ADiCo:用极值寻求控制自动调节多智能体行为多样性
Optimizing Team Behavior via Extremum-seeking Control in Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning
训练多智能体最烦手动调多样性参数,这篇把经典控制论的 ESC 搬进 MARL,只用回报信号就能自动找到合适的多样性水平,做协作 RL 的可以看看。
论文提出 Adaptive Diversity Control(ADiCo),一个双时间尺度框架,在多智能体强化学习(MARL)训练中在线调节行为多样性。快时间尺度上的 DiCo 将系统多样性控制到目标值,慢时间尺度上的极值寻求控制器(ESC)仅用平均回合回报调整该目标,无需多样性-性能关系的解析模型。在 2 个协作 MARL 任务的 6 种配置上评估,ADiCo 在同质策略更优时保持低多样性、需要异质策略时提高多样性,性能持平或超过网格搜索出的最优 DiCo 和 Unconstrained DiCo。
Optimizing Team Behavior via Extremum-seeking Control in Multi-agent Reinforcement Learning
In cooperative Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning (MARL), agents must learn to coordinate their actions to achieve shared objectives. A key indicator of effective coordination is behavioral diversity, i.e., the agents' potential to enact distinct yet complementary control policies given the same set of observations. Although behavioral diversity can enable role specialization and richer joint behaviors, its appropriate level is highly context- and task-dependent and often costly to tune. We propose Adaptive Diversity Control (ADiCo), a two-timescale framework that adapts behavioral diversity online during training. On a fast timescale, Diversity Control (DiCo) regulates system diversity toward a target value. On a slower timescale, an Extremum Seeking Controller (ESC) adjusts this target using only mean episodic returns, without requiring an explicit model or analytical gradient of the diversity-performance landscape. We evaluate ADiCo on six configurations across two cooperative MARL tasks, where it maintains task-appropriate diversity levels: low diversity when homogeneous policies are beneficial and higher diversity when heterogeneous policies are required. Through this adaptation, ADiCo matches or exceeds the mean performance of DiCo (best grid-searched diversity target) and Unconstrained DiCo (diversity allowed to emerge without target regulation). These results demonstrate that incorporating classical feedback control into MARL training enables effective coordination by providing a systematic alternative to task-specific manual selection of the diversity target.