Reinforcement Learning

Public Concerné

  • Students are required to have taken an introductory machine learning course. 
  • Good knowledge on probability and statistics is expected.  
  • Bases on Markov Chains are recommended, but this is not a prerequisite. 

Objectifs pédagogiques

This course provides an overview of reinforcement learning (RL) methods. Both theoretical and programming aspects will be extensively explored in this course in order to acquire a solid expertise on both. By the end of the course, students should: 
  • Understand the notion of stochastic approximations and their relation with RL;  
  • Understand the basis of Markov decision theory;  
  • Apply Dynamic Programming methods to solve the Bellman equations;  
  • Master the basic techniques of Reinforcement Learning: Monte Carlo, Time-difference and Policy Gradient;  
  • Study a proof of convergence for RL algorithms; 
  • Master more advanced techniques such as actor-critic methods and deep RL. 

Contenu de la formation

This course will introduce machine learning techniques based on stochastic approximations and MDP models, i.e., SARSA, Q-learning, policy gradient. Two homework assignments will focus on implementing these techniques, in order to learn how to master them by direct implementation. A project in teams of 2/3 students will permit to address more advanced techniques and problems in the field of RL and more in general the application of Markov theory for modeling and optimization.  
 Lectures: 
  • Course Overview. Introduction to Markov decision theory,  stochastic approximations, and reinforcement learning; 
  • Stochastic approximations: the Robbins-Monro algorithm;  
  • Criteria for convergence;  
  • Application to admission control problems;  
  • Markov decision processes: definitions, average cost and discounted cost;  
  • Bellman equations. Solutions based on Dynamic Programming;  
  • Monte Carlo methods for Reinforcement Learning;  
  • Time Difference methods: SARSA and Q-Learning; 
  • Proof of convergence of Q-Learning; 
  • Policy gradient: REINFORCE; 
  • Actor-critic methods; 
  • Multi-armed bandits;  
  • Deep-reinforcement Learning. 
 Lab assignments:   
  • Practice of stochastic approximation on a traffics admission problem; 
  • Practice of Montecarlo, Q-learning and SARSA on gridworld (discounted cost);  
  • Practice of buffer management with admission control (average cost). 

Description des modalités de validation

Final exam, lab and research project reports. 
All students in the class will also conduct a research project in the field of reinforcement learning and write a short 5-page paper. Subjects will be provided during the first-class session, related to Constrained RL and Delayed RL. 

En alternance ou en formation continue en journée :

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En formation « à la carte Hors Temps de Travail », en présentiel, à distance ou hybride :

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    Code : USEET8
    3
    crédits