On two-degrees-of-freedom agreement protocols

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel distributed 2DOF architecture for multi-agent agreement, enabling independent noise filtering and disturbance rejection, surpassing limitations of standard diffusive couplings.

Contribution

It presents a new 2DOF framework that separates local feedback from network filtering, allowing tailored noise attenuation and disturbance rejection in heterogeneous agent networks.

Findings

Enables independent network-filter design for noise attenuation.

Allows controller heterogeneity to reject local disturbances.

Demonstrated effectiveness through numerical examples.

Abstract

We propose a distributed two-degrees-of-freedom (2DOF) architecture for driving autonomous, possibly heterogeneous, agents to agreement. The scheme mirrors classical servo structures, separating local feedback from network filtering. This separation enables independent network-filter design for prescribed noise attenuation and allows controller heterogeneity to reject local disturbances, including disturbances exciting unstable agreement poles -- which is known to be impossible via standard diffusive couplings. The potential of the framework is illustrated via two numerical examples.