Special Issue on Deep Reinforcement Learning and Adaptive Dynamic Programming

Abstract

The sixteen papers in this special section focus on deep reinforcement learning and adaptive dynamic programming (deep RL/ADP). Deep RL is able to output control signal directly based on input images, which incorporates both the advantages of the perception of deep learning (DL) and the decision making of RL or adaptive dynamic programming (ADP). This mechanism makes the artificial intelligence much closer to human thinking modes. Deep RL/ADP has achieved remarkable success in terms of theory and applications since it was proposed. Successful applications cover video games, Go, robotics, smart driving, healthcare, and so on. However, it is still an open problem to perform the theoretical analysis on deep RL/ADP, e.g., the convergence, stability, and optimality analyses. The learning efficiency needs to be improved by proposing new algorithms or combined with other methods. More practical demonstrations are encouraged to be presented. Therefore, the aim of this special issue is to call for the most advanced research and state-of-the-art works in the field of deep RL/ADP.