Cooperative Deep Q-Learning With Q-Value Transfer for Multi-Intersection Signal Control

The problem of adaptive traffic signal control in the multi-intersection system has attracted the attention of researchers. Among the existing methods, reinforcement learning has shown to be effective. However, the complex intersection features, heterogeneous intersection structures, and dynamic coordination for multiple intersections pose challenges for reinforcement learning-based algorithms. This paper proposes a cooperative deep Q-network with Q-value transfer (QT-CDQN) for adaptive multi-intersection signal control. In QT-CDQN, a multi-intersection traffic network in a region is modeled as a multi-agent reinforcement learning system. Each agent searches the optimal strategy to control an intersection by a deep Q-network that takes the discrete state encoding of traffic information as the network inputs. To work cooperatively, the agent considers the influence of the latest actions of its adjacencies in the process of policy learning. Especially, the optimal Q-values of the neighbor agents at the latest time step are transferred to the loss function of the Q-network. Moreover, the strategy of the target network and the mechanism of experience replay are used to improve the stability of the algorithm. The advantages of QT-CDQN lie not only in the effectiveness and scalability for the multi-intersection system but also in the versatility to deal with the heterogeneous intersection structures. The experimental studies under different road structures show that the QT-CDQN is competitive in terms of average queue length, average speed, and average waiting time when compared with the state-of-the-art algorithms. Furthermore, the experiments of recurring congestion and occasional congestion validate the adaptability of the QT-CDQN to dynamic traffic environments.