Positive Consensus of Fractional-Order Multiagent Systems Over Directed Graphs.

This article investigates the positive consensus problem of a special kind of interconnected positive systems over directed graphs. They are composed of multiple fractional-order continuous-time positive linear systems. Unlike most existing works in the literature, we study this problem for the first time, in which the communication topology of agents is described by a directed graph containing a spanning tree. This is a more general and new scenario due to the interplay between the eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix and the controller gains, which renders the positivity analysis fairly challenging. Based on the existing results in spectral graph theory, fractional-order systems (FOSs) theory, and positive systems theory, we derive several necessary and/or sufficient conditions on the positive consensus of fractional-order multiagent systems (PCFMAS). It is shown that the protocol, which is designed for a specific graph, can solve the positive consensus problem of agents over an additional set of directed graphs. Finally, a comprehensive comparison study of different approaches is carried out, which shows that the proposed approaches have advantages over the existing ones.

Decentralized H2 Control for Discrete-Time Networked Systems With Positivity Constraint.

In this brief, we study the decentralized H2 state-feedback control problem for networked discrete-time systems with positivity constraint. This problem (for a single positive system), raised recently in the area of positive systems theory, is known to be challenging due to its inherent nonconvexity. In contrast to most works, which only provide sufficient synthesis conditions for a single positive system, we study this problem within a primal-dual scheme, in which necessary and sufficient synthesis conditions are proposed for networked positive systems. Based on the equivalent conditions, we develop a primal-dual iterative algorithm for solution, which helps prevent from converging to a local minimum. In the simulation, two illustrative examples are employed for verification of our proposed results.

Further Improvements on Non-Negative Edge Consensus of Networked Systems.

In this article, the non-negative edge consensus problem is addressed for positive networked systems with undirected graphs using state-feedback protocols. In contrast to existing results, the major contributions of this work included: 1) significantly improved criteria of consequentiality and non-negativity, therefore leading to a linear programming approach and 2) necessary and sufficient criteria giving rise to a semidefinite programming approach. Specifically, an improved upper bound is given for the maximum eigenvalue of the Laplacian matrix and the (out-) in-degree of the degree matrix, and an improved consensuability and non-negativevity condition is obtained. The sufficient condition presented only requires the number of edges of a nodal network without the connection topology. Also, with the introduction of slack matrix variables, two equivalent conditions of consensuability and non-negativevity are obtained. In the conditions, the system matrices, controller gain, as well as Lyapunov matrices are separated, which is helpful for parameterization. Based on the results, a semidefinite programming algorithm for the controller is readily developed. Finally, a comprehensive analytical and numerical comparison of three illustrative examples is conducted to show that the proposed results are less conservative than the existing work.

Nonnegative Consensus Tracking of Networked Systems With Convergence Rate Optimization.

This article investigates the nonnegative consensus tracking problem for networked systems with a distributed static output-feedback (SOF) control protocol. The distributed SOF controller design for networked systems presents a more challenging issue compared with the distributed state-feedback controller design. The agents are described by multi-input multi-output (MIMO) positive dynamic systems which may contain uncertain parameters, and the interconnection among the followers is modeled using an undirected connected communication graph. By employing positive systems theory, a series of necessary and sufficient conditions governing the consensus of the nominal, as well as uncertain, networked positive systems, is developed. Semidefinite programming consensus design approaches are proposed for the convergence rate optimization of MIMO agents. In addition, by exploiting the positivity characteristic of the systems, a linear-programming-based design approach is also proposed for the convergence rate optimization of single-input multi-output (SIMO) agents. The proposed approaches and the corresponding theoretical results are validated by case studies.

Consensus of Positive Networked Systems on Directed Graphs.

This article addresses the distributed consensus problem for identical continuous-time positive linear systems with state-feedback control. Existing works of such a problem mainly focus on the case where the networked communication topologies are of either undirected and incomplete graphs or strongly connected directed graphs. On the other hand, in this work, the communication topologies of the networked system are described by directed graphs each containing a spanning tree, which is a more general and new scenario due to the interplay between the eigenvalues of the Laplacian matrix and the controller gains. Specifically, the problem involves complex eigenvalues, the Hurwitzness of complex matrices, and positivity constraints, which make analysis difficult in the Laplacian matrix. First, a necessary and sufficient condition for the consensus analysis of directed networked systems with positivity constraints is given, by using positive systems theory and graph theory. Unlike the general Riccati design methods that involve solving an algebraic Riccati equation (ARE), a condition represented by an algebraic Riccati inequality (ARI) is obtained for the existence of a solution. Subsequently, an equivalent condition, which corresponds to the consensus design condition, is derived, and a semidefinite programming algorithm is developed. It is shown that, when a protocol is solved by the algorithm for the networked system on a specific communication graph, there exists a set of graphs such that the positive consensus problem can be solved as well.