Question

Give an example of a task environment that is.. 

1. Episodic and Discrete
2. Continuous and Episodic
3. Continuous, Non-Deterministic and Non-Episodic.

For each of the combinations above, give an example of a task environment.

Answer 1

1. For Episodic and Discrete, I think the baseball game meets the criteria. Every ball has no relationship with next ball( not in a real baseball game), so it is episodic. Good balls that are caught and bad balls have not been caught make it discrete.
2. For Continuous and Episodic, digital image analysis is a good example. The images are isolated and for images, they are continuous.
3. For Continuous, Non-Deterministic and Non-Episodic, most of the chemistry reaction controller are meet the criteria. The reactions are continuous, what will happen is stochastic not only because the same reactants have different reactions in different situations, but also because of impurity effect or other conditions. Some reaction will create a new substance, so it is sequential.

Answer 2

Examples for given combinations:

1. Episodic and Discrete:

   • Example: Playing a game of tic-tac-toe.

   • Explanation: In tic-tac-toe, each game is discrete and episodic. The game consists of a finite number of discrete states (the possible board configurations), and each episode (game) has a clear starting point (an empty board) and ending point (win, lose, or draw).

2. Continuous and Episodic:

   • Example: Skiing down a mountain.

   • Explanation: Skiing down a mountain can be considered a continuous and episodic task. Each skiing session is an episode, with a clear starting point (the top of the mountain) and ending point (reaching the bottom or stopping at a certain point). The action space (movements on the slopes) is continuous, as there are infinite possible movements and trajectories.

3. Continuous, Non-Deterministic, and Non-Episodic:

   • Example: Autonomous driving in a city.

   • Explanation: Autonomous driving in a city can be a continuous, non-deterministic, and non-episodic task. The environment is continuous because the car's movement and surroundings form a continuous space (e.g., streets, traffic flow). It's non-deterministic because external factors such as weather conditions, road conditions, and the behavior of other drivers introduce uncertainty into the system. It's non-episodic because there's no clear division between episodes – the driving task continues indefinitely without clear start or end points, especially in urban environments with continuous traffic flow.