Q-cut - Dynamic discovery of sub-goals in reinforcement learning

Abstract

We present the Q-Cut algorithm, a graph theoretic approach for automatic detection of sub-goals in a dynamic environment, which is used for acceleration of the Q-Learning algorithm. The learning agent creates an on-line map of the process history, and uses an efficient Max- Flow/Min-Cut algorithm for identifying bottlenecks. The policies for reaching bottlenecks are separately learned and added to the model in a form of options (macro-actions). We then extend the basic Q-Cut algorithm to the Segmented Q-Cut algorithm, which uses previously identified bottlenecks for state space partitioning, necessary for finding additional bottlenecks in complex environments. Experiments showsign ificant performance improvements, particulary in the initial learning phase.