Leader-following consensus control for nonlinear multiagent systems with unknown time-varying measurement sensitivity and infinite communication delays

This paper investigates the consensus problem for nonlinear multiagent systems (MASs) with unknown time-varying measurement sensitivity and infinite communication delays. Unlike existing works, the output measurement sensitivity is described as time-varying, and an infinite communication delay is considered between the agents. Under this condition, a novel output feedback control algorithm is developed. First, based on the hierarchical technique and Lyapunov-based time-domain method, the high-gain compensator and observer are constructed to tolerate the effect of infinite communication delays and accurately estimate the state of the leader. Subsequently, a new distributed k-filter and output feedback controller are proposed, which not only further relax the traditional Lipschitz conditional conservatism but also greatly simplify the design process. It is proved that the closed-loop system is globally stable and all agents can achieve consensus. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through the simulation of the single-link manipulators.