Distributed Fixed-Time Formation Tracking Control for the Multi-Agent System and an Application in Wheeled Mobile Robots

Abstract

This work addresses the issue of multi-agent system (MAS) formation control under external disturbances and a directed communication topology. Firstly, a new disturbance observer is proposed to effectively reconstruct and compensate for external disturbances within a short period of time. Then, the integral terminal sliding mode technology is introduced to devise a novel distributed formation control protocol, ultimately realizing the stability of the MAS within a fixed time. Moreover, by means of rigorous Lyapunov theory analyses, a faster formation convergence rate and more accurate consensus accuracies are achieved in the proposed fixed-time strategy with variable exponent form. Finally, the formation tracking control scheme is applied to a multi-wheeled mobile robot (WMR) system. The experimental results strongly support the fine effectiveness of the control scheme designed in this work.