Intelligent controller with neural network and reinforcement learning

Abstract

A plant controller using reinforcement learning for controlling a plant includes action and critic networks with enhanced learning for generating a plant control signal. Learning is enhanced within the action network by using a neural network configured to operate according to unsupervised learning techniques based upon a Kohonen Feature Map. Learning is enhanced within the critic network by using a distance parameter which represents the difference between the actual and desired states of the quantitative performance, or output, of the plant when generating the reinforcement signal for the action network.