Fully Distributed Output-feedback Time-varying Formation Tracking Control for Second-order Nonlinear Multi-agent Systems with Switching Directed Topologies

This paper studies fully distributed time-varying formation (TVF) tracking control problems for second-order nonlinear multi agent systems (MASS) with only output-feedback information and switching directed topologies. Compared with the existing work on formation tracking control problems, the states of followers are required to form a given TVF while tracking the states of the leader and no global information about the switching directed topologies is used in achieving the TVF. Based on an extra observer, an adaptive output-feedback formation tracking controller is constructed for second-order nonlinear MASs with switching directed topologies to achieve the given TVF. Then, a fully distributed algorithm is proposed to determine the parameters in the adaptive formation tracking controller. Moreover, a sufficient condition for achieving the desired TVF tracking under the designed adaptive output-feedback TVF tracking controller is derived based on the Lyapunov theory. Finally, a simulation example is presented to illustrate the obtained results.