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Auteurs principaux: Smirnov, Ivan, Gu, Shangding
Format: Preprint
Publié: 2025
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Accès en ligne:https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.15040
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author Smirnov, Ivan
Gu, Shangding
author_facet Smirnov, Ivan
Gu, Shangding
contents Reinforcement learning (RL) has seen significant advancements through the application of various neural network architectures. In this study, we systematically investigate the performance of several neural networks in RL tasks, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Mamba/Mamba-2, Transformer-XL, Gated Transformer-XL, and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU). Through comprehensive evaluation across continuous control, discrete decision-making, and memory-based environments, we identify architecture-specific strengths and limitations. Our results reveal that: (1) MLPs excel in fully observable continuous control tasks, providing an optimal balance of performance and efficiency; (2) recurrent architectures like LSTM and GRU offer robust performance in partially observable environments with moderate memory requirements; (3) Mamba models achieve a 4.5x higher throughput compared to LSTM and a 3.9x increase over GRU, all while maintaining comparable performance; and (4) only Transformer-XL, Gated Transformer-XL, and Mamba-2 successfully solve the most challenging memory-intensive tasks, with Mamba-2 requiring 8x less memory than Transformer-XL. These findings provide insights for researchers and practitioners, enabling more informed architecture selection based on specific task characteristics and computational constraints. Code is available at: https://github.com/SafeRL-Lab/RLBenchNet
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2505_15040
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publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle RLBenchNet: The Right Network for the Right Reinforcement Learning Task
Smirnov, Ivan
Gu, Shangding
Machine Learning
Reinforcement learning (RL) has seen significant advancements through the application of various neural network architectures. In this study, we systematically investigate the performance of several neural networks in RL tasks, including Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), Multi-Layer Perceptron (MLP), Mamba/Mamba-2, Transformer-XL, Gated Transformer-XL, and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU). Through comprehensive evaluation across continuous control, discrete decision-making, and memory-based environments, we identify architecture-specific strengths and limitations. Our results reveal that: (1) MLPs excel in fully observable continuous control tasks, providing an optimal balance of performance and efficiency; (2) recurrent architectures like LSTM and GRU offer robust performance in partially observable environments with moderate memory requirements; (3) Mamba models achieve a 4.5x higher throughput compared to LSTM and a 3.9x increase over GRU, all while maintaining comparable performance; and (4) only Transformer-XL, Gated Transformer-XL, and Mamba-2 successfully solve the most challenging memory-intensive tasks, with Mamba-2 requiring 8x less memory than Transformer-XL. These findings provide insights for researchers and practitioners, enabling more informed architecture selection based on specific task characteristics and computational constraints. Code is available at: https://github.com/SafeRL-Lab/RLBenchNet
title RLBenchNet: The Right Network for the Right Reinforcement Learning Task
topic Machine Learning
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2505.15040