Lego Mindstorms Robots as a Platform for Teaching Reinforcement Learning

Abstract

This paper examines the suitability of Lego Mindstorms robotic kits as a platform for teaching the concepts of reinforcement learning. The reinforcement learning algorithm Sarsa was implemented on board an autonomous Mindstorms robot, and applied to two learning tasks. The reasons behind the differing results obtained on these two tasks are discussed, and several issues related to the suitability of Mindstorms as a platform for teaching or experimentation with reinforcement learning are identified.