Consensus tracking in heterogeneous nonlinear multi-agent networks with asynchronous sampled-data communication

This paper is concerned with the problem of consensus tracking for heterogeneous nonlinear multi-agent systems via asynchronous sampled-data information. Due to the existence of heterogeneity of dynamics and asynchrony of sampled information, the closed-loop error tracking system with ‘disturbance-like’ term can be established. By utilizing the Lyapunov–Krasovskii approach, the bounded consensus condition with the estimate of the tracking error bound is derived. Based on the criterion, an effective method for designing the appropriate consensus controller gain matrices is developed. An illustrative example with the coupled pendulums is given to demonstrate the efficiency of the results obtained in this paper.