Robust consensus tracking of double‐integrator dynamics by bounded distributed control

This paper studies the robust consensus tracking problem of multiple second‐order systems with additive disturbances and a direct communication topology. We design a continuous, bounded and distributed controller that is composed of a tracker and an uncertainty and disturbance estimator. The tracker makes the nominal closed‐loop system globally asymptotically stable, while the output of uncertainty and disturbance estimator attenuates the effect of disturbances. We show that if the disturbances converge to constants, the tracking error converges asymptotically to zero, whereas for other types of disturbances, the obtained error system is small‐signal L_∞ stable. Some inequalities are developed to show the relationship between the ultimate bounds of tracking errors and the design parameters. Finally, simulation results for four cases are presented to demonstrate the performance of the controller. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.