5,591 research outputs found
Gossip consensus algorithms via quantized communication
This paper considers the average consensus problem on a network of digital
links, and proposes a set of algorithms based on pairwise ''gossip''
communications and updates. We study the convergence properties of such
algorithms with the goal of answering two design questions, arising from the
literature: whether the agents should encode their communication by a
deterministic or a randomized quantizer, and whether they should use, and how,
exact information regarding their own states in the update.Comment: Accepted for publicatio
Variance Analysis of Randomized Consensus in Switching Directed Networks
In this paper, we study the asymptotic properties of distributed consensus
algorithms over switching directed random networks. More specifically, we focus
on consensus algorithms over independent and identically distributed, directed
Erdos-Renyi random graphs, where each agent can communicate with any other
agent with some exogenously specified probability . While it is well-known
that consensus algorithms over Erdos-Renyi random networks result in an
asymptotic agreement over the network, an analytical characterization of the
distribution of the asymptotic consensus value is still an open question. In
this paper, we provide closed-form expressions for the mean and variance of the
asymptotic random consensus value, in terms of the size of the network and the
probability of communication . We also provide numerical simulations that
illustrate our results.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to American Control Conference 201
Tight Bounds for Asymptotic and Approximate Consensus
We study the performance of asymptotic and approximate consensus algorithms
under harsh environmental conditions. The asymptotic consensus problem requires
a set of agents to repeatedly set their outputs such that the outputs converge
to a common value within the convex hull of initial values. This problem, and
the related approximate consensus problem, are fundamental building blocks in
distributed systems where exact consensus among agents is not required or
possible, e.g., man-made distributed control systems, and have applications in
the analysis of natural distributed systems, such as flocking and opinion
dynamics. We prove tight lower bounds on the contraction rates of asymptotic
consensus algorithms in dynamic networks, from which we deduce bounds on the
time complexity of approximate consensus algorithms. In particular, the
obtained bounds show optimality of asymptotic and approximate consensus
algorithms presented in [Charron-Bost et al., ICALP'16] for certain dynamic
networks, including the weakest dynamic network model in which asymptotic and
approximate consensus are solvable. As a corollary we also obtain
asymptotically tight bounds for asymptotic consensus in the classical
asynchronous model with crashes.
Central to our lower bound proofs is an extended notion of valency, the set
of reachable limits of an asymptotic consensus algorithm starting from a given
configuration. We further relate topological properties of valencies to the
solvability of exact consensus, shedding some light on the relation of these
three fundamental problems in dynamic networks
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