Analysis, Control and Optimization of Complex Dynamic Systems gathers in a single volume a spectrum of complex dynamic systems related papers written by experts in their fields, and strongly representative of current research trends. Complex systems present important challenges, in great part due to their sheer size which makes it difficult to grasp their dynamic behavior, optimize their operations, or study their reliability. Yet, we live in a world where, due to increasing inter-dependencies and networking of systems, complexity has become the norm. With this in mind, the volume comprises two parts. The first part is dedicated to a spectrum of complex problems of decision and control encountered in the area of production and inventory systems. The second part is dedicated to large scale or multi-agent system problems occurring in other areas of engineering such as telecommunication and electric power networks, as well as more generic context.

This monograph provides a comprehensive exploration of new tools for modelling, analysis, and control of networked dynamical systems. Expanding on the authors’ previous work, this volume highlights how local exchange of information and cooperation among neighboring agents can lead to emergent global behaviors in a given networked dynamical system. Divided into four sections, the first part of the book begins with some preliminaries and the general networked dynamical model that is used throughout the rest of the book. The second part focuses on synchronization of networked dynamical systems, synchronization with non-expansive dynamics, periodic solutions of networked dynamical systems, and modulus consensus of cooperative-antagonistic networks. In the third section, the authors solve control problems with input constraint, large delays, and heterogeneous dynamics. The final section of the book is devoted to applications, studying control problems of spacecraft formation flying, multi-robot rendezvous, and energy resource coordination of power networks. Modelling, Analysis, and Control of Networked Dynamical Systems will appeal to researchers and graduate students interested in control theory and its applications, particularly those working in networked control systems, multi-agent systems, and cyber-physical systems. This volume can also be used in advanced undergraduate and graduate courses on networked control systems and multi-agent systems.

This book focuses on stability analysis and control design approaches for multi-agent systems under network-induced constraints. A hybrid system approach is introduced to address the cooperative control problem of networked multi-agent systems, and several important topics such as asynchronous sampled data cooperative control, hybrid event-triggered cooperative control, and reset-based cooperative control are studied under the hybrid system framework. The special feature of this book is that a hybrid systems approach is proposed for the cooperative control of multi-agent systems, which is beneficial for relaxing the conservativeness of stability analysis and network parameter computation. Interested readers can learn a novel approach to cooperative control of multi-agent systems, and this book can benefit researchers, engineers, and graduate students in the fields of multi-robot cooperation, unmanned aerial vehicle formation, control engineering, etc.

This book addresses the problem of multi-agent systems, considering that it can be interpreted as a generalized multi-synchronization problem. From manufacturing tasks, through encryption and communication algorithms, to high-precision experiments, the simultaneous cooperation between multiple systems or agents is essential to successfully carrying out different modern activities, both in academy and industry. For example, the coordination of multiple assembler robots in manufacturing lines. These agents need to synchronize. The first two chapters of the book describe the synchronization of dynamical systems, paying special attention to the synchronization of non-identical systems. Following, the third chapter presents an interesting application of the synchronization phenomenon for state estimation. Subsequently, the authors fully address the multi-agent problem interpreted as multi-synchronization. The final chapters introduce the reader to a more complex problem, the synchronization of systems governed by partial differential equations, both of integer and fractional order. The book aimed at graduates, postgraduate students and researchers closely related to the area of automatic control. Previous knowledge of linear algebra, classical and fractional calculus is requested, as well as some fundamental notions of graph theory.

This edited book introduces readers to new analytical techniques and controller design schemes used to solve the emerging “hottest” problems in dynamic control systems and networks. In recent years, the study of dynamic systems and networks has faced major changes and challenges with the rapid advancement of IT technology, accompanied by the 4th Industrial Revolution. Many new factors that now have to be considered, and which haven’t been addressed from control engineering perspectives to date, are naturally emerging as the systems become more complex and networked. The general scope of this book includes the modeling of the system itself and uncertainty elements, examining stability under various criteria, and controller design techniques to achieve specific control objectives in various dynamic systems and networks. In terms of traditional stability matters, this includes the following special issues: finite-time stability and stabilization, consensus/synchronization, fault-tolerant control, event-triggered control, and sampled-data control for classical linear/nonlinear systems, interconnected systems, fractional-order systems, switched systems, neural networks, and complex networks. In terms of introducing graduate students and professional researchers studying control engineering and applied mathematics to the latest research trends in the areas mentioned above, this book offers an excellent guide.

This Special Issue "Multi-Agent Systems" gathers original research articles reporting results on the steadily growing area of agent-oriented computing and multi-agent systems technologies. After more than 20 years of academic research on multi-agent systems (MASs), in fact, agent-oriented models and technologies have been promoted as the most suitable candidates for the design and development of distributed and intelligent applications in complex and dynamic environments. With respect to both their quality and range, the papers in this Special Issue already represent a meaningful sample of the most recent advancements in the field of agent-oriented models and technologies. In particular, the 17 contributions cover agent-based modeling and simulation, situated multi-agent systems, socio-technical multi-agent systems, and semantic technologies applied to multi-agent systems. In fact, it is surprising to witness how such a limited portion of MAS research already highlights the most relevant usage of agent-based models and technologies, as well as their most appreciated characteristics. We are thus confident that the readers of Applied Sciences will be able to appreciate the growing role that MASs will play in the design and development of the next generation of complex intelligent systems. This Special Issue has been converted into a yearly series, for which a new call for papers is already available at the Applied Sciences journal’s website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/applsci/special_issues/Multi-Agent_Systems_2019.

This thesis develops several systematic and unified approaches for analyzing dynamic systems with positive characteristics or a more general cone invariance property. Based on these analysis results, it uses linear programming tools to address static output feedback synthesis problems with a focus on optimal gain performances. Owing to their low computational complexity, the established controller design algorithms are applicable for large-scale systems. The theory and control strategies developed will not only be useful in handling large-scale positive delay systems with improved solvability and at lower cost, but also further our understanding of the system characteristics in other related areas, such as distributed coordination of networked multi-agent systems, formation control of multiple robots.

The thesis presents new results on multi-agent formation control, focusing on the distributed stabilization control of rigid formation shapes. It analyzes a range of current research problems such as problems concerning the equilibrium and stability of formation control systems, or the problem of cooperative coordination control when agents have general dynamical models, and discusses practical considerations arising during the implementation of established formation control algorithms. In addition, the thesis presents models of increasing complexity, from single integrator models, to double integrator models, to agents modeled by nonlinear kinematic and dynamic equations, including the familiar unicycle model and nonlinear system equations with drift terms. Presenting the fruits of a close collaboration between several top control groups at leading universities including Yale University, Groningen University, Purdue University and Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), the thesis spans various research areas, including robustness issues in formations, quantization-based coordination, exponential stability in formation systems, and cooperative coordination of networked heterogeneous systems.