This article considers the distributed output-feedback consensus control problem for nonlinear multiagent systems subject to input delays. Different from the existing related works, the input delay of each agent is described as an unknown time-varying function and is different from each other in this article. To deal with this problem, for each follower, we first construct a novel distributed observer based on the relative output information to asymptotically estimate the state information of the leader, then we introduce a classical observer to asymptotically estimate the state information of the follower based on its output information. By means of two observers, the leader-following consensus problem is transformed into the stability problem of the nonlinear system with unknown input delays. Subsequently, the distributed controller independent of delays is proposed for each follower by the use of the truncated prediction method under some conditions. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, it is strictly proved that the distributed controller can render all agents achieving consensus. Finally, the effectiveness of the theoretical results is illustrated on the basis of numerical simulations on a group of single-link manipulators.

中文翻译：

---

受未知输入延迟影响的非线性多智能体系统的分布式输出反馈一致性控制

本文考虑了受输入延迟影响的非线性多智能体系统的分布式输出反馈一致性控制问题。与现有的相关工作不同，本文将每个代理的输入延迟描述为一个未知的时变函数，并且彼此不同。为了解决这个问题，对于每一个follower，我们首先构造一个新的基于输出信息的分布式observer来渐近估计leader的状态信息，然后我们引入一个经典的observer来渐近估计follower的状态信息其输出信息。通过两个观察者，将leader-following一致性问题转化为具有未知输入延迟的非线性系统的稳定性问题。随后，在某些条件下，采用截断预测方法，为每个跟随者提出了独立于延迟的分布式控制器。基于李雅普诺夫稳定性理论，严格证明分布式控制器可以使所有代理达成共识。最后，在一组单连杆机械臂的数值模拟的基础上，说明了理论结果的有效性。