| Abstract: | This paper studies flocking algorithms for multi‐agent systems with directed switching velocity interaction topologies. It is assumed that the position information of each agent is available for agents within its neighborhood region of radius r, however, they communicate the velocity information between each other through unidirectional links modeled by a particular class of directed topologies. A new energy function is defined to analyze the global stability and a sufficient condition is derived for asymptotic flocking in the face of switching topologies. The proposed control strategy guarantees the achievement of desired formations, while avoiding collisions among agents. It also ensures velocity agreement under suitable conditions in a variety of real networks with greatly reduced velocity data exchange. Moreover, a leader‐follower framework is formulated for the described class of interaction topologies and it is shown that a more relaxed condition is required to achieve the desired performance. Finally, several simulations are performed to illustrate and confirm the theoretical results obtained. |
