arXiv:2608. 02343v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Many operational problems are constrained sequential decision processes with large, combinatorial action spaces and interdependent feasibility constraints.
By Patrick Helm, Jan-Niklas Doerr, Joren Gijsbrechts, Stefan Minner
The paper introduces proximal residual value functions for two‑timescale decision systems, where a planning layer supplies a continuation‑value function to a real‑time optimizer that allocates resources, with inventory placement as a motivating example. The authors propose an end‑to‑end reinforcement learning method that learns a convex residual added to a strictly convex potential, enabling well‑posed optimization and end‑to‑end differentiation while maintaining an explicit convex objective for real‑time execution. They also provide necessary and sufficient conditions for smooth value functions to produce decisions consistent across planning and execution timescales, and demonstrate a 5.0% reduction in routing and transfer cost in an offline simulation using data from a large e‑commerce retailer.
By Harrison Waldon, Carson Eisenach, Akhil Bagaria, Daniel Russo, Dominique Perrault-Joncas, Alisha Zachariah, Dean Foster
arXiv:2602. 05799v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: We study non-stationary single-item, periodic-review inventory control problems in which the demand distribution is unknown and may change over time.
By Nele H. Amiri, Sean R. Sinclair, Maximiliano Udenio
arXiv:2607. 23030v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Developing efficient function-approximation methods for policy evaluation is a fundamental challenge in risk-aware reinforcement learning.
By Weikai Wang, Erick Delage
arXiv:2606. 18820v1 Announce Type: cross Abstract: Sequential decision problems often exhibit an asymmetric evolution of information and decision flexibility: as a decision cycle unfolds, the agent receives richer information while feasible actions expire due to operational cutoffs, commitments, or resource constraints.
By Jiaxi Liu, Aiping Yang, Yuhang Yang, Shuqi Zhang, Zewei Dong, Jiangming Yang, Xuebin Chen
arXiv:2607. 05683v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Battery charging of Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs) in warehouses is a critical operational challenge that heavily impacts both order processing times and throughput.
By Taniya Shaji, Abhay Sobhanan, Christof Defryn