IRL-DAL: Safe and Adaptive Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Driving via Energy-Guided Diffusion Models

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Miangoleh, Seyed Ahmad Hosseini, Aghdasian, Amin Jalal, Abdollahi, Farzaneh
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Miangoleh, Seyed Ahmad Hosseini
Aghdasian, Amin Jalal
Abdollahi, Farzaneh
author_facet Miangoleh, Seyed Ahmad Hosseini
Aghdasian, Amin Jalal
Abdollahi, Farzaneh
contents This paper proposes a novel inverse reinforcement learning framework using a diffusion-based adaptive lookahead planner (IRL-DAL) for autonomous vehicles. Training begins with imitation from an expert finite state machine (FSM) controller to provide a stable initialization. Environment terms are combined with an IRL discriminator signal to align with expert goals. Reinforcement learning (RL) is then performed with a hybrid reward that combines diffuse environmental feedback and targeted IRL rewards. A conditional diffusion model, which acts as a safety supervisor, plans safe paths. It stays in its lane, avoids obstacles, and moves smoothly. Then, a learnable adaptive mask (LAM) improves perception. It shifts visual attention based on vehicle speed and nearby hazards. After FSM-based imitation, the policy is fine-tuned with Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). Training is run in the Webots simulator with a two-stage curriculum. A 96\% success rate is reached, and collisions are reduced to 0.05 per 1k steps, marking a new benchmark for safe navigation. By applying the proposed approach, the agent not only drives in lane but also handles unsafe conditions at an expert level, increasing robustness.We make our code publicly available.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2601_23266
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle IRL-DAL: Safe and Adaptive Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Driving via Energy-Guided Diffusion Models
Miangoleh, Seyed Ahmad Hosseini
Aghdasian, Amin Jalal
Abdollahi, Farzaneh
Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
This paper proposes a novel inverse reinforcement learning framework using a diffusion-based adaptive lookahead planner (IRL-DAL) for autonomous vehicles. Training begins with imitation from an expert finite state machine (FSM) controller to provide a stable initialization. Environment terms are combined with an IRL discriminator signal to align with expert goals. Reinforcement learning (RL) is then performed with a hybrid reward that combines diffuse environmental feedback and targeted IRL rewards. A conditional diffusion model, which acts as a safety supervisor, plans safe paths. It stays in its lane, avoids obstacles, and moves smoothly. Then, a learnable adaptive mask (LAM) improves perception. It shifts visual attention based on vehicle speed and nearby hazards. After FSM-based imitation, the policy is fine-tuned with Proximal Policy Optimization (PPO). Training is run in the Webots simulator with a two-stage curriculum. A 96\% success rate is reached, and collisions are reduced to 0.05 per 1k steps, marking a new benchmark for safe navigation. By applying the proposed approach, the agent not only drives in lane but also handles unsafe conditions at an expert level, increasing robustness.We make our code publicly available.
title IRL-DAL: Safe and Adaptive Trajectory Planning for Autonomous Driving via Energy-Guided Diffusion Models
topic Robotics
Artificial Intelligence
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2601.23266