Skill combination for reinforcement learning

Abstract

Recently researchers have introduced methods to develop reusable knowledge in reinforcement learning (RL). In this paper, we define simple principles to combine skills in reinforcement learning. We present a skill combination method that uses trained skills to solve different tasks in a RL domain. Through this combination method, composite skills can be used to express tasks at a high level and they can also be re-used with different tasks in the context of the same problem domains. The method generates an abstract task representation based upon normal reinforcement learning which decreases the information coupling of states thus improving an agent's learning. The experimental results demonstrate that the skills combination method can effectively reduce the learning space, and so accelerate the learning speed of the RL agent. We also show in the examples that different tasks can be solved by combining simple reusable skills. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2007.