Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning for Large-Scale Traffic Signal Control with Spatio-Temporal Attention Mechanism

Traffic congestion in large-scale road networks significantly impacts urban sustainability. Traditional traffic signal control methods lack adaptability to dynamic traffic conditions. Recently, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has emerged as a promising solution for optimizing signal control. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Wenzhe Jia, Mingyu Ji
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-08-01
Series:Applied Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8605
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Summary:Traffic congestion in large-scale road networks significantly impacts urban sustainability. Traditional traffic signal control methods lack adaptability to dynamic traffic conditions. Recently, deep reinforcement learning (DRL) has emerged as a promising solution for optimizing signal control. This study proposes a Multi-Agent Deep Reinforcement Learning (MADRL) framework for large-scale traffic signal control. The framework employs spatio-temporal attention networks to extract relevant traffic patterns and a hierarchical reinforcement learning strategy for coordinated multi-agent optimization. The problem is formulated as a Markov Decision Process (MDP) with a novel reward function that balances vehicle waiting time, throughput, and fairness. We validate our approach on simulated large-scale traffic scenarios using SUMO (Simulation of Urban Mobility). Experimental results demonstrate that our framework reduces vehicle waiting time by 25% compared to baseline methods while maintaining scalability across different road network sizes. The proposed spatio-temporal multi-agent reinforcement learning framework effectively optimizes large-scale traffic signal control, providing a scalable and efficient solution for smart urban transportation.
ISSN:2076-3417