Consensus of networked multi-agent systems with variable delay: Predictive scheme

This paper investigates consensus problems of discrete-time networked multi-agent systems (NMAS) with directed network topology and variable delay. A novel consensus protocol based on predictive control scheme is proposed to compensate the variable network delay actively. Necessary conditions are given for NMASs with fixed topology and variable delay to achieve consensus under mild assumptions. Simulation examples are supplied to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.