Imitation Learning: A Survey of Learning Methods

Hussein, Ahmed and Gaber, Mohamed Medhat and Elyan, Eyad and Jayne, C. (2017) Imitation Learning: A Survey of Learning Methods. ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), 50 (2). ISSN 0360-0300

[img]
Preview
Text
Imitation Learning A Survey of Learning Methods.pdf - Accepted Version

Download (974kB)

Abstract

Imitation learning techniques aim to mimic human behavior in a given task. An agent (a learning machine) is trained to perform a task from demonstrations by learning a mapping between observations and actions. The idea of teaching by imitation has been around for many years; however, the field is gaining attention recently due to advances in computing and sensing as well as rising demand for intelligent applications. The paradigm of learning by imitation is gaining popularity because it facilitates teaching complex tasks with minimal expert knowledge of the tasks. Generic imitation learning methods could potentially reduce the problem of teaching a task to that of providing demonstrations, without the need for explicit programming or designing reward functions specific to the task. Modern sensors are able to collect and transmit high volumes of data rapidly, and processors with high computational power allow fast processing that maps the sensory data to actions in a timely manner. This opens the door for many potential AI applications that require real-time perception and reaction such as humanoid robots, self-driving vehicles, human computer interaction, and computer games, to name a few. However, specialized algorithms are needed to effectively and robustly learn models as learning by imitation poses its own set of challenges. In this article, we survey imitation learning methods and present design options in different steps of the learning process. We introduce a background and motivation for the field as well as highlight challenges specific to the imitation problem. Methods for designing and evaluating imitation learning tasks are categorized and reviewed. Special attention is given to learning methods in robotics and games as these domains are the most popular in the literature and provide a wide array of problems and methodologies. We extensively discuss combining imitation learning approaches using different sources and methods, as well as incorporating other motion learning methods to enhance imitation. We also discuss the potential impact on industry, present major applications, and highlight current and future research directions.

Item Type: Article
Additional Information: "© ACM, 2017. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of ACM for your personal use. Not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in ACM Computer Surveys, {VOL50, ISS2, (2017)} http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/3054912"
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1145/3054912
Dates:
DateEvent
June 2017Published
Subjects: CAH11 - computing > CAH11-01 - computing > CAH11-01-01 - computer science
Divisions: Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment
Faculty of Computing, Engineering and the Built Environment > School of Computing and Digital Technology
Depositing User: Oana-Andreea Dumitrascu
Date Deposited: 24 Aug 2017 08:25
Last Modified: 22 Mar 2023 12:01
URI: https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/5045

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item

Research

In this section...