Network-based leader-following consensus of multi-agent systems with variable topological structures and nonlinear dynamics

This letter considers the mean-square exponential consensus problem for a class of leader-following multi-agent systems with variable topological structures and nonlinear dynamics. The dynamic of each node in the considered multi-agent system is described by a nonlinear differential equation. The agents transmit signals mutually through the common communication channels, which include time delays, packet dropout, and stochastic disturbances. The variable topological structures are modeled by a Markovian chain. Considering the conditions of the communication networks, a network-based leader-following consensus protocol is proposed. By using Lyapunov functional method and some properties of Kronecker product, some criteria are proposed to ensure the considered multi-agent system achieves H_∞ exponential consensus in the mean square sense. The controller gain matrices could be obtained by solving a minimization problem through a cone complementary technique. The corresponding algorithm is provided.