Hidden Markov Model-Based Control for Cooperative Output Regulation of Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems under Switching Network Topology

Abstract

This paper investigates the problem of stochastically cooperative output regulation of heterogeneous multi-agent systems (MASs) subject to hidden Markov jumps using observer-based distributed control. In order to address a more realistic situation than prior studies, this paper focuses on the following issues: (1) asynchronous phenomena in the system mode’s transmission to the controller; (2) the impact of system mode switching on network topology; and (3) the emergence of coupled terms between the mode-dependent Lyapunov matrix and the control gain in control design conditions. Specifically, to reduce the complexity arising from the asynchronous controller-side mode, the leader–state observer is developed so that the solution pair of regulator equations can be integrated into the observer. Furthermore, a linear decoupling method is proposed to handle the emergence of the aforementioned coupled terms; this provides sufficient LMI conditions to achieve stochastically cooperative output regulation for heterogeneous MASs. Finally, the validity of the proposed method is shown through two illustrative examples.

Keywords

• heterogeneous multi-agent systems
• cooperative output regulation problem
• hidden Markov jumps
• asynchronous distributed control
• time-varying network topology