Abstract
Driving in a straight line is one of the fundamental tasks for autonomous vehicles, but it can become complex and challenging, especially when dealing with high-speed highways and dense traffic conditions. This research aims to explore the Deep-Q Networking (DQN) model, which is one of the reinforcement learning (RL) methods, in a highway environment. DQN was chosen due to its proficiency in handling complex data through integrated neural network approximations, making it capable of addressing high-complexity environments. DQN simulations were conducted across four scenarios, allowing the agent to operate at speeds ranging from 60 to nearly 100 km/h. The simulations featured a variable number of vehicles/obstacles, ranging from 20 to 80, and each simulation had a duration of 40 seconds within the Highway-Env simulator. Based on the test results, the DQN method exhibited excellent performance, achieving the highest reward value in the first scenario, 35.6117 out of a maximum of 40, and a success rate of 90.075%.