Event-triggered communication and control of networked systems for multi-agent consensus

Distributed coordination control is the current trend in networked systems and finds prosperous applications across a variety of fields, such as smart grids and intelligent transportation systems. One fundamental issue in coordinating and controlling a large group of distributed and networked agents is the influence of intermittent interagent interactions caused by constrained communication resources. Event-triggered communication scheduling stands out as a promising enabler to strike a balance between the desired control performance and the satisfactory resource efficiency. What distinguishes dynamic event-triggered scheduling from traditional static event-triggered scheduling is that the triggering mechanism can be dynamically adjusted over time in accordance with both available system information and additional dynamic variables. This article provides an up-to-date overview of dynamic event-triggered distributed coordination control. The motivation of dynamic event-triggered scheduling is first introduced in the context of distributed coordination control. Then some techniques of dynamic event-triggered distributed coordination control are discussed in detail. Implementation and design issues are well addressed. Furthermore, this article exemplifies two applications of dynamic event-triggered distributed coordination control in the fields of microgrids and automated vehicles. Several challenges are suggested to direct the future research.

Dynamic Event-Triggered Distributed Coordination Control and its Applications: A Survey of Trends and Techniques

Image encryption algorithm based on the matrix semi-tensor product with a compound secret key produced by a Boolean network

Set stability and set stabilization of Boolean control networks based on invariant subsets

This technical note presents analytical investigations of reachability and controllability of Boolean control networks (BCNs) with pinning controllers. Based on semi-tensor product (STP) of matrices, BCNs with pinning controllers are converted into a discrete-time algebraic system. A formula is derived to calculate the number of different control sequences steering BCNs between two states in a given step, and then several necessary and sufficient criteria are derived for reachability and controllability of BCNs with pinning controllers. Moreover, we make a comparison among three forms of BCNs, which have similar algebraic representations. Finally, we obtain some efficient conditions to judge the dynamic structure of BCNs.

On Pinning Controllability of Boolean Control Networks

This brief presents an analytical study of synchronization in an array of coupled deterministic Boolean networks (BNs) with time delay. Two kinds of models are considered. In one model, the outputs contain time delay, while in another one, the outputs do not. One restriction in this brief is that the state delay and output delay are restricted to be equal. By referring to the algebraic representations of logical dynamics and using the techniques of semitensor product of matrices, some necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the synchronization of delay-coupled BNs. Examples including a practical epigenetic example are given for illustration.

Synchronization in an array of output-coupled Boolean networks with time delay.

This paper is devoted to studying the trajectory and state controllability of Boolean control networks (BCNs) with time delay. In contrast to BCNs without time delay, the dynamics of delayed BCNs are determined by a sequence of initial states, named here trajectories. Trajectory controllability means that there exists a control signal steering a system from an initial trajectory to a desired trajectory, while state controllability means that there exists a control signal steering an initial state to a given state. Here, both trajectory controllability and state controllability will be studied. It should be noted that in this paper, trajectory controllability does not mean tracking or following a given trajectory. In fact it means to control BCNs to a destination trajectory of length $\mu$ at the $k$-th step. Using the semi-tensor product of matrices, the delayed BCNs are first converted into an equivalent algebraic description, and then some necessary and sufficient conditions are derived for the trajecto...

On Controllability of Delayed Boolean Control Networks

This paper investigates the leader-following consensus issue with event/self-triggered schemes under an unreliable network environment. First, we characterize network communication and control protocol update in the presence of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. In this situation, an event-triggered communication scheme is first proposed to effectively schedule information transmission over the network possibly subject to malicious attacks. In this communication framework, synchronous and asynchronous updated strategies of control protocols are constructed to achieve leader-following consensus in the presence of DoS attacks. Moreover, to further reduce the cost induced by event detection, a self-triggered communication scheme is proposed in which the next triggering instant can be determined by computing with the most updated information. Finally, a numerical example is provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed communication schemes and updated strategies in the unreliable network environment.

Event/Self-Triggered Control for Leader-Following Consensus Over Unreliable Network With DoS Attacks

This paper investigates the controllability and synchronization problems for identical-hierarchy mixed-valued logical control networks. The logical network considered is hierarchical, and Boolean network is a special case of logical network. Here, identical-hierarchy means that there are identical number of nodes in each layer of logical network and corresponding nodes have the same dimension for any two layers of logical networks. Meanwhile, in each layer of logical networks, the dimensions of nodes are distinct, and it is called a mixed-valued logical network. First, the controllability problem is investigated and two notions of controllability are presented, i.e., group-controllability and simultaneously-controllability. By resorting to Perron–Frobenius theorem, some necessary and sufficient criteria are obtained to guarantee group-controllability and simultaneously-controllability, respectively. Second, based on the algebraic representation of the studied model, synchronization problems are analytically discussed for two types of controls, i.e., free control sequences and state-output feedback control. Finally, two numerical examples are presented to show the validness of our main results.

Jie Zhong

Papers

On Pinning Controllability of Boolean Control Networks

Synchronization in an array of output-coupled Boolean networks with time delay.

On Controllability of Delayed Boolean Control Networks

Event/Self-Triggered Control for Leader-Following Consensus Over Unreliable Network With DoS Attacks

Controllability and Synchronization Analysis of Identical-Hierarchy Mixed-Valued Logical Control Networks