Cooperative Deep $Q$-learning Framework for Environments Providing Image Feedback

Abstract: In this paper, we address two key challenges in deep reinforcement learning setting, sample inefficiency and slow learning, with a dual NN-driven learning approach. In the proposed approach, we use two deep NNs with independent initialization to robustly approximate the action-value function in the presence of image inputs. In particular, we develop a temporal difference (TD) error-driven learning approach, where we introduce a set of linear transformations of the TD error to directly update the parameters of each layer in the deep NN. We demonstrate theoretically that the cost minimized by the error-driven learning (EDL) regime is an approximation of the empirical cost and the approximation error reduces as learning progresses, irrespective of the size of the network. Using simulation analysis, we show that the proposed methods enables faster learning and convergence and requires reduced buffer size (thereby increasing the sample efficiency).