Finite-time consensus of multi-agent networks with inherent nonlinear dynamics under an undirected interaction graph

This paper studies finite-time consensus of multiagent networks with inherent nonlinear dynamics where each agent is driven by a nonlinear term based on its state under an undirected interaction graph. We propose two distributed nonlinear algorithms to guarantee finite-time consensus. To facilitate the stability analysis of the closed-loop system using the proposed nonlinear algorithms, we present a general comparison lemma. The general comparison lemma provides an important tool in the stability analysis of linear/nonlinear closed loop systems by making use of known results in linear/nonlinear systems. With the aid of the general comparison lemma, the two nonlinear algorithms are shown to guarantee finite-time consensus by comparing the original closed-loop systems with one or more predesigned closed-loop systems that can guarantee finite-time consensus.