Decision-focused learning (DFL) offers an end-to-end approach to the predict-then-optimize (PO) framework by training predictive models directly on decision loss (DL), enhancing decision-making performance within PO contexts. However, the implementation of DFL poses distinct challenges. Primarily, DL can result in deviation from the physical significance of the predictions under limited data. Additionally, some predictive models are non-differentiable or black-box, which cannot be adjusted using gradient-based methods. To tackle the above challenges, we propose a novel framework, Decision-Focused Fine-tuning (DFF), which embeds the DFL module into the PO pipeline via a novel bias correction module. DFF is formulated as a constrained optimization problem that maintains the proximity of the DL-enhanced model to the original predictive model within a defined trust region. We theoretically prove that DFF strictly confines prediction bias within a predetermined upper bound, even with limited datasets, thereby substantially reducing prediction shifts caused by DL under limited data. Furthermore, the bias correction module can be integrated into diverse predictive models, enhancing adaptability to a broad range of PO tasks. Extensive evaluations on synthetic and real-world datasets, including network flow, portfolio optimization, and resource allocation problems with different predictive models, demonstrate that DFF not only improves decision performance but also adheres to fine-tuning constraints, showcasing robust adaptability across various scenarios.

Hengxing Cai, Jinhan Dong, Jingjun Tan, Jingcheng Deng, Sihang Li, Zhifeng Gao, Haidong Wang, Zicheng Su, Agachai Sumalee, Renxin Zhong. Proceedings of the 2025 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing. 2025.

Collaborative production control and distributor selection are essential for resource allocation and meeting the core of Industry 5.0’s human-centric vision. However, traditional approaches typically handle these decisions independently, failing to adequately address fluctuating market conditions, demand uncertainty, and varying distributor competencies. This paper integrates production control and distributor selection as a Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) in a multi-agent system. Specifically, a production control agent optimizes outputs by balancing inventory levels and opportunity costs, while a distributor selection agent dynamically adjusts allocations considering workforce skill diversity, cost efficiency , and equity. The formulated POMDP is solved using a multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) framework featuring a differentiable communication layer and GRU-based recurrent neural networks . Numerical experiments conducted under both stable and highly volatile market conditions demonstrate the proposed system’s enhanced adaptability and responsiveness. In particular, inter-agent messaging communication leading to improved welfare metrics and robust performance under diverse distributor-weight configurations. Notably, the resulting system promotes equitable distributor involvement, aligning with Industry 5.0’s emphasis on sustainable, people-centric supply chain operations.

Accurate and timely detection of incident-induced congestion (IIC) is essential for mitigating its negative impact on traffic efficiency. Existing studies on IIC detection mainly focus on traffic flow on freeways and face challenges on urban roads due to the impacts of signal lights at intersections and diverse road networks. Additionally, the low penetration rate of probe vehicle trajectories poses another challenge. This study proposes a probe-vehicle-trajectory-based algorithm for IIC detection on urban roads at the movement and cycle levels. Two critical features (i.e., the average speed and the entrance time into the road segment) are defined to capture the characteristics of trajectory segments. A Vehicle Trajectory Polar Coordinate Transformation (VTPCT) method is proposed to differentiate anomalous trajectory segments (ATS) affected by IIC from normal ones, considering the periodicity of fixed signal timing at the intersections. Anomaly rates calculated from the identified ATS within a spatiotemporal window are introduced to reflect the movement-cycle-level traffic states. A two-stage algorithm framework is designed to enhance the algorithm’s adaptability to spatially sparse trajectories and diverse road networks. Experimental studies show that the proposed algorithm is applicable to trajectory data with low penetration rates and outperforms benchmarks of typical statistical and AI-based algorithms.

The design of urban road networks significantly influences traffic conditions, underscoring the importance of informed traffic planning. Traffic planning experts rely on specialized platforms to simulate traffic systems, assessing the efficacy of the road network across various states of modifications. Nevertheless, a prevailing issue persists: many existing traffic planning platforms exhibit inefficiencies in flexibly interacting with the road network's structure and attributes and intuitively comparing multiple states during the iterative planning process. This paper introduces TraSculptor, an interactive planning decision-making system. To develop TraSculptor, we identify and address two challenges: interactive modification of road networks and intuitive comparison of multiple network states. For the first challenge, we establish flexible interactions to enable experts to easily and directly modify the road network on the map. For the second challenge, we design a comparison view with a history tree of multiple states and a road-state matrix to facilitate intuitive comparison of road network states. To evaluate TraSculptor, we provided a usage scenario where the Braess's paradox was showcased, invited experts to perform a case study on the Sioux Falls network, and collected expert feedback through interviews.

Contemporary urban transportation systems frequently depend on a variety of modes to provide residents with travel services. Understanding a multimodal transportation system is pivotal for devising well-informed planning; however, it is also inherently challenging for traffic analysts and planners. This challenge stems from the necessity of evaluating and contrasting the quality of transportation services across multiple modes. Existing methods are constrained in offering comprehensive insights into the system, primarily due to the inadequacy of multimodal traffic data necessary for fair comparisons and their inability to equip analysts and planners with the means for exploration and reasoned analysis within the urban spatial context. To this end, we first acquire sufficient multimodal trips leveraging well-established navigation platforms that can estimate the routes with the least travel time given an origin and a destination (an OD pair). We also propose TraDyssey, a visual analytics system that enables analysts and planners to evaluate and compare multiple modes by exploring acquired massive multimodal trips. TraDyssey follows a streamlined query-and-explore workflow supported by user-friendly and effective interactive visualizations. Specifically, a revisited difference-aware parallel coordinate plot (PCP) is designed for overall mode comparisons based on multimodal trips. Trip groups can be flexibly queried on the PCP based on differential features across modes. The queried trips are then organized and presented on a geographic map by OD pairs, forming a group-OD-trip hierarchy of visual exploration. Domain experts gained valuable insights into transportation planning through real-world case studies using TraDyssey.

As an emerging data source, the trajectories of probe vehicles can compensate for the deficiencies of high maintenance costs and low coverage ranges of infrastructure-based detectors (e.g., loop detectors). However, existing arterial signal coordination studies typically assume high-penetration-rate trajectories, which are difficult to achieve in reality. Utilizing low-penetration-rate vehicle trajectories for arterial signal timing with cyclic stochastic traffic demand remains a significant challenge. To address this issue, this study developed a nonlinear optimization model for arterial signal coordination that is applicable to low-penetration-rate vehicle trajectories. Offsets and green splits were optimized to minimize the average delay of probe vehicles on both major and minor roads. Probe vehicle trajectories across cycles were aggregated into one cycle to compensate for the low penetration rate of the trajectory data. The concepts and estimation of the sampled arrival pattern, sampled departure pattern, and transition period were proposed to capture the spatiotemporal progression of probe vehicles along the arterial with varying signal timings. A genetic algorithm (GA)-based solution algorithm was designed to solve the proposed model. Simulation studies validated the advantages of the proposed model over the models in Synchro Studio, MULTIBAND, and the simplified model without considering the transition period. The sensitivity analysis showed that: 1) number of sampled trajectories matters instead of the penetration rate; 2) required number of sampled trajectories increases approximately linearly with the number of intersections and the demand factor; and 3) proposed model is robust to the sampling interval that is no longer than 7 s.

Efficient traffic signal control is an important means to alleviate urban traffic congestion. Reinforcement learning (RL) has shown great potentials in devising optimal signal plans that can adapt to dynamic traffic congestion. However, several challenges still need to be overcome. Firstly, a paradigm of state, action, and reward design is needed, especially for an optimality-guaranteed reward function. Secondly, the generalization of the RL algorithms is hindered by the varied topologies and physical properties of intersections. Lastly, enhancing the cooperation between intersections is needed for large network applications. To address these issues, the Option-Action RL framework for universal Multi-intersection control (OAM) is proposed. Based on the well-known cell transmission model, we first define a lane-cell-level state to better model the traffic flow propagation. Based on this physical queuing dynamics, we propose a regularized delay as the reward to facilitate temporal credit assignment while maintaining the equivalence with minimizing the average travel time. We then recapitulate the phase actions as the constrained combinations of lane options and design a universal neural network structure to realize model generalization to any intersection with any phase definition. The multiple-intersection cooperation is then rigorously discussed using the potential game theory. We test the OAM algorithm under four networks with different settings, including a city-level scenario with 2,048 intersections using synthetic and real-world datasets. The results show that the OAM can outperform the state-of-the-art controllers in reducing the average travel time.