TD3 vs. DDPG for Coverage-Driven Beamforming Optimization in RIS-Assisted 6G IoT Systems
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69955/ajoeee.2026.v6i1.84Keywords:
KEYWORDS Reconfigurable Intelligent Surfaces (RIS); Coverage Enhancement; 6G Internet of Things (6G IoT); Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG); Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL); Beamforming Optimization ;Abstract
Abstract: Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) will be necessary in forthcoming 6G mobile networks to ensure flexible coverage. This study presents a simulation model employing Deep Reinforcement Learning to enhance beamforming in RIS-supported systems. We put TD3 and DDPG through 30 different tests, each with a different channel setup. The findings indicate that TD3 exhibits a superior average error rate (13.34 ± 0.73) compared to DDPG (11.13 ± 0.87), reflecting a 19.86% enhancement. This statistical analysis demonstrates that this increase is significant (t ≈ 3.99, p < 0.001) and exhibits a considerable effect size (Cohen's d = 1.03). The average difference is between 1.10 and 3.32 with a 95% confidence level. The variance analysis shows that TD3 has a more stable reward and less variability in performance. The results show that TD3 is a statistically valid way to make smart wireless 6G environments better. This means that it makes IoT connectivity with RIS more reliable and stable.
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