Distributed optimization with closed convex set for multi-agent networks over directed graphs

In this paper, a distributed projection algorithm based on the subgradient method is presented to solve the distributed optimization problem with a constrained set over a directed multi-agent network, where the designed protocol is scaled by the left eigenvector associated with the weighted adjacency matrix. By using the property of the projection operation and nonnegative almost supermartingales, we give the convergence analysis of our algorithm and show that the optimal solution is the ultimate consensus state of all agents to be reached. A numerical simulation for a specific optimization problem is given to verify the effectiveness of our algorithm.     

Practical consensus for heterophilous multiagent networks with constrained states

This paper studies practical consensus problems for continuous-time multiagent systems with heterophilous dynamics. Agents in the network tend to cease communication when they are close enough to each other inspired by the heterophily principle in social and opinion dynamics. We propose two types of state constraints on dynamical agents, in which the hard constraint refers to exogenous restrictions that rule the entire evolution of the agent behavior and the soft constraint turns out to be endogenous and only the ultimate equilibria of the agents are restricted. Sufficient conditions have been established to achieve practical consensus for both types of constrained systems. Numerical simulations show that the practical consensus time grows logarithmically, revealing a rapid convergence with respect to disagreement of initial conditions.     

基于均匀量化信息通信的有向网络一致性研究

探讨有向非平衡网络多个系统的加权平均一致性问题,研究发现只要固定拓扑有向网络强连通,系统就可以达到一致性。运用广义李雅普诺夫函数对系统进行收敛性分析,并给出仿真图。     

Orbit consensus of quantum networks based on interaction design

For a general quantum network system with a non-zero Hamiltonian H composed of n identical m-level quantum subsystems, any symmetric consensus state in the interaction picture exactly corresponds to an orbit in the Schrödinger picture, which is called the H-orbit of the symmetric consensus state. By using the interaction picture transformation and the tool of the LaSalle invariance principle, this paper analyzes the orbit consensus of this quantum network and designs the corresponding swapping operators such that the system converges to the H-orbit of the target symmetric consensus state that exists in the interaction picture. In particular, we prove the convergence of the quantum network to the H-orbit when the quantum interaction graph is connected and the system Hamiltonian is permutation invariant. The orbit consensuses of a four-qubit network system and a quantum network of three identical three-level subsystems are achieved numerically, which verifies the correctness of our theoretical results and the effectiveness of the designed swapping operators.     

On algebraic connectivity of directed scale-free networks

In this paper, we study the algebraic connectivity of directed complex networks with scale-free property. Algebraic connectivity of a directed graph is the eigenvalue of its Laplacian matrix whose real part is the second smallest. This is known as an important measure for the diffusion speed of many diffusion processes over networks (e.g. consensus, information spreading, epidemics). We propose an algorithm, extending that of Barabasi and Albert, to generate directed scale-free networks, and show by simulations the relations between algebraic connectivity and network size, exponents of in/out-degree distributions, and minimum in/out degrees. The results are moreover compared to directed small-world networks, and demonstrated on a specific diffusion process, reaching consensus.     

Privacy-preserving weighted average consensus and optimal attacking strategy for multi-agent networks

This paper proposes a privacy-preserving consensus algorithm which enables all the agents in the directed network to eventually reach the weighted average of initial states, and while preserving the privacy of the initial state of each agent. A novel privacy-preserving scheme is proposed in our consensus algorithm where initial states are hidden in random values. We also develop detailed analysis based on our algorithm, including its convergence property and the topology condition of privacy leakages for each agent. It can be observed that final consensus point is independent of their initial values that can be arbitrary random values. Besides, when an eavesdropper exists and can intercept the data transmitted on the edges, we introduce an index to measure the privacy leakage degree of agents, and then analyze the degree of privacy leakage for each agent. Similarly, the degree for network privacy leakage is derived. Subsequently, we establish an optimization problem to find the optimal attacking strategy, and present a heuristic optimization algorithm based on the Sequential Least Squares Programming (SLSQP) to solve the proposed optimization problem. Finally, numerical experiments are designed to demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.     

Robust quantized consensus of discrete multi-agent systems under input saturation

In this paper, we consider the quantized consensus problem of multiple discrete-time integrator agents which suffer from input saturation. As agents transmit state information through communication networks with limited bandwidth, the states of agents have to be quantized into a finite number of bits before transmission. To handle this quantized consensus problem, we introduce an internal time-varying saturation function into the controllers of all agents and ensure that the range of the state of each agent can be known in advance by its neighboring agents. Based on such shared state range information, we construct a quantized consensus protocol which implements a finite-bit quantization strategy to all states of agents and can guarantee the achievement of the asymptotic consensus under any given input saturation threshold. Such desired consensus can be guaranteed at as low bit rate as 1 bit per time step for each agent. Moreover, we can place an upper bound on the convergence rate of the consensus error of agents. We further improve that quantized consensus protocol to a robust version whose parameters are determined with only an upper bound on the number of agents and does not require any more global information of the inter-agent network. Simulations are done to confirm the effectiveness of our quantized consensus protocols.     

Leader-following consensus of nonlinear discrete-time multi-agent systems with limited communication channel capacity

This paper considers the problem of the leader-following consensus of generally nonlinear discrete-time multi-agent systems with limited communication channel capacity over directed fixed communication networks. The leader agent and all follower agents are with multi-dimensional nonlinear dynamics. We propose a novel kind of consensus algorithm for each follower agent based on dynamic encoding and decoding algorithms and conduct a rigorous analysis for consensus convergence. It is proved that under the consensus algorithm designed, the leader-following consensus is achievable and the quantizers equipped for the multi-agent systems can never be saturated. Furthermore, we give the explicit forms of the data transmission rate for the connected communication channel. By properly designing the system parameters according to restriction conditions, we can ensure the consensus and communication efficiency with merely one bit information exchanging between each pair of adjacent agents per step. Finally, simulation example is presented to verify the validity of results obtained.     

Cooperative control with designated convergence rate for high-order integrators under heterogeneous couplings

In this paper, we investigate the cooperative control problem of high-order integrators under heterogeneous couplings. A new class of distributed control algorithms are developed for the designated convergence rate (DCR) problem of high-order integrators, which could explicitly show the convergence margin of the closed-loop system, and has better robustness than conventional consensus algorithms. We first propose state consensus control algorithms for high-order integrators, where necessary and sufficient convergence conditions are proposed by theoretical analysis. Then we extend the results to the case of output leaderless consensus of heterogeneous high-order integrators with heterogeneous couplings. Finally, simulation examples are given to validate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.     

Consensus stability of a class of second-order multi-agent systems with nonuniform time-delays

This paper is concerned with a consensus problem of a class of second-order multi-agent systems with nonuniform time-delays. A distributed consensus algorithm is adopted to drive all agents to reach consensus and move together with a constant velocity. By a frequency domain approach, an upper bound on the maximum of the time-delays that can be tolerated is given for the consensus of the system.     

Couple-group consensus for multi-agent networks of agents with discrete-time second-order dynamics

This paper considers the couple-group consensus problem for multi-agent networks with fixed and directed communication topology, where all agents are described by discrete-time second-order dynamics. Consensus protocol is designed such that some agents in a network reach a consistent value, while other agents reach another consistent value. The convergence of the system matrix is discussed based on the tools from matrix theory. An algebraic condition is established to guarantee couple-group consensus. Moreover, for a given communication topology, a theorem is derived on how to select proper control parameters and sampling period for couple-group consensus to be reached. Finally, simulation examples are presented to validate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.     

Distributed rotating formation control of second-order leader-following multi-agent systems with nonuniform delays

In this paper, the leader-following rotating formation control problem is investigated for second-order multi-agent systems with nonuniform time-delays. We propose a distributed algorithm to drive all agents to achieve a desired formation and orbit around a common point. By a frequency domain analysis method, the upper bound of the maximum time-delay is obtained. Finally, a numerical simulation is given to illustrate the obtained results.     

PID controller tuning rules for integrating processes with varying time-delays

This paper discusses PID controller tuning for integrating processes with varying time-delays. Most of the existing tuning rules for the first-order lag plus integrator plus delay (FOLIPD) processes that we mainly focus on have the same general structure, and the properties of these rules are discussed in conjunction with varying time-delays. The analysis leads to novel tuning rules, where the maximum amplitude of an arbitrarily varying time-delay can be given as a parameter, which makes the use of the rules attractive in several applications. We will also extend the analysis to integrating processes with second-order lag and apply the design guidelines for a networked control application. In addition, we propose a novel tuning method that optimizes the closed-loop performance with respect to certain robustness constraints while also providing robustness to delay variance via jitter margin maximization. Further, we develop new PID controller tuning rules for a wide range of processes based on the proposed method. The new tuning rules are discussed in detail and compared with some of the recently published results. The work was originally motivated by the need for robust but simultaneously well-performing PID parameters in an agricultural machine case process. We also demonstrate the superiority of the proposed tuning rules in the case process.     

Leader-following bipartite consensus with disturbance rejection for uncertain multiple Euler–Lagrange systems over signed networks

In this paper, the leader-following bipartite consensus is investigated for a group of uncertain multiple Euler–Lagrange systems with disturbances. An innovative adaptive distributed observer is developed without requiring that followers surely acquire the leader’s auxiliary state and system matrix. A directed signed network satisfying the principle of structural balance is exploited to describe the interaction among agents. Then a novel bipartite consensus control protocol is proposed to solve the bipartite consensus problem of multiple Euler–Lagrange systems. The theoretical proof is provided via constructing a Lyapunov function and applying Barbalat lemma to analyze the convergence problem. Finally, a numerical simulation is utilized to demonstrate the effectiveness of proposed method.     

Fixed-time scaled consensus of multi-agent systems with input delay

The design of fixed-time scaled consensus protocol for multi-agent systems with input delay is developed in this article. First, by virtue of Artstein model reduction method, the time-delay system is converted into a delay-free one. Then, two novel controllers are designed such that the fixed-time scaled consensus of multi-agent systems can be realized for the undirected and directed topology, respectively. Sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee that all agents converge to the assigned ratios instead of the same value under any bounded input delay. Besides, an explicit estimate can be given for the uniform convergence time independent of the initial conditions. Moreover, it is proved that the convergence value of the system is not affected by the initial states of agents any more, but only related to initial states of the virtual agents set in advance. Finally, numerical simulations are given to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed algorithms.     

Scale-free collaborative protocol design for state and regulated state synchronization of multi-agent systems with arbitrary fast convergence

In this paper, we design scale-free collaborative protocols for state and regulated state synchronization of homogeneous multi-agent systems (MAS) with arbitrary fast convergence. The protocol design solely depends on the knowledge of the agents’ model and does not require any information about the communication network and the number of agents. Moreover, our protocols can achieve synchronization with any desired convergence rate by simply tuning a design parameter.     

Scaled group consensus in agent networks with finite sub-networks under continuous/discrete-time settings

We study scaled group consensus problems of the first/second-order multi-agent dynamics under continuous/discrete-time settings. For a directed multi-agent network with finite sub-networks, the scaled group consensus is concerned with this case that all the sub-networks reach consensus, separately, while maintain the given ratios among the multiple consensus. First/second-order distributed protocols with continuous/discrete data are designed to solve the scaled group consensus problems, and then necessary and sufficient criteria are established to guarantee the agents’ states reaching the scaled group consensus asymptotically applying both algebraic and analytical tools. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical results are verified by several simulation examples.     

Prescribed performance bipartite consensus for nonlinear agents with antagonistic interactions: A PI transformation approach

The leaderless, prescribed performance consensus problem for groups of agents with antagonistic interactions is addressed for the first time in this paper. We consider agents modeled by pure feedback nonlinear systems with unknown dynamics and an agent communication network described by a signed digraph with a directed spanning tree. A new proportional and integral (PI) variable transformation is proposed that enables the solution of the problem of leaderless bipartite consensus with prescribed performance by recasting it into a regulation problem with prescribed performance, which in turn we solve by a low complexity distributed control law. The algorithm guarantees uniform boundedness of all closed-loop signals and prescribed performance for the bipartite consensus error. Simulations verify the validity of our theoretical analysis.     

Finite-time general function consensus for multi-agent systems over signed digraphs

This paper solves the finite-time consensus problem for discrete time multi-agent systems (MASs) where agents update their values via linear iteration and the interactions between them are described by signed digraphs. A sufficient condition is presented that the agents can reach consensus on any given linear function of multiple initial signals in finite time, i.e., there exists an eventually positive Laplacian-based matrix associated with the underlying graph. We prove that the linear iterative framework “ratio consensus” developed for unsigned graphs in the literature can be extended to the computation for signed graphs with appropriate modifications. Our method weakens the limitation of the iterative framework on the “marginal Schur stability” of the weight matrix without increasing the computational complexity. Reaching average consensus on unsigned graphs as in the literature is regarded as a special case of our algorithm. Two illustrative examples are presented to demonstrate the correctness of the proposed results.