Admissible consensus for networked singular multi-agent systems with communication delays

This study concerns the admissible consensus problem for networked singular multi-agent systems with communication delays and agents described by general singular systems. Only the information of outputs is available through the network. An observer-based networked predictive control scheme (NPCS) is employed to compensate for the communication delays actively. Based on NPCS and dynamic compensator (dynamic output feedback), a novel protocol is proposed. Based on graph, algebra and singular system theory, the necessary and sufficient conditions are given to guarantee existence of the proposed protocol. The conditions depend on the topologies of singular multi-agent systems and the structure properties of each agent dynamics. Moreover, a consensus algorithm is provided to design the predictive protocol. A numerical example demonstrates the effectiveness of compensation for networked delays.     

Consensus tracking of linear multi-agent systems under networked observability conditions

This paper addresses the consensus tracking problem for both continuous- and discrete-time linear multi-agent systems with a dynamic leader under networked observability conditions. Among followers, the communication topology is assumed to be undirected and connected. Two networked observability conditions are introduced and discussed. The first one extends the traditional detectability condition for a single system, while the second one is a full rank condition, which is stronger than the first one. In the continuous-time case, two distributed observer-based protocols are designed under corresponding networked observability conditions, respectively. Specifically, the second protocol is an adaptive one, which has a better robustness performance than the first one. In the discrete-time case, a distributed observer-based protocol is presented under the full rank networked observability condition. It is found that under the networked observability conditions, consensus tracking can still be achieved even if there exists no follower being able to track the leader independently. Based on algebraic graph theory and Lyapunov stability theory, some sufficient conditions are derived for reaching consensus tracking. Finally, simulation examples are presented to verify the effectiveness of theoretical results.     

基于信噪比受限通道的网络控制系统镇定

研究了同时考虑通信和网络特性的线性系统镇定问题.首先针对连续时间网络控制系统,使用线性矩阵不等式方法得到了系统镇定所需要的最小信噪比;然后将问题推广到一类更为复杂的离散时间异构网络控制系统并得到了相似的结论.其中建立的多传感器随机时滞模型很好地刻画了token-passing总线控制网络,它更具有实际意义;最后通过数值例子对以上理论进行了仿真验证,有效表明了系统镇定时被控对象不稳定极点、网络时滞和信噪比之间的关系.     

Coordination of networked systems on digraphs with multiple leaders via pinning control

It is well known that achieving consensus among a group of multi-vehicle systems by local distributed control is feasible if and only if all nodes in the communication digraph are reachable from a single (root) node. In this article, we take into account a more general case that the communication digraph of the networked multi-vehicle systems is weakly connected and has two or more zero-in-degree and strongly connected subgraphs, i.e. there are two or more leader groups. Based on the pinning control strategy, the feasibility problem of achieving second-order controlled consensus is studied. At first, a necessary and sufficient condition is given when the topology is fixed. Then the method to design the controller and the rule to choose the pinned vehicles are discussed. The proposed approach allows us to extend several existing results for undirected graphs to directed balanced graphs. A sufficient condition is proposed in the case where the coupling topology is variable. As an illustrative example, a second-order controlled consensus scheme is applied to coordinate the movement of networked multiple mobile robots.     

非平衡拓扑结构的多智能体网络系统一致性协议

针对多智能体网络系统,本文分别研究了非平衡拓扑结构的多智能体连续状态和离散状态下的一致性协议.首先提出了能使用有向图表示的多智能体网络系统的拓扑结构,并根据该拓扑结构建立了网络系统的1阶数学模型和提出了多智能体网络系统一致收敛准则.对于多智能体网络连续系统,该系统的一致平衡点最终收敛于初始状态的凸组合,本文最终确定了非平衡拓扑结构的一致平衡点.如果多智能体网络系统的拓扑结构没有改变,在离散状态下系统的一致平衡点仍收敛于初始状态的凸组合,并且离散状态下系统的一致平衡点与连续状态下系统的一致平衡点相等.最后采用8个智能体组成的网络拓扑进行计算机仿真,验证理论的正确性.     

Robust stability analysis of networked systems with varying delays

This article is concerned with networked controlled systems (NCS) with uncertain, varying, bounded transmission delays and asynchronous discrete-time static control laws. It is first shown that the delay variation gives rise to a discrete-time uncertain NCS model; robust stability analysis is carried out via a linear matrix inequality approach which, when combined with a directed parameter search, yields an estimate of robust stability bounds against any variations of the maximum allowable delay (constrained within one sampling period) that the closed-loop system can tolerate. The derived bounds are compared with other techniques relying on the singular values of the perturbed NCS-model. The presented simulation results prove the efficacy of the proposed control scheme.     

A general approach for synchronisation of nonlinear networked systems with switching topology

This article investigates synchronisation of a nonlinear networked system with switching topology. By defining a common synchronisation manifold for each possible switching topology, exponential synchronisation of a nonlinear networked system can be assessed by the exponential stability of a reduced nonlinear system corresponding to the concerned system, wherein the communication graph can be directed and weighted and the inner-linking matrix might be singular. In particular, a synchronisation criterion consisting of the self-dynamics of isolated nodes and the consensus dynamics of a linear switched system is given. Two numerical simulations of synchronisation are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the analytical results for the periodic and random switching cases.     

传输时延和时钟同步对以太网控制系统的影响

在分析报文传输时延和时钟同步精度对EPA网络(工业以太网)控制系统的实时性和稳定性的影响的基础上, 提出了新的基于马尔科夫链的时延模型. 给出了在系统稳定的情况下, 通信宏周期、协议传输时延和时钟同步精度应满足的条件. 建立了无丢包情况下的EPA网络控制系统模型. 提出了EPA控制系统稳定时, 可以设置的最小通信宏周期的计算方法.     

Consensus Seeking for Discrete-time Multi-agent Systems with Communication Delay

This paper studies the consensus problem for discrete-time multi-agent systems of first-order in the presence of constant communication delay. Provided that the agent dynamics is unstable and the network topology is undirected, effects of two kinds of communication delays on consensus are investigated. When the relative information is affected by delay, we show that the effect of delay can be alleviated by using the historical input information in the protocol design. On the other hand, if the communication delay only influences the actually transmitted information, sufficient condition admitting any large yet bounded delay for consensus is obtained, and the delay in this case is allowed to be unknown and time-varying. Finally, simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.      

Consensus problem of networked multi-agent systems with constant communication delay: stochastic switching topology case

This article proposes an observer-based control strategy for networked multi-agent systems with constant communication delay and stochastic switching topology. First, using the system transformation method, the mean-square consensus problem of multi-agent systems can be converted into the mean-square stability problem of an equivalent system, and some equivalent conditions concerning the mean-square consensus are presented. Then, an example is given to illustrate that the connection weights should be regarded as the parameters to be designed, since they have a great effect on the mean-square consensus of multi-agent systems. By choosing appropriate connection weights, the mean-square consensus problem can be converted into the mean-square stabilisation problem of N-1 delay systems with stochastic switching signal, whose related observer-based stabilisability criteria can be established in the form of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Furthermore, if the LMIs are feasible, the multi-agent systems achieve mean-square consensus if and only if the union of graphs in the switching topology set has a directed spanning tree. Finally, numerical simulations are given to illustrate our results.     

Joining consensus of networked multi-agent systems with nonlinear couplings and weighting constraints

This paper studies the joining consensus of networked multi-agent systems subject to nonlinear couplings and weighted directed graphs via pinning control. A weighted-average consensus protocol is proposed to achieve the collective decision by interacting with the local information of some pinned agents. By proposing a novel joining consensus protocol, average consensus and general consensus strategies are joined to achieve an agreement for the weighting networked system. Furthermore, by calculating a proper consensus gain and using finite control Lyapunov controllers, an efficient joining consensus protocol is presented to improve the consensus speed. Sufficient conditions for achieving the consensuses asymptotically are proved. Finally, theoretical results are validated via simulations.     

Sliding mode control for a class of nonlinear discrete-time networked systems with multiple stochastic communication delays

In this article, a sliding mode control problem is studied for a class of uncertain nonlinear networked systems with multiple communication delays. A sequence of stochastic variables obeying Bernoulli distribution is applied in the system model to describe the randomly occurring communication delays. The discrete-time system considered is also subject to parameter uncertainties and state-dependent stochastic disturbances. A novel discrete switching function is proposed to facilitate the sliding mode controller design. The sufficient conditions are derived by means of the linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach. It is shown that the system dynamics in the specified sliding surface is robustly exponentially stable in the mean square if two LMIs with an equality constraint are feasible. A discrete-time SMC controller is designed that is capable of guaranteeing the discrete-time sliding-mode reaching condition of the specified sliding surface. Finally, a simulation example is given to show the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

离散时间分数阶多自主体系统的时延一致性

复杂工作环境中,许多自然现象的个体动力学特性用整数阶方程不能描述,只能用非整数阶（分数阶）动力学来描述个体的运动行为. 本文假设多自主体系统内部连接组成有向加权网络,个体的动态特性应用分数阶动力学方程描述,个体之间数据传输存在通信时延. 应用分数阶系统的Laplace变换和频域理论,研究了离散时间的分数阶多自主体系统的渐近一致性. 应用Hermit-Biehler 定理,研究了具有样本时延的分数阶多自主体系统的运动一致性,得到保证系统稳定的时延的上界阈值. 最后应用一个实例对结论进行了验证.     

Algebraic criteria for consensus problems of continuous-time networked systems

This article addresses algebraic criteria for consensus problems of continuous-time networked systems with fixed and switching topology. A special eigenvector ω of the Laplacian matrix is first constructed and correlated with the connectivity of digraph. And then, some necessary and/or sufficient algebraic conditions are presented by employing the vector ω, which can directly determine whether the consensus problem can be solved. More importantly, for the switching topology case, the obtained algebraic conditions for the average consensus problem are necessary and sufficient. Furthermore, the presented results clearly show that only the agents corresponding to the positive elements of ω contribute to the group decision value and decide the collective behaviour of the system. Particularly for the fixed topology case, the role of each agent is exactly measured by the value of the corresponding element of ω. Based on these results, some extended protocols are further proposed to solve the average consensus problem, in which the interaction digraphs are not needed to be balanced. Numerical examples are included to illustrate the obtained results.     

网路化双线性系统的预测控制优化算法研究

本文对一类离散时间双线性系统进行网络化预测控制研究.针对控制系统网络信道传输引起的前向通道和反馈通道时延问题,基于双线性系统结构特性提出2种逐步优化算法对非凸优化问题进行求解,进而得到未来时刻的预测控制序列.仿真实例说明所求预测控制序列可以主动补偿网络引起的时延问题,从而说明所提出预测控制算法的有效性.     

Dual scheduling and quantised control for networked control systems with communication constraints

A novel integrated design scheme of average dwell time scheduling strategy, dynamic bandwidth allocation policy and quantised control for a collection of networked control systems (NCSs) with time delay and communication constraints is proposed in this paper. A scheduling policy is presented to accommodate the limitation of communication capacity which depends on the convergence rate of closed-loop system and divergence rate of open-loop plant. Linear programming technique is adopted to dynamically allocate bit rate for each node and the strategy is used to make trade-offs between the network utilisation and the control performance which provides an effective way of optimising the quality of control (QoC) and the quality of service (QoS) for NCSs. Mid-tread uniform quantisers update the quantisation rules according to the assignment of the bit rate and convert the quantised state into a kind of input saturation with bounded disturbances. Taking into account the effect of dual scheduling strategy and quantisation, the NCSs are modelled as discrete-time switched systems with bounded disturbances. Furthermore, a scheduling and quantised feedback control co-design procedure is proposed for the simultaneous stabilisation of the collection of networked subsystems. Finally, a simulation example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

\begin{document}$H_\infty$\end{document} Consensus Control of Discrete-Time Multi-Agent Systems Under Network Imperfections and External Disturbance

This paper presents a distributed control protocol for consensus control of multi-agent systems (MASs) under external disturbances and network imperfections, including communication delay and random packet dropout. To comply with the discrete nature of networked systems, in contrast to most of the existing work for MASs under network imperfections, the agents are modeled by discrete-time dynamics. The communication network is considered to be undirected, its delay is considered to be time-varying but bounded, and its packet dropout is modeled by a Bernoulli distributed white sequence. Sufficient conditions in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) for asymptotic mean-square consensus stability are derived under network imperfections without considering external disturbances. A desired disturbance attenuation level in the presence of both external disturbances and network imperfections is also provided. A simulation example is given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach in coping with network imperfection and disturbances.      

多模式网络化控制系统稳定性分析

网络传输引起的时滞在网络化控制系统中经常出现．针对存在多个运动模式的网络化控制系统,建立了时滞混杂自动机模型,分析了系统平衡点的稳定性,给出了平衡点保持稳定的充分条件在于构造的与离散状态相关的Lyapunov泛函在离散状态的切换时刻是非增的．当时滞混杂自动机中连续性子系统为线性时不变时滞系统时,可以利用线性矩阵不等式方法来寻找系统的公共Lyapunov泛函,并求解使系统平衡点保持稳定的时滞上界．最后,给出了一个例子说明了分析结果．     

Optimal linear estimation for networked systems with communication constraints

This paper is concerned with the optimal linear estimation problem for discrete time-varying networked systems with communication constraints. The communication constraint considered is that only one network node is allowed to gain access to a shared communication channel, then the various network nodes of the networked systems are scheduled to transmit data according to a specified media access control protocol, and a remote estimator performs the estimation task with only partially available measurements. The channel accessing processes of those network nodes are modeled by Bernoulli processes, and optimal linear filters are designed by using the orthogonal projection principle and the innovation analysis approach. It is shown that the optimal estimation performances critically depend on the channel accessing probabilities of the network nodes and the packet loss probability, and the optimal filters can be obtained by solving recursive Lyapunov and Riccati equations. An illustrative example is finally given to show the effectiveness of the proposed filters.     

Distributed adaptive leader-following tracking control of networked Lagrangian systems with unknown control directions under undirected/directed graphs

This paper addresses the leader-following consensus problem of networked Lagrangian systems with unknown control directions and uncertain dynamics. For undirected graphs and directed graphs, two types of distributed control protocols are proposed without assuming that the leader's position information is linearly parameterised. It is proven that all signals in the closed-loop system are bounded, and a leader-following consensus can be achieved with the proposed corresponding protocols. These protocols are distributed in the sense that the control input for each Lagrangian system is solely based on local relative position and velocity information from its neighbourhood set and does not require additional information, e.g. acceleration or observer information of its neighbours, thus avoiding the dead-loop problem and reducing the communication burden. Simulations on networked two-link revolute joint arms are given to validate the theoretical findings.