Time Averaging Algorithms with Stopping Rules for Multi‐Agent Consensus with Noisy Measurements

A time averaging technique is introduced to consensus algorithms in networked multi‐agent systems under a noisy environment. Each agent communicates with its neighboring agents via a constant gain, while the time averaging states of the agents are considered as the values for agreement. The variation of the time averaging states then is evaluated at a specific number of iterations, where the number is given explicitly in terms of parameters related to the consensus accuracy and its probabilistic guarantee. This result establishes a rigorous stopping rule for the multi‐agent consensus with noisy measurements. Several results on this type of stopping rules are provided for undirected, directed, and time‐varying communication graphs. These theoretical results are illustrated through numerical examples.     

基于块稀疏快速重构的MISO活跃用户集与信道联合估计

针对多用户多输入单输出（Multiple input single output, MISO)系统的用户选择与信道估计问题,引入基于用户分布式自选择的信道接入策略,设计一种新的结合该策略的时分双分复用（Time division duplex, TDD)模式数据传输帧结构。利用用户活跃模式自然稀疏性和信道冲激响应时延域稀疏性,将基站接收上行随机导频序列建模为块稀疏线性模型。基于凸松弛的l2/l1模型提出一种快速的块稀疏重构算法求解问题模型。算法首先对目标函数进行变量分裂,然后利用交替方向法对各变量进行交替更新,直至满足收敛条件。交替更新中,对于无法获得闭式解的信号变量项,采取块坐标下降法求解。计算机仿真表明,与块正交匹配追踪和块压缩采样匹配追踪比较,新算法能够在保持高重构精度的前提下获得更快的计算速度。     

深化高职软件外包服务专业校企合作办学的思考

高职院校软件外包服务专业的开设,需要软件企业的紧密合作才能做好。但在现实运行中,二者由于观念、体制、利益等多方面原因,导致合作中存在诸多问题。文章从健全校企合作体制机制和完善人才培养模式两方面出发,探讨深化软件外包服务专业校企合作的有益对策。     

Robust non‐fragile H ∞ ∕ L2 − L ∞ control of uncertain linear system with time‐delay and application to vehicle active suspension

This paper presents an approach to design robust non‐fragile H _∞ ∕ L₂ ? L _∞ static output feedback controller, considering actuator time‐delay and the controller gain variations, and it is applied to design vehicle active suspension. According to suspension design requirements, the H _∞ and L₂ ? L _∞ norms are used, respectively, to reflect ride comfort and time‐domain hard constraints. By employing a delay‐dependent Lyapunov function, existence conditions of delay‐dependent robust non‐fragile static output feedback H _∞ controller and L₂ ? L _∞ controller are derived, respectively, in terms of the feasibility of bilinear matrix inequalities. Then, a new procedure based on LMI optimization and a hybrid algorithm of the particle swarm optimization and differential evolution is used to solve an optimization problem with bilinear matrix inequality constraints. Simulation results show that the designed active suspension system still can guarantee their own performance in spite of the existence of the model uncertainties, the actuator time‐delay and the controller gain variations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Input‐output triggered control using ‐stability over finite horizons

This paper investigates stability of nonlinear control systems under intermittent information. Following recent results in the literature, we replace the traditional periodic paradigm, where the up‐to‐date information is transmitted and control laws are executed in a periodic fashion, with the event‐triggered paradigm. Building on the small gain theorem, we develop input–output triggered control algorithms yielding stable closed‐loop systems. In other words, based on the currently available (but outdated) measurements of the outputs and external inputs of a plant, a mechanism triggering when to obtain new measurements and update the control inputs is provided. Depending on the noise in the environment, the developed algorithm yields stable, asymptotically stable, and ‐stable (with bias) closed‐loop systems. Control loops are modeled as interconnections of hybrid systems for which novel results on ‐stability are presented. The prediction of a triggering event is achieved by employing ‐gains over a finite horizon. By resorting to convex programming, a method to compute ‐gains over a finite horizon is devised. Finally, our approach is successfully applied to a trajectory tracking problem for unicycles. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An analysis of the exponential stability of linear stochastic neutral delay systems

This paper is concerned with the analysis of the mean square exponential stability and the almost sure exponential stability of linear stochastic neutral delay systems. A general stability result on the mean square and almost sure exponential stability of such systems is established. Based on this stability result, the delay partitioning technique is adopted to obtain a delay‐dependent stability condition in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). In obtaining these LMIs, some basic rules of the Ito calculus are also utilized to introduce slack matrices so as to further reduce conservatism. Some numerical examples borrowed from the literature are used to show that, as the number of the partitioning intervals increases, the allowable delay determined by the proposed LMI condition approaches h_max, the maximal allowable delay for the stability of the considered system, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed stability analysis. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sufficient conditions for stability and stabilization of networked control systems with uncertainties and nonlinearities

In this paper, we consider the problem of robust stability and stabilization for networked control systems (NCS) with uncertain/nonlinear dynamics AUTHOR: Please check that authors and their affiliations are correct. in which the network‐induced delays are time‐varying and bounded. Based on some recent achievements, a relatively simple Lyapunov–Krasovskii functional is proposed to derive sufficient conditions both for analysis and synthesis of NCS in the form of LMIs depending on the delay bounds. The effectiveness of the proposed method is illustrated by several benchmark examples available in the literature. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

Target point‐based path‐following controller for a car‐type vehicle using bounded controls

In this paper, we have studied the control problem of target point‐based path following for car‐type vehicles. This special path‐following task arises from the needs of vision‐based guidance systems, where a given target point located ahead of the vehicle, in the visual range of the camera, must follow a specified path. A solution to this problem is developed through a nonlinear transformation of the path‐following problem into a reference trajectory tracking problem, by modeling the target point as a virtual vehicle. The use of target point complicates the control problem, as the development produces a first‐order nonlinear nonglobally Lipschitz differential equation with finite escape time. This problem is solved by using small control signals. Bounded feedback laws are designed to control the real vehicle's angular acceleration and the virtual vehicle's velocity, to achieve stability. The resulting controller is globally asymptotically stable with respect to the origin, the proof of which is derived from Lyapunov‐based arguments and a bootstrap argument. It is also shown that the use of exponentially convergent observers/differentiators does not affect the stability of the closed‐loop system. The effectiveness of this controller has been illustrated through simulations. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.