Journal of Soft Computing Exploration
Vol. 7 No. 2 (2026): June 2026

Lightweight discrete q-learning for self-tuning PID on ESP32: Robustness evaluation and cross-volume adaptation in egg incubators

Efendi, Tino Feri (Unknown)
Zainal Arifin (Unknown)



Article Info

Publish Date
19 May 2026

Abstract

Temperature stability is the most crucial factor in the success of the egg incubation process. The use of conventional Proportional–Integral–Derivative (PID) control with static Ziegler–Nichols tuning often fails to adapt to external disturbances and thermal dynamics, leading to temperature overshoot that can be fatal to embryo survival. This study proposes the implementation of an adaptive PID controller using a Discrete Q-Learning method based on Edge-AI on an ESP32 microcontroller. Experimental results under standard conditions show that the Q-Learning method successfully reduces overshoot by up to 81.8%, limiting the temperature spike to only 0.2°C above the target of 38.0°C, and accelerating the stabilization time by 76.9% with a reduction in IAE of 52.5%. In the dynamic disturbance rejection test, the adaptive system validated the algorithm's robustness against dynamic disturbances. Furthermore, cross-environment adaptation evaluation by reducing the incubator volume by 50% demonstrates the agent’s autonomous adaptation capability, eliminating overshoot entirely (0.000°C) without parameter recalibration and reducing IAE by 55.1% compared to static PID. This study concludes that the implementation of Q-Learning on low-cost hardware produces a robust, precise, and autonomously adaptive thermal control system for agricultural technology applications.

Copyrights © 2026






Journal Info

Abbrev

journal

Publisher

Subject

Computer Science & IT Control & Systems Engineering Decision Sciences, Operations Research & Management Electrical & Electronics Engineering

Description

The journal focuses on publishing high-quality, original research and review articles in the field of Soft Computing, Informatics and Computer Science, emphasizing the development, application, and rigorous evaluation of Advanced Computational Methods, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning ...