# Multi-Objective Search: Algorithms, Applications, and Emerging Directions

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2510.25504 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2510.25504/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 16 of its 88 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 29 Oct 2025.

## Builds on (most cited first, 16 of 16)

- [A Practical Guide to Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning and Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2103.09568/) (2021)
- [Multi-Agent Pathfinding: Definitions, Variants, and Benchmarks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1906.08291/) (2019)
- [Liability, Ethics, and Culture-Aware Behavior Specification using Rulebooks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1902.09355/) (2019)
- [Multi-Objective Reinforcement Learning Based on Decomposition: A Taxonomy and Framework](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2311.12495/) (2023)
- [Route Planning in Transportation Networks](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1504.05140/) (2015)
- [Provably Safe Robot Navigation with Obstacle Uncertainty](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1705.10907/) (2017)
- [Approximate bi-criteria search by efficient representation of subsets of the Pareto-optimal frontier](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2006.10302/) (2020)
- [Multi-Objective Path-Based D* Lite](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2108.00710/) (2021)
- [Bi-objective Search with Bi-directional A*](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2105.11888/) (2021)
- [A Conflict-Based Search Framework for Multi-Objective Multi-Agent Path Finding](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2101.03805/) (2021)
- [Heuristic Search for Multi-Objective Probabilistic Planning](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.14363/) (2023)
- [A Preprocessing Framework for Efficient Approximate Bi-Objective Shortest-Path Computation in the Presence of Correlated Objectives](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2505.22244/) (2025)
- [Generalizing Multi-Objective Search via Objective-Aggregation Functions](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2509.22085/) (2025)
- [Fast Multimodal Journey Planning for Three Criteria](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2110.12954/) (2021)
- [Fast One-to-Many Multicriteria Shortest Path Search](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2201.12684/) (2022)
- [Optimization of Rulebooks via Asymptotically Representing Lexicographic Hierarchies for Autonomous Vehicles](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.11199/) (2024)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Multi-objective search (MOS) has emerged as a unifying framework for planning and decision-making problems where multiple, often conflicting, criteria must be balanced. While the problem has been studied for decades, recent years have seen renewed interest in the topic across AI applications such as robotics, transportation, and operations research, reflecting the reality that real-world systems rarely optimize a single measure. This paper surveys developments in MOS while highlighting cross-disciplinary opportunities, and outlines open challenges that define the emerging frontier of MOS