The design of networked distributed sliding mode controllers with non-ideal links

In this paper, a methodology is proposed for the design of Networked Distributed Sliding Mode Controllers (NDSMC) for large-scale systems consisting of interconnected discrete-time subsystems. The state of each of these subsystems has time varying delays and there is also delay and packet loss in their interconnection links. The Networked Distributed Control System (NDCS), which is subject to the non-idealities of these interconnection links, is modeled and a Linear Matrix Inequality (LMI) based sufficient condition for designing asymptotically stable sliding surfaces, as well as the stabilizing NDSMC, is proposed. Finally, the proposed NDSMC structure is employed for the formation control of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs); in which five vehicles are flying in a leader–follower architecture, in two platoons, whilst attempting to maintain the desired speed with a constant desired Euclidean distance between successive vehicles despite the presence of external perturbations such as wind disturbances.