Distributed output feedback consensus control of networked homogeneous systems with large unknown actuator and sensor delays

This paper studies observer-based output feedback consensus control of networked homogeneous systems in the presence of unknown bounded actuator and sensor delays. A transport partial differential equation (PDE) is used to describe the dynamics of the delay state, and then a distributed observer on the basis of the estimate delay state and relative output information is designed to estimate the neighborhood consensus error. Predictor-based consensus protocols are proposed by utilizing the observer state and the estimate delay state. Lyapunov functions are explicitly constructed to analyze system stability, and the delay mismatch robustness of the consensus protocols is proved. Simulation results performed on low-Earth-orbit satellite formation flying are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.