Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) often requires a large number of data and environment interactions, making the training process time-consuming. This challenge is further exacerbated in the case of batch RL, where the agent is trained solely on a pre-collected dataset without environment interactions. Recent advancements in quantum computing suggest that quantum models might require less data for training compared to classical methods. In this paper, we investigate this potential advantage by proposing a batch RL algorithm that utilizes VQC as function approximators within the discrete batch-constraint deep Q-learning (BCQ) algorithm. Additionally, we introduce a novel data re-uploading scheme by cyclically shifting the order of input variables in the data encoding layers. We evaluate the efficiency of our algorithm on the OpenAI CartPole environment and compare its performance to the classical neural network-based discrete BCQ.
@article{arxiv.2305.00905,
title = {BCQQ: Batch-Constraint Quantum Q-Learning with Cyclic Data Re-uploading},
author = {Maniraman Periyasamy and Marc Hölle and Marco Wiedmann and Daniel D. Scherer and Axel Plinge and Christopher Mutschler},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2305.00905},
year = {2024}
}