Dual-Agent Multiple-Model Reinforcement Learning for Event-Triggered Human-Robot Co-Adaptation in Decoupled Task Spaces

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel event-triggered reinforcement learning framework for human-robot co-adaptation in decoupled task spaces, enhancing control precision and efficiency in upper-limb rehabilitation robots.

Contribution

It proposes Dual Agent Multiple Model Reinforcement Learning (DAMMRL) for safe, efficient human-robot co-adaptation, with a new event-driven control strategy and task decomposition in decoupled spaces.

Findings

DAMMRL suppresses waypoint chatter effectively.

It balances spatial accuracy with temporal efficiency.

Success rates in object acquisition are significantly improved.

Abstract

This paper presents a shared-control rehabilitation policy for a custom 6-degree-of-freedom (6-DoF) upper-limb robot that decomposes complex reaching tasks into decoupled spatial axes. The patient governs the primary reaching direction using binary commands, while the robot autonomously manages orthogonal corrective motions. Because traditional fixed-frequency control often induces trajectory oscillations due to variable inverse-kinematics execution times, an event-driven progression strategy is proposed. This architecture triggers subsequent control actions only when the end-effector enters an admission sphere centred on the immediate target waypoint, and was validated in a semi-virtual setup linking a physical pressure sensor to a MuJoCo simulation. To optimise human--robot co-adaptation safely and efficiently, this study introduces Dual Agent Multiple Model Reinforcement Learning (DAMMRL). This framework discretises decision characteristics: the human agent selects the admission sphere radius to reflect their inherent speed--accuracy trade-off, while the robot agent dynamically adjusts its 3D Cartesian step magnitudes to complement the user's cognitive state. Trained in simulation and deployed across mixed environments, this event-triggered DAMMRL approach effectively suppresses waypoint chatter, balances spatial precision with temporal efficiency, and significantly improves success rates in object acquisition tasks.