Fixed‐Time Consensus of Leader‐Following Second‐Order Nonlinear Multi‐Agent Systems via Dynamic Gains

ABSTRACT This article investigates a fixed‐time consensus problem for a second‐order nonlinear multi‐agent system with a leader and followers. By basing on the backstepping technique, which possesses two constructed dynamic gains, the fixed‐time leader‐following consensus protocols can be developed. During the design procedure, the existing singularity problem on the dynamic gain can be completely avoided, and the homogeneous system theory is used for analyzing the considered multi‐agent system's dynamics. By selecting appropriate Lyapunov function candidates, the focused multi‐agent system can be demonstrated to reach the fixed‐time leader‐following consensus under any initial positions and velocities. Finally, a simulation is given to verify the effectiveness of the proposed consensus method.