IP Library › Granted Patent US 11,205,124
Granted Patent B1
US 11,205,124 · App. 17/186,795 · Granted Dec 21, 2021

Method and system for controlling heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning

Inventors: Hui Yang (Nanchang, CN); Yu Wang (Nanchang, CN); Zhongqi Li (Nanchang, CN); Yating Fu (Nanchang, CN); Chang Tan (Nanchang, CN)
Assignee: East China Jiaotong University
G06N3/08B61L25/021B61L25/023B61L25/028G05B13/042G06K9/6256G06N5/022
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 11,205,124
App. No.
17/186,795
Granted
Dec 21, 2021
Kind
B1
Abstract

The present disclosure provides a method and system for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning. The method includes: obtaining operation state information of a heavy-haul train at a current time point; obtaining a heavy-haul train action of a next time point according to the operation state information of the heavy-haul train at the current time point and a heavy-haul train virtual controller, and sending the heavy-haul train action of the next time point to a heavy-haul train control unit to control operation of the heavy-haul train. The heavy-haul train virtual controller is obtained by training a reinforcement learning network according to operation state data of the heavy-haul train and an expert strategy network; the reinforcement learning network includes one actor network and two critic networks; the reinforcement learning network is constructed according to a soft actor-critic (SAC) reinforcement learning algorithm.

Claims (26)

1. A method for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning, comprising:

obtaining operation state information of a heavy-haul train at a current time point, wherein the heavy-haul train comprises a plurality of vehicles, the vehicles comprise a traction locomotive and freight wagons, and the operation state information comprises a speed of the heavy-haul train and a position of the heavy-haul train; and

obtaining a heavy-haul train action of a next time point according to the operation state information of the heavy-haul train at the current time point and a heavy-haul train virtual controller, and sending the heavy-haul train action of the next time point to a heavy-haul train control unit to control operation of the heavy-haul train;

wherein the heavy-haul train virtual controller stores line information of the heavy-haul train;

a training process of the heavy-haul train virtual controller comprises: constructing a training architecture of the heavy-haul train virtual controller, wherein the training architecture of the heavy-haul train virtual controller comprises the expert strategy network, the reinforcement learning network, a memory, and a simulation environment for heavy-haul train operation, and the memory stores the operation state data of the heavy-haul train; inputting same-cycle positions in the operation state data of the heavy-haul train to the expert strategy network and the actor network of the reinforcement learning network, and inputting same-cycle speeds in the operation state data of the heavy-haul train to the expert strategy network and the actor network of the reinforcement learning network, to obtain an expert action and a reinforcement learning action; inputting the reinforcement learning action as well as the same-cycle speeds and the same-cycle positions in the operation state data of the heavy-haul train to the critic networks of the reinforcement learning network, to obtain a critic loss; calculating an instruction loss according to the expert action and the reinforcement learning action; and updating actor network parameters of the reinforcement learning network according to a comprehensive loss, until a required heavy-haul train virtual controller is obtained, wherein the comprehensive loss is a sum of the critic loss and the instruction loss; and

the reinforcement learning network comprises one actor network and two critic networks; the reinforcement learning network is constructed according to a soft actor-critic (SAC) reinforcement learning algorithm; the operation state data of the heavy-haul train is a temporal sequence of positions, speeds, and rewards of the heavy-haul train in M cycles.

2. The method for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning according to claim 1 , wherein a training process of the expert strategy network comprises:

pre-training a recurrent neural network by using historical data of actual operation of the heavy-haul train, to obtain the expert strategy network, wherein the historical data of actual operation of the heavy-haul train is a temporal sequence of positions, speeds, and control forces of the heavy-haul train on a line in N cycles.

3. The method for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning according to claim 1 , wherein the training process of the heavy-haul train virtual controller further comprises:

updating critic network parameters of the reinforcement learning network according to a reward of the operation state data of the heavy-haul train.

4. The method for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning according to claim 1 , wherein the training process of the heavy-haul train virtual controller further comprises:

inputting the reinforcement learning action to the simulation environment for heavy-haul train operation, to obtain updated operation state data of the heavy-haul train, and storing the updated operation state data of the heavy-haul train into the memory.

5. The method for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning according to claim 1 , wherein a process of constructing the simulation environment for heavy-haul train operation comprises:

determining a kinematic model of the heavy-haul train;

determining, in a reinforcement learning environment, a reward function of an operation process of the heavy-haul train, wherein the reward function comprises a speed reward function, an explore range reward function, and a maximum coupler force reward function; and

forming the simulation environment for heavy-haul train operation according to the kinematic model of the heavy-haul train and the reward function.

6. The method for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning according to claim 5 , wherein the determining a kinematic model of the heavy-haul train comprises:

modeling the operation process of the heavy-haul train by using a multi-particle longitudinal dynamic equation of the heavy-haul train, to obtain the kinematic model of the heavy-haul train.

7. A system for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning, comprising:

an information obtaining module, configured to obtain operation state information of a heavy-haul train at a current time point, wherein the heavy-haul train comprises a plurality of vehicles, the vehicles comprise a traction locomotive and freight wagons, and the operation state information comprises a speed of the heavy-haul train and a position of the heavy-haul train; and

an action determining module, configured to obtain a heavy-haul train action of a next time point according to the operation state information of the heavy-haul train at the current time point and a heavy-haul train virtual controller, and send the heavy-haul train action of the next time point to a heavy-haul train control unit to control operation of the heavy-haul train;

wherein the heavy-haul train virtual controller stores line information of the heavy-haul train;

a training process of the heavy-haul train virtual controller comprises: constructing a training architecture of the heavy-haul train virtual controller, wherein the training architecture of the heavy-haul train virtual controller comprises the expert strategy network, the reinforcement learning network, a memory, and a simulation environment for heavy-haul train operation, and the memory stores the operation state data of the heavy-haul train; inputting same-cycle positions in the operation state data of the heavy-haul train to the expert strategy network and the actor network of the reinforcement learning network, and inputting same-cycle speeds in the operation state data of the heavy-haul train to the expert strategy network and the actor network of the reinforcement learning network, to obtain an expert action and a reinforcement learning action; inputting the reinforcement learning action as well as the same-cycle speeds and the same-cycle positions in the operation state data of the heavy-haul train to the critic networks of the reinforcement learning network, to obtain a critic loss; calculating an instruction loss according to the expert action and the reinforcement learning action; and updating actor network parameters of the reinforcement learning network according to a comprehensive loss, until a required heavy-haul train virtual controller is obtained, wherein the comprehensive loss is a sum of the critic loss and the instruction loss; and

the reinforcement learning network comprises one actor network and two critic networks; the reinforcement learning network is constructed according to a soft actor-critic (SAC) reinforcement learning algorithm; the operation state data of the heavy-haul train is a temporal sequence of positions, speeds, and rewards of the heavy-haul train in M cycles.

8. The system for controlling a heavy-haul train based on reinforcement learning according to claim 7 , wherein a training process of the expert strategy network in the action determining module comprises:

pre-training a recurrent neural network by using historical data of actual operation of the heavy-haul train, to obtain the expert strategy network, wherein the historical data of actual operation of the heavy-haul train is a temporal sequence of positions, speeds, and control forces of the heavy-haul train on a line in N cycles.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 26, 2021
From: YANG, HUI; WANG, YU; LI, ZHONGQI; FU, YATING; TAN, CHANG
To: EAST CHINA JIAOTONG UNIVERSITY
Reel/Frame 055440/0704 →
Priority Claims (1)
CN 202011396657.6 · Dec 4, 2020 · national
Cited By (3)
US 12,420,849 US 12,591,219 US 12,686,126