联合动作,而是对结构化的近贪婪动作空间形成相似性加权期望。该形式使目标能融合多样但行为相关的动作的Q值,并赋予更接近贪婪选择的动作更大权重。通过引入结构相关替代方案平滑目标,QSIM有效缓解了过估计并提升了学习稳定性。大量实验表明,QSIM可无缝集成到多种VD方法中,相比原算法始终表现更优且更稳定。实证分析证实,QSIM显著缓解了MARL中的系统性价值过估计。代码已开源:https://github.com/MaoMaoLYJ/pymarl-qsim。
原文摘要 · Abstract (English)
Value decomposition (VD) methods have achieved remarkable success in cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL). However, their reliance on the max operator for temporal-difference (TD) target calculation leads to systematic Q-value overestimation. This issue is particularly severe in MARL due to the combinatorial explosion of the joint action space, which often results in unstable learning and suboptimal policies. To address this problem, we propose QSIM, a similarity weighted Q-learning framework that reconstructs the TD target using action similarity. Instead of using the greedy joint action directly, QSIM forms a similarity weighted expectation over a structured near-greedy joint action space. This formulation allows the target to integrate Q-values from diverse yet behaviorally related actions while assigning greater influence to those that are more similar to the greedy choice. By smoothing the target with structurally relevant alternatives, QSIM effectively mitigates overestimation and improves learning stability. Extensive experiments demonstrate that QSIM can be seamlessly integrated with various VD methods, consistently yielding superior performance and stability compared to the original algorithms. Furthermore, empirical analysis confirms that QSIM significantly mitigates the systematic value overestimation in MARL. Code is available at https://github.com/MaoMaoLYJ/pymarl-qsim.
Thank you to arXiv for use of its open access interoperability. PaperDance 不是 arXiv 官方产品;中文卡片由大模型生成,请以原文为准。