Distributed robust consensus tracking control of higher-order nonlinear systems

In this paper, a multi-agent consensus problem has been considered with a dynamic leader and fixed communication topology. Each follower node is modeled by a higher-order nonlinear systems with unknown nonlinear dynamics and an unknown disturbance. The leader node is also a higher-order nonlinear system. Only a part of the networked group has access to the information of the leader. And a distributed robust consensus controller is designed to ensure all the follower nodes synchronize to the trajectory of the leader node exponentially. Meanwhile, a smooth and time-varying sliding mode controller is presented to eliminate chattering phenomenon. The stability of the proposed methods is proved rigorously. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed methods.