Is Mamba Compatible with Trajectory Optimization in Offline Reinforcement Learning?

Understand

Transformer-based trajectory optimization methods have demonstrated exceptional performance in offline Reinforcement Learning (offline RL).

• Yet, it poses challenges due to substantial parameter size and limited scalability, which is particularly critical in sequential decision-making scenarios where resources are constrained such as in robots and drones with limited computational power.
• Mamba, a promising new linear-time sequence model, offers performance on par with transformers while delivering substantially fewer parameters on long sequences.
• As it remains unclear whether Mamba is compatible with trajectory optimization, this work aims to conduct comprehensive experiments to explore the potential of Decision Mamba (dubbed DeMa) in offline RL from the aspect of data structures and essential components with the following insights: (1) Long sequences impose a significant computational burden without contributing to performance improvements since DeMa's focus on sequences diminishes approximately exponentially.