Bipartite consensus for a class of nonlinear multi-agent systems under switching topologies: A disturbance observer-based approach

This paper considers the leader-following bipartite consensus for a class of nonlinear multi-agent sys-tems (MASs) subject to exogenous disturbances under directed fixed and switching topologies, respec-tively. Firstly, two new output feedback control protocols involving signs of link weights are introduced based on relative output measurements of neighboring agents. In order to estimate the dis-turbances produced by an exogenous system, a disturbance observer-based approach is developed. Then, sufficient conditions for leader-following bipartite consensus with directed fixed topologies are derived. Furthermore, by assuming that each switching topology contains a directed spanning tree, it is proved that the leader-following bipartite consensus can be realized with the designed output feedback control protocol if the dwell time is larger than a non-negative threshold. Finally, numerical simulations inspired by a real-world DC motors are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed controllers.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V.