Memory-Based Learning for Control

Abstract

The central thesis of this article is that memory-based methods provide natural and powerful mechanisms for high-autonomy learning control. This paper takes the form of a survey of the ways in which memory-based methods can and have been applied to control tasks, with an emphasis on tasks in robotics and manufacturing. We explain the various forms that control tasks can take, and how this impacts on the choice of learning algorithm. We show a progression of five increasingly more complex algorithms which are applicable to increasingly more complex kinds of control tasks. We examine their empirical behavior on robotic and industrial tasks. The final section discusses the interesting impact that explicitly remembering all previous experiences has on the problem of learning control.