Robust Finite-Time Consensus Subject to Unknown Communication Time Delays Based on Delay-Dependent Criteria

TL;DR

This paper develops less conservative, delay-dependent strategies for achieving robust finite-time consensus in nonlinear multi-agent systems with unknown, time-varying communication delays, including stochastic disturbances.

Contribution

It introduces delay-dependent criteria that do not require delays to be known or symmetric, ensuring finite-time consensus under broad delay conditions.

Findings

Finite-time consensus achieved with unknown, time-varying delays.

Delay-dependent criteria are less conservative than existing methods.

Simulation confirms effectiveness on mobile robot manipulators.

Abstract

In this paper, robust finite-time consensus of a group of nonlinear multi-agent systems in the presence of communication time delays is considered. In particular, appropriate delay-dependent strategies which are less conservative are suggested. Sufficient conditions for finite-time consensus in the presence of deterministic and stochastic disturbances are presented. The communication delays don't need to be time invariant, uniform, symmetric, or even known. The only required condition is that all delays satisfy a known upper bound. The consensus algorithm is appropriate for agents with partial access to neighbor agents' signals. The Lyapunov-Razumikhin theorem for finite-time convergence is used to prove the results. Simulation results on a group of mobile robot manipulators as the agents of the system are presented.