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Abstract. We introduce two new temporal difference (TD) algorithms based on the theory of linear leastsquares function approximation. We define an algorithm we call Least-Squares TD (LS TD) for which we prove probability-one convergence when it is used with a function approximator linear in the adjustable parameters. We then define a recursive version of this algorithm, Recursive Least-Squares TD (RLS TD). Although these new TD algorithms require more computation per time-step than do Sutton's TD(A) algorithms, they are more efficient in a statistical sense because they extract more information from training experiences. We describe a simulation experiment showing the substantial improvement in learning rate achieved by RLS TD in an example Markov prediction problem. To quantify this improvement, we introduce the TD error variance of a Markov chain, arc,, and experimentally conclude that the convergence rate of a TD algorithm depends linearly on ~ro. In addition to converging more rapidly, LS TD and RLS TD do not have control parameters, such as a learning rate parameter, thus eliminating the possibility of achieving poor performance by an unlucky choice of parameters.

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This dissertation is about building learning control architectures for agents embedded in finite, stationary, and Markovian environments. Such architectures give embedded agents the ability to improve autonomously the efficiency with which they can achieve goals. Machine learning researchers have developed reinforcement learning (RL) algorithms based on dynamic programming (DP) that use the agent's experience in its environment to improve its decision policy incrementally. This is achieved by adapting an evaluation function in such a way that the decision policy that is "greedy" with respect to it improves with experience. This dissertation focuses on finite, stationary and Markovian environments for two reasons: it allows the develop...

In principle, a wide variety of sequential decision problems -- ranging from dynamic resource allocation in telecommunication networks to financial risk management -- can be formulated in terms of stochastic control and solved by the algorithms of dynamic programming. Such algorithms compute and store a value function, which evaluates expected future reward as a function of current state. Unfortunately, exact computation of the value function typically requires time and storage that grow proportionately with the number of states, and consequently, the enormous state spaces that arise in practical applications render the algorithms intractable. In this thesis, we study tractable methods that approximate the value function. Our work builds on research in an area of artificial intelligence known as reinforcement learning. A point of focus of this thesis is temporal-difference learning -- a stochastic algorithm inspired to some extent by phenomena observed in animal behavior. Given a selection of...

Q-learning can be used to learn a control policy that maximises a scalar reward through interaction with the environment. Q- learning is commonly applied to problems with discrete states and actions. We describe a method suitable for control tasks which require continuous actions, in response to continuous states. The system consists of a neural network coupled with a novel interpolator. Simulation results are presented for a non-holonomic control task. Advantage Learning, a variation of Q-learning, is shown enhance learning speed and reliability for this task.

We consider the approximate solution of stochastic optimal control problems using a neurodynamic programming/reinforcement learning methodology. We focus on the computation of a rollout policy, which is obtained by a single policy iteration starting from some known base policy and using some form of exact or approximate policy improvement. We indicate that, in a stochastic environment, the popular methods Q-factor and cost-to-go values. In particular, we propose a method, called differential training, that can be used to obtain an approximation to cost-to-go differences rather than cost-to-go values by using standard methods such as TD(#) and #-policy iteration. This method is suitable for recursively generating rollout policies in the context of simulation-based policy iteration methods.

Reinforcement learning algorithms based on the principles of Dynamic Programming (DP) have enjoyed a great deal of recent attention both empirically and theoretically. These algorithms have been referred to generically as Incremental Dynamic Programming (IDP) algorithms. IDP algorithms are intended for use in situations where the information or computational resources needed by traditional dynamic programming algorithms are not available. IDP algorithms attempt to find a global solution to a DP problem by incrementally improving local constraint satisfaction properties as experience is gained through interaction with the environment. This class of algorithms is not new, going back at least as far as Samuel's adaptive checkers-playing programs,...

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This paper gives a compact, self-contained tutorial survey of reinforcement learning, a tool that is increasingly nding application in the development of intelligent dynamic systems. Research on reinforcement learning during the past decade has led to the development of a variety of useful algorithms. This paper surveys the literature and presents the algorithms in a cohesive framework.