Synchronous Reinforcement Learning-Based Control for Cognitive Autonomy

This monograph describes the use of principles of reinforcement learning (RL) to design feedback policies for continuous-time dynamical systems that combine features of adaptive control and optimal control. In a control engineering context, RL bridges the gap between traditional optimal control and adaptive control algorithms. The authors give an insightful introduction to reinforcement learning techniques that can address various control problems. In this context, they give a detailed description of techniques such as Game-Theoretic Learning, Q-learning, and Intermittent RL; with each chapter providing a self-contained exposition of the topic and giving the reader suggestions for further reading. Finally, the authors demonstrate the application of the techniques in autonomous vehicles. This review of a topic that is rapidly becoming ubiquitous in many engineering systems enables to reader dip in and out of the topic to quickly understand the essentials and provides the starting point for further research.