Consensus algorithms for second-order nonlinear multi-agent systems using backstepping control

This paper proposes two consensus algorithms for second-order nonlinear multi-agent dynamics. The objective of the algorithms is to guarantee two states of each agent reach consensus. Consensus is achieved asymptotically based on two “virtual states” in each agent. Both of the consensus algorithms use backstepping control to deal with the nonlinear section in each agent. By the first algorithm, the consensus is achieved for agent´s models without unknown parameters under switching topologies. Adopting the adaptive theory, the second algorithm solves the consensus problem for second-order nonlinear multi-agent systems with unknown parameters under a fixed topology. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.