Finite-time Prescribed Performance Time-Varying Formation Control for Second-Order Multi-Agent Systems With Non-Strict Feedback Based on a Neural Network Observer

This paper studies the problem of time-varying formation control with finite-time prescribed performance for nonstrict feedback second-order multi-agent systems with unmeasured states and unknown nonlinearities.To eliminate nonlinearities,neural networks are applied to approximate the inherent dynamics of the system.In addition,due to the limitations of the actual working conditions,each follower agent can only obtain the locally measurable partial state information of the leader agent.To address this problem,a neural network state observer based on the leader state information is designed.Then,a finite-time prescribed performance adaptive output feedback control strategy is proposed by restricting the sliding mode surface to a prescribed region,which ensures that the closed-loop system has practical finite-time stability and that formation errors of the multi-agent systems converge to the prescribed performance bound in finite time.Finally,a numerical simulation is provided to demonstrate the practicality and effectiveness of the developed algorithm.

Tracking Control of Multi-Agent Systems Using a Networked Predictive PID Tracking Scheme

With the rapid development of network technology and control technology,a networked multi-agent control system is a key direction of modern industrial control systems,such as industrial Internet systems.This paper studies the tracking control problem of networked multi-agent systems with communication constraints,where each agent has no information on the dynamics of other agents except their outputs.A networked predictive proportional integral derivative(PPID)tracking scheme is proposed to achieve the desired tracking performance,compensate actively for communication delays,and simplify implementation in a distributed manner.This scheme combines the past,present and predictive information of neighbour agents to form a tracking error signal for each agent,and applies the proportional,integral,and derivative of the agent tracking error signal to control each individual agent.The criteria of the stability and output tracking consensus of multi-agent systems with the networked PPID tracking scheme are derived through detailed analysis on the closed-loop systems.The effectiveness of the networked PPID tracking scheme is illustrated via an example.

Consensus of networked control multi-agent systems using a double-layer encryption scheme

This paper addresses the decentralized consensus problem for a system of multiple dynamic agents with remote controllers via networking,known as a networked control multi-agent system(NCMAS).It presents a challenging scenario where partial dynamic entities or remote control units are vulnerable to disclosure attacks,making them potentially malicious.To tackle this issue,we propose a secure decentralized control design approach employing a double-layer cryptographic strategy.This approach not only ensures that the input and output information of the benign entities remains protected from the malicious entities but also practically achieves consensus performance.The paper provides an explicit design,supported by theoretical proof and numerical verification,covering stability,steady-state error,and the prevention of computation overflow or underflow.

Quantization and Event-Triggered Policy Design for Encrypted Networked Control

This paper proposes a novel event-driven encrypted control framework for linear networked control systems(NCSs),which relies on two modified uniform quantization policies,the Paillier cryptosystem,and an event-triggered strategy.Due to the fact that only integers can work in the Pailler cryptosystem,both the real-valued control gain and system state need to be first quantized before encryption.This is dramatically different from the existing quantized control methods,where only the quantization of a single value,e.g.,the control input or the system state,is considered.To handle this issue,static and dynamic quantization policies are presented,which achieve the desired integer conversions and guarantee asymptotic convergence of the quantized system state to the equilibrium.Then,the quantized system state is encrypted and sent to the controller when the triggering condition,specified by a state-based event-triggered strategy,is satisfied.By doing so,not only the security and confidentiality of data transmitted over the communication network are protected,but also the ciphertext expansion phenomenon can be relieved.Additionally,by tactfully designing the quantization sensitivities and triggering error,the proposed event-driven encrypted control framework ensures the asymptotic stability of the overall closedloop system.Finally,a simulation example of the secure motion control for an inverted pendulum cart system is presented to evaluate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Optimal bandwidth scheduling of networked control systems (NCSs) in accordance with jitter

Network-induced delay and jitter are key factors causing performance degradation and instability of NCSs (networked control systems). The relationships between the sampling periods of the control loops, network-induced delay and jitter were studied aimed at token-type networks. A jitter-dependent optimal bandwidth scheduling algorithm for NCSs is proposed, which tries to achieve a tradeoff between bandwidth occupancy and system performance. Simulation tests proved the effectiveness of this optimal scheduling algorithm.

Guaranteed cost control of networked control systems under limited communication capacity and variable sampling

The problem of guaranteed cost control for the networked control systems(NCSs) with time-varying delays, time-varying sampling intervals and signals quantization was investigated, wherein the physical plant was continuous-time one, and the control input was discrete-time one. By using an input delay approach and a sector bound method, the network induced delays, quantization parameter and sampling intervals were presented in one framework in the case of the state and the control input by quantized in a logarithmic form. A novel Lyapunov function with discontinuity, which took full advantages of the NCS characteristic information, was exploited. In addition, it was shown that Lyapunov function decreased at the jump instants. Furthermore, the Leibniz-Newton formula and free-weighting matrix methods were used to obtain the guaranteed cost controller design conditions which were dependent on the NCS characteristic information. A numerical example was used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods.

H-infinity performance optimization for networked control systems with limited communication channels

This paper studies the problems of H-infinity performance optimization and controller design for continuous-time NCSs with both sensor-to-controller and controller-to-actuator communication constraints （limited communication channels）. By taking the derivative character of network-induced delay into full consideration and defining new Lyapunov functions, linear matrix inequalities （LMIs）-based H-infinity performance optimization and controller design are presented for NCSs with limited communication channels. If there do not exist any constraints on the communication channels, the proposed design methods are also applicable. The merit of the proposed methods lies in their Jess conservativeness, which is achieved by avoiding the utilization of bounding inequalities for cross products of vectors. The simulation results illustrate the merit and effectiveness of the proposed H-infinity controller design for NCSs with limited communication channels.

Robust stability analysis of networked control systems

This paper is concerned with the problem of robust stability analysis for networked control systems （NCSs）. A new NCS model is proposed under consideration of both the network-induced delay and parameter uncertainties. The parameter uncertainties appearing in NCSs are norm-bounded, and possibly time-varying. The conventional method and the descriptor system method are used to obtain maximum allowable delay bound （MADB） guaranteeing robust stability and stability of the NCSs, respectively, where the stability criteria are formulated in terms of linear matrix inequalities （LMIs）. And the MADB can be derived by solving the feasibility problem of the corresponding LMI. Some numerical examples are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Design of Networked Control Systems with Bounded Arbitrary Time Delays

This paper is mainly concerned with the model predictive control （MPC） of networked control systems （NCSs） with uncertain time delay and data packets disorder. The network-induced time delay is described as bounded and arbitrary process. For the usual state feedback controller, by considering all the possibilities of delays, an augmented state space model of the closed-loop system, which characterizes all the delay cases, is obtained. The stability conditions are given according to the Lyapunov method based on this augmented model. The stability property is inherited in MPC which explicitly considers the physical constraints. A numerical example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed MPC.

Guaranteed cost control for discrete-time networked control systems with random Markov delays

The guaranteed cost control for a class of uncertain discrete-time networked control systems with random delays is addressed. The sensor-to-controller （S-C） and contraller-to-actuator （C-A） random network-induced delays are modeled as two Markov chains. The focus is on the design of a two-mode-dependent guar- anteed cost controller, which depends on both the current S-C delay and the most recently available C-A delay. The resulting closed-loop systems are special jump linear systems. Sufficient conditions for existence of guaranteed cost controller and an upper bound of cost function are established based on stochastic Lyapunov-Krasovakii functions and linear matrix inequality （LMI） approach. A simulation example illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Robust stabilization for a class of nonlinear networked control systems

The problem of robust stabilization for a class of uncertain networked control systems （NCSs） with nonlinearities satisfying a given sector condition is investigated in this paper. By introducing a new model of NCSs with parameter uncertainty, network-induced delay, nonlinearity and data packet dropout in the transmission, a strict linear matrix inequality （LMI） criterion is proposed for robust stabilization of the uncertain nonlinear NCSs based on the Lyapunov stability theory. The maximum allowable transfer interval （MATI） can be derived by solving the feasibility problem of the corresponding LMI. Some numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed algorithm.

Time-stamped predictive functional control for networked control systems with random delays

The random delays in a networked control system (NCS) degrade control performance and can even destabilize the control system.To deal with this problem,the time-stamped predictive functional control (PFC) algorithm is proposed,which generalizes the standard PFC algorithm to networked control systems with random delays.The algorithm uses the time-stamp method to estimate the control delay,predicts the future outputs based on a discrete time delay state space model,and drives the control law that applies to an NCS from the idea of a PFC algorithm.A networked control system was constructed based on TrueTime simulator,with which the time-stamped PFC algorithm was compared with the standard PFC algorithm.The response curves show that the proposed algorithm has better control performance.

Asymptotic stability analysis of nonlinear real-time networked control systems

The paper deals with the problem of the asymptotic stability for general continuous nonlinear networked control systems （NCSs）. Based on Lyapunov stability theorem combined with improved Razumikhin technique, the sufficient conditions of asymptotic stability for the system are derived. With the proposed method, the estimate of maximum allowable delay bound （MADB） for linear networked control system is also given. Compared to the other methods, the proposed method gives a much less conservative MADB and more general results. Numerical examples and some simulations are worked out to demonstrate the effectiveness and performance of the proposed method.

Networked Control Systems:A Survey of Trends and Techniques

Networked control systems are spatially distributed systems in which the communication between sensors, actuators,and controllers occurs through a shared band-limited digital communication network. Several advantages of the network architectures include reduced system wiring, plug and play devices,increased system agility, and ease of system diagnosis and maintenance. Consequently, networked control is the current trend for industrial automation and has ever-increasing applications in a wide range of areas, such as smart grids, manufacturing systems,process control, automobiles, automated highway systems, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The modelling, analysis, and control of networked control systems have received considerable attention in the last two decades. The ‘control over networks’ is one of the key research directions for networked control systems. This paper aims at presenting a survey of trends and techniques in networked control systems from the perspective of ‘control over networks’, providing a snapshot of five control issues: sampled-data control, quantization control, networked control, event-triggered control, and security control. Some challenging issues are suggested to direct the future research.

Guaranteed cost control for networked control systems

The guaranteed cost control problem for networked control systems (NCSs) is addressed under communication constraints and varying sampling rate. First of all, a simple information-scheduling scheme is presented to describe the scheduling approach of system signals in NCSs. Then, based on such a scheme and given sampling method, the design procedure in dynamic output feedback manner is also derived which renders the closed loop system to be asymptotically stable and guarantees an upper bound of the LQ performance cost function.

Stability of singular networked control systems with control constraint

Based on bounded network-induced time-delay, the networked control system is modeled as a linear time-variant singular system. Using the Lyapunov theory and the linear matrix inequality approach, the criteria for delay-independent stability and delay-dependent stability of singular networked control systems are derived and transformed to a feasibility problem of linear matrix inequality formulation, which can be solved by the Matlab LMI toolbox, and the feasible solutions provide the maximum allowable delay bound that makes the system stable. A numerical example is provided, which shows that the analysis method is valid and the stability criteria are feasible.

Fundamental Issues in Networked Control Systems

Abstract--This paper provides a survey on modeling and theories of networked control systems （NCS）. In the first part, modeling of the different types of imperfections that affect NCS is discussed. These imperfections are quantization errors, packet dropouts, variable sampling/transmission intervals, vari- able transmission delays, and communication constraints. Then follows in the second part a presentation of several theories that have been applied for controlling networked systems. These theories include： input delay system approach, Markovian system approach, switched system approach, stochastic system approach, impulsive system approach, and predictive control approach. In the last part, some advanced issues in NCS including decentral- ized and distributed NCS, cloud control system, and co-design of NCS are reviewed. Index Terms--Decentralized networked control systems （NCS）, distributed networked control systems, network constraints, net- worked control system, quantization, time delays.

Delay-dependent stability and stabilization criteria of networked control systems with multiple time-delays

This paper deals with the problem of delay-dependent stability and stabilization for networked control systems（NCSs）with multiple time-delays. In view of multi-input and multi-output（MIMO） NCSs with many independent sensors and actuators, a continuous time model with distributed time-delays is proposed. Utilizing the Lyapunov stability theory combined with linear matrix inequalities（LMIs） techniques, some new delay-dependent stability criteria for NCSs in terms of generalized Lyapunov matrix equation and LMIs are derived. Stabilizing controller via state feedback is formulated by solving a set of LMIs. Compared with the reported methods, the proposed methods give a less conservative delay bound and more general results. Numerical example and simulation show that the methods are less conservative and more effective.

Exponential stabilization of networked control systems and design of switching controller

This paper deals with the problem of switching between an open-loop estimator and a close-loop estimator for compensating transmission error and packet dropout of networked control systems. Switching impulse is considered in order to reduce the error between theory and application, a sufficient condition for exponential stabilization of networked control systems under a given switching rule is presented by multiple Lyapunov-like functions. These results are presented for both continuous-time and discrete-time domains. Controllers are designed by means of linear matrix inequalities. Sim- ulation results show the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed method.

Stability analysis of networked control systems with time-varying sampling periods

In this paper, we present an interval model of networked control systems with time-varying sampling periods and time-varying network-induced delays and discuss the problem of stability of networked control systems using Lyapunov stability theory. A sufficient stability condition is obtained by solving a set of linear matrix inequalities. In the end, the illustrative example demonstrates the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed approach.