Multi-agent broad reinforcement learning for intelligent traffic light control

Abstract

Intelligent traffic light control (ITLC) aims to relieve traffic congestion. Some multi-agent deep reinforcement learning (MADRL) algorithms have been proposed for ITLC, and most of them use deep neural networks to make decisions. However, the abundant parameters of deep structure lead to the time-consuming training process of MADRL. Recently, a broad reinforcement learning (BRL) approach has been proposed to improve the efficiency of training for an agent. Unlike MADRL algorithms that use deep architecture, BRL utilizes a broad architecture. In this paper, we propose a multi-agent broad reinforcement learning (MABRL) algorithm for ITLC. The MABRL algorithm adopts the broad network to process the joint information and updates the parameters using ridge regression. To increase the effectiveness of interaction among agents, we design a dynamic interaction mechanism (DIM) based on the attention mechanism. The DIM enables agents to aggregate information on particular intersections at appropriate moments. We conduct experiments on three different datasets. The results demonstrate that the effectiveness of MABRL outperforms several state-of-the-art algorithms in alleviating traffic congestion with shorter training time.