Consensus of multi-agent systems and stabilization of large-scale systems with time delays and nonlinearities - a comparison of both problems

Abstract

The problem of stabilization of large-scale systems and the consensus problem of multi-agent systems are related, similar tools for their solution are used. Therefore, they are occasionally confused. Although both problems show similar features, one can also observe important differences. A comparison of both problems is presented in this paper. In both cases, attention is paid to the explanation of the effects of the time delays. The most important fact is that, if the time delays are heterogeneous, full synchronization of the multi-agent systems cannot be achieved; however, stabilization of the large-scale network is reachable. In the case of nonlinear systems, we show that the stabilization of a large-scale nonlinear system is possible under more restrictive assumptions compared to the synchronization of a nonlinear multi-agent system.