Output regulation of switched linear multi-agent systems: an agent-dependent average dwell time method

Abstract

The output regulation problem of switched linear multi-agent systems with stabilisable and unstabilisable subsystems is investigated in this paper. A sufficient condition for the solvability of the problem is given. Owing to the characteristics of switched multi-agent systems, even if each agent has its own dwell time, the multi-agent systems, if viewed as an overall switched system, may not have a dwell time. To overcome this difficulty, we present a new approach, called an agent-dependent average dwell time method. Due to the limited information exchange between agents, a distributed dynamic observer network for agents is provided. Further, a distributed dynamic controller based on observer is designed. Finally, simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.

Keywords:

• switched multi-agent systems
• output regulation
• agent-dependent average dwell time method
• distributed control

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the associate editor and the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions for further improving the quality of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant number 61304058], [grant number 61233002]; IAPI Fundamental Research Funds [grant number 2013ZCX03-01].

Notes on contributors

Hongwei Jia

Hongwei Jia is a PhD candidate at the College of Information Science and Engineering, Northeastern University. She received the BS and MS degrees in mathematics in 1996 and 2007, from Liaoning Normal University and Jilin University, respectively, China. Her main research interests include switched systems and distributed control.

Jun Zhao

Jun Zhao received his BS and MS degrees in mathematics in 1982 and 1984 respectively, both from Liaoning University, China. He completed his PhD in Control Theory and Applications in 1991 at Northeastern University, China. From 1992 to 1993 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the same University. Since 1994, as a professor, he has been with College of Information Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, China. From 1998 to 1999, he was a senior visiting scholar at the Coordinated Science Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. From November 2003 to May 2005, he was a Research Fellow at Department of Electronic Engineering, City University of Hong Kong. During 2007–2010, he was a Fellow at School of Engineering, The Australian National University. His main research interests include switched systems, nonlinear systems and network synchronization.