Adaptive fuzzy leader‐follower consensus control using sliding mode mechanism for a class of high‐order unknown nonlinear dynamic multi‐agent systems

Abstract In this article, a distributed leader‐follower consensus approach is developed for a class of high‐order unknown nonlinear dynamic multi‐agent systems (MASs). Because every agent of the MAS contains multiple state variables, the existing consensus methods are not completely applicable for it. In order to find the qualified consensus protocol for this high‐order MAS, sliding mode mechanism can be naturally considered for designing the consensus control because it can manage multiple state variables with the help of a constructed hyperplane. To this consensus control design, the sliding mode term is composed of all tracking error variables. Since the method does not require the switching control term around sliding surface, it can avoid the chattering phenomenon, which exits in most of the published sliding mode controls (SMCs). Furthermore, to handle the unknown nonlinear dynamic problem, the adaptive approximation strategy is implemented by employing fuzzy logic system (FLS). In the light of Lyapunov stability analysis, it is demonstrated that the proposed control approach can accomplish the consensus tasks. Finally, a numerical example is implemented to further show the desired results.