Some necessary and sufficient conditions for second-order consensus in multi-agent dynamical systems

This paper studies some necessary and sufficient conditions for second-order consensus in multi-agent dynamical systems. First, basic theoretical analysis is carried out for the case where for each agent the second-order dynamics are governed by the position and velocity terms and the asymptotic velocity is constant. A necessary and sufficient condition is given to ensure second-order consensus and it is found that both the real and imaginary parts of the eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix of the corresponding network play key roles in reaching consensus. Based on this result, a second-order consensus algorithm is derived for the multi-agent system facing communication delays. A necessary and sufficient condition is provided, which shows that consensus can be achieved in a multi-agent system whose network topology contains a directed spanning tree if and only if the time delay is less than a critical value. Finally, simulation examples are given to verify the theoretical analysis.     

Second-order consensus of multi-agent systems with noises via intermittent control

Second-order consensus of multi-agent systems with noises via intermittent control is investigated in this paper. First, we study the mean-square consensus problem with communication noises by intermittent control. In order to reach consensus, under the strong directed interacted topology, by using the tools of graph theory and Lyapunov method, a distributed control protocol is proposed based on the noises and periodical intermittent information. The upper bound of noise strength in the sense of matrix norm and the lower bound of communication time duration are obtained. Second, a class of coupled system models which include delay-terms in their nonlinearities in the noisy environment is discussed. Under the balanced strongly connected topology, the sufficient conditions to achieve the mean-square average-consensus are obtained. Finally, simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of our results.     

离散多智能体切换系统的二阶分组一致性研究

针对随机切换拓扑下离散多智能体系统的二阶分组一致性问题进行了研究。 设计了一种新颖的分组一致性协议,该协议不依赖于保守的假设条件,能全面反映系统中智能体在分组内与分组间的相互影响。引入马尔科夫链来模拟系统的随机拓扑变化, 基于矩阵理论和图论得到了在马尔科夫切换拓扑条件下,应用新协议使系统达到分组一致的充分条件。 在证明过程的结尾部分,使用线性不等式 (LMI) 工具给出了获取协议中控制参数的算法。最后,通过数字仿真实例证明了理论结果的有效性。     

Finite-time consensus for multi-agent systems with globally bounded convergence time under directed communication graphs

In this paper, we study the finite-time consensus problems with globally bounded convergence time also known as fixed-time consensus problems for multi-agent systems subject to directed communication graphs. Two new distributed control strategies are proposed such that leaderless and leader-follower consensus are achieved with convergence time independent on the initial conditions of the agents. Fixed-time formation generation and formation tracking problems are also solved as the generalizations. Simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the performance of the new controllers.     

Formation-containment control of second-order multi-agent systems with only sampled position data

This paper studies the formation-containment control problem of second-order multi-agent systems with only sampled position data. It is assumed that there exist interactions among leaders and the leaders’ neighbours are only leaders. Two different control protocols with only sampled position information are proposed for followers and leaders, respectively. By the algebraic graph theory and matrix theory, sufficient conditions are given to guarantee that the leaders achieve a desired formation and the followers asymptotically converge into the convex hull formed by the corresponding states of the leaders, i.e. the multi-agent systems achieve formation-containment. Moreover, an explicit expression of the formation position function is given for each leader. Finally, a numerical simulation is provided to illustrate the effectiveness of theoretical results.     

Finite-time consensus algorithm for multi-agent systems with double-integrator dynamics

In this paper, we discuss the finite-time consensus problem for leaderless and leader–follower multi-agent systems with external disturbances. Based on the finite-time control technique, continuous distributed control algorithms are designed for these agents described by double integrators. Firstly, for the leaderless multi-agent systems, it is shown that the states of all agents can reach a consensus in finite time in the absence of disturbances. In the presence of disturbances, the steady-state errors of any two agents can reach a region in finite time. Secondly, for the leader–follower multi-agent systems, finite-time consensus algorithms are also designed based on distributed finite-time observers. Rigorous proof is given by using Lyapunov theory and graph theory. Finally, one example is employed to verify the efficiency of the proposed method.     

Necessary and sufficient conditions of stationary average consensus for second-order multi-agent systems

This paper investigates the stationary average consensus problem for second-order discrete-time multi-agent systems (SDMAS). A stationary consensus problem is to find a control algorithm that brings the state of a group of agents to a common constant value which is called the collective decision. We introduce the concept of stationary average consensus of SDMAS and propose a consensus algorithm. Based on the polynomial stability and the graph theory, we obtain two necessary and sufficient conditions of stationary average consensus of SDMAS. The last theorem provides an algebraic criterion of stationary average consensus, and can help us to determine the parameters in the consensus algorithm. Furthermore, in this consensus algorithm, only the states of the agents are transferred among the agents. Therefore, this algorithm can not only solve the stationary average consensus problem but also reduce the amount of transferred data. A numerical example is provided to illustrate the efficiency of our results.     

Finite-time consensus for stochastic multi-agent systems

In this article, we study the finite-time consensus in probability for stochastic multi-agent systems. First, we give the nonlinear consensus protocol for multi-agent systems with Gaussian white noise, and define the concept of finite-time consensus in probability. Second, we prove that multi-agent systems can achieve the finite-time consensus in probability under five different kinds of communication topologies by using graph theory, stochastic Lyapunov theory and probability theory. Finally, some simulation examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

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.     

Sampled-data consensus in multi-agent systems with asynchronous hybrid event-time driven interactions

This paper investigates sampled-data consensus in an undirected network of multiple integrators and characterizes the effectiveness of a hybrid event-time driven consensus protocol in different asynchronous scheduling schemes of event detection in terms of interaction topology, asynchronous matrix, and time delays. The proposed hybrid driven protocol has the benefit of guaranteed performance at reduced communication and computation costs and has robustness against interaction/event-detection time delays. Furthermore, the obtained results are still valid in many other practical situations, such as sampled-data consensus with measurement errors and quantized consensus.     

Distributed consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems with fixed and switching topologies

In this article, we study distributed consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems with fixed and switching topologies. The analysis is based on graph theory and nonnegative matrix theory. We propose two kinds of consensus protocols based on the consensus protocol of first-order and second-order multi-agent systems. Some necessary and sufficient conditions that the heterogeneous multi-agent system solves the consensus problems under different consensus protocols are presented with fixed topology. We also give some sufficient conditions for consensus of the heterogeneous multi-agent system with switching topology. Simulation examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Event-based consensus of multi-agent systems with general linear models

In this paper, the event-based consensus problem of general linear multi-agent systems is considered. Two sufficient conditions with or without continuous communication between neighboring agents are presented to guarantee the consensus. The advantage of the event-based strategy is the significant decrease of the number of controller updates for cooperative tasks of multi-agent systems involving embedded microprocessors with limited on-board resources. The controller updates of each agent are driven by properly defined events, which depend on the measurement error, the states of its neighboring agents and an arbitrarily small threshold. It is shown that the controller updates for each agent only trigger at its own event time instants. A simulation example is presented to illustrate the theoretical results.     

Adaptive finite-time consensus in multi-agent networks

This paper is concerned with the finite-time consensus problem of distributed agents having non-identical unknown nonlinear dynamics, to a leader agent that also has unknown nonlinear control input signal. By parameterization of unknown nonlinear dynamics, a Lyapunov technique in conjunction with homogeneity technique is presented for designing a decentralized adaptive finite-time consensus control protocol in undirected networks. Homogeneous Lyapunov functions and homogeneous vector fields are introduced in the stability analysis although the whole system is not homogeneous. Theoretical analysis shows that leader-following consensus can be achieved in finite-time, meanwhile, finite-time parameter convergence can be also guaranteed under the proposed control scheme. An example is given to validate the theoretical results.     

Global consensus for discrete-time multi-agent systems with input saturation constraints

In this paper, we consider the global consensus problem for discrete-time multi-agent systems with input saturation constraints under fixed undirected topologies. We first give necessary conditions for achieving global consensus via a distributed protocol based on relative state measurements of the agent itself and its neighboring agents. We then focus on two special cases, where the agent model is either neutrally stable or a double integrator. For the neutrally stable case, any linear protocol of a particular form, which solves the consensus problem for the case without input saturation constraints, also solves the global consensus problem for the case with input saturation constraints. For the double integrator case, we show that a subset of linear protocols, which solve the consensus problem for the case without saturation constraints, also solve the global consensus problem for the case with input saturation constraints. The results are illustrated by numerical simulations.     

Iterative learning approaches to design finite-time consensus protocols for multi-agent systems

In this paper, the finite-time output consensus problem of multi-agent systems is considered by using the iterative learning control (ILC) approach. Two classes of distributed protocols are constructed from the two-dimensional system point of view (with time step and iteration number as independent variables), and are termed as iterative learning protocols. If learning gains are chosen appropriately, then all agents in a directed graph can be enabled to achieve finite-time consensus with the iterative learning protocols. Moreover, all agents in a directed graph can be guaranteed to reach finite-time consensus at any desired terminal output if the iterative learning protocols are improved by introducing the desired terminal output to some (not necessarily all) of the agents. Simulation results are finally presented to illustrate the performance and effectiveness of our iterative learning protocols.     

Leader-following consensus of multi-agent systems with switching topologies and time-delays

This paper investigates the leader-following consensus problem of multi-agent systems where the leader is static and the controlling effect of each follower depends on its own state. The control protocols are proposed for two cases: i) for network with switching topologies and undirected information flow; ii) for network with directed information flow and communication time-delays. With the aid of several tools from algebraic graph, matrix theory and stability theory, the sufficient conditions guaranteeing leader-following consensus are obtained by constructing appropriate Lyapunov functions. Simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our theoretical results.     

Leader-following consensus of high-order multi-agent linear systems with bounded transmission channels

The leader-following consensus of high-order multi-agent linear systems with bounded transmission channels is considered. Agents modelled as LTI dynamics exchange information according to a network which can be described as a graph with agents as its vertices and information transmission channels as its edges. The transmission channels are bounded. The objective is leader-following in the sense that the state of all agents should converge to that of the leader vehicle. Detailed analysis of the leader-following consensus under bounded transmission channels is investigated for both fixed and switching network topologies.     

Distributed leader-following consensus for second-order multi-agent systems with nonlinear inherent dynamics

In this paper, the leader-following consensus problem for second-order multi-agent systems with nonlinear inherent dynamics is investigated. Two distributed control protocols are proposed under fixed undirected communication topology and fixed directed communication topology. Some sufficient conditions are obtained for the states of followers converging to the state of virtual leader globally exponentially. Rigorous proofs are given by using graph theory, matrix theory and Lyapunov theory. Simulations are also given to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

一类异构多智能体系统一致性协议的收敛性分析

针对一阶二阶智能体组成的异构多智能体系统,采用了一种线性一致性协议,基于图论和矩阵分析的方法对一致性协议的收敛性进行研究,得出了一致性协议最终收敛值的表达式,并给出了收敛区间,通过参数优化设置可以实现系统收敛到该区间内任意给定的期望值.最后在仿真实例中,实现了异构多机器人系统在期望位置的聚集,仿真结果验证了理论分析的正确性.