Event-triggered fixed-time consensus tracking of nonlinear delayed multi-agent systems with disturbances under switching topologies

Mingqiang Meng; Kaiquan Xiang; Qintao Gan; Lei Chang; Mingqiang Meng; Kaiquan Xiang; Qintao Gan; Lei Chang

doi:10.3934/math.2026833

AIMS Mathematics

2026, Volume 11, Issue 7: 20473-20501. doi: 10.3934/math.2026833

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Research article

Event-triggered fixed-time consensus tracking of nonlinear delayed multi-agent systems with disturbances under switching topologies

1.
Shijiazhuang Campus, Army Engineering University of PLA, Shijiazhuang 050003, China
2.
Weapons and Control Department, Army Academy of Armored Forces, Beijing 100072, China

Received: 11 April 2026 Revised: 16 June 2026 Accepted: 29 June 2026 Published: 13 July 2026
MSC : 91D30, 93A16, 93D50

This work investigated the fixed-time consensus (FxTC) tracking problem for nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs), considering input delay and external disturbances, via an event-triggered (ET) mechanism under undirected fixed and switching topologies. To begin with, a novel ET controller was designed. Its distinctive feature is the inclusion of the constant delay term and compensation terms, which is different from the existing protocols. Consequently, it provides designers with flexible options for practical implementations in the context of time-delay systems subject to external disturbances. Through this approach, under fixed topology, all follower agents were able to achieve FxTC tracking, and importantly, a settling time (ST) upper bound was directly computed by using the system's predetermined parameters. Furthermore, it was rigorously proven that Zeno behavior was excluded. Then, those results were extended to switching topologies. The presented controller guarantees FxTC while significantly reducing both its update frequency and the overall energy consumption of the system. Finally, simulation examples were carried out to demonstrate the validity of proposed findings.
- multi-agent systems,
- event-triggered,
- fixed-time consensus,
- external disturbance,
- switching topologies
Citation: Mingqiang Meng, Kaiquan Xiang, Qintao Gan, Lei Chang. Event-triggered fixed-time consensus tracking of nonlinear delayed multi-agent systems with disturbances under switching topologies[J]. AIMS Mathematics, 2026, 11(7): 20473-20501. doi: 10.3934/math.2026833

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Abstract

This work investigated the fixed-time consensus (FxTC) tracking problem for nonlinear multi-agent systems (MASs), considering input delay and external disturbances, via an event-triggered (ET) mechanism under undirected fixed and switching topologies. To begin with, a novel ET controller was designed. Its distinctive feature is the inclusion of the constant delay term and compensation terms, which is different from the existing protocols. Consequently, it provides designers with flexible options for practical implementations in the context of time-delay systems subject to external disturbances. Through this approach, under fixed topology, all follower agents were able to achieve FxTC tracking, and importantly, a settling time (ST) upper bound was directly computed by using the system's predetermined parameters. Furthermore, it was rigorously proven that Zeno behavior was excluded. Then, those results were extended to switching topologies. The presented controller guarantees FxTC while significantly reducing both its update frequency and the overall energy consumption of the system. Finally, simulation examples were carried out to demonstrate the validity of proposed findings.

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