Abstract

In this paper, we study consensus robustness and performance problems for continuous-time multi-agent systems. We consider first-order unstable agents interconnected by an undirected graph, coordinated by a delayed output feedback protocol. Our objectives are twofold. First, we seek to determine the largest range of delay permissible so that the agents may achieve robustly consensus despite variation of the delay length, herein referred to as the delay consensus margin. Second, we attempt to determine consensus error performance quantified under an H 2 norm criterion, which measures the disruptive effect of random nodal noises on consensus. For both problems, we obtain analytical solutions. The explicit expressions provide conceptual insights and exhibit how the agents' unstable pole, nonminimum phase zero, as well as the network topology may limit fundamentally the consensus robustness and performance.