Robust Formation Control for Nonlinear Heterogeneous Multi-agent Systems based on Adaptive Event-triggered Strategy

Abstract

In this article, a distributed adaptive event-triggered formation control strategy is proposed for unified nonlinear heterogeneous multiagent systems under uncertainties and disturbances to achieve time-varying formations. To reduce the frequency of data transmission, a distributed dual adaptive observer with an event-triggered strategy is developed to estimate the states of a reference exosystem. Without incurring prior global information about a communication graph, a novel robust formation controller, with dynamic distributed compensators for uncertainties and disturbances, is designed based on an observer result and a nonlinear internal control principle. Finally, both simulation and experiment are conducted for tracking and patrolling formation to verify the effectiveness of the proposed formation control strategy and its robustness.