Multi-leader-follower group consensus of stochastic time-delay multi-agent systems subject to Markov switching topology.

The multi-leader-follower group consensus issue of a class of stochastic time-delay multi-agent systems subject to Markov switching topology is investigated. The purpose is to determine a distributed control protocol to make sure that the followers' states converge in mean square to a convex hull generated by the leaders' states. Through a model transformation, the problem is transformed into a mean-square stability issue of a new system. Then, an easy-to-check sufficient condition for the solvability of the multi-leader-follower group consensus issue is proposed by utilizing the Lyapunov stability theory, graph theory, as well as several inequality techniques. It is shown that the required feedback gain can be acquired once the condition is satisfied. Finally, an example is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the control protocol.