Distributed Cooperative Learning for Discrete-Time Strict-Feedback Multi Agent Systems Over Directed Graphs

This paper focuses on the distributed cooperative learning (DCL) problem for a class of discrete-time strict-feedback multi-agent systems under directed graphs. Compared with the previous DCL works based on undirected graphs, two main challenges lie in that the Laplacian matrix of directed graphs is nonsymmetric, and the derived weight error systems exist n-step delays. Two novel lemmas are developed in this paper to show the exponential convergence for two kinds of linear time-varying (LTV) systems with different phenomena including the nonsymmetric Laplacian matrix and time delays. Subsequently, an adaptive neural network (NN) control scheme is proposed by establishing a directed communication graph along with n-step delays weight updating law. Then, by using two novel lemmas on the extended exponential convergence of LTV systems, estimated NN weights of all agents are verified to exponentially converge to small neighbourhoods of their common optimal values if directed communication graphs are strongly connected and balanced. The stored NN weights are reused to structure learning controllers for the improved control performance of similar control tasks by the “mod” function and proper time series. A simulation comparison is shown to demonstrate the validity of the proposed DCL method.