Finite-time consensus for switching network topologies with disturbances

In this paper we investigate the properties of a decentralized consensus algorithm for a network of continuous-time integrators subject to unknown-but-bounded time-varying disturbances. The proposed consensus algorithm is based on a discontinuous local interaction rule. Under certain restrictions on the switching topology, it is proven that after a finite transient time the agents achieve an approximated consensus condition by attenuating the destabilizing effect of the disturbances. This main result is complemented by an additional result establishing the achievement of consensus under different requirements on the switching communication topology. In particular, we provide a convergence result that encompasses situations in which the time varying graph is always disconnected. Lyapunov analyses are carried out to support the suggested algorithms and results. Simulative tests considering, as case study, the synchronization problem for a network of clocks are illustrated and commented on to validate the developed analysis.     

Impulsive consensus in directed networks of identical nonlinear oscillators with switching topologies

In this paper, we investigate the problem of impulsive consensus of multi-agent systems, where each agent can be modeled as an identical nonlinear oscillator. Firstly, an impulsive control protocol is designed for directed networks with switching topologies based on the local information of agents. Then sufficient conditions are given to guarantee the consensus of the networked nonlinear oscillators. How to select the discrete instants and impulsive constants is also discussed. Numerical simulations show the effectiveness of our theoretical results.     

Impulsive consensus of one-sided Lipschitz nonlinear multi-agent systems with Semi-Markov switching topologies

Many real systems involve not only parameter changes but also sudden variations in environmental conditions, which often causes unpredictable topologies switching. This paper investigates the impulsive consensus problem of the one-sided Lipschitz nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs) with Semi-Markov switching topologies. Different from the existing modeling methods of the Markov chain, the Semi-Markov chain is adopted to describe this kind of randomly occurring changes reasonably. To cope with the communication and control cost constraints in the multi-agent systems, the distributed impulsive control method is applied to address the leader–follower consensus problem. Beyond that, to obtain a wider nonlinear application range, the one-sided condition is delicately developed to the controller design, and the results are different from the ones obtained in the traditional method with the Lipschitz condition (note that the existing results are usually only applicable to the case with small Lipschitz constant). Based on the characteristics of cumulative distribution functions, the theory of Lyapunov-like function and impulsive differential equation, the asymptotically mean square consensus of multi-agent systems is maintained with the proposed impulsive control protocol. Finally, an explanatory simulation is presented to validate the correctness of the proposed approach conclusively.     

Impulsive consensus of multi-agent systems with stochastically switching topologies

In this paper, the impulsive consensus problem for multi-agent systems is investigated. The purpose of this paper is to provide a valid consensus protocol that overcomes the difficulty caused by stochastically switching structures via impulsive control. Some sufficient conditions of almost sure consensus are proposed when the switching structures are the independent process or the Markov process. It is shown that the sum-zero rows of matrix play a key role in achieving group consensus. Furthermore, simulation examples are provided to illustrate and visualize the effectiveness of these results.     

Finite-time consensus on strongly convex balls of Riemannian manifolds with switching directed communication topologies

It is known that a consensus problem on any connected complete Riemannian manifold can be transformed into the one on its strongly convex balls via the compression–decompression along geodesics. From the viewpoint of interior metrics, this paper mainly provides a consensus protocol for strongly convex geodesic balls, in which the communication can be switching and directed. With the aid of nonsmooth analysis tools on Riemannian manifolds, our analysis shows that all dynamical points involved can achieve consensus in finite time. Meanwhile, the corresponding global algorithm is given, with its application to the consensus problem of rotation attitudes, as well as a case simulation, to demonstrate and verify our proposed techniques.     

Finite-time stabilization of nonlinear impulsive dynamical systems

Finite-time stability involves dynamical systems whose trajectories converge to a Lyapunov stable equilibrium state in finite time. For continuous-time dynamical systems finite-time convergence implies nonuniqueness of system solutions in reverse time, and hence, such systems possess non-Lipschitzian dynamics. For impulsive dynamical systems, however, it may be possible to reset the system states to an equilibrium state achieving finite-time convergence without requiring non-Lipschitzian system dynamics. In this paper, we develop sufficient conditions for finite-time stability of impulsive dynamical systems using both scalar and vector Lyapunov functions. Furthermore, we design hybrid finite-time stabilizing controllers for impulsive dynamical systems that are robust against full modelling uncertainty. Finally, we present a numerical example for finite-time stabilization of large-scale impulsive dynamical systems.     

Impulsive consensus problem of second-order multi-agent systems with switching topologies

The paper proposes an impulsive consensus protocol to solve the consensus problem of the second-order multi-agent systems with fixed and switching topologies. Some sufficient conditions are obtained for the states of follower agents converging to the state of leader asymptotically. Two numerical simulations are also given to verify the effectiveness of the theoretical analysis.     

A note on the consensus finding problem in communication networks with switching topologies

In this note, we discuss the problem of consensus finding in communication networks of agents with dynamically switching topologies. In particular, we consider the case of directed networks with unbalanced matrices of communication rates. We formulate sufficient conditions for consensus finding in terms of strong connectivity of the underlying directed graphs and prove that, given these conditions, consensus is found asymptotically. Moreover, we show that this consensus is an emergent property of the system, being encoded in its dynamics and not just an invariant of its initial configuration.     

Robust fixed-time consensus protocols for multi-agent systems with nonlinear state measurements

This paper solves the robust fixed-time consensus problem for multi-agent systems with nonlinear state measurements. Sufficient conditions are established for the proposed protocol to reach fixed-time consensus under time-varying undirected and fixed directed topology with the aid of Lyapunov functions. It is proved that the finite settling time of the presented protocol for robust consensus is uniformly bounded for any initial condition, which makes it possible for people to design and estimate the convergence time off-line. Numerical simulations are preformed to show the effectiveness of our proposed protocol.     

Leaderless and leader-following consensus of multi-agent chaotic systems with unknown time delays and switching topologies

In this paper the distributed consensus problem for a class of multi-agent chaotic systems with unknown time delays under switching topologies and directed intermittent communications is investigated. Each agent is modeled as a general nonlinear system including many chaotic systems with or without time delays. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory and graph theory, some sufficient conditions guarantee the exponential convergence. A graph-dependent Lyapunov proof provides the definite relationship among the bound of unknown time delays, the admissible communication rate and each possible topology duration. Moreover, the relationship reveals that these parameters have impacts on both the convergence speed and control cost. The case with leader-following communication graph is also addressed. Finally, simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Finite-time synchronization control of complex dynamical networks with time delay

In this paper, the finite-time synchronization between two complex networks with non-delayed and delayed coupling is proposed by using the impulsive control and the periodically intermittent control. Some novel and useful finite-time synchronization criteria are derived based on finite-time stability theory. Especially, the traditional synchronization criteria are improved by using the impulsive control and the periodically intermittent control in the convergence time, the results of this paper are important. Finally, numerical examples are given to verify the effectiveness and correctness of the synchronization criteria.     

Further improvement of finite-time consensus protocols for detail-balanced networks

This paper presents a new class of protocols to solve finite-time consensus for multi-agent systems. The protocols are induced from the classical finite-time consensus algorithm by using the so-called protocol function. Sufficient conditions are established for networked agents to experience finite-time consensus under time-varying undirected and fixed directed topologies. Numerical simulations show that the proposed protocols can provide more flexibility to improve convergence rate.     

Finite-time stability and controller design for a class of hybrid dynamical systems with deviating argument

This paper studies the finite-time stability (FTS) for a class of hybrid dynamical systems with deviating argument. An improved hybrid control scheme including sampled-data control as well as impulsive control is presented. Based on the theory of differential equations with piecewise constant argument of generalized type (PCAG) and the method of average impulsive interval (AII), several Lyapunov-based sufficient criteria for FTS are obtained in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), which can be verified via Matlab. The hybrid controller, in which the sampling instants could be different from the impulse instants, is designed by the established LMIs. The results in present paper are more convenient for application and less conservative than some existing ones. Finally, an example is given to illustrate the effectiveness and advantage of the obtained results.     

Hybrid Synchronization of two complex delayed dynamical networks with nonidentical topologies and mixed coupling

In this article, we study a new hybrid synchronization scheme for two different delayed dynamical networks with nonidentical topologies and mixed coupling. Based on Barbalat lemma and Schur complement lemma, some hybrid synchronization criteria are achieved via the open‐loop‐plus‐pinning adaptive control strategy. Two numerical examples with two types of node dynamics illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed synchronous criteria. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Complexity 21: 470–482, 2016     

A tau method for nonlinear dynamical systems

In this work we present a new Tau method for the solution of nonlinear systems of differential equations which are linear in the derivative of highest order and polynomial in the remaining. We avoid the linearization of the problem by associating to it a nonlinear algebraic system and combine a forward substitution with the Tau method. We develop an adaptive step by step version of this alternative nonlinear tau method and we apply it to several nonlinear dynamical systems.     

On-line state estimation for nonlinear dynamical systems

A problem of estimation of states of a dynamical object on the base of incomplete and inexact measurements is studied. The focus is on a set-based estimation of states required for construction of optimal guaranteeing feedbacks. In particular, the aim is to construct at every current time instant polyhedral approximations of sets of all states consistent with the obtained measurements. A problem of constructing estimates, associated with these approximations, is called an optimal observation problem. This note presents a numerical method for solving optimal observation problems for nonlinear dynamical systems. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Lie-point symmetries and nonlinear dynamical systems

Nonlinear symmetries of finite dimensional dynamical systems are related to nonlinear normal forms and center manifolds in the neighbourhood of a singular point. Certain abstract results can be used algorithmically to construct the normal forms and/or the center manifold up to a given order in the perturbation expansion. We also argue that for this task, approximate symmetries are as useful as exact ones.     

Synchronization of master-slave markovian switching complex dynamical networks with time-varying delays in nonlinear function via sliding mode control

In this article, a synchronization problem for master-slave Markovian switching complex dynamical networks with time-varying delays in nonlinear function via sliding mode control is investigated. On the basis of the appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional, introducing some free weighting matrices, new synchronization criteria are derived in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). Then, an integral sliding surface is designed to guarantee synchronization of master-slave Markovian switching complex dynamical networks, and the suitable controller is synthesized to ensure that the trajectory of the closed-loop error system can be driven onto the prescribed sliding mode surface. By using Dynkin's formula, we established the stochastic stablity of master-slave system. Finally, numerical example is provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the obtained theoretical results.     

Finite-time stability and stabilization of nonlinear stochastic hybrid systems

This paper deals with the problem of finite-time stability and stabilization of nonlinear Markovian switching stochastic systems which exist impulses at the switching instants. Using multiple Lyapunov function theory, a sufficient condition is established for finite-time stability of the underlying systems. Furthermore, based on the state partition of continuous parts of systems, a feedback controller is designed such that the corresponding impulsive stochastic closed-loop systems are finite-time stochastically stable. A numerical example is presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.