Switching-Like Event-Based Formation Control for Multiagent Systems Against Denial-of-Service Attacks

This article studies formation control for multiagent systems in the presence of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. The challenge is to address secure formation tracking and communication bandwidth-saving issues simultaneously. To tackle this, we propose a switching-like event-triggered mechanism that reduces excessive bandwidth consumption during interactions among multiple followers under DoS attacks. The triggering condition is allowed to be switched during the intervals when attacks are activated, ensuring that triggering can normally occur throughout the overall time interval by introducing an auxiliary variable depending on the success of the latest trigger moment. Based on this approach, we construct an event-based time-varying formation control scheme. In addition, we establish sufficient conditions that reveal the relationship between exponential stability and the frequency/duration of the DoS attacks. Unlike other single-leader methods, a significant feature of the formation control scheme is its ability to achieve the desired formation tracking for multiagent systems with multiple leaders. Finally, the validity of the proposed method is demonstrated through simulation and experimental results.