An improved robust fixed-time bipartite flocking tracking control scheme for networked agents with unknown...

Area of Science:

• Robotics
• Control Theory
• Networked Systems

Background:

• Multi-agent systems (MASs) require coordinated behavior for complex tasks.
• Flocking behavior is crucial for decentralized coordination in MASs.
• Achieving fixed-time convergence under disturbances is a significant challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the fixed-time bipartite flocking tracking (FTBFT) problem for MASs.
• To propose a novel, robust fixed-time control scheme for FTBFT.
• To ensure follower agents track a leader within a specified fixed time despite disturbances and unknown control inputs.

Main Methods:

• Development of a novel control scheme composed of a signum function term and a power exponent term.
• Analysis of the closed-loop system dynamics under external disturbances and unknown control inputs.
• Derivation of a fixed-time settling time bound independent of initial conditions.

Main Results:

• The proposed control scheme achieves fixed-time bipartite flocking tracking.
• The controller demonstrates robustness against external disturbances and unknown control inputs.
• The settling time is bounded and independent of the agents' initial states.

Conclusions:

• The novel control scheme simplifies controller structure while enhancing robustness and achieving fixed-time convergence.
• The study provides an effective solution for the FTBFT problem in MASs.
• Simulation results validate the proposed scheme's effectiveness and performance.