Reinforcement learning approach to AIBO robot's decision making process in Robosoccer's goal keeper problem

Robocup is a popular test bed for AI programs around the world. Robosoccer is one of the two major parts of Robocup, in which AIBO entertainment robots take part in the middle sized soccer event. The three key challenges that robots need to face in this event are manoeuvrability, image recognition and decision making skills. This paper focuses on the decision making problem in Robosoccer - The goal keeper problem. We investigate whether reinforcement learning (RL) as a form of semi-supervised learning can effectively contribute to the goal keeper's decision making process when penalty shot and two attacker problem are considered. Currently, the decision making process in Robosoccer is carried out using rule-base system. RL also is used for quadruped locomotion and navigation purpose in Robosoccer using AIBO. In this paper, we propose a reinforcement learning based approach that uses a dynamic state-action mapping using back propagation of reward and space quantized Q-learning (SQQL) for the choice of high level functions in order to save the goal. The novelty of our approach is that the agent learns while playing and can take independent decision which overcomes the limitations of rule-base system due to fixed and limited predefined decision rules. Performance of the proposed method has been verified against the bench mark data set made with Upenn'03 code logic. It was found that the efficiency of our SQQL approach in goalkeeping was better than the rule based approach. The SQQL develops a semi-supervised learning process over the rule-base system's input-output mapping process, given in the Upenn'03 code.