Finite-time sliding-mode observer based distributed robust fault tolerant control for multi-agent systems against actuator and sensor faults

The faults of actuators and sensors have adverse impacts on the distributed control of the multi-agent systems (MASs). This study addresses the problem of fault-tolerant control (FTC) for MAS subject to actuator and sensor faults. The descriptor approach is introduced to transform the MAS dynamics into a descriptor form, in which the actuator and sensor faults are integrated as components of the extended descriptor system state. A sliding mode-based unknown input observer is designed to realise finite-time fault diagnosis and state estimation for the transformed descriptor system. Furthermore, based on the estimation, a distributed robust FTC protocol is developed to guarantee the consensus of MAS against the actuator and sensor faults. Finally, simulations are conducted to validate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.