A Comprehensive Guide To Deep Q-Learning For Data Science Enthusiasts

For all data science enthusiasts who would love to dig deep, we have composed a write-up about Q-Learning specifically for you all. Deep Q-Learning and reinforcement learning (RL) are extremely popular these days. These two data science methodologies use Python libraries like TensorFlow 2 and openAI’s Gym environment.

So, read on to know more.

What is Deep Q-Learning?

Deep Q-Learning utilizes the principles of Q-learning, but instead of using the Q-table, it uses the neural network. The algorithm of deep Q-learning uses the states as input and the optimal Q-value of every possible action as the output. The agent gathers and stores all the previous experiences in the memory of the trained tuple in the following order:

State> Next state> Action> Reward

The neural network's training stability increases by using a random batch of previous data and the experience replay. Experience replay also means stocking up on previous experiences, and the target network uses it for training and calculation of the Q-network and the predicted Q-value. This neural network uses openAI Gym, which is provided by taxi-v3 environments.

Now, any understanding of deep Q-learning?is incomplete without talking about reinforcement learning.

What is reinforcement learning?

Reinforcement is a subsection of ML. This part of ML is related to the action in which an environmental agent participates in a reward-based system and uses reinforcement learning to maximize the rewards. Reinforcement learning is different from unsupervised learning or supervised learning because it does not require a supervised input/output pair. The number of corrections is also less, so it is a highly efficient technique.

Without knowledge of the Markov Decision Process (MDP), one's understanding of reinforcement learning is incomplete. MDP is involved with each state that has been presented in the results of the environment, derived from the state that was previously there. The information that composes both states is gathered and transferred to the decision-making process. The task of the chosen agent is to maximize the awards. The MDP optimizes actions and helps construct the optimal policy.

For developing the MDP, you need to follow the Q-Learning algorithm, which is an extremely important part of data science and machine learning.

What is the Q-Learning Algorithm?

The process of Q-learning is important for understanding the data from scratch. It involves defining the parameters, choosing the actions from the current state and also choosing the actions from the previous state, and then developing a Q-table for maximizing the results or output rewards.

The 4 steps that are involved in Q-Learning are:

1. Initializing parameters?– The RL (reinforcement learning) model learns the set of actions that the agent requires in the state, environment and time.
2. Identifying current state?– The model stores the prior records for optimal action definition for maximizing the results. For acting in the present state, the state needs to be identified and perform an action combination for it.
3. Choosing the optimal action set and gaining the relevant experience?– A Q-table is generated from the data with a set of specific states and actions, and the weight of this data is calculated for updating the Q-Table to the following step.
4. Updating Q-table rewards and next state determination –?After the relevant experience is gained and agents start getting environmental records. The reward amplitude helps to present the subsequent step.?

If the Q-table size is huge, then the generation of the model is a time-consuming process. This situation requires deep q-learning.

Hopefully, this write-up has provided an outline of deep q-learning and its related concepts. If you wish to learn more about such topics, then keep a tab on the blog section of the E2E Networks website.

Reference Links

https://analyticsindiamag.com/comprehensive-guide-to-deep-q-learning-for-data-science-enthusiasts/

https://medium.com/@jereminuerofficial/a-comprehensive-guide-to-deep-q-learning-8aeed632f52f

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