Zhengkai Ding^1,2, Qiming Fu^1,2,*, Jianping Chen^2,3,4,*, You Lu^1,2, Hongjie Wu¹, Nengwei Fang⁴, Bin Xing⁴

CMES-Computer Modeling in Engineering & Sciences, Vol.136, No.3, pp. 2759-2785, 2023, DOI:10.32604/cmes.2023.026091

Abstract The optimization of multi-zone residential heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) control is not an easy task due to its complex dynamic thermal model and the uncertainty of occupant-driven cooling loads. Deep reinforcement learning (DRL) methods have recently been proposed to address the HVAC control problem. However, the application of single-agent DRL for multi-zone residential HVAC control may lead to non-convergence or slow convergence. In this paper, we propose MAQMC (Multi-Agent deep Q-network for multi-zone residential HVAC Control) to address this challenge with the goal of minimizing energy consumption while maintaining occupants’ thermal comfort. MAQMC is divided into MAQMC2 (MAQMC… More >

Prohim Tam¹, Sa Math¹, Ahyoung Lee², Seokhoon Kim^1,3,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.71, No.2, pp. 3319-3335, 2022, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2022.023215

Abstract Federated learning (FL) activates distributed on-device computation techniques to model a better algorithm performance with the interaction of local model updates and global model distributions in aggregation averaging processes. However, in large-scale heterogeneous Internet of Things (IoT) cellular networks, massive multi-dimensional model update iterations and resource-constrained computation are challenging aspects to be tackled significantly. This paper introduces the system model of converging software-defined networking (SDN) and network functions virtualization (NFV) to enable device/resource abstractions and provide NFV-enabled edge FL (eFL) aggregation servers for advancing automation and controllability. Multi-agent deep Q-networks (MADQNs) target to enforce a self-learning softwarization, optimize resource allocation… More >

Faizan Rasheed¹, Kok-Lim Alvin Yau², Rafidah Md Noor³, Yung-Wey Chong^4,*

CMC-Computers, Materials & Continua, Vol.71, No.2, pp. 2225-2247, 2022, DOI:10.32604/cmc.2022.022952

Abstract This paper investigates the use of multi-agent deep Q-network (MADQN) to address the curse of dimensionality issue occurred in the traditional multi-agent reinforcement learning (MARL) approach. The proposed MADQN is applied to traffic light controllers at multiple intersections with busy traffic and traffic disruptions, particularly rainfall. MADQN is based on deep Q-network (DQN), which is an integration of the traditional reinforcement learning (RL) and the newly emerging deep learning (DL) approaches. MADQN enables traffic light controllers to learn, exchange knowledge with neighboring agents, and select optimal joint actions in a collaborative manner. A case study based on a real traffic… More >