Control protocol design for group consensus in heterogeneous multi-agent systems with communication interruptions and external disturbances

Yubin Zhong; Romana Ashfaq; Asad Khan; Azmat Ullah Khan Niazi; Taoufik Saidani; Adnan Burhan Rajab; Mohammed M. A. Almazah; Yubin Zhong; Romana Ashfaq; Asad Khan; Azmat Ullah Khan Niazi; Taoufik Saidani; Adnan Burhan Rajab; Mohammed M. A. Almazah

doi:10.3934/math.2025881

AIMS Mathematics

2025, Volume 10, Issue 8: 19750-19774. doi: 10.3934/math.2025881

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Research article

Control protocol design for group consensus in heterogeneous multi-agent systems with communication interruptions and external disturbances

1.
School of Mathematics and Information Science, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
2.
School of General Education, Guangzhou Institute of Science and Technology, Guangzhou 510540, China
3.
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Lahore, Sargodha 40100, Pakistan
4.
Metaverse Research Institute, School of Computer Science and Cyber Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China
5.
Center for Scientific Research and Entrepreneurship, Northern Border University, 73213, Arar, Saudi Arabia
6.
Department of Computer Engineering, College of Engineering, Knowledge University, Erbil 44001, Iraq
7.
Department of Computer Engineering, Al-Kitab University, Altun Kupri, Iraq
8.
Department of Mathematics, College of Sciences and Arts (Muhyil), King Khalid University, Muhyil 61421, Saudi Arabia

Received: 01 May 2025 Revised: 26 June 2025 Accepted: 07 July 2025 Published: 27 August 2025
MSC : 26A33, 34K37

This paper studied the group consensus problem in heterogeneous multi-agent systems (HMASs) subject to input delays, denial of service (DoS) attacks, and external disturbances. The agents interact within a cooperative-competitive network, where first- and second-order dynamics coexist. To address the challenges introduced by disruptions in communication and system heterogeneity, an intermittent control protocol was designed. This protocol operates based on a time-varying binary signal that reflects the availability of communication. Control actions are suspended during DoS intervals and resume when communication is restored. The proposed method incorporates virtual velocity estimation to handle mixed-order agents and employs frequency-domain analysis, specifically the Nyquist stability criterion, to derive algebraic conditions that ensure consensus. These conditions relate the maximum allowable delay to system topology, attack patterns, and disturbance levels. Numerical simulations demonstrate that consensus can be achieved under both directed and undirected network structures, even in the presence of constrained DoS disruptions and bounded disturbances.
- resilient group consensus,
- denial of service attacks,
- heterogeneous multi-agent systems,
- communication time delays,
- directed and undirected weighted graphs
Citation: Yubin Zhong, Romana Ashfaq, Asad Khan, Azmat Ullah Khan Niazi, Taoufik Saidani, Adnan Burhan Rajab, Mohammed M. A. Almazah. Control protocol design for group consensus in heterogeneous multi-agent systems with communication interruptions and external disturbances[J]. AIMS Mathematics, 2025, 10(8): 19750-19774. doi: 10.3934/math.2025881

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Abstract

This paper studied the group consensus problem in heterogeneous multi-agent systems (HMASs) subject to input delays, denial of service (DoS) attacks, and external disturbances. The agents interact within a cooperative-competitive network, where first- and second-order dynamics coexist. To address the challenges introduced by disruptions in communication and system heterogeneity, an intermittent control protocol was designed. This protocol operates based on a time-varying binary signal that reflects the availability of communication. Control actions are suspended during DoS intervals and resume when communication is restored. The proposed method incorporates virtual velocity estimation to handle mixed-order agents and employs frequency-domain analysis, specifically the Nyquist stability criterion, to derive algebraic conditions that ensure consensus. These conditions relate the maximum allowable delay to system topology, attack patterns, and disturbance levels. Numerical simulations demonstrate that consensus can be achieved under both directed and undirected network structures, even in the presence of constrained DoS disruptions and bounded disturbances.

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