Design and Practical Implementation of External Consensus Protocol for Networked Multiagent Systems With Communication Delays

This paper discusses the design and practical implementation of solving an external consensus problem for inhomogeneous networked multiagent systems with constant network delay in the output feedback. Based on the recursive equation, a novel prediction strategy is proposed using the transfer function form to overcome the effects of the network delay. By considering a single-input single-output linear system for each agent, the proposed strategy is simulated, demonstrated, and validated through a test-rig application. Concurrently, the stability of the control scheme and the criterion to determine the appropriate coupling gains value for the proposed consensus protocol are also studied.