Adaptive containment control for nonlinear strict-feedback multi-agent systems with dynamic leaders

Abstract

This paper focuses on the adaptive containment control problem for nonlinear strict-feedback multi-agent systems with dynamic leaders. An adaptive controller is constructed by backstepping control, first-order filters and compensating signals. The ``explosion of complexity" phenomenon is avoided by introducing first-order filters in traditional backstepping control, and filter errors are handled with compensating signals. All adaptive laws are accumulated to the last step by using tuning functions. The whole control design method is divided into two parts. One is to design adaptive tracking control for dynamic leaders. The other is to design adaptive containment control for followers. Through the proposed control method, the closed-loop system is stable, and all followers can converge to the convex hull built by the leaders. The simulation studies can confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control method.

Keywords:

• Multi-agent systems (MASs)
• strict-feedback dynamic leader
• backstepping control
• containment control
• tuning function

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the anonymous referees for their constructive comments and valuable suggestions, which are helpful to improve the quality of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 61903169, 51674140], the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Natural Science Foundation of Liaoning [grant numbers 2019-BS-126, 2019-MS-173].