Target-Directed Locomotion of a Snake-Like Robot Based on Path Integral Reinforcement Learning

Abstract

Path integral is derived from stochastic optimal control. It is a numerical iteration method and solves the problem of the optimal control about continuous nonlinear systems at a high convergence speed without system model. A policy improvement algorithm based on path integral reinforcement learning is proposed for the target-directed locomotion of a snake-like robot in this paper. The path integral reinforcement learning approach is employed to learn the parameters of the snake-like robot serpentine equation, and the robot is controlled to arrive at the target position fast without contacting obstacles in simulation environment. Moreover, the robot with the priori knowledge from the simulation in real environment can complete the task well. Experimental result verifies the validity of the propose algorithm.