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Flocking of multi‐agent dynamical systems with intermittent nonlinear velocity measurements
Author(s) -
Wen Guanghui,
Duan Zhisheng,
Li Zhongkui,
Chen Guanrong
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
international journal of robust and nonlinear control
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.361
H-Index - 106
eISSN - 1099-1239
pISSN - 1049-8923
DOI - 10.1002/rnc.1784
Subject(s) - flocking (texture) , nonlinear system , control theory (sociology) , dynamical systems theory , nonlinear dynamical systems , multi agent system , relative velocity , computer science , physics , classical mechanics , artificial intelligence , control (management) , quantum mechanics
SUMMARY In this paper, the problem of flocking control in networks of multiple dynamical agents with intermittent nonlinear velocity measurements is studied. A new flocking algorithm is proposed to guarantee the states of the velocity variables of all the dynamical agents to converge to consensus while ensuring collision avoidance of the whole group, where each agent is assumed to obtain some nonlinear measurements of the relative velocity between itself and its neighbors only on a sequence of non‐overlapping time intervals. The results are then extended to the scenario of flocking with a nonlinearly dynamical virtual leader, where only a small fraction of agents are informed and each informed agent can obtain intermittent nonlinear measurements of the relative velocity between itself and the virtual leader. Theoretical analysis shows that the achieved flocking in systems with or without a virtual leader is robust against the time spans of the agent speed‐sensors. Finally, some numerical simulations are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the new design. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.