Squared‐down passivity–based state synchronization of homogeneous continuous‐time multiagent systems via static protocol in the presence of time‐varying topology

This paper studies state synchronization of homogeneous multiagent systems (MAS) via a static protocol with partial‐state coupling in the presence of a time‐varying communication topology, which includes general time‐varying graphs as well as switching graphs. If the agents are squared‐down passive or squared‐down passifiable (via static output feedback or static input feedforward), then a static protocol can be designed for balanced, time‐varying graphs. Moreover, this static protocol works for arbitrary switching directed graphs if the agents are squared‐down minimum phase with relative degree one. The static protocol is designed for each agent such that state synchronization is achieved without requiring exact knowledge about the time‐varying network.     

A novel consensus algorithm for second‐order multi‐agent systems without velocity measurements

In this paper, a novel consensus protocol for second‐order multi‐agent systems is elegantly designed, and it relaxes the common requirement of the velocity information of the agents. An interesting consensus criterion is explicitly derived in terms of the proposed cooperation law provided that the dynamical equation for each agent is linear. As an extension, the proposed cooperation rule is further extended to a general scenario, where the coupling weights characterizing the relationships among the neighboring agents are time‐varying. Accordingly, two distributed cooperative algorithms (node/edge‐based scheme) are explicitly designed. Moreover, we study the case of network with switching communication setting. It shows that edge‐based law is capable with the time‐varying topology, while the node‐based scheme is not. In addition, the proposed coordination strategies are applied to the tracking problem as well. Finally, these obtained consensus results are well supported in the light of the pendulum models. Copyright © 2016 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.     

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.     

Solvability conditions and design for synchronization of discrete‐time multiagent systems

This paper provides solvability conditions for state synchronization with homogeneous discrete‐time multiagent systems with a directed and weighted communication network under partial‐ or full‐state coupling. Our solvability conditions reveal that the synchronization problem is solvable for all possible, a priori given, set of graphs associated with a communication network only under the condition that the agents are at most weakly unstable (ie, agents have all eigenvalues in the closed unit disc). However, if an upper bound on the eigenvalues inside the unit disc of the row stochastic matrices associated with any graph in a given set of graphs is known, then one can achieve synchronization for a class of unstable agents. We provide protocol design for at most weakly unstable agents based on a direct eigenstructure assignment method and a standard H₂ discrete‐time algebraic Riccati equation. We also provide protocol design for strictly unstable agents (ie, agents have at least one eigenvalue outside the unit disc) based on the standard H₂ discrete‐time algebraic Riccati equation.     

Consensus of multi‐agent systems with nonlinear dynamics and sampled‐data information: a delayed‐input approach

This paper is concerned with the problem of consensus in directed networks of multiple agents with intrinsic nonlinear dynamics and sampled‐data information. A new protocol is induced from a class of continuous‐time linear consensus protocols by implementing data‐sampling technique and a zero‐order hold circuit. On the basis of a delayed‐input approach, the sampled‐data multi‐agent system is converted to an equivalent nonlinear system with a time‐varying delay. Theoretical analysis on this time‐delayed system shows that consensus with asymptotic time‐varying velocities in a strongly connected network can be achieved over some suitable sampled‐data intervals. A multi‐step procedure is further presented to estimate the upper bound of the maximal allowable sampling intervals. The results are then extended to a network topology with a directed spanning tree. For the case of the topology without a directed spanning tree, it is shown that the new protocol can still guarantee the system to achieve consensus by appropriately informing a fraction of agents. Finally, some numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results and the dependence of the upper bound of maximal allowable sampling interval on the coupling strength. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time‐varying output formation control for linear multi‐agent systems with switching topologies

Time‐varying output formation control problems for linear multi‐agent systems with switching topologies are studied, where two types of switching topologies are considered: (1) the topology is undirected and jointly connected, and 2) each topology is directed and has a spanning tree. An output formation protocol under switching topologies is constructed using the outputs of neighboring agents via dynamic output feedback. Two algorithms are proposed to design the dynamic protocols under both jointly connected topologies and switching directed topologies. Time‐varying output formation feasibility conditions are given to describe the compatible relationship among the desired time‐varying output formation, the dynamics of each agent, and the switching topologies. The stability of the closed‐loop multi‐agent systems under the proposed two algorithms is investigated based on the common Lyapunov functional theory and the piecewise Lyapunov functional theory, respectively. In the case where the topologies are jointly connected, time‐varying output formation can be achieved for multi‐agent systems using the designed protocol if the given time‐varying output formation satisfies the feasible constraint. For the case where the switching topologies are directed and have a spanning tree, the time‐varying output formation can be realized if the output formation feasibility constraint is satisfied and the dwell time is larger than a positive threshold. Moreover, approaches to determine the output formation references are provided to describe the macroscopic movement of the time‐varying output formation. Finally, numerical simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Partial‐state stabilization and optimal feedback control

In this paper, we develop a unified framework to address the problem of optimal nonlinear analysis and feedback control for partial stability and partial‐state stabilization. Partial asymptotic stability of the closed‐loop nonlinear system is guaranteed by means of a Lyapunov function that is positive definite and decrescent with respect to part of the system state, which can clearly be seen to be the solution to the steady‐state form of the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation and hence guaranteeing both partial stability and optimality. The overall framework provides the foundation for extending optimal linear‐quadratic controller synthesis to nonlinear nonquadratic optimal partial‐state stabilization. Connections to optimal linear and nonlinear regulation for linear and nonlinear time‐varying systems with quadratic and nonlinear nonquadratic cost functionals are also provided. Finally, we also develop optimal feedback controllers for affine nonlinear systems using an inverse optimality framework tailored to the partial‐state stabilization problem and use this result to address polynomial and multilinear forms in the performance criterion. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Almost output synchronization for heterogeneous time‐varying networks for a class of non‐introspective,nonlinear agents without exchange of controller states

We consider almost output synchronization for directed heterogeneous time‐varying networks where agents are non‐introspective (i.e., agents have no access to their own states or outputs) in the presence of external disturbances. The nonlinear agents have a triangular structure and are globally Lipschitz continuous. The network can be time‐varying with network switches occurring at arbitrary moments. A purely decentralized time‐invariant protocol based on a low‐gain and high‐gain method is designed for each agent to achieve almost output synchronization while reducing the impact of disturbances on the output synchronization error. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust consensus of multiple inertial agents with coupling delays and variable topologies

In this paper, we consider the exponential second‐order consensus problem of a network of inertial agents with time‐varying coupling delays and variable balanced topologies. The passive decomposition approach is employed to incorporate the agents' inertial effect into the distributed control design. The sufficient conditions for the exponential second‐order consensus are provided, both when the topology is switched arbitrarily (without dwell time between consecutive switches) and when it is switched with average dwell time. The results present conditions that must be satisfied by the controller design parameters and performance requirements. Furthermore, an approach to the design of consensus protocol is presented, which is robust to the time delays and the dynamically changing interaction topologies. Numerical examples are given to illustrate our theoretical results. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stability and Stabilization of Networked Control Systems Under Limited Communication Capacity and Variable Sampling

This paper investigates the problem of quantized feedback control for networked control systems (NCSs) with time‐varying delays and time‐varying sampling intervals, wherein the physical plant is a continuous‐time, and the control input is a discrete‐time signal. By using an input delay approach and a sector bound method, the network induced delays, the signal quantization and sampling intervals are presented in one framework in the case of the state and the control input by quantization in a logarithmic form. We exploit a novel Lyapunov functional with discontinuity, taking full advantage of the NCS characteristic information including the bounds of delays, the bounds of sampling intervals and quantization parameters. In addition, it has been shown that the Lyapunov functional is decreased at the jump instants. Furthermore, we use the Leibniz‐Newton formula and free‐weighting matrix method to obtain the stability analysis and stabilization conditions which are dependent on the NCS characteristic information. The proposed stability analysis and stabilizing controller design conditions can be presented in term of linear matrix inequalities, which have less conservativeness and less computational complexity. Four examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.     

On the general consensus protocol in multi‐agent networks with second‐order dynamics and sampled data

This paper considers the problem of the convergence of the consensus for multiple agents in a directed network. A general distributed consensus protocol is designed, the advantage of this protocol is that almost all the existing linear local interaction consensus protocols can be considered as special cases of the present paper. Necessary and sufficient conditions are established for reaching consensus of the system by choosing the appropriate sampling period, the control parameters and the spectra of the Laplacian matrix. It is found that second‐order consensus cannot be reached for a sufficiently large sampling period while it can be reached for a sufficiently small one. Furthermore, the coupling gains can be carefully designed under the given network structure and the sampling period. Finally, a simulation example is given to verify and illustrate the theoretical analysis.     

Bipartite Linear χ‐Consensus of Double‐Integrator Multi‐Agent Systems With Measurement Noise

The bipartite consensus problem is investigated for double‐integrator multi‐agent systems in the presence of measurement noise. A distributed protocol with time‐varying consensus gain is proposed. By using tools of state transition matrix and algebraic graph theory, necessary and sufficient conditions for the designed protocol to be a mean square bipartite linear χ‐consensus protocol are given. It is shown that the signed digraph being structurally balanced and having a spanning tree are not only sufficient, but also necessary for bipartite consensus. Furthermore, the protocol is proved to be a mean square bipartite average consensus protocol if the signed graph is weight balanced.     

Constrained stabilization problems for discrete‐time linear plants

In this paper we study discrete‐time linear systems with full or partial constraints on both input and state. It is shown that the solvability conditions of stabilization problems are closely related to important concepts, such as the right‐invertibility of the constraints, the location of constraint invariant zeros and the order of constraint infinite zeros. The main results show that for right‐invertible constraints the order of constrained infinite zeros cannot be greater than one in order to achieve global or semi‐global stabilization. This is in contrast to the continuous‐time case. Controllers for both state feedback and measurement feedback are constructed in detail. Issues regarding non‐right invertible constraints are discussed as well. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Robust synchronization of complex switched networks with parametric uncertainties and two types of delays

In this paper, a complex switched network (CSN) with parametric uncertainties and two types of time‐varying delays is presented. The CSN contains switching behaviors on both its nodes and the network topology. Different from those CSNs studied in the literatures, the switching mode dominating the nodes systems is independent with that dominating the network topology. The two types of time‐varying delays are the system delay in the node and the coupling delay between nodes and they have different values. The inherent synchronization properties of the CSN were investigated not subject to any controllers, and sufficient conditions for the global robust exponential synchronizations are obtained by defining a piecewise Lyapunov–Krasovskii function. Both the case with known derivative of delays and the case with unknown or nonexistent derivative of delays are investigated. Two special cases, i.e. the network without coupling delay and the network without switching behaviors and coupling delay, are studied. Illustrated examples are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improved stability conditions for discrete‐time systems under dynamic network protocols

This paper deals with the stability of discrete‐time networked systems with multiple sensor nodes under dynamic scheduling protocols. Access to the communication medium is orchestrated by a weighted try‐once‐discard or by an independent and identically‐distributed stochastic protocol that determines which sensor node can access the network at each sampling instant and transmit its corresponding data. Through a time‐delay approach, a unified discrete‐time hybrid system with time‐varying delays in the dynamics and in the reset conditions is formulated under both scheduling protocols. Then, a new stability criterion for discrete‐time systems with time‐varying delays is proposed by the discrete counterpart of the second‐order Bessel‐Legendre integral inequality. The developed approach is applied to guarantee the stability of the resulting discrete‐time hybrid system model with respect to the full state under try‐once‐discard or independent and identically‐distributed scheduling protocol. The communication delays can be larger than the sampling intervals. Finally, the efficiency of the presented approach is illustrated by a cart‐pendulum system.     

H∞ Non‐Fragile Synchronous Guaranteed Control of Uncertainty Complex Dynamic Network with Time‐Varying Delay

A kind of H_∞ non‐fragile synchronization guaranteed control method is put forward for a class of uncertain time‐varying delay complex network systems with disturbance input. The network under consideration includes unknown but bounded nonlinear coupling functions f(x) and the coupling term and node system with time‐varying delays. The nonlinear vector function f(x) need not be differentiable but should satisfy the norm bound. A non‐fragile state feedback controller of the gain with sufficiently large regulation margin is designed. It is ensured that the parameters of the controller could still be effective under small perturbation. The sufficient conditions for the existence of H_∞ synchronous non‐fragile guaranteed control of this system have been obtained by constructing a suitable Lyapunov‐Krasovskii functional, adopting matrix analysis, using the theorem of Schur complement and linear matrix inequalities (LMI). These conditions can guarantee robust asymptotic stability for each node of network with disturbance as well as achieve a prescribed robust H_∞ performance level. Finally, the feasibility of the designed method is verified by a numerical example.     

Networked LQG control over unreliable channels

In this article, the linear quadratic Gaussian (LQG) optimal control problem for networked control systems when data is transmitted through a transmission control protocol (TCP)‐like network and both measurement and control packets are subject to random packet dropouts, is addressed for two cases. In the ?rst case, it is assumed that the control acknowledgment packets in TCP‐like protocols are always available, that is, they always reach the ?lter‐controller unit on time and without fail, and we propose how to design a linear optimal ‘hold‐input’ control law for this case. In the second problem, we assume the acknowledgement packets may go missing with a known probability. This case is known to be di?cult and the optimal control law would be nonlinear. Hence, we derive a suboptimal linear estimation‐control law instead. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fully distributed bipartite output consensus of heterogeneous linear multiagent systems based on event‐triggered transmission mechanism

This study investigates the fully distributed bipartite output consensus issue of heterogeneous linear multiagent systems (HLMASs) based on event‐triggered transmission mechanism. Both the cooperative interaction and the antagonistic interaction between neighbor agents are considered. A fully distributed bipartite compensator consisting of time‐varying coupling gain and dynamic event‐triggered mechanism is first proposed to estimate the leader's states. Different from the existing schemes, the proposed compensator is independent of any global information of the network topology, is capable of achieving intermittent communication between neighbors, and is applicable for the signed communication topology. Then the distributed output feedback control protocol is developed such that the fully distributed bipartite event‐triggered output consensus problem can be achieved. Moreover, we extend the results in HLMASs without external disturbances to HLMASs with disturbances, which is more challenging in three cases (a) the disturbances are not available for measurement, (b) the disturbances suffered by each agent are heterogeneous, and (c) the disturbances are not required to be stable or bounded. It is proven that the proposed controllers fulfill the exclusion of Zeno behavior in two consensus problems. Finally, two examples are provided to illustrate the feasibility of the theoretical results.     

Semi‐global stabilization of discrete‐time systems subject to non‐right invertible constraints

This paper investigates time‐invariant linear systems subject to input and state constraints. We study discrete‐time systems with full or partial constraints on both input and state. It has been shown earlier that the solvability conditions of stabilization problems are closely related to important concepts such as the right invertibility or non‐right invertibility of the constraints, the location of constraint invariant zeros, and the order of constraint infinite zeros. In this paper, for general time‐invariant linear systems with non‐right invertible constraints, necessary and sufficient conditions are developed under which semi‐global stabilization in the admissible set can be achieved by state feedback. Sufficient conditions are also developed for such a stabilization in the case where measurement feedback is used. Such sufficient conditions are almost necessary. Controllers for both state feedback and measurement feedback are constructed as well. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.