Sliding mode reference conditioning for coordination in swarms of non-identical multi-agents.

ALEJANDRO VIGNONI; JESÚS PICO; FABRICIO GARELLI; HERNÁN DE BATTISTA

Bombay

Conferencia; 12th International Workshop on Variable Structure Systems; 2012

IEEE, IFAC

A novel approach is proposed for coordinationof swarms of dynamical systems in order to provide themwith a desired collective behavior. The approach is based onthe sliding mode reference conditioning technique as localinteraction handler among neighbor systems. Neighbor systemsbecome connected when a virtual constraint between them isviolated, leading to a time-varying switching topology for theconnections in the swarm. The approach addresses the problemof coordinating dynamical systems with possibly different dynamics(e.g. linear and nonlinear, different orders, constraints,etc.), assuming there is no leader.The main idea is to shape the systems local feasible referencesin order to keep them coordinated. Coordination is understoodas invariance of a set defined by some aimed relationship amongthe references. This implies considering the local goals, thesystems constraints and the achievable performances as well.To show the applicability of the approach, the problemof coordinating a swarm of different dynamical systems withcontrol saturations is addressed as a particular case.