Dr Vincent Moens is an Applied Machine Learning Research Scientist at Meta and an author of TorchRL and TensorDict in Pytorch. PyTorch for Control Systems and Decision Making

// MLOps Podcast #276 with Vincent Moens, Research Engineer at Meta.

// Abstract

PyTorch is widely adopted across the machine learning community for its flexibility and ease of use in applications such as computer vision and natural language processing. However, supporting reinforcement learning, decision-making, and control communities is equally crucial, as these fields drive innovation in areas like robotics, autonomous systems, and game-playing. This podcast explores the intersection of PyTorch and these fields, covering practical tips and tricks for working with PyTorch, an in-depth look at TorchRL, and discussions on debugging techniques, optimization strategies, and testing frameworks. By examining these topics, listeners will understand how to effectively use PyTorch for control systems and decision-making applications.

// Bio

Vincent Moens is a research engineer on the PyTorch core team at Meta, based in London. As the maintainer of TorchRL (https://github.com/pytorch/rl) and TensorDict (https://github.com/pytorch/tensordict), Vincent plays a key role in supporting the decision-making community within the PyTorch ecosystem. Alongside his technical role in the PyTorch community, Vincent also actively contributes to AI-related research projects.

Before joining Meta, Vincent worked as an ML researcher at Huawei and AIG. Vincent holds a Medical Degree and a PhD in Computational Neuroscience.

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Musical recommendation: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1Uff91EOsvd99rtAupatMP?si=jVkoFiq8Tmq0fqK_OIEglg

Website: github.com/vmoens

TorchRL: https://github.com/pytorch/rl

TensorDict: https://github.com/pytorch/tensordict

LinkedIn post: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/vincent-moens-9bb91972_join-the-tensordict-discord-server-activity-7189297643322253312-Wo9J?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop

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Timestamps:

[00:00] Vincent preferred coffee

[00:12] Takeaways

[01:03] PyTorch tips and tricks

[05:30] Documentation Ambiguities and Unintended Guidance

[10:34] Modern copies and trade-offs

[17:56] Modular ML frameworks

[21:01] RL abstraction and generalization

[23:08] Developer Experience vs Functionality

[29:22] Streamlining user workflows

[31:10] Developer experience challenges

[36:50] Torch logs and contributions

[40:29] Well-formatted GitHub issue

[43:13] Testing PyTorch models

[48:45] Exciting PyTorch Development

[51:49] Tool discovery and sharing

[55:05] Wrap up