Leader-following consensus of fractional-order multi-agent systems via adaptive pinning control

In this paper, the leader-following consensus problem of fractional-order multi-agent systems is considered via adaptive pinning control. The dynamics of leader and all followers with linear and nonlinear functions are investigated, respectively. We assume that the node should be pinned if its in-degree is less than its out-degree in the paper. Under this assumption and based on the stability theory of fractional-order differential systems, some leader-following consensus criteria are derived, which are easily obtained by matrix inequalities. The control of each agent using local information is designed and detailed analysis of the leader-following consensus is presented. The design technique is based on algebraic graph theory and the Riccati inequality. Several simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Finite-time consensus for leader-following second-order multi-agent system

The finite-time consensus problems of second-order multi-agent system under fixed and switching network topologies are studied in this article. Based on the graph theory, LaSalle's invariance principle and the homogeneity with dilation, the finite-time consensus protocol of each agent using local information is designed. The leader-following finite-time consensus is analysed in detail. Moreover, some examples and simulation results are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results.     

Quantised consensus of multi-agent systems with nonlinear dynamics

This paper studies the consensus problem of first-order and second-order multi-agent systems with nonlinear dynamics and quantised interactions. Continuous-time and impulsive control inputs are designed for the multi-agent systems on the logarithmic quantised relative state measurements of agents, respectively. By using nonsmooth analysis tools, we get some sufficient conditions for the consensus of multi-agent systems under the continuous-time inputs. Compared with continuous-time control inputs, impulsive distributed control inputs just use the state variables of the systems at discrete-time instances. Based on impulsive control theory, we prove that the multi-agent systems can reach consensus by choosing proper control gains and impulsive intervals. The simulation results are given to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Impulsive observer-based consensus control for multi-agent systems with time delay

The paper deals with the distributed consensus problem of a class of general linear multi-agent systems with time delay. Assuming that the state of the multi-agent system cannot be measured and the output of the multi-agent system is measured discontinuously, a novel impulsive observer is constructed. Based on the impulsive observer, a distributed consensus protocol is proposed for the multi-agent system with a directed communication topology. In view of the hybrid characteristic of the multi-agent system with the impulsive observer, a novel type of piecewise Lyapunov functional which can overcome the jump phenomena at impulsive times is introduced. Based on this, some sufficient conditions in terms of linear matrix inequalities are presented such that the consensus of the multi-agent system can be achieved with an exponential convergence rate. A numerical example under two cases is given to show the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Stochastic consensus of double-integrator leader-following multi-agent systems with measurement noises and time delays

This paper studies a leader-following consensus problem of continuous-time double-integrator multi-agent systems with measurement noises and time-varying communication delays under directed topology. By utilising the neighbour position and velocity information, which are delayed and disturbed by measurement noises whose intensities are considered a function related to the neighbour position and velocity of agents, a distributed consensus protocol is presented, sufficient conditions of the tracking consensus in the sense of mean square are derived. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed consensus protocol is proved by some simulations.     

Finite-time consensus for multi-agent systems via nonlinear control protocols

This paper investigates the fnite-time consensus problem of multi-agent systems with single and double integrator dynamics,respectively.Some novel nonlinear protocols are constructed for frst-order and second-order leader-follower multi-agent systems,respectively.Based on the fnite-time control technique,the graph theory and Lyapunov direct method,some theoretical results are proposed to ensure that the states of all the follower agents can converge to its leader agent s state in fnite time.Finally,some simulation results are presented to illustrate the efectiveness of our theoretical results.     

Distributed event-triggered consensus for multi-agent systems with quantisation

This paper studies the consensus problem for multi-agent systems with quantised information communication via event-triggered control. First, the asynchronous event-triggered control for multi-agent systems is considered based on distributed uniform-quantised protocols. It is shown that practical consensus among agents is guaranteed and occurrence of Zeno behaviour is prevented under the designed event-triggering mechanisms. Second, under the proposed protocols using logarithmic quantised information, both synchronous and asynchronous event-triggered control algorithms are given to solve the practical consensus problem. Meanwhile, Zeno behaviour of the closed-loop systems can be excluded under the proposed event-triggered algorithms. Finally, numerical simulations are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the derived results.     

Intermittent observer-based consensus control for multi-agent systems with switching topologies

In this paper, we focus on the consensus problem for leaderless and leader–followers multi-agent systems with periodically intermittent control. The dynamics of each agent in the system is a linear system, and the interconnection topology among the agents is assumed to be switching. We assume that each agent can only share the outputs with its neighbours. Therefore, a class of distributed intermittent observer-based consensus protocols are proposed for each agent. First, in order to solve this problem, a parameter-dependent common Lyapunov function is constructed. Using this function, we prove that all agents can access a prescribed value, under the designed intermittent controller and observer, if there are suitable conditions on communication. Second, based on the investigation of the leader-following consensus problem, we design a new distributed intermittent observer-based protocol for each following agent. Finally, we provide an illustrative example to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.     

Interval consensus problem of multi-agent systems in accordance with switching protocol

In this paper, we discuss the interval consensus problem of multi-agent systems by providing a special Laplacian of directed graphs. As one of the most important issues in the coordination control of multi-agent systems, the consensus problem requires that the output of several spatially distributed agents reach a common value that depends on the states of all agents. For the given consensus protocol and initial states, a fixed consensus value is obtained. The resulting consensus value, however, may not be ideal or meet the quality that we require from the multi-agent system. In this paper, by introducing two state-dependent switching parameters into the consensus protocol, the system given by the proposed protocol can globally asymptotically converge to a designated point on a special closed and bounded interval. In other words, the system given by the proposed protocol can globally asymptotically reach interval consensus and then the system can also achieve a generalised interval average consensus if the directed graph is balanced. Simulations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of our theoretical results.     

Robust consensus algorithm for second-order multi-agent systems with external disturbances

This article investigates the problem of robust consensus for second-order multi-agent systems with external disturbances. Based on a non-smooth backstepping control technique, a class of novel continuous non-smooth consensus algorithms are proposed for the multi-agent network with/without communication delays. The controller design is divided into two steps. First, for the kinematic subsystem, the velocity is regarded as a virtual input and designed such that the states consensus can be achieved asymptotically. Then for the dynamic subsystem, a finite-time control law is designed such that the virtual velocity can be tracked by the real velocity in a finite time. Under the proposed control law, it is shown that if the communication topology graph contains a directed spanning tree, the states consensus can be achieved asymptotically in the absence of disturbances. In the presence of disturbances, the steady-state errors of any two agents can reach a small region around the origin. By building a relationship between control parameters and the bound of steady tracking errors, it is demonstrated that the disturbance rejection performance of the resulting closed-loop system can be enhanced by adjusting the fractional power in the non-smooth controller. Finally, an example is given to verify the efficiency of the proposed method.     

Observer-based distributed consensus for general nonlinear multi-agent systems with interval control inputs

In this paper, observer-based distributed consensus for general nonlinear multi-agent systems with interval control inputs under strongly connected balanced topology is encountered when the relative states of agents are unavailable or undesirable. Theoretical analysis method is further extended to the case of general nonlinear multi-agent systems under switching setting. Moreover, tracking problem on the leader–follower scenario is also explicitly investigated under a mutual assumption that the communication graph, which represents the interaction among agents, contains a directed spanning tree with the leader as its root. It is shown that the consensus for underlying considered multi-agent systems can be desirable as long as the data missing rate does not exceed a certain threshold. Finally, simulation examples are presented to effectively corroborate the analytical findings.     

Leader-following fixed-time output feedback consensus for second-order multi-agent systems with input saturation

This paper investigates the leader-following fixed-time output feedback consensus problem for second-order multi-agent systems with input saturation. By combing fixed-time control technique and bi-limit homogeneous systems theory, a class of bounded fixed-time consensus protocols are developed for leader-following multi-agent systems. The protocol design is divided into two parts. First, when all the state information of the followers are measurable, a state feedback consensus protocol is designed to achieve fixed-time consensus. Then, when the velocity information is unmeasurable, an observer-based fixed-time consensus protocol is proposed. With the help of Lyapunov stability theorem and the property of a homogeneous function, it is theoretically shown that the states of all followers can track that of the leader in fixed-time in the presence of input saturation. Finally, numerical simulation is carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of theoretical results.     

Asynchronous sampled-data consensus of singular multi-agent systems based on event-triggered strategy

This paper is concerned with sampled-data consensus for multi-agent systems with singular dynamics. It is assumed that the sampling period of each agent is independent of the other's. Based on event-triggered sampled-data transmission strategy, a distributed consensus protocol is presented. The consensus of singular multi-agent system is transformed into the stability of singular systems with multiple time-varying delays. By employing the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method, a sufficient condition on the consensus of multi-agent singular system is derived. Based on the obtained condition, an algorithm to design consensus controller gains is presented in terms of linear matrix inequalities. Two numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Consensus for linear multi-agent system with intermittent information transmissions using the time-scale theory

This paper investigates the consensus problem for linear multi-agent system with fixed communication topology in the presence of intermittent communication using the time-scale theory. Since each agent can only obtain relative local information intermittently, the proposed consensus algorithm is based on a discontinuous local interaction rule. The interaction among agents happens at a disjoint set of continuous-time intervals. The closed-loop multi-agent system can be represented using mixed linear continuous-time and linear discrete-time models due to intermittent information transmissions. The time-scale theory provides a powerful tool to combine continuous-time and discrete-time cases and study the consensus protocol under a unified framework. Using this theory, some conditions are derived to achieve exponential consensus under intermittent information transmissions. Simulations are performed to validate the theoretical results.     

Consensus of leader-following multi-agent systems in time-varying networks via intermittent control

This paper is concerned with the issue of consensus for leader-following multi-agent systems, wherein the agents acting as followers update states based on the information received from the time-varying neighbors and the virtual leader. Moreover, the neighbors of an agent are divided into three types according to their relative position, which may also be changed with time. Consensus protocol is derived mainly by using intermittent control, and based on the Lyapunov stability theory, sufficient conditions for consensus are presented and proved theoretically. Finally, some numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the results.     

多智能体系统分布式一致性算法研究现状

综述了多智能体系统分布式一致性问题的研究现状。从理论层面介绍了一致性问题的几种常见定义及与特性相关的主要参数;总结归纳了近年来几种一致性协议及其理论分析结果;分析和阐述了一致性问题的主要应用领域的进展。展望了未来的研究方向。     

Cluster consensus of high-order multi-agent systems with switching topologies

This paper investigates the cluster consensus problems of generic linear multi-agent systems with switching topologies. Sufficient criteria for cluster consensus, which generalise the results in existing literatures, are derived for both state feedback and observer-based control schemes. By using an averaging method, it is shown that cluster consensus can be achieved when the union of the acyclic topologies contains a directed spanning tree within each cluster frequently enough. We also provide a principle to construct digraphs with inter-cluster cyclic couplings that promote cluster consensus regardless of the magnitude of inter-agent coupling weights. Finally, numerical examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches.     

Robust consensus of multi-agent systems with time-varying delays in noisy environment

Over the last ten years, the consensus of multi-agent systems (MAS) has received increasing attention from mechanics, mathematics, physics, engineering sciences, social sciences, and so on. It is well known that the robustness of consensus of MAS is usually determined by several key factors, including noise, time-delays, and packet drop. In this paper, we introduce a general time-delayed MAS model with noise and also further investigate its robust consensus. In particular, we prove that the proposed algorit...     

Adaptive tracking control of leader-following linear multi-agent systems with external disturbances

In this paper, the consensus problem for leader-following linear multi-agent systems with external disturbances is investigated. Brownian motions are used to describe exogenous disturbances. A distributed tracking controller based on Riccati inequalities with an adaptive law for adjusting coupling weights between neighbouring agents is designed for leader-following multi-agent systems under fixed and switching topologies. In traditional distributed static controllers, the coupling weights depend on the communication graph. However, coupling weights associated with the feedback gain matrix in our method are updated by state errors between neighbouring agents. We further present the stability analysis of leader-following multi-agent systems with stochastic disturbances under switching topology. Most traditional literature requires the graph to be connected all the time, while the communication graph is only assumed to be jointly connected in this paper. The design technique is based on Riccati inequalities and algebraic graph theory. Finally, simulations are given to show the validity of our method.     

A novel group consensus protocol for heterogeneous multi-agent systems

In this paper, we consider the group consensus problem of heterogeneous multi-agent systems. Based on the feature of heterogeneous agents, a novel protocol is proposed for heterogeneous multi-agent systems. First, the state transformation method is used and an equivalent system is obtained. Then, the group consensus problem is analysed and some sufficient and/or necessary conditions are given for heterogenous multi-agent systems under undirected and directed networks, respectively. Finally, simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.