Attack-free protocols design for leader-following consensus of discrete-time multi-agent systems with multiple input delays

The consensus problem for leader-following multi-agent systems (MASs) characterised by discrete-time multiple input delays linear systems with directed communication topologies is investigated. Under reasonable assumptions, full-order observer-based output feedback protocols are first established by using the relative outputs and inputs of neighbouring agents. In order to overcome the impact of potential network attacks, we truncate the relative inputs of the proposed protocols, namely the exchange of communication information between neighbouring agents is forbidden, so that the closed-loop leader-following MAS is inherently immune to being attacked and achieves consensus. Additionally, the improved attack-free protocols not only allow arbitrarily large yet bounded delays, but also only relative output measurement can be available, which reduces the communication burden and thus are easy to implement in practice. A numerical example is worked out to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

Automated summary

This paper investigates the consensus problem for leader-following multi-agent systems characterized by discrete-time multiple input delays linear systems with directed communication topologies. Full-order observer-based output feedback protocols are established by using the relative outputs and inputs of neighboring agents, under reasonable assumptions. To overcome the impact of potential network attacks, the relative inputs of the proposed protocols are truncated, forbidding the exchange of communication information between neighboring agents, making the closed-loop leader-following MAS immune to attacks and achieving consensus. Additionally, the improved attack-free protocols allow arbitrarily large yet bounded delays and require only relative output measurements, reducing communication burden and making them easy to implement in practice.