Consensus of a class of second‐order nonlinear heterogeneous multi‐agent systems with uncertainty and communication delay

In this paper, a consensus problem is studied for a group of second‐order nonlinear heterogeneous agents with non‐uniform time delay in communication links and uncertainty in agent dynamics. We design a class of novel decentralized control protocols for the consensus problem whose solvability is converted into stability analysis of an associated closed‐loop system with uncertainty and time delay. Using an explicitly constructed Lyapunov functional, the stability conditions or the solvability conditions of the consensus problem are given in terms of a set of linear matrix inequalities apart from a small number of scalar parameters that appear nonlinearly. Furthermore, the linear matrix inequalities are theoretically verified to be solvable when the communication delay is sufficiently small. The effectiveness of the proposed control protocol is illustrated by numerical examples. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Semi‐global and global containment control of multi‐agent systems with second‐order dynamics and input saturation

This paper considers both semi‐global and global containment control for a second‐order multi‐agent system that is composed by a network of identical harmonic oscillators or double integrators with multiple leaders and input saturation. A distributed low gain feedback algorithm is proposed to solve the semi‐global containment control problem for the network whose topology is directed and initial condition is taken from any a priori given bounded set. In particular, by using a parametric Lyapunov equation approach, M‐matrix properties and algebraic graph theory, an upper bound of the low gain parameter is estimated such that the low gain feedback matrix can be analytically determined without involving numerical computation. Furthermore, under the assumption that the induced subgraph formed by the followers is strongly connected and detail balanced, two linear feedback protocols are designed for coupled harmonic oscillators and coupled double integrators, respectively, to asymptotically achieve the global containment control of the network with any initial condition. Finally, numerical examples are given to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于多传感器的实训室智能管理系统的设计与实现

针对应用化学、冷链仓储、电工电子、报关模拟等专业实训室的工作特点和工作要求,设计开发了一套基于Android平台的实训室智能管理控制系统。介绍了系统的组成与工作原理、软件开发与硬件设计方案。基于Android平台的实训室智能控制系统实现了实训室及设备的智能控制,为实训室设备管理、人员管理和教学管理提供了方便,并为实训室的安全提供保障,提高了设备的使用效率。     

基于多岛遗传算法的汽车车身气动优化

为研究不同长细比汽车车身的最优气动性能,基于英国汽车工业研究协会(Motor Industry Research Association, MIRA)阶背模型,利用多岛遗传算法开展不同长细比的汽车车身气动优化.优化结果表明优化模型的气动阻力因数随着长细比的增大而降低.通过改变车身的长细比得到的5种优化模型具有发动机罩倾角、后风窗倾角和尾部上翘角较大,前风窗倾角较小的特点.对8个优化参数进行分析可知：尾部上翘距离和前悬距离对气动特性的影响最大.     

Distributed formation control with relaxed motion requirements

Heterogeneous formation shape control with interagent bearing and distance constraints involves the design of a distributed control law that ensures the formation moves such that these interagent constraints are achieved and maintained. This paper looks at the design of a distributed control scheme to solve different formation shape control problems in an ambient two‐dimensional space with bearing, distance and mixed bearing and distance constraints. The proposed control law allows the agents in the formation to move in any direction on a half‐plane and guarantees that despite this freedom, the proposed shape control algorithm ensures convergence to a formation shape meeting the prescribed constraints. This work provides an interesting and novel contrast to much of the existing work in formation control where distance‐only constraints are typically maintained and where each agent's motion is typically restricted to follow a very particular path. A stability analysis is sketched, and a number of illustrative examples are also given. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High‐precision formation control of nonlinear multi‐agent systems with switching topologies: A learning approach

Arbitrary high precision is considered one of the most desirable control objectives in the relative formation for many networked industrial applications, such as flying spacecrafts and mobile robots. The main purpose of this paper is to present design guidelines of applying the iterative schemes to develop distributed formation algorithms in order to achieve this control objective. If certain conditions are met, then the control input signals can be learned by the developed algorithms to accomplish the desired formations with arbitrary high precision. The systems under consideration are a class of multi‐agent systems under directed networks with switching topologies. The agents have discrete‐time affine nonlinear dynamics, but their state functions do not need to be identical. It is shown that the learning processes resulting from the relative output formation of multi‐agent systems can converge exponentially fast with the increase of the iteration number. In particular, this work induces a distributed algorithm that can simultaneously achieve the desired relative output formation between agents and regulate the movement of multi‐agent formations as desired along the time axis. The illustrative numerical simulations are finally performed to demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed distributed formation algorithms. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Optimal controller location in wireless networked control systems

The control performance of wireless networked control systems (WNCS) has been shown to heavily depend on the packet delivery quality of both the sensor‐to‐controller and controller‐to‐actuator communications. Such quality relies on the relative distance between the wireless transmitter and receiver, which naturally raises the challenging problem of controller placement in WNCS for optimal control performance. In this paper, we investigate the optimal controller location (OCL) problem in WNCS based on linear‐quadratic‐Gaussian control strategy. For the one‐hop network case where the controller can only be placed at either the sensor side or the actuator side, we derive a simple yet effective criterion to determine the OCL. For the more general multi‐hop case where the controller can be located at either one of the sensors, relays, or actuators, we obtain the necessary and sufficient condition under which the closed‐loop system is guaranteed to be stable. On the basis of these results, we further transform the OCL problem into an optimization problem that can be solved efficiently. Numerical results are provided to verify our analysis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Consensus of heterogeneous first‐ and second‐order multi‐agent systems with directed communication topologies

In this paper, we consider the consensus problem for heterogeneous multi‐agent systems composed of some first‐order and some second‐order dynamic agents in directed communication graphs. Consensus protocols are proposed for the second‐ and first‐order dynamic agents, respectively. Under certain assumptions on the control parameters, for fixed communication topologies, necessary and sufficient conditions for consensus are given, and the consensus values of all agents are established. For switching topologies, sufficient conditions are given for all agents to reach consensus. Finally, simulation examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Networked Estimation of Multi‐Agent Systems Subject to Faults and Unreliable Information

In this paper, a novel framework for networked estimation of multi‐agent systems subject to presence of actuator faults is proposed. This framework is developed based on the notion of sub‐observers where within a group of sub‐observers each sub‐observer estimates certain states that are conditioned on a given input, output, and other state information. We model the overall estimation process by a weighted estimation (WE) digraph. By selecting an appropriate path in the WE digraph, an assigned supervisor can select and configure a set of sub‐observers to successfully estimate all the system states. In the presence of large intermittent disturbances, noise, and faults certain sub‐observers may become invalid, and consequently the supervisor reconfigures the set of sub‐observers by selecting a new path in the estimation digraph such that the impacts of these uncertainties are confined to only the local estimators. This will prevent the propagation of uncertainties on the estimation performance of the entire multi‐agent system. Simulation results provided for a five satellite formation flight system in deep space confirm the validity and applicability of our proposed analytical work.     

The impact of multi‐group multi‐layer network structure on the performance of distributed consensus building strategies

We consider a structural approach to the consensus building problem in multi‐group multi‐layer (MGML) distributed sensor networks (DSNs) common in many natural and engineering applications. From among the possible network structures, we focus on bipartite graph structure as it represents a typical MGML structure and has a wide applicability in the real world. We establish exact conditions for consensus and derive a precise relationship between the consensus value and the degree distribution of nodes in a bipartite MGML DSN. We also demonstrate that for subclasses of connectivity patterns, convergence time and simple characteristics of network topology can be captured by explicit algebra. Direct inference of the convergence behavior of consensus strategies from MGML DSN structure is the main contribution of this paper. The insights gained from our analysis facilitate the design and development of large‐scale DSNs that meet specific performance criteria. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.