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Behavioral building blocks for autonomous agents: Description, identification, and learning

Ozgur Simsek, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Abstract

The broad problem I address in this dissertation is design of autonomous agents that can efficiently learn how to achieve desired behaviors in large, complex environments. I focus on one essential design component: the ability to form new behavioral units, or skills, from existing ones. I propose a characterization of a useful class of skills in terms of general properties of an agent's interaction with its environment—in contrast to specific properties of a particular environment—and I introduce methods that can be used to identify and acquire such skills autonomously.

Subject Area

Artificial intelligence|Computer science

Recommended Citation

Simsek, Ozgur, "Behavioral building blocks for autonomous agents: Description, identification, and learning" (2008). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI3337035.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI3337035

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