Consensus of Discrete-Time Linear Multiagent Systems: A Server-Assisted Approach

Abstract

Although significant research efforts have been devoted to the consensus of multiagent systems (MASs), limited attention has been paid to general network environments, including network-disconnected scenarios. In this context, this article addresses the consensus problem of MASs with the assistance of a control station, so that consensusability can be achieved in both network-connected and network-disconnected scenarios. More specifically, for the considered MASs, we propose server-assisted control protocols that integrate local state information and global average information. The sufficient condition for MASs to achieve consensus exponentially fast is then derived. We also investigate the early computability of the proposed server-assisted control protocols. Finally, numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed control protocols.