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Normalizing flows enable parameter-efficient distributional RL

Researchers have developed NFDRL, a novel architecture for distributional reinforcement learning that utilizes continuous normalizing flows to model return distributions. This approach offers a more parameter-efficient method compared to existing categorical or quantile-based techniques, as its model size does not increase with the desired resolution of the distribution. The system employs a geometry-aware Cramér surrogate for training, ensuring a true probability metric and unbiased sample gradients, which are properties not always simultaneously achieved by prior methods. Empirical results demonstrate NFDRL's ability to capture complex return landscapes and achieve performance competitive with established baselines on the Atari-5 benchmark. AI

IMPACT Introduces a more parameter-efficient approach to modeling return distributions in RL, potentially enabling more complex simulations with fewer resources.

RANK_REASON This is a research paper detailing a new method for distributional reinforcement learning. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=1.0]

Read on arXiv cs.LG →

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Normalizing flows enable parameter-efficient distributional RL

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This is a research paper detailing a new method for distributional reinforcement learning. [lever_c_demoted from research: ic=1 ai=1.0]
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COVERAGE [1]

  1. arXiv cs.LG TIER_1 English(EN) · Simo Alami C., Rim Kaddah, Jesse Read, Marie-Paule Cani ·

    Parameter-Efficient Distributional RL via Normalizing Flows and a Geometry-Aware Cram\'er Surrogate

    arXiv:2505.04310v2 Announce Type: replace-cross Abstract: Distributional Reinforcement Learning (DistRL) improves upon expectation-based methods by modeling full return distributions, but standard approaches often remain far from parsimonious. Categorical methods (e.g., C51) rely…