Closed-Loop Verbal Reinforcement Learning for Task-Level Robotic Planning

Abstract: We propose a new Verbal Reinforcement Learning (VRL) framework for interpretable task-level planning in mobile robotic systems operating under execution uncertainty. The framework follows a closed-loop architecture that enables iterative policy improvement through interaction with the physical environment. In our framework, executable Behavior Trees are repeatedly refined by a LLM actor using structured natural-language feedback produced by a Vision-LLM critic that observes the physical robot and execution traces. Unlike conventional reinforcement learning, policy updates in VRL occur directly at the symbolic planning level, without gradient-based optimization. This enables transparent reasoning, explicit causal feedback, and human-interpretable policy evolution. We validate the proposed framework on a real mobile robot performing a multi-stage manipulation and navigation task under execution uncertainty. Experimental results show that the framework supports explainable policy improvements, closed-loop adaptation to execution failures, and reliable deployment on physical robotic systems.