Zhongkui Li

Consensus of Multiagent Systems and Synchronization of Complex Networks: A Unified Viewpoint

This paper addresses the consensus problem of multiagent systems with a time-invariant communication topology consisting of general linear node dynamics. A distributed observer-type consensus protocol based on relative output measurements is proposed. A new framework is introduced to address in a unified way the consensus of multiagent systems and the synchronization of complex networks. Under this framework, the consensus of multiagent systems with a communication topology having a spanning tree can be cast into the stability of a set of matrices of the same low dimension. The notion of consensus region is then introduced and analyzed. It is shown that there exists an observer-type protocol solving the consensus problem and meanwhile yielding an unbounded consensus region if and only if each agent is both stabilizable and detectable. A multistep consensus protocol design procedure is further presented. The consensus with respect to a time-varying state and the robustness of the consensus protocol to external disturbances are finally discussed. The effectiveness of the theoretical results is demonstrated through numerical simulations, with an application to low-Earth-orbit satellite formation flying.

Consensus of Multi-Agent Systems With General Linear and Lipschitz Nonlinear Dynamics Using Distributed Adaptive Protocols

This technical brief considers the distributed consensus problems for multi-agent systems with general linear and Lipschitz nonlinear dynamics. Distributed relative-state consensus protocols with an adaptive law for adjusting the coupling weights between neighboring agents are designed for both the linear and nonlinear cases, under which consensus is reached for all undirected connected communication graphs. Extensions to the case with a leader-follower communication graph are further studied. In contrast to the existing results in the literature, the adaptive consensus protocols here can be implemented by each agent in a fully distributed fashion without using any global information.

Distributed consensus of linear multi-agent systems with adaptive dynamic protocols

Abstract This paper considers the distributed consensus problem of multi-agent systems with general continuous-time linear dynamics for both the cases without and with a leader whose control input might be nonzero and time varying. For the case without a leader, based on the relative output information of neighboring agents, two types of distributed adaptive dynamic consensus protocols are proposed, namely, the edge-based adaptive protocol which assigns a time-varying coupling weight to each edge in the communication graph and the node-based adaptive protocol which uses a time-varying coupling weight for each node. These two adaptive protocols are designed to ensure that consensus is reached in a fully distributed fashion for all undirected connected communication graphs. It is shown that the edge-based adaptive consensus protocol is applicable to arbitrary switching connected graphs. For the case where there exists a leader whose control input is possibly nonzero and bounded, a distributed continuous adaptive protocol is designed to guarantee the ultimate boundedness of the consensus error with respect to any communication graph which contains a directed spanning tree with the leader as the root and whose subgraph associated with the followers is undirected, requiring neither global information of the communication graph nor the upper bound of the leader’s control input. A distributed discontinuous protocol is also discussed as a special case. Simulation examples are finally given to illustrate the theoretical results.

Distributed Tracking Control for Linear Multiagent Systems With a Leader of Bounded Unknown Input

This technical note considers the distributed tracking control problem of multiagent systems with general linear dynamics and a leader whose control input is nonzero and not available to any follower. Based on the relative states of neighboring agents, two distributed discontinuous controllers with, respectively, static and adaptive coupling gains, are designed for each follower to ensure that the states of the followers converge to the state of the leader, if the interaction graph among the followers is undirected, the leader has directed paths to all followers, and the leaders control input is bounded. A sufficient condition for the existence of the distributed controllers is that each agent is stabilizable. Simulation examples are given to illustrate the theoretical results.

Designing Fully Distributed Consensus Protocols for Linear Multi-Agent Systems With Directed Graphs

This technical note addresses the distributed consensus protocol design problem for multi-agent systems with general linear dynamics and directed communication graphs. Existing works usually design consensus protocols using the smallest real part of the nonzero eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix associated with the communication graph, which however is global information. In this technical note, based on only the agent dynamics and the relative states of neighboring agents, a distributed adaptive consensus protocol is designed to achieve leader-follower consensus in the presence of a leader with a zero input for any communication graph containing a directed spanning tree with the leader as the root node. The proposed adaptive protocol is independent of any global information of the communication graph and thereby is fully distributed. Extensions to the case with multiple leaders are further studied.

Consensus of linear multi-agent systems with reduced-order observer-based protocols

This paper considers the consensus problems for both continuous- and discrete-time linear multi-agent systems with directed communication topologies. Distributed reduced-order observer-based consensus protocols are proposed, based on the relative outputs of neighboring agents. A multi-step algorithm is presented to construct a reduced-order protocol, under which a continuous-time multi-agent system whose communication topology contains a directed spanning tree can reach consensus. This algorithm is further modified to achieve consensus with a prescribed convergence rate. These two algorithms have a favorable decoupling property. In light of the modified algebraic Riccati equation, an algorithm is then given to construct a reduced-order protocol for the discrete-time case.

Distributed robust consensus control of multi-agent systems with heterogeneous matching uncertainties

This paper considers the distributed consensus problem of linear multi-agent systems subject to different matching uncertainties for both the cases without and with a leader of bounded unknown control input. Due to the existence of nonidentical uncertainties, the multi-agent systems discussed in this paper are essentially heterogeneous. For the case where the communication graph is undirected and connected, based on the local state information of neighboring agents, a fully distributed continuous adaptive consensus protocol is designed, under which the consensus error is uniformly ultimately bounded and exponentially converges to a small adjustable bounded set. For the case where there exists a leader whose control input is unknown and bounded, a distributed adaptive consensus protocol is proposed to ensure the boundedness of the consensus error. A sufficient condition for the existence of the proposed protocols is that each agent is stabilizable.

Consensus condition for linear multi-agent systems over randomly switching topologies☆

Abstract This paper studies both continuous and discrete time consensus problems for multi-agent systems with linear time-invariant agent dynamics over randomly switching topologies. The switching is governed by a time-homogeneous Markov process, whose state corresponds to a possible interaction topology among agents. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for achieving consensus under a common control protocol, respectively. It is shown that the effect of switching topologies on consensus is determined by the union of topologies associated with the positive recurrent states of the Markov process. Moreover, the effect of random link failures on discrete time consensus is investigated. The implications and relationships with the existing results are discussed. Finally, the theoretical results are validated via simulations.

Consensus and its ℒ2-gain performance of multi-agent systems with intermittent information transmissions

This article addresses the consensus problem for cooperative multiple agents with nonlinear dynamics on a fixed directed information network, where each agent can only communicate with its neighbours intermittently. A class of control algorithms is first introduced, using only intermittent relative local information. By combining tools from switching systems and Lyapunov stability theory, some sufficient conditions are established for consensus of multi-agent systems without any external disturbances under a fixed strongly connected topology. Theoretical analyses are further provided for consensus of multi-agent systems in the presence of external disturbances. It is shown that a finite ℒ2-gain performance index for the closed-loop multi-agent systems can be guaranteed if the coupling strength of the network is larger than a threshold value determined by the average communication rate and the generalised algebraic connectivity of the strongly connected topology. The results are then extended to consensus with prescribed ℒ2-gain performance with a virtual leader where the underlying topology is not necessarily strong connected or contain a directed spanning tree. Numerical simulations are finally provided to verify and visualise the theoretical analysis.

Consensus of discrete-time linear multi-agent systems with observer-type protocols

This paper concerns the consensus of discrete-time multi-agent systems with linear or linearized dynamics. An observer-type protocol based on the relative outputs of neighboring agents is proposed. The consensus of such a multi-agent system with a directed communication topology can be cast into the stability of a set of matrices with the same low dimension as that of a single agent. The notion of discrete-time consensus region is then introduced and analyzed. For neurally stable agents, it is shown that there exists an observer-type protocol having a bounded consensus region in the form of an open unit disk, provided that each agent is stabilizable and detectable. An algorithm is further presented to construct a protocol to achieve consensus with respect to all the communication topologies containing a spanning tree. Moreover, for the case where the agents have no poles outside the unit circle, an algorithm is proposed to construct a protocol having an origin-centered disk of radius