Finite-time consensus of high-order heterogeneous multi-agent systems with mismatched disturbances and nonlinear dynamics

In this study, we investigate the finite-time consensus problem for a general class of high-order nonlinear heterogeneous multi-agent systems, for which not only the unknown nonlinear dynamics, mismatched disturbances but also the system orders are not required to be identical. We propose two families of consensus algorithms, and the output consensus can be achieved with them in a finite time even with nonlinear dynamics and mismatched disturbances. The Lipschitz-like condition generally required in the literature is removed in this paper. The integral sliding-mode control technique is used to construct the first family of consensus algorithms, which may cause chattering problem for the existence of high-frequency switching terms. To overcome the chattering phenomenon, a new variable-gain finite-time observer is developed to construct the second family of continuous algorithms based on a different assumption. It is shown that some existing consensus protocols can be broadened in several directions through the framework of this study; moreover, the output feedback finite-time consensus can also be solved.