Multi-Agent Bipartite Flocking Control Over Cooperation-Competition Networks With Asynchronous Communications

In this contribution, the bipartite flocking control problem of a set of autonomous mobile agents over cooperation-competition networks is investigated. Two kinds of asynchronous communication scenarios are considered, where each agent communicates with the neighbors only at certain time instants determined by its own clock, but not at other time instants. In addition, each agent adjusts the control input at all time instants in the first asynchronous scenario, and adjusts the control input only at its communication time instants in the second asynchronous scenario. Nonlinear positive and negative weight functions are designed to describe the effect of the distance between agents on the cooperation/competition degree in real interaction scenarios, where the farther (closer) the distance, the weaker (stronger) the cooperation/competition degree. With the help of signed graph theory and sub-stochastic matrix, the dynamic models under different asynchronous scenarios are analyzed, and the algebraic conditions for achieving bipartite flocking control are established separately. At last, the effectiveness of algebraic conditions is verified through numerical simulations.