In this paper, we consider the second-order consensus problem for networked mechanical systems subjected to nonuniform communication delays, and the mechanical systems are assumed to interact on a general directed topology. We propose an adaptive controller plus a distributed velocity observer to realize the objective of second-order consensus. It is shown that both the positions and velocities of the mechanical agents synchronize, and furthermore, the velocities of the mechanical agents converge to the scaled weighted average value of their initial ones. We further demonstrate that the proposed second-order consensus scheme can be used to solve the leader-follower synchronization problem with a constant-velocity leader and under constant communication delays. Simulation results are provided to illustrate the performance of the proposed adaptive controllers.
This paper provides a control protocol for the robust output feedback consensus of networked heterogeneous nonlinear negative-imaginary (NI) systems. Heterogeneous nonlinear output strictly negative-imaginary (OSNI) controllers are applied in positive feedback according to the network topology to achieve output feedback consensus. The main contribution of this paper is extending the previous studies of the robust output feedback consensus problem for networked heterogeneous linear NI systems to nonlinear NI systems. Output feedback consensus is proved by investigating the internal stability of…
This paper provides a protocol to address the robust output feedback consensus problem for networked heterogeneous nonlinear negative-imaginary (NI) systems with free body dynamics. We extend the definition of nonlinear NI systems to allow for systems with free body motion. A new stability result is developed for the interconnection of a nonlinear NI system and a nonlinear output strictly negative-imaginary (OSNI) system. Also, a class of networked nonlinear OSNI controllers is proposed to achieve output feedback consensus for heterogeneous networked nonlinear NI systems. We show that in this …
A robust output feedback consensus problem for networked identical nonlinear negative-imaginary (NI) systems is investigated in this paper. Output consensus is achieved by applying identical linear output strictly negative-imaginary (OSNI) controllers to all the nonlinear NI plants in positive feedback through the network topology. First, we extend the definition of nonlinear NI systems from single-input single-output (SISO) systems to multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems and also extend the definition of OSNI systems to nonlinear scenarios. Asymptotic stability is proved for the clos…
A novel distributed control law for consensus of networked double integrator systems with biased measurements is developed in this article. The agents measure relative positions over a time-varying, undirected graph with an unknown and constant sensor bias corrupting the measurements. An adaptive control law is derived using Lyapunov methods to estimate the individual sensor biases accurately. The proposed algorithm ensures that position consensus is achieved exponentially in addition to bias estimation. The results leverage recent advances in collective initial excitation based results in ada…
In this work, we study the problem of supervisory control of networked discrete event systems. We consider lossy communication channels with bounded network delays, for both the control channel and the observation channel. By a model transformation, we transform the networked supervisor synthesis problem into the classical (non-networked) supervisor synthesis problem (for non-deterministic plants), such that the existing supervisor synthesis tools can be used for synthesizing networked supervisors. In particular, we can use the (state-based) normality property for the synthesis of the supremal…
In bipartite consensus tracking (BCT) tasks for nonlinear multiagent systems, stochastic disturbances and actuator faults are regarded as essential factors that hamper effective controller formulation and tracking precision improvement. To address these difficulties, we design an improved finitetime performance function (FTPF) for a fuzzy fault-tolerant distributed cooperative control scheme to achieve finite-time robust precision BCT tasks for nonlinear multiagent systems. The parameter selection range of the improved FTPF is relaxed, which renders systems to achieve better transient performa…
This paper studies stochastic aperiodic stabilization of a networked control system (NCS) consisting of a continuous-time plant and a discrete-time controller. The plant and the controller are assumed to be connected by communication channels with i.i.d. time-varying delays. The delays are theoretically not required to be bounded even when the plant is unstable in the deterministic sense. In our NCS, the sampling interval is supposed to be determined directly by such communication delays. A necessary and sufficient inequality condition is presented for designing a state-feedback controller sta…
We propose a distributed (single) target tracking scheme based on networked estimation and consensus algorithms over static sensor networks. The tracking part is based on linear time-difference-of-arrival (TDOA) measurement proposed in our previous works. This paper, in particular, develops delay-tolerant distributed filtering solutions over sparse data-transmission networks. We assume general arbitrary heterogeneous delays at different links. This may occur in many realistic large-scale applications where the data-sharing between different nodes is subject to latency due to communication-reso…
Task-Space Consensus of Networked Robotic Systems: Separation and Manipulability
Beijing Institute of Control Engineering（北京控制工程研究所）；Science and Technology on Space Intelligent Control Laboratory, Beijing Institute of Control Engineering（空间智能控制重点实验室，北京控制工程研究所）
Conventional supervisory control theory assumes full synchronization between the supervisor and the plant. This assumption is violated in a networked-based communication setting due to the presence of delays, and this may result in incorrect behavior of a supervisor obtained from conventional supervisory control theory. This paper presents a technique to synthesize a networked supervisor handling communication delays. For this purpose, first, a networked supervisory control framework is provided, where the supervisor interacts with the plant through control and observation channels, both of wh…
A networked output feedback loop subject to packetized transmissions of the output signal is considered. Based on the small gain theorem, an easy-to-use stability criterion covering two important cases is presented. In the first case a packet numbering mechanism is employed whereas in the second case neither packet numbering nor synchronization between sender and receiver is assumed. The analysis makes use of acausal subsystems and deduces the optimal constant time delay that should be used in a nominal controller design such that additional packet delay variations introduced by the network ar…
The existing cryptosystem based approaches for privacy-preserving consensus of networked systems are usually limited to those with undirected topologies. This paper proposes a new privacy-preserving algorithm for networked systems with directed topologies to reach confidential consensus. As a prerequisite for applying the algorithm, a structural consensus problem is formulated and the solvability conditions are discussed for an explicitly constructed controller. The controller is then implemented with encryption to achieve consensus while avoiding individual's information leakage to external e…
This paper presents an overview of the networked supervisory control framework for discrete event systems with imperfect communication networks, which can be divided into the centralized supervisory control setup and the decentralized supervisory control setup. We review the state-of-art networked control frameworks with observation channel delays and control channel delays, for untimed and timed models. Data losses in communication channels are also considered. The review of the state-of-art networked control frameworks will be focused on the following parts: 1) the construction of the networ…
This letter deals with the problem of quantifying resiliency of Networked Control Systems (NCSs) to Denial-of-Service (DoS) attacks and variable network delays. Internal exponential stability and $\mathcal{L}_2$ external stability are studied. The closed-loop system is augmented with an auxiliary timer variable and analyzed in a hybrid system framework. Lyapunov-like conditions are given to ensure $0$-input global exponential stability and $\mathcal{L}_2$ external stability. A computationally affordable algorithm based on linear matrix inequalities is devised to provide trade-off curves betwee…
The communication channels used to convey information between the components of wireless networked control systems (WNCSs) are subject to packet losses due to time-varying fading and interference. We consider a wireless networked control scenario, where the packet loss occurs in both the sensor-controller link (sensing link) and the controller-actuator link (actuation link). Moreover, we consider one time-step delay mode observations of the actuation link. While the problems of state feedback optimal control and stabilizability conditions for systems with one time-step delay mode observations …
In this paper, we study the trade-off between the transmission cost and the control performance of the multi-loop networked control system subject to network-induced delay. Within the linear-quadratic-Gaussian (LQG) framework, the joint design of control policy and networking strategy is decomposed into separation optimization problems. Based on the trade-off analysis, a scalable, delay-dependent Value-of-Information (VoI) based scheduling policy is constructed to quantify the value of transmitting the data packet, and enables the decision-makers embedded in subsystems to determine the transmi…
This paper is concerned with the consensus problem for multi-agent systems subject to communication delays between the neighboring agents. We consider a scenario where each agent is characterized by a general high-order linear system and the communication delays between the agents are non-uniform and time-varying. We design a distributed control protocol for the agents and provide an equivalent stability problem to be solved that guarantees the state consensus in the group of agents. Moreover, a delay-dependent stability criterion is provided by combining the Lyapunov-Krasovskii method with th…
This work mainly investigates the mean-square stability and stabilizability for a single-input single-output networked linear feedback system. The control signal in the networked system is transmitted over an unreliable channel. In this unreliable channel, the data transmission times, referred to as channel induced delays, are random values and the transmitted data could also be dropout with certain probability. The channel induced delays and packet dropout are modeled by an independent and identically distributed stochastic process with a fixed probability mass function. At the channel termin…
We apply deep reinforcement learning (DRL) to design of a networked controller with network delays to complete a temporal control task that is described by a signal temporal logic (STL) formula. STL is useful to deal with a specification with a bounded time interval for a dynamical system. In general, an agent needs not only the current system state but also the past behavior of the system to determine a desired control action for satisfying the given STL formula. Additionally, we need to consider the effect of network delays for data transmissions. Thus, we propose an extended Markov decision…
This work studies the mean-square stability and stabilization problem for networked feedback systems. Data transmission delays in the network channels of the systems are considered. It is assumed that these delays are i.i.d. processes with given probability mass functions (PMFs). A necessary and sufficient condition of mean-square (input-output) stability is studied for the networked feedback systems in terms of the input-output model and state-space model. Furthermore, according to this condition, mean-square stabilization via output feedback is studied for the networked feedback systems.
This manuscript discusses a scalable controller synthesis method for networked systems with a large number of identical subsystems based on the H-infinity control framework. The dynamics of the individual subsystems are described by identical linear time-invariant delay differential equations and the effect of transport and communication delay is explicitly taken into account. The presented method is based on the result that, under a particular assumption on the graph describing the interconnections between the subsystems, the H-infinity norm of the overall system is upper bounded by the robus…
Filtered Smith predictors are well established for controlling linear plants with constant time delays. Apart from this classical application scenario, they are also employed within networked control loops, where the measurements are sent in separate packets over a transmission channel that is subject to time-varying delays. However, no stability guarantees can be given in this case. The present paper illustrates that the time-varying delays as well as the packetized character of the transmissions have to be taken into account for stability analysis. Hence, three network protocols, which use d…
This paper studies the tracking control problem of nonlinear networked and quantized control systems (NQCSs) with communication delays. The desired trajectory is generated by a reference system. The communication network is to guarantee the information transmission among the plant, the reference system and the controller. The communication network also brings about some undesired issues like time-varying transmission intervals, time-varying transmission delays, packet dropouts, scheduling and quantization effects, which lead to non-vanishing network-induced errors and affect the tracking perfo…
In this paper, robust finite-time consensus of a group of nonlinear multi-agent systems in the presence of communication time delays is considered. In particular, appropriate delay-dependent strategies which are less conservative are suggested. Sufficient conditions for finite-time consensus in the presence of deterministic and stochastic disturbances are presented. The communication delays don't need to be time invariant, uniform, symmetric, or even known. The only required condition is that all delays satisfy a known upper bound. The consensus algorithm is appropriate for agents with partial…
In the context of networked discrete-event systems (DESs), communication delays and losses exist between the plant and the supervisor for observation and between the supervisor and the actuator for control. In this paper, we first introduce a new framework for supervisory control of networked DESs. Under the introduced framework, we address the state estimation problem for supervisor synthesis of networked DESs with both communication delays and losses. The estimation algorithm considers the effect of the controls imposed on the system. Additionally, the estimation algorithm is based on the co…
In the present work, an embedded PI controller is designed for speed regulation of DC servomotor over a wireless network. The embedded controller integrates PI controller with a proposed time-delay estimator and an adaptive digital Smith predictor for its real time operation, which is the novelty of the work. The real time or rather online operation of the developed embedded controller over wireless network is possible mainly due to the contributions in terms of proposing a new empirical formula for time-delay estimation, viable approximation of time-delay, discretization scheme in developing …
Consensus of autonomous agents is a benchmark problem in cooperative control. In this paper, we consider standard continuous-time averaging consensus policies (or Laplacian flows) over time-varying graphs and focus on robustness of consensus against communication delays. Such a robustness has been proved under the assumption of uniform quasi-strong connectivity of the graph. It is known, however, that the uniform connectivity is not necessary for consensus. For instance, in the case of undirected graph and undelayed communication consensus requires a much weaker condition of integral connectiv…
Consensus and synchronization in discrete-time networks of multi-agents with stochastically switching topologies and time delays
Fudan University（复旦大学）；Max Planck Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences（马克斯·普朗克科学促进部数理研究所）；Santa Fe Institute for the Sciences of Complexity（圣塔菲复杂性科学研究所）
An analytical framework for analysis and design of networked control systems with random delays and packet losses
National Institute of Technology- Calicut（卡利卡特国家理工学院）；ABB India Corporate Research Center（ABB印度企业研究中心）；National Institute of Technology-Tiruchirappalli（蒂鲁奇拉帕利国家理工学院）
In decentralized networked supervisory control of discrete-event systems (DESs), the local supervisors observe event occurrences subject to observation delays to make correct control decisions. Delay coobservability describes whether these local supervisors can make sufficient observations. In this paper, we provide an efficient way to verify delay coobservability. For each controllable event, we partition the specification language into a finite number of sets such that strings in different sets have different lengths. For each of the sets, we construct a verifier to check if delay coobservab…
This paper addresses the stabilization control problem for networked mobile robot subject to communication delay. A new state estimation filter namely past observation-based predictive filter is developed. This filter enables the prediction of system state from delayed measurement. The state estimator combined with developed control laws ensures the asymptotic stability of the networked system. Simulations with parameters extracted from a real robot system were conducted and results confirmed the correctness as well as applicability of proposed approach.
In this paper, we propose a design of a model-free networked controller for a nonlinear plant whose mathematical model is unknown. In a networked control system, the controller and plant are located away from each other and exchange data over a network, which causes network delays that may fluctuate randomly due to network routing. So, in this paper, we assume that the current network delay is not known but the maximum value of fluctuating network delays is known beforehand. Moreover, we also assume that the sensor cannot observe all state variables of the plant. Under these assumption, we app…
