Reinforcement Learning

1.What is Reinforcement Learning?

Reinforcement Learning is a type of machine learning where an agent learns to make decisions by interacting with an environment.The agent wants to learn a policy that gets it the most reward in the long run.

Think of it like training a dog to sit:

  • When the dog sits correctly, we give it a treat (reward).
  • When it doesn’t, it gets no treat (or maybe a “no!”).
  • Over time, the dog learns what action gets the treat.

2.Core Concepts

Term Simple Explanation
Agent The learner or decision-maker (like the dog).
Environment The world the agent interacts with (like your living room).
Action What the agent chooses to do (e.g., sit, bark, jump).
State The current situation (e.g., you said “sit” and the dog is standing).
Reward The feedback from the environment (e.g., +1 for sitting).
Policy A strategy that tells the agent what action to take in each state.
Episode One full round of interaction (start to goal or failure).

3. Example: Maze Game

Imagine a robot in a maze

  • It starts at the entrance.
  • It can go left, right, up, or down.
  • The goal is to find the exit.
  • If it bumps into a wall, it gets -1.
  • If it reaches the exit, it gets +10.

Over time, the robot learns which paths work best.

Reinforcement Learning – Reinforcement Learning example with Simple Python