Output consensus of heterogeneous switched nonlinear multi-agent systems with sampled-data communication

Purpose This paper aims to tackle the issue of achieving consensus for a class of nonlinear multi-agent systems, where agents are characterized by switched systems. In addition, the state dimensions and switching signals of investigated agents are permitted to differ. To reduce communication load and enhance protocol feasibility, only sampled-data output information can be exchanged among agents. Design/methodology/approach To cope with the challenge brought by the heterogeneity, asynchronous switching and constraints on information interaction, this paper develops a new protocol design method which decomposes the original challenging problem into the perturbed synchronization problem of designed reference output trajectories and the tracking problem of a single complex nonlinear system. In addition, techniques such as sampling control and constraint control are incorporated into the developed method to design the distributed control law. Findings A new protocol design method is proposed, and based on this, the authors develop a new distributed control law that enables the considered multi-agent systems to achieve practical output consensus. Originality/value The integrated design makes it possible for higher-order agent systems to track first-order reference output trajectories. The control law developed in this paper enables the reference output trajectory to be driven by a signal that is constructed based on the local sampled-data output interactions, without requiring internal information exchange.