Event-triggered finite-time consensus of multiple Euler Lagrange systems under Markovian switching topologies

Finite-time consensus problem for multiple Euler Lagrange systems under Markovian switching topologies is investigated through an event-triggered control protocol. First, instead of the general stochastic topology, the graph of the entire system is governed by some Markov chains to the edge set, which can recover the traditional Markovian switching topologies in line with the practical communication environment. Then, by utilising an integral sliding-mode control strategy, rigorous analysis of finite-time consensus is performed through the graph theory and Lyapunov stability theory. An event-triggered communication law is delicately carried out for each agent, and Zeno behaviour of triggering time sequences is excluded absolutely. Finally, several simulation results on six two-link manipulators are given to verify the effectiveness of the designed control strategy.     

Event‐triggered Guaranteed Cost Consensus of Networked Singular Multi‐agent Systems

The problem of event‐triggered guaranteed cost consensus of discrete‐time singular multi‐agent systems with switching topologies is investigated in this paper. To save the limited network communication bandwidth of multi‐agent systems, a novel event‐triggered networked consensus mechanism is proposed. Based on the graph theory and singular system theory, sufficient conditions of guaranteed‐cost consensus of discrete‐time singular multi‐agent systems are derived and given in the form of the linear matrix inequalities, respectively. A co‐design approach of the multi‐agent consensus gain matrix and the event‐triggered parameters is presented. Furthermore, based on the approach of second class equivalent transformation for singular systems, the cost function is determined, and an explicit expression of consensus functions is presented. Finally, a numerical example is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Cooperative output regulation of heterogeneous multiagent systems based on event‐triggered control with fixed and switching topologies

This paper addresses the cooperative output regulation problem of multiagent systems with fixed and switching topologies. Each agent is a heterogeneous linear system, and the output of the exosystem can be available to only a subset of agents. For the agents that can directly access the exosystem, a common observer based on an event‐triggered strategy is constructed to estimate the exogenous signal for feedback control design. For the rest of the agents, estimators based on an event‐triggered mechanism to acquire the estimation value of the exogenous signal are designed under some essential assumptions. A decentralized event‐triggered formulation is considered first by applying a Lyapunov function for a fixed topology. Furthermore, a topology‐dependent triggering condition and the average dwell‐time switching law are deduced simultaneously by using multiple Lyapunov functions for switching topologies. Under communication constraints, we propose observer‐based and estimator‐based feedback controllers to solve the cooperative output regulation problem using available local information among agents. Two examples are finally provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed theoretical results.     

积分事件触发策略下的线性多智能体系统领导跟随一致性

研究有向切换拓扑下线性多智能体系统的事件触发一致跟踪问题.大多数已有的工作研究了固定拓扑下的事件触发控制,然而,当智能体间联系随时间发生改变或通信拓扑随时间发生变化时,该控制策略失效.鉴于此,在考虑切换拓扑的基础上提出一种基于积分型事件触发的控制策略.首先,当拓扑图包含一棵生成树且领导者是根节点时,利用Lyapunov稳定性理论、代数图论和矩阵变换,基于积分型事件触发控制协议,在切换拓扑下多智能体系统达到领导跟随一致性;然后,当存在多个领导者时,基于设计的触发机制在切换拓扑下多智能体系统实现包含控制,上述两种情况下闭环系统均不存在Zeno现象;最后,通过仿真结果验证控制策略的有效性.     

Distributed optimisation for multi-agent systems with the first-order integrals under Markovian switching topologies

This paper studies the distributed optimisation problem for multi-agent systems with the first-order dynamics over Markovian switching topologies. The interaction topology among agents’ switches following a Markov process and each topology is modelled as a state of the Markov process. The aim is to minimise the global cost functions and make the agents converge to the optimal point through the network communication between the agents, where each agent has a local convex cost function only known by itself. Utilising the knowledge of convex analysis and graph theory, we establish a distributed algorithm for the optimisation problem with randomly switching topologies. A sufficient condition for the existence of such algorithm is obtained by using the Lyapunov method. Besides, the result is also extended to the cases of a Markov process with partially unknown transition rates. Finally, numerical simulations are given to validate the proposed algorithm.     

部分拓扑切换概率未知的移动传感网保性能一致性控制研究

本文研究了基于马尔科夫切换拓扑的移动传感网保性能一致性问题.网络拓扑切换由一般的马尔科夫链驱动,其初始和转移概率部分未知.切换拓扑集中的每个拓扑皆是带有树的有向拓扑图.借助定义包括接收、发送信息和控制输入的新的全局能耗函数,可以得到切换分布式一致性控制器集合.然后经过状态变换,一致性控制问题转化为减阶的马尔科夫跳跃系统的保性能问题.通过分析马尔科夫跳跃系统的稳定性,提出了可以同时计算次优的一致性控制器增益和次小能耗上界的算法.最后,通过数值仿真检验了控制器设计方法的性能.     

Observer‐based consensus control of nonlinear multiagent systems under semi‐Markovian switching topologies and cyber attacks

This article investigates the leader‐following consensus of nonlinear multiagent systems under semi‐Markovian switching topologies and cyber attacks. Unlike the related works, the communication channels considered herein are subjected to successful but recoverable attacks, and when the channels work well, the network topology is time‐varying and described by a semi‐Markovian switching topology. Due to the effect of attacks, the communication network is intermittently paralyzed. For the cases that the transition rates of semi‐Markovian switching topologies are completely known and partially unknown, observer‐based control protocols and sufficient conditions are proposed, respectively, to ensure the consensus of the systems in the mean square sense. Finally, simulation examples are given to illustrate the validity of the theoretical results.     

Distributed adaptive consensus for multiple mechanical systems with switching topologies and time-varying delay

This paper studies the adaptive consensus problem of networked mechanical systems with time-varying delay and jointly-connected topologies. Two different consensus protocols are proposed. First, we present an adaptive consensus protocol for the connected switching topologies. Based on graph theory, Lyapunov stability theory and switching control theory, the stability of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated. Then we investigate the problem under the more general jointly-connected topologies, and with concurrent time-varying communication delay. The proposed consensus protocol consists of two parts: one is for the connected agents which contains the current states disagreement among them and the other is designed for the isolated agents which contains the states difference between the current and past. A distinctive feature of this work is to address the consensus control problem of mechanical systems with unknown parameters, time-varying delay and switching topologies in a unified theoretical framework. Numerical simulation is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.     

Distributed event‐triggered consensus control with fully continuous communication free for general linear multi‐agent systems under directed graph

This paper considers the distributed event‐triggered consensus problem for multi‐agent systems with general linear dynamics under a directed graph. We propose a novel distributed event‐triggered consensus controller with state‐dependent threshold for each agent to achieve consensus. In this strategy, continuous communication in both controller update and triggering condition monitoring is not required, which means the proposed strategy is fully continuous communication free. Each agent only needs to monitor its own state continuously to determine if the event is triggered. Additionally, the approach shown here provides consensus with guaranteed positive inter‐event time intervals. Therefore, there is no Zeno behavior under the proposed consensus control algorithm. Finally, numerical simulations are given to illustrate the theoretical results.     

Model‐based event‐triggered predictive control for networked systems with communication delays compensation

This paper addresses the model‐based event‐triggered predictive control problem for networked control systems (NCSs). Firstly, we propose a discrete event‐triggered transmission scheme on the sensor node by introducing a quadratic event‐triggering function. Then, on the basis of the aforementioned scheme, a novel class of model‐based event‐triggered predictive control algorithms on the controller node is designed for compensating for the communication delays actively and achieving the desired control performance while using less network resources. Two cases, that is, the value of the communication delay of the first event‐triggered state is less or bigger than the sampling period, are considered separately for certain NCSs, regardless of the communication delays of the subsequent event‐triggered states. The codesign problems of the controller and event‐triggering parameter for the two cases are discussed by using the linear matrix inequality approach and the (switching) Lyapunov functional method. Furthermore, we extended our results to the NCSs with systems uncertainties. Finally, a practical ball and beam system is studied numerically to demonstrate the compensation effect for the communication delays with the proposed novel model‐based event‐triggered predictive control scheme. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

具有时滞的混合阶多智能体系统的组一致性

针对由离散时间一阶和二阶智能体组成的混合阶多智能体系统,研究其在固定和切换拓扑结构下受通信时滞影响时的组一致性问题。分别为两类智能体提出组一致性协议,引入模型变换,将闭环系统转化为等价系统。在一定假设条件下,以代数图论、矩阵理论为主要研究工具,分别在固定和切换拓扑结构下给出了混合阶多智能体系统实现渐近组一致性的条件。采用数值仿真对所得结果的有效性进行了验证。     

Event‐triggered dissipative synchronization for Markovian jump neural networks with general transition probabilities

In this paper, dissipative synchronization problem for the Markovian jump neural networks with time‐varying delay and general transition probabilities is investigated. An event‐triggered communication scheme is introduced to trigger the transmission only when the variation of the sampled vector exceeds a prescribed threshold condition. The transition probabilities of the Markovian jump delayed neural networks are allowed to be known, or uncertain, or unknown. By employing delay system approach, a new model of synchronization error system is proposed. Applying the Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional and integral inequality combining with reciprocal convex technique, a delay‐dependent criterion is developed to guarantee the stochastic stability of the errors system and achieve strict (Q,S,R)?α dissipativity. The event‐triggered parameters can be derived by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed design method.     

Output consensus for heterogeneous multiagent systems with Markovian switching network topologies

This paper investigates the output consensus problem of heterogeneous continuous‐time multiagent systems under randomly switching communication topologies. The switching mechanism is governed by a time‐homogeneous Markov process, whose states correspond to all possible communication topologies among agents. A novel dynamic consensus controller is proposed. The controller gains are designed based on the information of the expectation graph and the solutions to regulator equations. Furthermore, a necessary and sufficient condition is presented for output consensus of the controlled multiagent system in mean square sense. Finally, a simulation example is provided to corroborate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.     

Graph-theoretic characterisations of structural controllability for multi-agent system with switching topology

This article considers the controllability problem for multi-agent systems. In particular, the structural controllability of multi-agent systems under switching topologies is investigated. The structural controllability of multi-agent systems is a generalisation of the traditional controllability concept for dynamical systems, and purely based on the communication topologies among agents. The main contributions of this article are graph-theoretic characterisations of the structural controllability for multi-agent systems. It turns out that the multi-agent system with switching topology is structurally controllable if and only if the union graph 𝒢 of the underlying communication topologies is connected (single leader) or leader–follower connected (multi-leader). Finally, this article concludes with several illustrative examples and discussions of the results and future work.     

Event‐Based Consensus Controller for Linear Multi‐Agent Systems Over Directed Communication Topologies: A Co‐Design Approach

The paper addresses the distributed event‐triggered consensus problem in directed topologies for multi‐agent systems (MAS) with general linear dynamic agents. A co‐design approach is proposed to determine parameters of the consensus controller and its event‐triggered mechanism (ETM), simultaneously. This approach guarantees asymptotic stability along with decreasing data transmission among agents. In the proposed event‐based consensus controller, each agent broadcasts data to the neighbors only at its own triggering instants; this differs from previous studies in which continuous data streams among agents were required. Furthermore, the proposed control law is based on the piecewise constant functions of the measurement values, which are updated at triggering instants. In this case the control scheme decreases the communication network usage, energy consumption, and wear of the actuator. As a result, it facilitates distributed implementation of the proposed consensus controller for real‐world applications. A theorem is proved to outline sufficient conditions to guarantee the asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop system with the event‐based consensus controller. Another theorem is also proved to show the Zeno behavior exclusion. As a case study, the proposed event‐based controller is applied for a diving consensus problem to illustrate the effectiveness of the method.     

Controlling the multi‐plant networked system with external perturbations via adaptive model‐based event‐triggered strategy

This paper concerns the multi‐plant networked control system with external perturbations by applying the adaptive model‐based event‐triggered control strategy. Compared with existing works, we introduce multiple plants topology in order to smooth the information exchanges among different plants. Gained insight into the adaptive model features in the view of event‐triggered thought, the event‐triggered rules, determining when the control inputs update, are obtained using the Lyapunov technique to reduce the communication cost. By designing some adaptive updating laws combined with the concept of event‐triggered, the unknown parameters in uncertain multi‐plant networked control systems are real‐time online estimated and adjusted with respect to the relevant nominal systems at event‐triggered instants. To avoid Zeno phenomena, a lower bound of event‐triggered execution interval is discussed. Furthermore, given the external perturbations, gain stability theory is introduced to analyze the stability of multi‐plant networked control systems with bounded perturbations, and then the sufficient conditions related to the multiple plants topology structure are derived. Finally, a numerical simulation is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of our theoretic results.     

Consensus in second‐order Markovian jump multi‐agent systems via impulsive control using sampled information with heterogenous delays

This paper investigates the consensus problem of second‐order Markovian jump multi‐agent systems with delays. Both network‐induced random delay and node‐induced state delay are considered, where the network‐induced random delay, subjected to a Markov chain, exists in the switching signal and the node‐induced state delay, related to switching topologies, is heterogeneous between any two linked agents. In order to reduce communication and control energy, an impulsive protocol is proposed, where each agent only can get delayed relative positions to neighbors and the velocity of itself at impulsive instants. By performing three steps of model transformation and introducing a mapping for two independent Markov chains, the consensus problem of the original continuous‐time system is equivalent to the stability problem of a discrete‐time expand error system with two Markovian jumping parameters and a necessary and sufficient criterion is derived. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical result.@@@@This work is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 61374171, 61572210, and 51537003, the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2015TS030), and the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (IRT1245).     

Event‐based distributed robust synchronization control for multiple Euler‐Lagrange systems without relative velocity measurements

This paper focuses on the event‐based distributed robust leaderless synchronization control for multiple Euler‐Lagrange systems with directed communication topology that contains a directed spanning tree. Update frequency of the system is reduced by taking advantages of the event‐triggered approach, which can help extend the service life of the controller. Robust control theory is employed to guarantee the synchronization stability of the networked Euler‐Lagrange systems when unmodeled dynamics occur. The cost on the distributed synchronization protocol design can be saved due to the relaxation of the requirement on relative velocity measurements. Furthermore, our results are more practical because unknown disturbance is taken into consideration. In addition, it can be rigorously analyzed that each agent can exclude the undesired Zeno behavior. Some simulation examples are provided in the end to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed event‐based distributed robust control algorithm.     

Event‐triggered finite‐time reliable control for nonhomogeneous Markovian jump systems

This article investigates the event‐triggered finite‐time reliable control problem for a class of Markovian jump systems with time‐varying transition probabilities, time‐varying actuator faults, and time‐varying delays. First, a Luenberger observer is constructed to estimate the unmeasured system state. Second, by applying an event‐triggered strategy from observer to controller, the frequency of transmission is reduced. Third, based on linear matrix inequality technique and stochastic finite‐time analysis, event‐triggered observer‐based controllers are designed and sufficient conditions are given, which ensure the finite‐time boundedness of the closed‐loop system in an H_∞ sense. Finally, an example is utilized to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller design approach.