Controllability of switching networks of multi-agent systems

This paper addresses the controllability of a switching network of multi-agent systems with a leader obeying nearest-neighbor communication rules. The leader is a particular agent acting as an external input to control other member agents. Some computationally efficient sufficient conditions for such multi-agent systems to be controllable are derived. The results show that a multi-agent system can be controllable even if each of its subsystem is not controllable, by appropriately selecting one of the agents as the leader and suitably designing the neighbor-interaction rules via a switching topology. The fixed topology case is analyzed and new controllability conditions and formula of inputs for the desired formation of the network are presented. The controllability of a switching network of multi-agent systems in the presence of communication delay is also investigated. Examples with numerical simulations are given to illustrate the theoretical results. © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.