Adaptive Finite-Time Optimal Formation Control for Second-Order Nonlinear Multiagent Systems

In this article, an observer-based fuzzy adaptive inverse optimal output feedback control problem is studied for a class of nonlinear systems in strict-feedback form. The considered nonlinear systems contain unknown nonlinear dynamics and their states are not measured directly. Fuzzy logic systems are applied to identify the unknown nonlinear dynamics and an auxiliary nonlinear system is constructed. Based on this auxiliary system, a fuzzy state observer is first designed to estimate the immeasurable states. By using the inverse optimal principle and adaptive backstepping design theory, an observer-based fuzzy adaptive inverse optimal output feedback control scheme is then developed. The proposed inverse optimal control scheme need not assume that the states are measurable. It also guarantees that the closed-loop system is semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded, and achieves the optimal control objective as well. Finally, two simulation examples are provided to check the validity of the presented control method.

This article addresses the event-based adaptive optimal fault-tolerant consensus control problem for a class of nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs) under a directed graph. It can be solved that both control gains and actuator failure parameters are unknown in considered MASs, which enhances the practicability of optimal consensus control. First, a reinforcement learning-based distributed optimal control law is designed by constructing the identifier-critic-actor learning networks. Furthermore, by utilizing the distributed optimal control law as an auxiliary variable, an adaptive fault-tolerant controller is proposed to effectively compensate for actuator failures. Meanwhile, a co-design scheme is proposed for the construction of an event-triggered control input with the fault-tolerant property. It is proven that the designed control input ensures the boundedness of closed-loop systems through rigorous stability analysis. Finally, the effectiveness of the developed approach can be illustrated via simulations of numerical nonlinear MASs and a group of autonomous underwater vehicles.

Optimal distributed time-varying formation control for second-order multiagent systems: LQR-based method

Purpose This paper proposes an adaptive distributed observer-based optimal control protocol designed to tackle the challenges posed by unavailable state information, without relying on global information, while ensuring optimal system performance in heterogeneous multi-agent systems. The purpose of this paper is to achieve distributed output tracking control under these constraints. Design/methodology/approach An adaptive distributed observer using single adaptive and local static gains estimates leader’s output. A feedback-feedforward control policy is designed for optimal tracking. Unlike conventional methods, this reduces communication load and broadens applications when leader’s state is unmeasurable. Findings A numerical simulation example related to autonomous ground vehicle is given to demonstrate that the proposed control algorithm can ensure output tracking in heterogeneous multi-agent systems. Research limitations/implications Although the proposed algorithm can effectively guarantee output tracking, further research is needed to design an optimal controller for model-free system dynamics in unknown environments. Practical implications The proposed method can be implemented for formation control of multi-robot systems since each robot can measure the relative output information, thereby effectively overcoming the limitation of unavailable system states. Originality/value This paper introduces a novel adaptive distributed observer-based optimal control protocol for heterogeneous multi-agent systems, uniquely relying on a single adaptive gain and local output information, eliminating the need for global network data. This reduces communication overhead and enhances applicability in scenarios where the leader’s state is unmeasurable. Unlike existing methods, it integrates optimal tracking control via the Bellman equation, considering transient performance. Its value lies in practical implementation for multi-robot formation control, though limitations include the need for further research into model-free systems in unknown environments.

In this paper, a novel optimal energy storage control scheme is investigated in smart grid environments with solar renewable energy. Based on the idea of adaptive dynamic programming (ADP), a self-learning algorithm is constructed to obtain the iterative control law sequence of the battery. Based on the data of the real-time electricity price (electricity rate in brief), the load demand (load in brief), and the solar renewable energy (solar energy in brief), the optimal performance index function, which minimizes the total electricity cost and simultaneously extends the battery's lifetime, is established. A new analysis method of the iterative ADP algorithm is developed to guarantee the convergence of the iterative value function to the optimum under iterative control law sequence for any time index in a period. Numerical results and comparisons are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the developed algorithm.

This paper investigates fuzzy adaptive output feedback optimal control problem for a class of strict-feedback nonlinear systems. With the help of fuzzy logic systems approximating the unknown nonlinear functions and cost function, the unmeasured states are estimated by designing fuzzy adaptive state observer. Combining state observer with backstepping design technique, a feedforward controller is designed. Based on the designed feedforward control strategy, the controlled nonlinear system can be converted to an equivalence nonlinear system in affine-form. Finally, a fuzzy adaptive optimal controller with parameters adaptive laws is developed. The whole control scheme consists of a feedforward controller and a feedback optimal controller. It is shown that the proposed output feedback optimal control approach can guarantee that all signals in the closed-loop system are bounded, and the system output can track the reference signal. In addition, the proposed control approach can guarantee cost function is the smallest. Simulation results are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach.

This article presents a nearly optimal solution to the cooperative formation control problem for large-scale multiagent system (MAS). First, multigroup technique is widely used for the decomposition of the large-scale problem, but there is no consensus between different subgroups. Inspired by the hierarchical structure applied in the MAS, a hierarchical leader-following formation control structure with multigroup technique is constructed, where two layers and three types of agents are designed. Second, adaptive dynamic programming technique is conformed to the optimal formation control problem by the establishment of performance index function. Based on the traditional generalized policy iteration (PI) algorithm, the multistep generalized policy iteration (MsGPI) is developed with the modification of policy evaluation. The novel algorithm not only inherits the advantages of high convergence speed and low computational complexity in the generalized PI algorithm but also further accelerates the convergence speed and reduces run time. Besides, the stability analysis, convergence analysis, and optimality analysis are given for the proposed multistep PI algorithm. Afterward, a neural network-based actor-critic structure is built for approximating the iterative control policies and value functions. Finally, a large-scale formation control problem is provided to demonstrate the performance of our developed hierarchical leader-following formation control structure and MsGPI algorithm.

This article investigates adaptive control problems for unknown second-order nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs) via an event-triggered approach. An adaptive event-triggered consensus controller is given to second-order MAS with unknown nonlinear dynamics. We prove that the proposed consensus controller is free from Zeno behavior. Next, an adaptive event-triggered tracking controller is developed for leader-follower MAS with the leader having bounded nonzero control input. Both consensus and tracking controllers are fully distributed, which means that event-triggered controllers only use local cooperative information. Finally, an unknown second-order nonlinear MAS is used to verify the given event-triggered controllers.

This paper focuses on the adaptive reinforcement learning-based optimal control problem for standard nonstrict-feedback nonlinear systems with the actuator fault and an unknown dead zone. To simultaneously reduce the computational complexity and eliminate the local optimal problem, a novel neural network weight updated algorithm is presented to replace the classic gradient descent method. By utilizing the backstepping technique, the actor critic-based reinforcement learning control strategy is developed for high-order nonlinear nonstrict-feedback systems. In addition, two auxiliary parameters are presented to deal with the input dead zone and actuator fault respectively. All signals in the system are proven to be semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded by Lyapunov theory analysis. At the end of the paper, some simulation results are shown to illustrate the remarkable effect of the proposed approach.

Starting with the seminal papers of Reynolds (1987), Vicsek et al. (1995), Cucker–Smale (2007), there has been a lot of recent works on models of self-alignment and consensus dynamics. Self-organization has so far been the main driving concept of this research direction. However, the evidence that in practice self-organization does not necessarily occur (for instance, the achievement of unanimous consensus in government decisions) leads to the natural question of whether it is possible to externally influence the dynamics in order to promote the formation of certain desired patterns. Once this fundamental question is posed, one is also faced with the issue of defining the best way of obtaining the result, seeking for the most "economical" way to achieve a certain outcome. Our paper precisely addressed the issue of finding the sparsest control strategy in order to lead us optimally towards a given outcome, in this case the achievement of a state where the group will be able by self-organization to reach an alignment consensus. As a consequence, we provide a mathematical justification to the general principle according to which "sparse is better": in order to achieve group consensus, a policy maker not allowed to predict future developments should decide to control with stronger action the fewest possible leaders rather than trying to act on more agents with minor strength. We then establish local and global sparse controllability properties to consensus. Finally, we analyze the sparsity of solutions of the finite time optimal control problem where the minimization criterion is a combination of the distance from consensus and of the ℓ1-norm of the control. Such an optimization models the situation where the policy maker is actually allowed to observe future developments. We show that the lacunarity of sparsity is related to the codimension of certain manifolds in the space of cotangent vectors.

The use of an adaptive optimal control algorithm for two real-time control applications, an optimal excitation control of a synchronous generator (OEC) and a power system stabilizer (PSS), is described. Experimental studies on a physical model of a power system showed that the proposed OEC and PSS can track the controlled system by parameter identification at different operating conditions. The proposed algorithm is based on linear optimal control theory. A special fifth-order discrete Riccati equation is solved in each sampling period. The proposed OEC and PSS can always guarantee that in a closed loop the controlled system will be stable based on the identified parameters. As the actual output of the controlled system and control are directly used in the controller, no observer is required. The proposed OEC and PSS can track the controlled system very rapidly. A number of tests have been performed, and all show satisfactory results.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

Control of gene regulatory networks is one of the fundamental topics in systems biology. In the last decade, control theory of Boolean networks (BNs), which is well known as a model of gene regulatory networks, has been widely studied. In this review paper, our previously proposed methods on optimal control of probabilistic Boolean networks (PBNs) are introduced. First, the outline of PBNs is explained. Next, an optimal control method using polynomial optimization is explained. The finite-time optimal control problem is reduced to a polynomial optimization problem. Furthermore, another finite-time optimal control problem, which can be reduced to an integer programming problem, is also explained.

Hamilton-Jacobi theory and associated generating functions are applied to solve finite time LQ optimal control problems recently. This paper proves the singularity of the coefficient matrices of generating functions based on the theory of the Riccati differential equation. Furthermore, the numerical stability of the solution given by a pair of generating functions for controllable systems is strictly proved. This method is useful to finite time optimal control problems with a family of boundary conditions. An example of formation flight shows that the method using a pair of generating functions dramatically reduced computational time compared with Matlab command "bvp4c" and generated numerically stable optimal trajectories.

This article investigates the adaptive neural network (NN) event-triggered containment control problem for a class of nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs). Since the considered nonlinear MASs contain unknown nonlinear dynamics, immeasurable states, and quantized input signals, the NNs are adopted to model unknown agents, and an NN state observer is established by using the intermittent output signal. Subsequently, a novel event-triggered mechanism consisting of both the sensor-to-controller and controller-to-actuator channels are established. By decomposing quantized input signals into the sum of two bounded nonlinear functions and based on the adaptive backstepping control and first-order filter design theories, an adaptive NN event-triggered output-feedback containment control scheme is formulated. It is proved that the controlled system is semi-globally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB) and the followers are within a convex hull formed by the leaders. Finally, a simulation example is given to validate the effectiveness of the presented NN containment control scheme.

In this paper, a novel NN-based optimal adaptive consensus-based formation control scheme over finite horizon is presented for networked mobile robots or agents in the presence of uncertain robot/agent dynamics. The uncertain robot formation dynamics are approximated online by using an NN-based identifier and a suitable weight tuning law. In addition, a novel time-varying value function is derived by using the augmented error vector, which consists of the regulation and consensus-based formation errors of each robot. By using the value function approximation and the identified dynamics, the near optimal control input over finite horizon is derived. This finite horizon optimal control leads to a time-varying value function, which becomes the solution of the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation, and control input is approximated by a second NN with time-varying activation function. A novel weight update law for the NN value function is developed to tune the value function, satisfy the terminal constraint, and relax an initial admissible controller requirement. The Lyapunov stability method is utilized to demonstrate the consensus of the overall formation. Finally, simulation results are given to verify theoretical claims. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.