Application of reinforcement learning to hyper-redundant system Acquisition of locomotion pattern of snake like robot

We consider a hyper-redundant system that consists of many uniform units. The hyper-redundant system has many degrees of freedom and it can accomplish various tasks. Applysing the reinforcement learning to the hyper-redundant system is very attractive because it is possible to acquire various behaviors for various tasks automatically. In this paper we present a new reinforcement learning algorithm "Q-learning with propagation of motion". The algorithm is designed for the multi-agent systems that have strong connections. The proposed algorithm needs only one small Q-table even for a large scale system. So using the proposed algorithm, it is possible for the hyper-redundant system to learn the effective behavior. In this algorithm, only one leader agent learns the own behavior using its local information and the motion of the leader is propagated to another agents with time delay. The reward of the leader agent is given by using the whole system information. And the effective behavior of the leader is learned and the effective behavior of the system is acquired. We apply the proposed algorithm to a snake-like hyper-redundant robot. The necessary condition of the system to be Markov decision process is discussed. And the computer simulation of learning the locomotion is demonstrated. From the simulation results we find that the task of the locomotion of the robot to the desired point is learned and the winding motion is acquired. We can conclude that our proposed system and our analysis of the condition, that the system is Markov decision process, is valid.