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Human-Like Rewards To Train A Reinforcement Learning Controller For Planar Arm Movement, Kathleen M. Jagodnik, Philip S. Thomas, Antonie J. Van Den Bogert, Michael S. Branicky, Robert F. Kirsch

Mechanical Engineering Faculty Publications

High-level spinal cord injury (SCI) in humans causes paralysis below the neck. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) technology applies electrical current to nerves and muscles to restore movement, and controllers for upper extremity FES neuroprostheses calculate stimulation patterns to produce desired arm movement. However, currently available FES controllers have yet to restore natural movements. Reinforcement learning (RL) is a reward-driven control technique; it can employ user-generated rewards, and human preferences can be used in training. To test this concept with FES, we conducted simulation experiments using computer-generated ``pseudohuman{''} rewards. Rewards with varying properties were used with an actor-critic RL controller for …