Distributed Consensus Over Markovian Packet Loss Channels

This paper studies the consensusability problem of multiagent systems (MASs), where agents communicate with each other through Markovian packet loss channels. We try to determine conditions under which there exists a linear distributed consensus controller such that the MAS can achieve mean square consensus. We first provide a necessary and sufficient consensus condition for MASs with single input and independent and identically distributed channel losses, which complements existing results. Then, we proceed to study the case with identical Markovian packet losses. A necessary and sufficient consensus condition is first derived based on the stability of Markov jump linear systems. Then, a numerically verifiable consensus criterion in terms of the feasibility of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs) is proposed. Furthermore, analytic sufficient conditions and necessary conditions for mean square consensusability are provided for general MASs. The case with nonidentical packet loss is studied subsequently. The necessary and sufficient consensus condition and a sufficient consensus condition in terms of LMIs are proposed. In the end, numerical simulations are conducted to verify the derived results.