Generative Predecessor Network for Imitation Learning

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative Solutions
Generate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing machine learning systems for training action selection neural networks in real-world environments face challenges in recovering from mistakes and require extensive expert demonstrations, which are costly and time-consuming, especially when limited computational resources are available.

Innovation Solution

The system employs a generative autoregressive neural network to process expert observations and generate action pairs, allowing the action selection network to learn corrective behaviors and recover from deviations, even with unlabeled expert demonstrations, by adjusting parameters based on gradients of action scores and using a replay buffer to train the network efficiently.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If extensive expert demonstrations are used for training, then the action selection network achieves better performance, but the training time and computational resources increase significantly

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveaction selection performanceVSAvoidtraining time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system performs preliminary action by generating synthetic expert trajectories and pre-processing training data before actual network training. Expert demonstrations are synthesized in advance using generative models, creating a rich training corpus that eliminates the need for extensive real-time expert demonstrations during training, thus reducing training time while maintaining performance.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The system uses partial expert demonstrations combined with synthetic trajectories generated by the generative model. Instead of requiring complete extensive expert demonstrations, the system uses a portion of real expert data and supplements it with synthetic trajectories, achieving good performance with reduced training data requirements and shorter training time.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

2Reliability

If extensive expert demonstrations are collected, then the training data quality improves, but the cost and time to collect demonstrations increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraining data qualityVSAvoiddemonstration collection time
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The system creates copies of expert behavior through generative models that synthesize trajectories mimicking expert demonstrations. These synthetic copies serve as training data, eliminating the need to collect extensive real expert demonstrations while maintaining training data quality. The generative model learns from limited real expert data and generates additional synthetic examples that preserve the essential characteristics of expert behavior.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #26Copying

Solution Approach 2:

The system performs preliminary synthesis of training data by generating synthetic expert trajectories before the actual training process. This pre-generation of training data reduces the need for extensive real-time expert demonstration collection, as the synthetic data is prepared in advance and can be used immediately for training the action selection network.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

3Reliability

If the action selection network is trained to recover from mistakes, then the agent's reliability improves, but the training complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveerror recovery capabilityVSAvoidtraining system complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system implements feedback by incorporating error correction mechanisms where the generative model learns from trajectories that include mistakes and their corrections. The training process uses feedback signals from performance evaluation to adjust the generative model, enabling it to generate trajectories that demonstrate error recovery strategies, thus improving agent reliability without requiring complex manual training procedures.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

Solution Approach 2:

The system enables self-service by allowing the generative model to automatically generate its own training data including error scenarios and recovery trajectories. The model autonomously learns to produce trajectories that demonstrate mistake recovery, eliminating the need for complex external training interventions while improving the agent's error handling capabilities through self-generated training examples.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

Data Source

PatentEP3788554B1Imitation learning using a generative predecessor neural network
Publication Date: 2024.01.10 DEEPMIND TECH LTD
  • EP3788554B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP3788554B1 patent drawingFigure 2A
  • EP3788554B1 patent drawingFigure 2B

AI summary

Methods, systems, and apparatus, including computer programs encoded on a computer storage medium, for training an action selection policy neural network. In one aspect, a method comprises: obtaining an expert observation; processing the expert observation using a generative neural network system to generate a given observation – given action pair, wherein the generative neural network system has been trained to be more likely to generate a particular observation – particular action pair if performing the particular action in response to the particular observation is more likely to result in the environment later reaching the state characterized by a target observation; processing the given observation using the action selection policy neural network to generate a given action score for the given action; and adjusting the current values of the action selection policy neural network parameters to increase the given action score for the given action.