An Approach To Multi Agent Systems As A Generalized Multi Synchronization Problem

This book addresses the problem of multi-agent systems, considering that it can be interpreted as a generalized multi-synchronization problem. From manufacturing tasks, through encryption and communication algorithms, to high-precision experiments, the simultaneous cooperation between multiple systems or agents is essential to successfully carrying out different modern activities, both in academy and industry. For example, the coordination of multiple assembler robots in manufacturing lines. These agents need to synchronize. The first two chapters of the book describe the synchronization of dynamical systems, paying special attention to the synchronization of non-identical systems. Following, the third chapter presents an interesting application of the synchronization phenomenon for state estimation. Subsequently, the authors fully address the multi-agent problem interpreted as multi-synchronization. The final chapters introduce the reader to a more complex problem, the synchronization of systems governed by partial differential equations, both of integer and fractional order. The book aimed at graduates, postgraduate students and researchers closely related to the area of automatic control. Previous knowledge of linear algebra, classical and fractional calculus is requested, as well as some fundamental notions of graph theory.

This monograph explores the synchronization of large-scale, multi-agent dynamical systems in the presence of disturbances, delays, and time-varying networks. Drawing upon their extensive work in this area, the authors provide a thorough treatment of agents with higher-order dynamics, different classes of models for agents, and the underlying networks representing the agents’ actions. The high technical level of their presentation and their rigorous mathematical approach make this a timely and valuable resource that will fill a gap in the existing literature. Divided into two sections, the first part of the book focuses on state synchronization of homogeneous multi-agent systems. The authors consider state synchronization by determining control strategies for both continuous- and discrete-time systems that achieve state synchronization under both full- and partial-state coupling. The chapters that follow examine multi-agent systems with both linear and nonlinear time-varying agents, input-delays for continuous- and discrete-time systems, and communication delays for continuous-time systems. The second part of the book is dedicated to regulated output synchronization of heterogeneous multi-agent systems with linear and nonlinear agents. Both sections of the book include performance considerations in H2- and H-infinity norms in the presence of external disturbances. Research on synchronization of multi-agent systems has been growing in popularity and is highly interdisciplinary, with applications to automobile systems, aerospace systems, multiple-satellite GPS and high-resolution satellite imagery, aircraft formations, highway traffic platooning, industrial process control with multiple processes, and more. Synchronization of Multi-Agent Systems in the Presence of Disturbances and Delays will therefore be of interest to upper-level graduate students, researchers, and engineers in industry working on interconnected dynamical systems.

The main focus of this book is a pair of cooperative control problems: consensus and cooperative output regulation. Its emphasis is on complex multi-agent systems characterized by strong nonlinearity, large uncertainty, heterogeneity, external disturbances and jointly connected switching communication topologies. The cooperative output regulation problem is a generalization of the classical output regulation problem to multi-agent systems and it offers a general framework for handling a variety of cooperative control problems such as consensus, formation, tracking and disturbance rejection. The book strikes a balance between rigorous mathematical proof and engineering practicality. Every design method is systematically presented together with illustrative examples and all the designs are validated by computer simulation. The methods presented are applied to several practical problems, among them the leader-following consensus problem of multiple Euler–Lagrange systems, attitude synchronization of multiple rigid-body systems, and power regulation of microgrids. The book gives a detailed exposition of two approaches to the design of distributed control laws for complex multi-agent systems—the distributed-observer and distributed-internal-model approaches. Mastering both will enhance a reader’s ability to deal with a variety of complex real-world problems. Cooperative Control of Multi-agent Systems can be used as a textbook for graduate students in engineering, sciences, and mathematics, and can also serve as a reference book for practitioners and theorists in both industry and academia. Some knowledge of the fundamentals of linear algebra, calculus, and linear systems are needed to gain maximum benefit from this book. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

Cooperative Control of Multi-Agent Systems extends optimal control and adaptive control design methods to multi-agent systems on communication graphs. It develops Riccati design techniques for general linear dynamics for cooperative state feedback design, cooperative observer design, and cooperative dynamic output feedback design. Both continuous-time and discrete-time dynamical multi-agent systems are treated. Optimal cooperative control is introduced and neural adaptive design techniques for multi-agent nonlinear systems with unknown dynamics, which are rarely treated in literature are developed. Results spanning systems with first-, second- and on up to general high-order nonlinear dynamics are presented. Each control methodology proposed is developed by rigorous proofs. All algorithms are justified by simulation examples. The text is self-contained and will serve as an excellent comprehensive source of information for researchers and graduate students working with multi-agent systems.

The analysis and design of control strategies for the synchronization of subsystems that are coupled over communication networks is the topic of this thesis. Typically, synchronization problems deal with the asymptotic behavior of networked multi-agent systems, where it is required that the states of the subsystems follow a common trajectory as the time approaches infinity. In contrast, this thesis focuses on strategies that do not only fulfill the requirement on asymptotic synchronization but also requirements on the transient behavior of networked multi-agent systems. Motivated by a growing number of applications where subsystems exchange their information by means of modern communication systems, the limits on the achievable performance of synchronization are studied for large teams of autonomous subsystems. In particular, control strategies that do not require any centralized coordination of the subsystems are developed.

This book focuses on the characteristics of cooperative control problems for general linear multi-agent systems, including formation control, air traffic control, rendezvous, foraging, role assignment, and cooperative search. On this basis and combined with linear system theory, it introduces readers to the cooperative tracking problem for identical continuous-time multi-agent systems under state-coupled dynamics; the cooperative output regulation for heterogeneous multi-agent systems; and the optimal output regulation for model-free multi-agent systems. In closing, the results are extended to multiple leaders, and cooperative containment control for uncertain multi-agent systems is addressed. Given its scope, the book offers an essential reference guide for researchers and designers of multi-agent systems, as well as a valuable resource for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students.

Multi-Agent Systems are a promising technology to develop the next generation open distributed complex software systems. The main focus of the research community has been on the development of concepts (concerning both mental and social attitudes), architectures, techniques, and general approaches to the analysis and specification of multi-agent systems. This contribution has been fragmented, without any clear way of “putting it all together”, rendering it inaccessible to students and young researchers, non-experts, and practitioners. Successful multi-agent systems development is guaranteed only if we can bridge the gap from analysis and design to effective implementation. Multi-Agent Programming: Languages, Tools and Applications presents a number of mature and influential multi-agent programming languages, platforms, development tools and methodologies, and realistic applications, summarizing the state of the art in an accessible manner for professionals and computer science students at all levels.

A comprehensive review of the state of the art in the control of multi-agent systems theory and applications The superiority of multi-agent systems over single agents for the control of unmanned air, water and ground vehicles has been clearly demonstrated in a wide range of application areas. Their large-scale spatial distribution, robustness, high scalability and low cost enable multi-agent systems to achieve tasks that could not successfully be performed by even the most sophisticated single agent systems. Cooperative Control of Multi-Agent Systems: Theory and Applications provides a wide-ranging review of the latest developments in the cooperative control of multi-agent systems theory and applications. The applications described are mainly in the areas of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs). Throughout, the authors link basic theory to multi-agent cooperative control practice — illustrated within the context of highly-realistic scenarios of high-level missions — without losing site of the mathematical background needed to provide performance guarantees under general working conditions. Many of the problems and solutions considered involve combinations of both types of vehicles. Topics explored include target assignment, target tracking, consensus, stochastic game theory-based framework, event-triggered control, topology design and identification, coordination under uncertainty and coverage control. Establishes a bridge between fundamental cooperative control theory and specific problems of interest in a wide range of applications areas Includes example applications from the fields of space exploration, radiation shielding, site clearance, tracking/classification, surveillance, search-and-rescue and more Features detailed presentations of specific algorithms and application frameworks with relevant commercial and military applications Provides a comprehensive look at the latest developments in this rapidly evolving field, while offering informed speculation on future directions for collective control systems The use of multi-agent system technologies in both everyday commercial use and national defense is certain to increase tremendously in the years ahead, making this book a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, and applied mathematicians working in systems and controls, as well as advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in those areas.