Robust consensus tracking of linear multiagent systems with input saturation and input‐additive uncertainties

The problem of robust global consensus tracking of linear multiagent systems with input saturation and input‐additive uncertainties is investigated in this paper. By using the parametric Lyapunov equation approach and an existing dynamic gain scheduling technique, a new distributed nonlinear‐gain scheduling consensus‐trackining algorithm is developed to solve this problem. Under the assumption that each agent is asymptotically null controllable with bounded control, it is shown that the robust global consensus tracking can be achieved under the undirected graph provided that its generated graph contains a directed spanning tree. Compared with the existing algebraic Riccati equation approach, which requires the online solution of a parameterized algebraic Riccati equation, all the parameters in the proposed nonlinear algorithm are offline determined a priori. Finally, numerical examples are provided to validate the theoretical results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

内外不确定因素同时估计与补偿的鲁棒分布式跟踪控制

本文研究了多运动体系统中领航者(leader)和跟随者(follower)同时受扰条件下的跟踪控制问题.针对3–DOF直升机模型的角度轨迹协同跟踪任务,设计并验证了基于跟随者不确定因素和外部领航者干扰同时补偿的分布式鲁棒算法.分别通过不确定与干扰估计器和扩张状态观测器实现对内外扰动的估计与补偿,恢复了标称系统的跟踪性能...     

Connectivity maintenance and distributed tracking for double‐integrator agents with bounded potential functions

In this paper, we develop a set of decentralized control laws with bounded potential functions. The basic control law is a combination of attractive, repulsive, and alignment forces, which can keep connectivity, avoid collision, synchronize all agents, and further track a constant moving leader. Furthermore, we investigate the distributed tracking problem with a varying‐velocity leader, where the acceleration of the leader can not be measured. Two cases are considered; the acceleration of the leader is bounded, and the acceleration function satisfies Lipschitz condition. In the first case, the relative velocities of neighbors are integrated and transmitted as a new variable to account for the uncertain time‐varying acceleration. In the second case, two distributed estimators are added for the leader's position and velocity. Finally, some simulations are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust semi‐global coordinated tracking of linear multi‐agent systems with input saturation

This paper investigates the problem of coordinated tracking of a linear multi‐agent system subject to actuator magnitude saturation and dead zone characteristic with input additive uncertainties and disturbances. Distributed consensus and swarm tracking protocols are developed from a low‐and‐high gain feedback approach. Under the assumption that each agent is asymptotically null controllable with bounded controls, it is shown that robust semi‐global consensus tracking and swarm tracking of the multi‐agent system can always be reached provided that the networks are connected. Numerical examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Necessary and sufficient conditions for solving consensus problems of double‐integrator dynamics via sampled control

In this paper, consensus problems of double‐integrator dynamics via sampled control are investigated. The sampled control protocol is induced from continuous‐time linear consensus protocol by using periodic sampling technology and zero‐order hold circuit. With the obtained sampled control protocol, the continuous‐time multi‐agent system is equivalently transformed into a linear discrete‐time system. Necessary and sufficient conditions are given to guarantee that all the agents asymptotically travel with zero relative positions and common velocities. Furthermore, consensus problem with continuous‐time consensus protocol is re‐analyzed. A necessary and sufficient condition is also obtained which is consistent with the special case when the sampling period tends to zero. The effectiveness of these algorithms is demonstrated through simulations. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust finite-time consensus tracking for second-order multi-agent systems with input saturation under general directed communication graphs

In this paper, we study the global finite-time consensus tracking problem for uncertain second-order multi-agent systems subject to input saturation. The communication graphs are allowed to be general directed graphs. Sliding-mode observer-based distributed controllers are proposed such that global finite-time consensus tracking is achieved with bounded control inputs. Only relative state or output measurements are used in the proposed controller which reduces the communication requirement on the agents. Simulation examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategies.     

Reaching global leaderless consensus in directed networks via smooth and bounded control

This short communication revisits the leaderless consensus problem in directed networks. The network topology is described by a general directed graph which is only needed to contain at least a directed spanning tree, and is not necessarily strongly connected. A bounded and smooth control law using the hyperbolic tangent function is developed as the consensus protocol. Explicit stability analysis based on Lyapunov's second method and the concept of condensation graph is given. The proposed approach transforms the leaderless consensus problem into two subproblems: reaching leader-following consensus under a graph containing a directed spanning tree with the leader being the root node and reaching leaderless consensus under a strongly connected graph. Remarkably, a perturbed system is formulated as the bridge between these two subproblems which are solved by Lyapunov's second method. The global leaderless consensus is achieved based on the stability of the perturbed system. Finally, two numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Group consensus control for double‐integrator dynamic multiagent systems with fixed communication topology

The problem of group consensus is investigated in this paper, where all agents possess double‐integrator dynamics. Two different kinds of consensus protocols are proposed for networks with fixed communication topology to reach group consensus for the agents’ positions and velocities. Convergence analysis is discussed, and necessary and/or sufficient conditions are presented for multiagent systems to achieve group consensus. The first protocol leads to dynamic consensus where positions of all agents reach time‐varying consensus values. By applying the second protocol, both the agents’ positions and their velocities reach constant consensus values. That is, static consensus is achieved. Simulation examples are given to show the effectiveness of the theoretical results.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust consensus control of uncertain multi‐agent systems with input delay: a model reduction method

This paper addresses the robust consensus control design for input‐delayed multi‐agent systems subject to parametric uncertainties. To deal with the input delay, the Artstein model reduction method is employed by a state transformation. The input‐dependent integral term that remains in the transformed system, owing to the model uncertainties, is judiciously analysed. By carefully exploring certain features of the Laplacian matrix, sufficient conditions for the global consensus under directed communication topology are identified using Lyapunov–Krasovskii functionals in the time domain. The proposed control only relies on relative state information of the subsystems via network connections. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control design are demonstrated through a numerical simulation example. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reduced‐order observer‐based robust drag‐tracking guidance for uncertain entry vehicles

This article studies the drag‐tracking guidance design problem of entry vehicles with low lift‐to‐drag ratio. Taking issues of uncertainty and input saturation into account, we develop a reduced‐order observer‐based robust output feedback guidance law, making the drag‐tracking error converge near zero. Our study not only achieves robust drag‐tracking guidance against inherently existing uncertainty, but also removes the redundant drag estimation in the literature. The Monte Carlo simulation is done to illustrate the advantage of the developed method.     

Robust consensus tracking for a class of high‐order multi‐agent systems

In this paper, we study the robust consensus tracking problem for a class of high‐order multi‐agent systems with unmodelled dynamics and unknown disturbances. A continuous robust state feedback control algorithm is proposed to enable the agents to achieve robust consensus tracking of a desired trajectory. By utilizing Lyapunov analysis methods and an invariance‐like theorem, sufficient conditions for semi‐global asymptotic consensus tracking are established. A robust output feedback control algorithm is designed to obtain a uniformly ultimately bounded consensus tracking result. Numerical simulations are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust consensus for uncertain multi‐agent systems with discrete‐time dynamics

This paper investigates robust consensus for multi‐agent systems with discrete‐time dynamics affected by uncertainty. In particular, the paper considers multi‐agent systems with single and double integrators, where the weighted adjacency matrix is a polynomial function of uncertain parameters constrained into a semialgebraic set. Firstly, necessary and sufficient conditions are provided for robust consensus based on the existence of a Lyapunov function polynomially dependent on the uncertainty. In particular, an upper bound on the degree required for achieving necessity is provided. Secondly, a necessary and sufficient condition is provided for robust consensus with single integrator and nonnegative weighted adjacency matrices based on the zeros of a polynomial. Lastly, it is shown how these conditions can be investigated through convex programming by exploiting linear matrix inequalities and sums of squares of polynomials. Some numerical examples illustrate the proposed results. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Command filtered path tracking control of saturated ASVs based on time‐varying disturbance observer

This paper investigates the path‐tracking control problem for an autonomous surface vessel (ASV) with unknown time‐varying disturbances and input saturation. A robust nonlinear control law is proposed based on a disturbance observer and an auxiliary system in the context of command filtered control. The disturbance observer is constructed to estimate the unknown time‐varying disturbances, the auxiliary dynamic system is employed to handle input saturation, and the compensator based command filtered control technique makes the designed path‐tracking control law simple and easy to implement in practice. It is proved that the nonlinear control law can track the desired vessel's position and heading, while guaranteeing the uniform ultimate boundedness of all signals in the path‐tracking control system. Simulation results further demonstrate the effectiveness of the method.     

Robust consensus tracking for a class of heterogeneous second‐order nonlinear multi‐agent systems

This paper deals with the robust consensus tracking problem for a class of heterogeneous second‐order nonlinear multi‐agent systems with bounded external disturbances. First, a distributed adaptive control law is proposed based on the relative position and velocity information. It is shown that for any connected undirected communication graph, the proposed control law solves the robust consensus tracking problem. Then, by introducing a novel distributed observer and employing backstepping design techniques, a distributed adaptive control law is constructed based only on the relative position information. Compared with the existing results, the proposed adaptive consensus protocols are in a distributed fashion, and the nonlinear functions are not required to satisfy any globally Lipschitz or Lipschitz‐like condition. Numerical examples are given to verify our proposed protocols. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Necessary and sufficient conditions for distributed constrained optimal consensus under bounded input

In this paper, we study a distributed constrained optimal consensus problem for discrete‐time first‐order integrator systems under bounded input. Each agent is assigned with a local convex cost function, and all agents are required to achieve consensus at the minimum of the aggregate cost over a common convex constraint set, which is only accessible by part of the agents. A 2‐step control protocol is designed to solve the problem under bounded input. Firstly, at each time step, each agent moves a bounded step of the subgradient descent from an individual cost and another one along the projection direction if it can access the constraint. The second movement is then given by a bounded average of the relative positions to neighbors. Specifically, to coordinate the subgradient step within the network without using global information, we introduce an estimate of the upper bound of all agents' subgradients, which is updated by a unilateral consensus mechanism. Under the given control protocol, we obtain the necessary and sufficient conditions to achieve the constrained optimal consensus for a fixed topology. Under similar conditions, we also solve the problem for switching topologies and conduct a convergence rate analysis for strongly convex costs.     

Distributed consensus and tracking control of second‐order time‐varying nonlinear multi‐agent systems

In this paper, the distributed consensus and tracking protocols are developed for the second‐order time‐varying nonlinear multi‐agent systems under general directed graph. Firstly, the consensus and tracking problems can be converted into a conventional stabilization control problem. Then a state transformation is employed to deal with the time‐varying nonlinearities. By choosing an appropriate time‐varying parameter and coupling strengths, exponential consensus and tracking of second‐order nonlinear multi‐agent systems can be achieved. Finally, a simulation is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed consensus and tracking protocols. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adaptive consensus tracking for linear multi‐agent systems with heterogeneous unknown nonlinear dynamics

This paper considers the consensus tracking control problem for general linear multi‐agent systems with unknown dynamics in both the leader and all followers. Based on parameterizations of the unknown dynamics of all agents, two decentralized adaptive consensus tracking protocols, respectively, with dynamic and static coupling gains, are proposed to guarantee that the states of all followers converge to the state of the leader. Furthermore, this result is extended to the robust adaptive consensus tracking problem in which there exist parameter uncertainties and Lipschitz‐type disturbances in the network. It is also shown that the parameter estimation errors converge to zero based on contradiction method and Lyapunov function approach. Finally, a simulation example is provided to illustrate the theoretical results. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Distributed consensus tracking of multi-agent systems with nonlinear dynamics under a reference leader

This paper investigates the distributed consensus tracking problem for multi-agent systems with Lipschitz-type dynamics under a reference leader. It is assumed that the leader state information is only available to a subset of followers, while the bounded reference input of the leader’s is unavailable to any follower. To achieve consensus tracking, a class of discontinuous protocols based on the relative information between the neighbouring agents are proposed. Furthermore, as extensions of the former result, the robust and adaptive consensus tracking problems are studied for the case where there exist parameter uncertainties and external disturbances in the network. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical result is demonstrated through a network of single-link manipulators.     

Distributed accelerating of quantized second‐order consensus with bounded input

In this paper, the convergence speed of consensus for a second‐order integrator with the fixed undirected graph is investigated. Additionally, the quantized information and bounded control input are applied to the system. To accelerate the convergence speed, a distributed variable adjacency matrix is proposed where the links' weight are functions defined based on the distance to the neighbors. The stability of the whole system for both of the quantized and non‐quantized consensus protocol considering a general weight function is shown using Lyapunov's direct approach. Furthermore, it is mentioned that the consensus value of the position depends on the structure of the quantizer.     

Disturbance observer–based consensus tracking for nonlinear multiagent systems with switching topologies

This paper considers the leader‐follower consensus tracking problem for nonlinear multiagent systems with external disturbances and switching topologies. A distributed disturbance observer is constructed to estimate the disturbances suffered by the followers. Then, a distributed consensus protocol is proposed for the consensus tracking problem with disturbance rejection under a fixed directed topology based on the disturbance observer. Next, this result is extended to the case in which the switching communication topology only frequently but not always contains a directed spanning tree. By selecting the parameters appropriately such that the communication time satisfies various preset conditions, it is theoretically proven that the consensus tracking with disturbance rejection can also be achieved by the multiagent systems. Finally, a simulation example is presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed control scheme.