This is the code repository for Reinforcement Learning Algorithms with Python, published by Packt.
Learn, understand, and develop smart algorithms for addressing AI challenges
Reinforcement Learning (RL) is a popular and promising branch of AI that involves making smarter models and agents that can automatically determine ideal behavior based on changing requirements. This book will help you master RL algorithms and understand their implementation as you build self-learning agents. Starting with an introduction to the tools, libraries, and setup needed to work in the RL environment, this book covers the building blocks of RL and delves into value-based methods, such as the application of Q-learning and SARSA algorithms. You'll learn how to use a combination of Q-learning and neural networks to solve complex problems. Furthermore, you'll study the policy gradient methods, TRPO, and PPO, to improve performance and stability, before moving on to the DDPG and TD3 deterministic algorithms. This book also covers how imitation learning techniques work and how Dagger can teach an agent to drive. You'll discover evolutionary strategies and black-box optimization techniques, and see how they can improve RL algorithms. Finally, you'll get to grips with exploration approaches, such as UCB and UCB1, and develop a meta-algorithm called ESBAS. By the end of the book, you'll have worked with key RL algorithms to overcome challenges in real-world applications, and be part of the RL research community.
This book covers the following exciting features:
- Develop an agent to play CartPole using the OpenAI Gym interface
- Discover the model-based reinforcement learning paradigm
- Solve the Frozen Lake problem with dynamic programming
- Explore Q-learning and SARSA with a view to playing a taxi game
- Apply Deep Q-Networks (DQNs) to Atari games using Gym
- Study policy gradient algorithms, including Actor-Critic and REINFORCE
- Understand and apply PPO and TRPO in continuous locomotion environments
- Get to grips with evolution strategies for solving the lunar lander problem
If you feel this book is for you, get your copy today!
All of the code is organized into folders. For example, Chapter02.
The code will look like the following:
import gym
# create the environment
env = gym.make("CartPole-v1")
# reset the environment before starting
env.reset()
# loop 10 times
for i in range(10):
# take a random action
env.step(env.action_space.sample())
# render the game
env.render()
# close the environment
env.close()
Following is what you need for this book: If you are an AI researcher, deep learning user, or anyone who wants to learn reinforcement learning from scratch, this book is for you. You’ll also find this reinforcement learning book useful if you want to learn about the advancements in the field. Working knowledge of Python is necessary.
With the following software and hardware list you can run all code files present in the book (Chapter 1-11).
| Chapter | Software required | OS required |
|---|---|---|
| All | Python 3.6 or higher | Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux (Any) |
| All | TensorFlow 1.14 or higher | Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux (Any) |
We also provide a PDF file that has color images of the screenshots/diagrams used in this book. Click here to download it.
Andrea Lonza is a deep learning engineer with a great passion for artificial intelligence and a desire to create machines that act intelligently. He has acquired expert knowledge in reinforcement learning, natural language processing, and computer vision through academic and industrial machine learning projects. He has also participated in several Kaggle competitions, achieving high results. He is always looking for compelling challenges and loves to prove himself.
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