Distributed consensus of a class of networked heterogeneous multi-agent systems

In this paper, we consider the consensus problem of a class of heterogeneous multi-agent systems composed of the linear first-order and second-order integrator agents together with the nonlinear Euler–Lagrange (EL) agents. First, we propose a distributed consensus protocol under the assumption that the parameters of heterogeneous system are exactly known. Sufficient conditions for consensus are presented and the consensus protocol accounting for actuator saturation is developed. Then, by combining adaptive controller and PD controller together, we design a protocol for the heterogeneous system with unknown parameters (in the nonlinear EL dynamics). Based on graph theory, Lyapunov theory and Barbalatʹs Lemma, the stability of the controllers is proved. Simulation results are also provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the obtained results.