Learning classifier systems with memory condition to solve non-Markov problems

Abstract

In the family of Learning Classifier Systems, the classifier system XCS has been successfully used for many applications. However, the standard XCS has no memory mechanism and can only learn optimal policy in Markov environments, where the optimal action is determined solely by the state of current sensory input. In practice, most environments are partially observable environments on agent's sensation, which are also known as non-Markov environments. Within these environments, XCS either fails, or only develops a suboptimal policy, since it has no memory. In this work, we develop a new classifier system based on XCS to tackle this problem. It adds an internal message list to XCS as the memory list to record input sensation history, and extends a small number of classifiers with memory conditions. The classifier's memory condition, as a foothold to disambiguate non-Markov states, is used to sense a specified element in the memory list. Besides, a detection method is employed to recognize non-Markov states in environments, to avoid these states controlling over classifiers' memory conditions. Furthermore, four sets of different complex maze environments have been tested by the proposed method. Experimental results show that our system is one of the best techniques to solve partially observable environments, compared with some well-known classifier systems proposed for these environments.