A Unified Optimization-Based Framework to Adjust Consensus Convergence Rate and Optimize the Network Topology in Uncertain Multi-Agent Systems

This paper deals with the consensus problem in an uncertain multi-agent system whose agents communicate with each other through a weighted undirected (primary) graph. The considered multi-agent system is described by an uncertain state-space model in which the involved matrices belong to some matrix boxes. As the main contribution of the paper, a unified optimization-based framework is proposed for simultaneously reducing the weights of the edges of the primary communication graph (optimizing the network topology) and synthesizing a controller such that the consensus in the considered uncertain multi-agent system is ensured with an adjustable convergence rate. Considering the NP-hardness nature of the optimization problem related to the aforementioned framework, this problem is relaxed such that it can be solved by regular LMI solvers. Numerical/practical-based examples are presented to verify the usefulness of the obtained results.