Predefined-Time Consensus Tracking of Second-Order Multiagent Systems

In this paper, the predefined-time consensus tracking problem of second-order multiagent systems (MASs) is investigated. A distributed observer is presented to estimate the tracking error for each follower within predefined time. A novel sliding surface is constructed to ensure predefined-time system convergence along the sliding surface and a terminal sliding mode consensus protocol is presented to overcome singularity problem and achieve leader-following consensus within predefined time. It is mathematically proved that the followers' states can track the leader's trajectory within predefined time. In particular, the settling time bound is directly related to tunable parameters, which facilitates the control protocol design to meet the desired convergence time requirement. Besides, the estimation bound for convergence time is less conservative than some existing fixed-time consensus protocols. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by the consensus tracking control for networked single-link robotic manipulators.