Distributed Value Decomposition Networks with Networked Agents

Fuente: arXiv
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Hauptverfasser: Varela, Guilherme S., Sardinha, Alberto, Melo, Francisco S.
Format: Preprint
Veröffentlicht: 2025
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author Varela, Guilherme S.
Sardinha, Alberto
Melo, Francisco S.
author_facet Varela, Guilherme S.
Sardinha, Alberto
Melo, Francisco S.
contents We investigate the problem of distributed training under partial observability, whereby cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning agents (MARL) maximize the expected cumulative joint reward. We propose distributed value decomposition networks (DVDN) that generate a joint Q-function that factorizes into agent-wise Q-functions. Whereas the original value decomposition networks rely on centralized training, our approach is suitable for domains where centralized training is not possible and agents must learn by interacting with the physical environment in a decentralized manner while communicating with their peers. DVDN overcomes the need for centralized training by locally estimating the shared objective. We contribute with two innovative algorithms, DVDN and DVDN (GT), for the heterogeneous and homogeneous agents settings respectively. Empirically, both algorithms approximate the performance of value decomposition networks, in spite of the information loss during communication, as demonstrated in ten MARL tasks in three standard environments.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2502_07635
institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Distributed Value Decomposition Networks with Networked Agents
Varela, Guilherme S.
Sardinha, Alberto
Melo, Francisco S.
Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
I.2.6; I.2.11
We investigate the problem of distributed training under partial observability, whereby cooperative multi-agent reinforcement learning agents (MARL) maximize the expected cumulative joint reward. We propose distributed value decomposition networks (DVDN) that generate a joint Q-function that factorizes into agent-wise Q-functions. Whereas the original value decomposition networks rely on centralized training, our approach is suitable for domains where centralized training is not possible and agents must learn by interacting with the physical environment in a decentralized manner while communicating with their peers. DVDN overcomes the need for centralized training by locally estimating the shared objective. We contribute with two innovative algorithms, DVDN and DVDN (GT), for the heterogeneous and homogeneous agents settings respectively. Empirically, both algorithms approximate the performance of value decomposition networks, in spite of the information loss during communication, as demonstrated in ten MARL tasks in three standard environments.
title Distributed Value Decomposition Networks with Networked Agents
topic Machine Learning
Artificial Intelligence
Multiagent Systems
I.2.6; I.2.11
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2502.07635