Dynamic Event-Triggered Time-Varying Formation Control of Second-Order Dynamic Agents: Application to Multiple Quadcopters Systems

Abstract

This paper investigates the problem of the time-varying formation control of a second-order dynamic agent based on a distributed dynamic event-triggered algorithm. In this problem, each agent can exchange the information of its position and velocity with its neighbors via limited communication ability. Our approach provides a new dynamic event triggering mechanism to reduce the number of triggering times while maintaining satisfactory control performance. Further, a novel Lyapunov function is proposed to guarantee that the group of agents asymptotically tracks the desired time-varying formation trajectory. The practical applicability of the event triggering mechanism is also indicated by excluding the Zeno behavior in the proposed control algorithm. Finally, the validity and effectiveness of the proposed method are demonstrated via illustrative examples of the time-varying formation flight for six quadcopters.