Research map / Reinforcement learning
Imitation learning: research map
431 accepted papers on Imitation learning in Reinforcement learning, from ICML, NeurIPS, ICLR, CVPR and AAAI (2016–2026), grouped into 2 clusters and 6 approaches. The busiest year so far is 2024.
Within Reinforcement learning, its share shrank from 7.6% in 2023–24 to 5.0% in 2025–26 (119 → 116 papers at ICML, NeurIPS, CVPR and AAAI, the venues with data for all four years).
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Approaches and key papers
il · adversarial imitation · cloning · 317 papers
Approaches in this cluster:
- Offline imitation from imperfect data (108 papers)
Imitate from suboptimal or limited demonstrations using distribution correction and offline data. - Imitation combined with RL (108 papers)
Mix demonstrations with reinforcement learning, including hierarchical and self-correcting policies. - Behavior cloning theory and models (68 papers)
Analyze behavior cloning and build flexible imitative or foundation-model-based policies. - Adversarial imitation learning (33 papers)
Match expert behavior with GAN-style discriminators and provably efficient adversarial objectives.
Most cited and most cited since 2024:
- Generative Adversarial Imitation Learning (NeurIPS 2016 · 353 citations)
- Zero-Shot Visual Imitation (ICLR 2018 · 196 citations)
- BAKU: An Efficient Transformer for Multi-Task Policy Learning (NeurIPS 2024 · 17 citations)
- No Prior Mask: Eliminate Redundant Action for Deep Reinforcement Learning (AAAI 2024 · 13 citations)
inverse reinforcement · irl · reward function · 114 papers
Approaches in this cluster:
- Reward learning from demonstrations (70 papers)
Infer reward functions from suboptimal or limited demonstrations with scalable inverse RL algorithms. - Theory of inverse RL (44 papers)
Give theoretical guarantees and exploration strategies for offline and active inverse reinforcement learning.
Most cited and most cited since 2024:
- Cooperative Inverse Reinforcement Learning (NeurIPS 2016 · 387 citations)
- Predicting Goal-Directed Human Attention Using Inverse Reinforcement Learning (CVPR 2020 · 100 citations)
- Meta-Inverse Reinforcement Learning for Mean Field Games via Probabilistic Context Variables (AAAI 2024 · 5 citations)
- In-Trajectory Inverse Reinforcement Learning: Learn Incrementally Before an Ongoing Trajectory Terminates (NeurIPS 2024 · 3 citations)
Related topics in Reinforcement learning
- MDPs and planning (682)
- Visual and representation RL (2,133)
- Policy gradient and actor-critic (1,502)
- RL from feedback (737)
- Offline RL (623)