Sampled‐Data Containment Control of Multi‐Agent Systems With Nonconvex Input Constraints and Delays

ABSTRACT This article investigates the containment control problem of multiagent systems with a sampled data setting, nonconvex input constraints, communication delays, and switching topologies. The coexistence of the sampled‐data setting, nonconvex input constraints, communication delays, and switching topologies leads to intricate analytical difficulties, preventing the direct application of existing methods that rely on continuous‐time communication or unbounded inputs. To address this, a sampled‐data containment control algorithm is introduced, utilizing the position information of neighboring agents to drive all followers into the convex hull of the leaders. The primary analytical methods involve model transformations, convex analysis, and Lyapunov functions. It is demonstrated that the sampled‐data containment control problem can be solved provided that each follower has access to the information of at least one leader, either directly or through neighboring agents, within a bounded time interval. Finally, numerical examples are presented to verify the effectiveness of the derived theoretical results.