Cloud-based predictive formation control of networked multi-agent system and its application to air bearing spacecraft simulators✩

This paper studies a class of networked multi-agent systems with communication delays. A centralized cloud predictive control protocol is proposed to realize formation control of multiple agents and especially the predictive method is introduced to actively compensate for the delays in the network. The analysis of closed-loop networked multi-agent systems provides the necessary and sufficient condition of stability and consensus. Finally, the proposed cloud-based predictive formation control scheme is verified by its application to 3-degree-of-freedom air-bearing spacecraft simulators platform. The results show that the scheme can effectively compensate for the delays in the forward channel and the feedback channel and can be applied to the networked multi-agent systems well. & COPY; 2023 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This paper investigates networked multi-agent systems with communication delays. It proposes a centralized cloud predictive control protocol to achieve formation control of multiple agents, and introduces a predictive method to actively compensate for network delays. The analysis of closed-loop networked multi-agent systems provides the necessary and sufficient condition for stability and consensus. Finally, the proposed cloud-based predictive formation control scheme is validated through its application to a 3-degree-of-freedom air-bearing spacecraft simulator platform.