Sim2Act: Robust Simulation-to-Decision Learning via Adversarial Calibration and Group-Relative Perturbation
arXiv:2603.09053v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Simulation-to-decision learning enables safe policy training in digital environments without risking real-world deployment, and has become essential in mission-critical domains such as supply chains and industrial systems. However, simulators learned from noisy or biased real-world data often exhibit prediction errors in decision-critical regions, leading to unstable action ranking and unreliable policies. Existing approaches either focus on improving average simulation fidelity or adopt conservative regularization, which may cause policy collapse by discarding high-risk high-reward actions. We propose Sim2Act, a robust simulation-to-decision framework that addresses both simulator and policy robustness. First, we introduce an adversarial calibration mechanism that re-weights simulation errors in decision-critical state-action pairs to align surrogate fidelity with downstream decision impact. Second, we develop a group-relative perturb
arXiv:2603.09053v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Simulation-to-decision learning enables safe policy training in digital environments without risking real-world deployment, and has become essential in mission-critical domains such as supply chains and industrial systems. However, simulators learned from noisy or biased real-world data often exhibit prediction errors in decision-critical regions, leading to unstable action ranking and unreliable policies. Existing approaches either focus on improving average simulation fidelity or adopt conservative regularization, which may cause policy collapse by discarding high-risk high-reward actions. We propose Sim2Act, a robust simulation-to-decision framework that addresses both simulator and policy robustness. First, we introduce an adversarial calibration mechanism that re-weights simulation errors in decision-critical state-action pairs to align surrogate fidelity with downstream decision impact. Second, we develop a group-relative perturbation strategy that stabilizes policy learning under simulator uncertainty without enforcing overly pessimistic constraints. Extensive experiments on multiple supply chain benchmarks demonstrate improved simulation robustness and more stable decision performance under structured and unstructured perturbations.
Executive Summary
The article proposes Sim2Act, a robust simulation-to-decision framework that addresses simulator and policy robustness in mission-critical domains. It introduces an adversarial calibration mechanism and a group-relative perturbation strategy to improve simulation fidelity and stabilize policy learning. The framework is tested on supply chain benchmarks, demonstrating improved simulation robustness and decision performance under various perturbations.
Key Points
- ▸ Sim2Act framework for robust simulation-to-decision learning
- ▸ Adversarial calibration mechanism for re-weighting simulation errors
- ▸ Group-relative perturbation strategy for stabilizing policy learning
Merits
Improved Robustness
Sim2Act framework improves simulation robustness and decision performance
Flexible Perturbation Strategy
Group-relative perturbation strategy allows for more realistic and flexible policy learning
Demerits
Computational Complexity
Adversarial calibration mechanism may increase computational complexity
Limited Domain Applicability
Sim2Act framework may not be directly applicable to all domains, requiring further adaptation and testing
Expert Commentary
The Sim2Act framework represents a significant advancement in simulation-to-decision learning, addressing the critical issue of simulator and policy robustness. The adversarial calibration mechanism and group-relative perturbation strategy demonstrate a nuanced understanding of the challenges in this domain. However, further research is necessary to fully explore the potential of this framework and its applications in various fields. The implications of this work are far-reaching, with potential impacts on decision-making in mission-critical domains and regulatory frameworks.
Recommendations
- ✓ Further testing and validation of the Sim2Act framework in various domains and applications
- ✓ Exploration of potential adaptations and extensions of the Sim2Act framework to address emerging challenges in simulation-to-decision learning