Position deviation based second-order consensus in multiple vehicle systems

For second-order dynamic model of multi-vehicle system, we investigate a second-order consensus protocol for the system in the case of collecting information without time-delay. By introducing position tracking value, we propose a simple second-order consensus protocol, making the states of each vehicle converge to the given tracking values. The necessary and sufficient condition under which second-order consensus can be reached is derived by using the system stability theory. The second consensus is then applied to the multiple vehicle systems with four vehicles as an illustrative example.