Adaptive Event-Triggered Time-Varying Output Group Formation Containment Control of Heterogeneous Multiagent Systems

In this paper,a class of time-varying output group formation containment control problem of general linear hetero-geneous multiagent systems(MASs)is investigated under directed topology.The MAS is composed of a number of tracking leaders,formation leaders and followers,where two different types of leaders are used to provide reference trajectories for movement and to achieve certain formations,respectively.Firstly,compen-sators are designed whose states are estimations of tracking lead-ers,based on which,a controller is developed for each formation leader to accomplish the expected formation.Secondly,two event-triggered compensators are proposed for each follower to evalu-ate the state and formation information of the formation leaders in the same group,respectively.Subsequently,a control protocol is designed for each follower,utilizing the output information,to guide the output towards the convex hull generated by the forma-tion leaders within the group.Next,the triggering sequence in this paper is decomposed into two sequences,and the inter-event intervals of these two triggering conditions are provided to rule out the Zeno behavior.Finally,a numerical simulation is intro-duced to confirm the validity of the proposed results.

Distributed Adaptive Output Consensus of Unknown Heterogeneous Non-Minimum Phase Multi-Agent Systems

This article addresses the leader-following output consensus problem of heterogeneous linear multi-agent systems with unknown agent parameters under directed graphs.The dynamics of followers are allowed to be non-minimum phase with unknown arbitrary individual relative degrees.This is contrary to many existing works on distributed adaptive control schemes where agent dynamics are required to be minimum phase and often of the same relative degree.A distributed adaptive pole placement control scheme is developed,which consists of a distributed observer and an adaptive pole placement control law.It is shown that under the proposed distributed adaptive control scheme,all signals in the closed-loop system are bounded and the outputs of all the followers track the output of the leader asymptotically.The effectiveness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated by one practical example and one numerical example.

Lyapunov-Based Output Containment Control of Heterogeneous Multi-Agent Systems With Markovian Switching Topologies and Distributed Delays

This paper considers the mean square output containment control problem for heterogeneous multi-agent systems(MASs)with randomly switching topologies and nonuniform distributed delays.By modeling the switching topologies as a continuous-time Markov process and taking the distributed delays into consideration,a novel distributed containment observer is proposed to estimate the convex hull spanned by the leaders'states.A novel distributed output feedback containment controller is then designed without using the prior knowledge of distributed delays.By constructing a novel switching Lyapunov functional,the output containment control problem is then solved in the sense of mean square under an easily-verifiable sufficient condition.Finally,two numerical examples are given to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.

A Novel High-Efficiency Transaction Verification Scheme for Blockchain Systems

Blockchain can realize the reliable storage of a large amount of data that is chronologically related and verifiable within the system.This technology has been widely used and has developed rapidly in big data systems across various fields.An increasing number of users are participating in application systems that use blockchain as their underlying architecture.As the number of transactions and the capital involved in blockchain grow,ensuring information security becomes imperative.Addressing the verification of transactional information security and privacy has emerged as a critical challenge.Blockchain-based verification methods can effectively eliminate the need for centralized third-party organizations.However,the efficiency of nodes in storing and verifying blockchain data faces unprecedented challenges.To address this issue,this paper introduces an efficient verification scheme for transaction security.Initially,it presents a node evaluation module to estimate the activity level of user nodes participating in transactions,accompanied by a probabilistic analysis for all transactions.Subsequently,this paper optimizes the conventional transaction organization form,introduces a heterogeneous Merkle tree storage structure,and designs algorithms for constructing these heterogeneous trees.Theoretical analyses and simulation experiments conclusively demonstrate the superior performance of this scheme.When verifying the same number of transactions,the heterogeneous Merkle tree transmits less data and is more efficient than traditional methods.The findings indicate that the heterogeneous Merkle tree structure is suitable for various blockchain applications,including the Internet of Things.This scheme can markedly enhance the efficiency of information verification and bolster the security of distributed systems.

Cyber Resilience through Real-Time Threat Analysis in Information Security

This paper examines how cybersecurity is developing and how it relates to more conventional information security. Although information security and cyber security are sometimes used synonymously, this study contends that they are not the same. The concept of cyber security is explored, which goes beyond protecting information resources to include a wider variety of assets, including people [1]. Protecting information assets is the main goal of traditional information security, with consideration to the human element and how people fit into the security process. On the other hand, cyber security adds a new level of complexity, as people might unintentionally contribute to or become targets of cyberattacks. This aspect presents moral questions since it is becoming more widely accepted that society has a duty to protect weaker members of society, including children [1]. The study emphasizes how important cyber security is on a larger scale, with many countries creating plans and laws to counteract cyberattacks. Nevertheless, a lot of these sources frequently neglect to define the differences or the relationship between information security and cyber security [1]. The paper focus on differentiating between cybersecurity and information security on a larger scale. The study also highlights other areas of cybersecurity which includes defending people, social norms, and vital infrastructure from threats that arise from online in addition to information and technology protection. It contends that ethical issues and the human factor are becoming more and more important in protecting assets in the digital age, and that cyber security is a paradigm shift in this regard [1].

An Efficient Real-Time Fault-Tolerant Scheduling Algorithm Based on Multiprocessor Systems

In the context of real-time fault-tolerant scheduling in multiprocessor systems, Primary-backup scheme plays an important role. A backup copy is always preferred to be executed as passive backup copy whenever possible because it can take the advantages of backup copy de-allocation technique and overloading technique to improve schedulability. In this paper, we propose a novel efficient fault-tolerant ratemonotonic best-fit algorithm efficient fault-tolerant rate-monotonic best-fit （ERMBF） based on multiprocessors systems to enhance the schedulability. Unlike existing scheduling algorithms that start scheduling tasks with only one processor. ERMBF pre-allocates a certain amount of processors before starting scheduling tasks, which enlarge the searching spaces for tasks. Besides, when a new processor is allocated, we reassign the task copies that have already been assigned to the existing processors in order to find a superior tasks assignment configuration. These two strategies are all aiming at making as many backup copies as possible to be executed as passive status. As a result, ERMBF can use fewer processors to schedule a set of tasks without losing real-time and fault-tolerant capabilities of the system. Simulation results reveal that ERMBF significantly improves the schedulability over existing, comparable algorithms in literature.

Consensus of Second-order Multi-agent Systems with Nonsymmetric Interconnection and Heterogeneous Delays

In this paper, a consensus algorithm of multi-agent second-order dynamical systems with nonsymmetric interconnection and heterogeneous delays is studied. With the hypothesis of directed weighted topology graph with a globally reachable node, decentralized consensus condition is obtained by applying generalized Nyquist criterion. For the systems with both communication and input delays, it is shown that the consensus condition is dependent on input delays but independent of communication delays.

A Secure Key Management Scheme for Heterogeneous Secure Vehicular Communication Systems

Intelligent transportation system （ITS） is proposed as the most effective way to improve road safety and traffic efficiency. However, the future of ITS for large scale transportation infrastructures deployment highly depends on the security level of vehicular communication systems （VCS）. Security applications in VCS are fulfilled through secured group broadcast. Therefore, secure key management schemes are considered as a critical research topic for network security. In this paper, we propose a framework for providing secure key management within heterogeneous network. The seeurity managers （SMs） play a key role in the framework by retrieving the vehicle departnre infi^rmation, encapsulating block to transport keys and then executing rekeying to vehicles within the same security domain. The first part of this framework is a novel Group Key Management （GKM） scheme basing on leaving probability （LP） of vehicles to depart current VCS region. Vehicle＇s LP factor is introduced into GKM scheme to achieve a more effieient rekeying scheme and less rekeying costs. The second component of the framework using the blockchain concept to simplify the distributed key management in heterogeneous VCS domains. Extensive simulations and analysis are provided to show the effectiveness and effieiency of the proposed framework： Our GKM results demonstrate that probability-based BR reduees rekeying eost compared to the benchmark scheme, while the blockchain deereases the time eost of key transmission over heterogeneous net-works.

A State-of-the-Art Survey on Real-Time Issues in Embedded Systems Virtualization

Virtualization has gained great acceptance in the server and cloud computing arena. In recent years, it has also been widely applied to real-time embedded systems with stringent timing constraints. We present a comprehensive survey on real-time issues in virtualization for embedded systems, covering popular virtualization systems including KVM, Xen, L4 and others.

Partitioned k-Exclusion Real-Time Locking Protocol Motivated by Multicore Multi-GPU Systems

Graphic processing units （GPUs） have been widely recognized as cost-efficient co-processors with acceptable size, weight, and power consumption. However, adopting GPUs in real-time systems is still challenging, due to the lack in framework for real-time analysis. In order to guarantee real-time requirements while maintaining system utilization ~in modern heterogeneous systems, such as multicore multi-GPU systems, a novel suspension-based k-exclusion real-time locking protocol and the associated suspension-aware schedulability analysis are proposed. The proposed protocol provides a synchronization framework that enables multiple GPUs to be efficiently integrated in multicore real-time systems. Comparative evaluations show that the proposed methods improve upon the existing work in terms of schedulability.

Consensus pursuit of heterogeneous multi-agent systems under a directed acyclic graph

This paper is concerned with the cooperative target pursuit problem by multiple agents based on directed acyclic graph. The target appears at a random location and moves only when sensed by the agents, and agents will pursue the target once they detect its existence. Since the ability of each agent may be different, we consider the heterogeneous multi-agent systems. According to the topology of the multi-agent systems, a novel consensus-based control law is proposed, where the target and agents are modeled as a leader and followers, respectively. Based on Mason＇s rule and signal flow graph analysis, the convergence conditions are provided to show that the agents can catch the target in a finite time. Finally, simulation studies are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Finite-time consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems

We investigate the finite-time consensus problem for heterogeneous multi-agent systems composed of first-order and second-order agents.A novel continuous nonlinear distributed consensus protocol is constructed,and finite-time consensus criteria are obtained for the heterogeneous multi-agent systems.Compared with the existing results,the stationary and kinetic consensuses of the heterogeneous multi-agent systems can be achieved in a finite time respectively.Moreover,the leader can be a first-order or a second-order integrator agent.Finally,some simulation examples are employed to verify the efficiency of the theoretical results.

Resilience approach for heterogeneous distributed networked unmanned weapon systems

Disconnection in the distributed heterogeneous networked unmanned weapon systems is caused by multiple weapon units＇ failure. The technical routes were analyzed to achieve resilience in the disconnection situation. A heterogeneous distributed network model of networked unmanned weapon systems was established. And an approach of adding relay weapon units was proposed to a- chieve fault tolerance after weapon units＇ failure due to attack or energy exhaustion. An improved ge- netic algorithm was proposed to determine and optimize the position of the relay weapon units. Simulation results in the MATLAB show that the improved resilience-based genetic algorithm can restore the network connection maximally when the number of relay units is limited, the network can keep on working after failure, and the implementation cost is controlled in a reasonable range.

Consensus of heterogeneous multi-agent systems based on sampled data with a small sampling delay

In this paper, consensus problems of heterogeneous multi-agent systems based on sampled data with a small sampling delay are considered. First, a consensus protocol based on sampled data with a small sampling delay for heterogeneous multi-agent systems is proposed. Then, the algebra graph theory, the matrix method, the stability theory of linear systems, and some other techniques are employed to derive the necessary and sufficient conditions guaranteeing heterogeneous multi-agent systems to asymptotically achieve the stationary consensus. Finally, simulations are performed to demonstrate the correctness of the theoretical results.

Controllability of heterogeneous interdependent group systems under undirected and directed topology

The controllability problem of heterogeneous interdependent group systems with undirected and directed topology is investigated in this paper. First, the interdependent model of the heterogeneous system is set up according to the difference of individual characteristics. An extended distributed protocol with the external sliding-mode control is designed, under which it is shown that a heterogeneous interdependent group system is controllable when the corresponding communication topology is controllable. Then, using the network eigenvalue method, the driving individuals are determined for a heterogeneous system with undirected topology. Under directed topology, the maximum match method is utilized to confirm the driving individuals. Some sufficient and necessary conditions are presented to assure that the heterogeneous interdependent group system is structurally controllable. Via theoretical analysis, the controllability of heterogeneous interdependent systems is related to the interdependent manner and the structure of the heterogeneous system. Numerical simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.

Consensus protocol for heterogeneous multi-agent systems: A Markov chain approach

This paper deals with the consensus problem for heterogeneous multi-agent systems. Different from most existing consensus protocols, we consider the consensus seeking of two types of agents, namely, active agents and passive agents. The objective is to directly control the active agents such that the states of all the agents would achieve consensus. In order to obtain a computational approach, we subtly introduce an appropriate Markov chain to cast the heterogeneous systems into a unified framework. Such a framework is helpful for tackling the constraints from passive agents. Furthermore, a sufficient and necessary condition is established to guarantee the consensus in heterogeneous multi-agent systems. Finally, simulation results are provided to verify the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed protocol.

Reliability Analysis of Heterogeneous Sensor-Cloud Systems against Targeted Attacks

Based on the wide application of cloud computing and wireless sensor networks in various fields,the Sensor-Cloud System(SCS)plays an indispensable role between the physical world and the network world.However,due to the close connection and interdependence between the physical resource network and computing resource network,there are security problems such as cascading failures between systems in the SCS.In this paper,we propose a model with two interdependent networks to represent a sensor-cloud system.Besides,based on the percolation theory,we have carried out a formulaic theoretical analysis of the whole process of cascading failure.When the system’s subnetwork presents a steady state where there is no further collapse,we can obtain the largest remaining connected subgroup components and the penetration threshold.Theoretically,this result is the critical maximum that the coupled SCS can withstand.To verify the correctness of the theoretical results,we further carried out actual simulation experiments.The results show that a scale-free network priority attack’s percolation threshold is always less than that of ER network which is priority attacked.Similarly,when the scale-free network is attacked first,adding the power law exponentλcan be more intuitive and more effective to improve the network’s reliability.

Programming for scientific computing on peta-scale heterogeneous parallel systems

Peta-scale high-performance computing systems are increasingly built with heterogeneous CPU and GPU nodes to achieve higher power efficiency and computation throughput. While providing unprecedented capabilities to conduct computational experiments of historic significance, these systems are presently difficult to program. The users, who are domain experts rather than computer experts, prefer to use programming models closer to their domains (e.g., physics and biology) rather than MPI and OpenMP. This has led the development of domain-specific programming that provides domain-specific programming interfaces but abstracts away some performance-critical architecture details. Based on experience in designing large-scale computing systems, a hybrid programming framework for scientific computing on heterogeneous architectures is proposed in this work. Its design philosophy is to provide a collaborative mechanism for domain experts and computer experts so that both domain-specific knowledge and performance-critical architecture details can be adequately exploited. Two real-world scientific applications have been evaluated on TH-1A, a peta-scale CPU-GPU heterogeneous system that is currently the 5th fastest supercomputer in the world. The experimental results show that the proposed framework is well suited for developing large-scale scientific computing applications on peta-scale heterogeneous CPU/GPU systems.

Generation of optimal persistent formations for heterogeneous multi-agent systems with a leader constraint

In this study, we consider the generation of optimal persistent formations for heterogeneous multi-agent systems, with the leader constraint that only specific agents can act as leaders. We analyze three modes to control the optimal persistent formations in two-dimensional space, thereby establishing a model for their constrained generation. Then, we propose an algorithm for generating the optimal persistent formation for heterogeneous multi-agent systems with a leader constraint （LC-HMAS-OPFGA）, which is the exact solution algorithm of the model, and we theoretically prove its validity. This algorithm includes two kernel sub-algorithms, which are optimal persistent graph generating algorithm based on a minimum cost arborescence and the shortest path （MCA-SP-OPGGA）, and the optimal persistent graph adjusting algorithm based on the shortest path （SP-OPGAA）. Under a given agent formation shape and leader constraint, LC-HMAS-OPFGA first generates the network topology and its optimal rigid graph corresponding to this formation shape. Then, LC-HMAS- OPFGA uses MCA-SP-OPGGA to direct the optimal rigid graph to generate the optimal persistent graph. Finally, LC- HMAS-OPFGA uses SP-OPGAA to adjust the optimal persistent graph until it satisfies the leader constraint. We also demonstrate the algorithm, LC-HMAS-OPFGA, with an example and verify its effectiveness.