A distributed predictive formation control strategy for cyber-physical multi-agent systems under communication constraints

Abstract

This paper focuses on the formation control problem under communication constraints for leader-follower cyber-physical multi-agent systems (CPMASs). The introduction of a leader-follower structure motivates the design of a distributed predictive formation control (DPFC) protocol for CPMASs, which features active compensation for constraints in the network with the aim of achieving formation consensus and stability. The cost functions are designed separately for leader and followers, enabling the output coordination of the leader and followers under the consideration of the formation configuration. The necessary and sufficient condition for stability and consensus is derived through the detailed analysis of closed-loop CPMASs with DPFC scheme. The control performance of the designed DPFC scheme is validated by the presented numerical simulations, which is extended to a formation control experiment of three-degree-of-freedom air-bearing-simulator (ABS) systems.