Synchronization of identical linear dynamic systems subject to input saturation

This paper investigates the synchronization problem for a group of agents with identical linear dynamics subject to input saturation. Two classes of linear systems, asymptotically null controllable with bounded control (ANCBC) systems and double-integrator systems, are studied. For ANCBC systems, it is shown that a linear protocol with the control gain obtained via parametric Lyapunov equations can semiglobally synchronize the undirected topology provided that its augmented directed topology has a spanning tree. For a special case of ANCBC, the double-integrator systems, it is established that if the augmented directed topology has a spanning tree, then in the presence of input saturation, using linear protocols with positive control gains can achieve global synchronization. Two numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Consensus for multi‐agent systems under double integrator dynamics with time‐varying communication delays

In this paper, the consensus control problems for multi‐agent systems under double integrator dynamics with time‐varying communication delays are investigated. We assume that the interaction graphs among agents are directed. Two kinds of protocols are considered. One is an absolute damping protocol, and the other is a relative damping protocol. For the first protocol, Lyapunov–Razumikhin functional techniques are used. We derive sufficient conditions that guarantee that all agents asymptotically reach consensus under fixed topology and switching topology, respectively. Moreover, the allowable upper bound for communication delays is given. For the second protocol, Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional techniques are used. Linear matrix inequality (LMI)‐form sufficient conditions are obtained to guarantee the consensus problems to be solved under fixed topology and switching topology, respectively. The allowable upper bound for communication delays is given as well. The feasibilities of the demanded LMIs are also discussed. Finally, numerical simulations are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of our theoretical results. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed adaptive control for time-varying formation of general linear multi-agent systems

An adaptive gain scheduling technique is investigated to discuss distributed time-varying formation (TVF) control problems for general linear time-invariant multi-agent systems (LTI-MASs), where two types of topologies are considered: (1) the interaction topology is undirected and connected, and (2) the interaction topology is directed. Two fully distributed adaptive TVF control protocols are, respectively proposed, which both assign a time-varying coupling weight to each node in the interaction topology. Two algorithms to design the constructed protocols are presented under the undirected and directed interaction topologies, respectively. A feasible TVF set is provided. The stabilities of two algorithms are, respectively proved based on the Lyapunov functional theory. For both undirected and directed interaction topologies, general LTI-MASs can achieve the given TVF using the designed fully distributed adaptive formation protocol without any global information about the interaction topology when the TVF satisfies the feasible set. Finally, theoretical results are illustrated with numerical simulation examples.     

Consensus with guaranteed convergence rate of high-order integrator agents in the presence of time-varying delays

This paper aims to study the consensus problem in directed networks of agents with high-order integrator dynamics and fixed topology. It is considered the existence of non-uniform time-varying delays in the agents control laws for each interaction between agents and their neighbours. Based on Lyapunov–Krasovskii stability theory and algebraic graph theory, sufficient conditions, in terms of linear matrix inequalities, are given to verify if consensus is achieved with guaranteed exponential convergence rate. The efficiency of the proposed method is verified by numerical simulations. The simulations reveal that the conditions established in this work outperformed the similar existing ones in all numerical tests accomplished in this paper.     

Event‐based asynchronous communication and sampled control for synchronization of multiagent networks with input saturation

This paper investigates the problem of event‐based synchronization of linear dynamical networks subject to input saturation. The asynchronous neighboring information transmission is triggered by distributed events. The sampled control technique is utilized to exclude both the internal Zeno behavior of each agent and the network Zeno behavior attributed to neighboring agents. Allowing the input saturation to be attained, an event‐based global synchronization algorithm is proposed for multiagent networks with neutrally stable dynamics. For general linear networks, an event‐triggered control protocol is designed using the modified algebraic Riccati equation, with a low‐gain cooperative control law proposed to achieve semiglobal synchronization. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the theoretical results.     

Cooperative adaptive control for synchronization of second‐order systems with unknown nonlinearities

This paper studies synchronization to a desired trajectory for multi‐agent systems with second‐order integrator dynamics and unknown nonlinearities and disturbances. The agents can have different dynamics and the treatment is for directed graphs with fixed communication topologies. The command generator or leader node dynamics is also nonlinear and unknown. Cooperative tracking adaptive controllers are designed based on each node maintaining a neural network parametric approximator and suitably tuning it to guarantee stability and performance. A Lyapunov‐based proof shows the ultimate boundedness of the tracking error. A simulation example with nodes having second‐order Lagrangian dynamics verifies the performance of the cooperative tracking adaptive controller. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synchronization in a network of identical continuous‐ or discrete‐time agents with unknown nonuniform constant input delay

This paper studies the synchronization problem for multiagent systems with identical continuous‐ or discrete‐time agents with unknown nonuniform constant input delays. The agents are connected via full‐ or partial‐state coupling. The agents are assumed to be asymptotically null controllable, ie, all eigenvalues are in the closed left‐half complex plane for continuous‐time agents or in the closed unit disc for discrete‐time agents. We derive an upper bound for the input delay tolerance, which explicitly depends on the agent dynamics. Moreover, for any unknown delay satisfying this upper bound, a low‐gain–based protocol design methodology is proposed without relying on exact knowledge of the network topology such that synchronization is achieved among agents for any network graph in a given set.     

Uniform synchronization in multi‐agent systems with switching topologies

This paper deals with uniform synchronization analysis of multi‐agent systems with switching topologies. The agents are assumed to have general, yet identical, linear dynamics. The underlying communication topology may switch arbitrarily within a finite set of admissible topologies. We establish conditions under which the network is uniformly synchronized meaning that synchronization is valid under all possible switching scenarios. The primary conditions established are in terms of a pair of Lyapunov strict inequalities. Following those conditions, small gain and passivity types of conditions are proposed under which uniform synchronization is guaranteed. The proposed results are also extended to the case of observer‐based protocols. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于LQR的耦合动态互联系统分布式协作 负载均衡优化控制

针对一类非等同非线性耦合互联系统,提出分布式协作负载均衡优化控制方法.将子系统间的通信联系建模成有向图,借助输入输出反馈线性化技术,将耦合互联系统的分布式负载均衡控制设计问题转化为广义线性多智能体系统的同步跟踪问题;基于最近邻原则和LQR方法,设计增益可调的分布式协作负载均衡优化控制律,耦合强度依赖于通信拓扑,控制增益依赖于子系统模型;借助矩阵变换方法,整个闭环系统的渐近稳定性可以解耦成每个子系统的稳定性,在假定通信拓扑只含有生成树的条件下,借助李亚谱诺夫函数,可证明整个闭环系统是稳定的,且通过调节控制增益,可以得到期望的响应速度.仿真结果验证了所提出控制方法的有效性及可行性.     

Passivity‐based state synchronization of homogeneous multiagent systems via static protocol in the presence of input saturation

This paper studies semiglobal and global state synchronization of homogeneous multiagent systems with partial‐state coupling (ie, agents are coupled through part of their states) via a static protocol. We consider 2 classes of agents, ie, G‐passive and G‐passifiable via input feedforward, which are subjected to input saturation. The proposed static protocol is purely decentralized, ie, without an additional channel for the exchange of controller states. For semiglobal synchronization, a static protocol is designed for an a priori given set of network graphs with a directed spanning tree. In other words, the static protocol only needs rough information on the network graph, ie, a lower bound for the real part and an upper bound for the modulus, of the nonzero eigenvalues of the corresponding Laplacian matrix. Whereas for global synchronization, only strongly connected and detailed balanced network graphs are considered. In this case, for G‐passive agents, the static protocol does not need any network information, whereas for G‐passifiable agents via input feedforward, the static protocol only needs an upper bound for the modulus of the eigenvalues of the corresponding Laplacian matrix.     

Consensus Control for Directed Networks Under Quantized Information Exchange

In this paper, without assuming balanced network topologies, we address the weighted average consensus problem for discrete‐time single‐integrator multi‐agent systems with logarithmic quantized information communication. By incorporating generalized quadratic Lyapunov function with the discrete‐time Bellman–Gronwall inequality, a new upper bound about the quantization precision parameter of the infinite‐level logarithmic quantizer is derived to design quantized protocol, under which agents in strongly connected directed networks can attain weighted average consensus. The obtained new upper bound clearly characterizes the intimate relation between the quantization precision parameter and the directed network topology. The proposed quantized protocol is particularly applicable to digital networks where balanced message passing among agents is not available.     

Robust semiglobal swarm tracking of coupled harmonic oscillators with input saturation and external disturbance

The robust semiglobal swarm tracking problem of N coupled harmonic oscillators and 1 actual leader with input saturation and external disturbance on a directed communication topology is considered, in which the N coupled harmonic oscillators are referred to followers. First, the low‐and‐high gain feedback technique is introduced to construct a relative state‐dependent control algorithm. Then, an observer‐based control algorithm is designed based on the low‐and‐high gain feedback technique and the high‐gain observer design methodology. Sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee robust semiglobal swarm tracking for state‐feedback control and output‐feedback control, respectively. Numerical simulations are finally provided to verify the theoretic results.     

A New Observer‐Type Consensus Protocol for Linear Multi‐Agent Dynamical Systems

The consensus problem is investigated in this paper for a class of multi‐agent systems with general linear node dynamics and directed communication topologies. A new distributed observer‐type consensus protocol is designed based only on the relative output measurements of neighboring agents. Compared with existing observer‐type protocols, the one presented here does not require information about the relative states of the observers. Tools from small gain theory and matrix analysis, some sufficient conditions are obtained for achieving consensus in such multi‐agent systems where the underlying network topology contains a directed spanning tree. Finally, some numerical examples including an application in low‐Earth‐orbit satellite formation flying are provided to illustrate the theoretical results.     

Output feedback semiglobal practical consensus of linear systems with relative state‐dependent uncertainties

This paper proposes an output feedback consensus control law for linear multiagent systems with relative state‐dependent uncertainties. To achieve output feedback control and uncertainty attenuation, the theories of extended high‐gain observer and structural decomposition are employed. Under the proposed control scheme, semiglobal practical consensus is achieved in the sense that the synchronization errors are ultimately bounded. Besides, the synchronization errors can be kept arbitrarily small by a proper choice of tuning parameters. Finally, a simulation example is provided to verify the theoretical results.     

Regulated state synchronization of homogeneous multiagent systems with partial‐state coupling via low‐gain adaptive protocol

This paper studies regulated state synchronization for continuous‐time homogeneous multiagent systems with weakly unstable agents where the reference trajectory is given by a so‐called exosystem. The agents share part of their state over a communication network. We assume that the communication topology is completely unknown and directed. An algebraic Riccati equation–based low‐gain adaptive nonlinear dynamic protocol design is presented to achieve the regulated state synchronizations. Utilizing the adaptive control, our nonlinear dynamic protocol is universal and does not depend on any information about the communication topology or the number of agents.     

Cooperative observers and regulators for discrete‐time multiagent systems

This paper investigates the design of distributed observers for agents with identical linear discrete‐time state‐space dynamics networked on a directed graph interaction topology. The digraph is assumed to have fixed topology and contain a spanning tree. Cooperative observer design guaranteeing convergence of the estimates of all agents to their actual states is proposed. The notion of convergence region for distributed observers on graphs is introduced. It is shown that the proposed cooperative observer design has a robustness property. Application of cooperative observers is made to the synchronization problem. A command trajectory generator and pinning control are employed for synchronizing all the agents to a desired trajectory. Complete knowledge about the agent's state is not assumed. A duality principle is shown for observers and state feedback for distributed discrete‐time systems on graph topologies. Three different observer/controller architectures are proposed for dynamic output feedback regulator design, and they are shown to guarantee convergence of the estimate to the true state and synchronization of all the agents' states to the command state trajectory. This provides design methods for cooperative regulators based on a separation principle. It is shown that the observer convergence region and feedback control synchronizing region for discrete‐time systems are inherently bounded, so that the conditions for observer convergence and state synchronization are stricter than the results for the continuous‐time counterparts. This is in part remedied by using weighting of different feedback coupling gains for every agent. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduced-Order Observer-Based Leader-Following Formation Control for Discrete-Time Linear Multi-Agent Systems

Formation control of discrete-time linear multi-agent systems using directed switching topology is considered in this work via a reduced-order observer, in which a formation control protocol is proposed under the assumption that each directed communication topology has a directed spanning tree. By utilizing the relative outputs of neighboring agents, a reduced-order observer is designed for each following agent. A multi-step control algorithm is established based on the Lyapunov method and the modified discrete-time algebraic Riccati equation. A sufficient condition is given to ensure that the discrete-time linear multi-agent system can achieve the expected leader-following formation. Finally, numerical examples are provided so as to demonstrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.      

Consensus of multiple double‐integrator agents with intermittent measurement

This paper is concerned with consensus problems in directed networks of multiple agents with double‐integrator dynamics. It is assumed that each agent adjusts its state based on the information of its states relative to its neighbors at discrete times and the interaction topology among agents is time‐varying. Both synchronous and asynchronous cases are considered. The synchrony means that each agent's update times, at which it obtains new control signals, are the same as the others', and the asynchrony implies that each agent's update times are independent of the others'. In the synchronous case, the consensus problem is proved to be equivalent to the asymptotic stability problem of a discrete‐time switched system. By analyzing the asymptotic stability of the discrete‐time switched system, it is shown that consensus can be reached if the update time intervals are small sufficiently, and an allowable upper bound of update time intervals is obtained. In the asynchronous case, the consensus problem is transformed into the global asymptotic stability problem of a continuous‐time switched system with time‐varying delays. In virtue of a linear matrix inequality method, it is proved that consensus can be reached if the delays are small enough, and an admissible upper bound of delays is derived. Simulations are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consensus Control of Leader-Following Multi-Agent Systems in Directed Topology With Heterogeneous Disturbances

This paper investigates the consensus problem for linear multi-agent systems with the heterogeneous disturbances generated by the Brown motion. Its main contribution is that a control scheme is designed to achieve the dynamic consensus for the multi-agent systems in directed topology interfered by stochastic noise. In traditional ways, the coupling weights depending on the communication structure are static. A new distributed controller is designed based on Riccati inequalities, while updating the coupling weights associated with the gain matrix by state errors between adjacent agents. By introducing time-varying coupling weights into this novel control law, the state errors between leader and followers asymptotically converge to the minimum value utilizing the local interaction. Through the Lyapunov directed method and It? formula, the stability of the closed-loop system with the proposed control law is analyzed. Two simulation results conducted by the new and traditional schemes are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness and advantage of the developed control method.      

Stable Flocking Motion of Mobile Agents Following a Leader in Fixed and Switching Networks

Multiple mobile agents with double integrator dynamics, following a leader to achieve a flocking motion formation, are studied in this paper. A class of local control laws for a group of mobile agents is proposed. Prom a theoretical proof, the following conclusions are reached: (i) agents globally align their velocity vectors with a leader, (ii) they converge their velocities to the leaders velocity, (iii) collisions among interconnected agents are avoided, and (iv) agent's artificial potential functions are minimized. We model the interaction and/or communication relationship between agents by algebraic graph theory. Stability analysis is achieved by using classical Lyapunov theory in a fixed network topology, and differential inclusions and nonsmooth analysis in a switching network topology respectively. Simulation examples are provided.