Distributed resilient consensus for heterogeneous fractional-order multi-agent systems against hybrid attacks

Area of Science:

• Control Theory
• Cyber-Physical Systems
• Networked Systems

Background:

• Consensus in multi-agent systems (MASs) is vulnerable to cyber-attacks targeting connectivity and information integrity.
• Fractional-order dynamics exacerbate attack effects due to their hereditary property, complicating stability analysis and protocol design.
• Heterogeneous MASs present unique challenges in achieving robust consensus under adversarial conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate heterogeneous fractional-order MASs under hybrid attacks (Denial-of-Service and deception).
• To develop a fractional-order attack-resilient control framework ensuring leader-following consensus.
• To analyze the influence of fractional order on attack tolerance and system performance.

Main Methods:

• Design of a distributed resilient control protocol.
• Integration of fractional-order state observers and attack estimators.
• Derivation of sufficient conditions from a switching perspective, establishing an order-dependent attack tolerance condition.

Main Results:

• A fractional-order attack-resilient control framework was proposed and validated.
• Leader-following consensus with cooperative uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB) was achieved.
• An order-dependent attack tolerance condition was established, highlighting the impact of fractional order.

Conclusions:

• The proposed framework effectively ensures consensus in fractional-order MASs under hybrid attacks.
• The fractional order significantly influences the system's attack tolerance and overall performance.
• The study provides a robust approach for designing resilient control systems in complex networked environments.