Distributed adaptive leader-following consensus control for a class of non-linear output feedback systems

This paper deals with the leader-following consensus control for a class of parametric output feedback non-linear multi-agent systems. To design distributed control laws without using agent’s own out information, non-linear functions of agent’s own output are transformed into non-linear functions of relative output information using mean value theorem and variable separation technique. By introducing an input-driven filter and employing adaptive backstepping method, distributed adaptive non-linear control laws are designed using only relative output measurements. The proposed control law is also independent of the Laplacian matrix. Therefore, it can solve the leader-following consensus problem for any directed communication graph that contains a spanning tree with the root node being the leader agent. A numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.