Main Track AAMAS 2021, May 3-7, 2021, Online SPOTTER: Extending Symbolic Planning Operators through Targeted Reinforcement Learning Vasanth Sarathy∗ Daniel Kasenberg∗ Shivam Goel Smart Information Flow Technologies Tufts University Tufts University Lexintgon, MA Medford, MA Medford, MA
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected] Jivko Sinapov Matthias Scheutz Tufts University Tufts University Medford, MA Medford, MA
[email protected] [email protected] ABSTRACT used to complete a variety of tasks), available human knowledge, Symbolic planning models allow decision-making agents to se- and interpretability. However, the models are often handcrafted, quence actions in arbitrary ways to achieve a variety of goals in difficult to design and implement, and require precise formulations dynamic domains. However, they are typically handcrafted and that can be sensitive to human error. Reinforcement learning (RL) tend to require precise formulations that are not robust to human approaches do not assume the existence of such a domain model, error. Reinforcement learning (RL) approaches do not require such and instead attempt to learn suitable models or control policies models, and instead learn domain dynamics by exploring the en- by trial-and-error interactions in the environment [28]. However, vironment and collecting rewards. However, RL approaches tend RL approaches tend to require a substantial amount of training in to require millions of episodes of experience and often learn poli- moderately complex environments. Moreover, it has been difficult cies that are not easily transferable to other tasks. In this paper, to learn abstractions to the level of those used in symbolic planning we address one aspect of the open problem of integrating these approaches through low-level reinforcement-based exploration.