128 research outputs found
Recommended from our members
Mathematical Structures in Group Decision-Making on Resource Allocation Distributions.
Optimal decisions on the distribution of finite resources are explicitly structured by mathematical models that specify relevant variables, constraints, and objectives. Here we report analysis and evidence that implicit mathematical structures are also involved in group decision-making on resource allocation distributions under conditions of uncertainty that disallow formal optimization. A group's array of initial distribution preferences automatically sets up a geometric decision space of alternative resource distributions. Weighted averaging mechanisms of interpersonal influence reduce the heterogeneity of the group's initial preferences on a suitable distribution. A model of opinion formation based on weighted averaging predicts a distribution that is a feasible point in the group's implicit initial decision space
Differential Inequalities in Multi-Agent Coordination and Opinion Dynamics Modeling
Distributed algorithms of multi-agent coordination have attracted substantial
attention from the research community; the simplest and most thoroughly studied
of them are consensus protocols in the form of differential or difference
equations over general time-varying weighted graphs. These graphs are usually
characterized algebraically by their associated Laplacian matrices. Network
algorithms with similar algebraic graph theoretic structures, called being of
Laplacian-type in this paper, also arise in other related multi-agent control
problems, such as aggregation and containment control, target surrounding,
distributed optimization and modeling of opinion evolution in social groups. In
spite of their similarities, each of such algorithms has often been studied
using separate mathematical techniques. In this paper, a novel approach is
offered, allowing a unified and elegant way to examine many Laplacian-type
algorithms for multi-agent coordination. This approach is based on the analysis
of some differential or difference inequalities that have to be satisfied by
the some "outputs" of the agents (e.g. the distances to the desired set in
aggregation problems). Although such inequalities may have many unbounded
solutions, under natural graphic connectivity conditions all their bounded
solutions converge (and even reach consensus), entailing the convergence of the
corresponding distributed algorithms. In the theory of differential equations
the absence of bounded non-convergent solutions is referred to as the
equation's dichotomy. In this paper, we establish the dichotomy criteria of
Laplacian-type differential and difference inequalities and show that these
criteria enable one to extend a number of recent results, concerned with
Laplacian-type algorithms for multi-agent coordination and modeling opinion
formation in social groups.Comment: accepted to Automatic
Network science on belief system dynamics under logic constraints
Breakthroughs have been made in algorithmic approaches to understanding how individuals in a group influence each other to reach a consensus. However, what happens to the group consensus if it depends on several statements, one of which is proven false? Here, we show how the existence of logical constraints on beliefs affect the collective convergence to a shared belief system and, in contrast, how an idiosyncratic set of arbitrarily linked beliefs held by a few may become held by many
Opinion Dynamics in Social Networks with Hostile Camps: Consensus vs. Polarization
Most of the distributed protocols for multi-agent consensus assume that the
agents are mutually cooperative and "trustful," and so the couplings among the
agents bring the values of their states closer. Opinion dynamics in social
groups, however, require beyond these conventional models due to ubiquitous
competition and distrust between some pairs of agents, which are usually
characterized by repulsive couplings and may lead to clustering of the
opinions. A simple yet insightful model of opinion dynamics with both
attractive and repulsive couplings was proposed recently by C. Altafini, who
examined first-order consensus algorithms over static signed graphs. This
protocol establishes modulus consensus, where the opinions become the same in
modulus but may differ in signs. In this paper, we extend the modulus consensus
model to the case where the network topology is an arbitrary time-varying
signed graph and prove reaching modulus consensus under mild sufficient
conditions of uniform connectivity of the graph. For cut-balanced graphs, not
only sufficient, but also necessary conditions for modulus consensus are given.Comment: scheduled for publication in IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control,
2016, vol. 61, no. 7 (accepted in August 2015
Optimal Universal Controllers for Roll Stabilization
Roll stabilization is an important problem of ship motion control. This
problem becomes especially difficult if the same set of actuators (e.g. a
single rudder) has to be used for roll stabilization and heading control of the
vessel, so that the roll stabilizing system interferes with the ship autopilot.
Finding the "trade-off" between the concurrent goals of accurate vessel
steering and roll stabilization usually reduces to an optimization problem,
which has to be solved in presence of an unknown wave disturbance. Standard
approaches to this problem (loop-shaping, LQG, -control etc.)
require to know the spectral density of the disturbance, considered to be a
\colored noise". In this paper, we propose a novel approach to optimal roll
stabilization, approximating the disturbance by a polyharmonic signal with
known frequencies yet uncertain amplitudes and phase shifts. Linear quadratic
optimization problems in presence of polyharmonic disturbances can be solved by
means of the theory of universal controllers developed by V.A. Yakubovich. An
optimal universal controller delivers the optimal solution for any uncertain
amplitudes and phases. Using Marine Systems Simulator (MSS) Toolbox that
provides a realistic vessel's model, we compare our design method with
classical approaches to optimal roll stabilization. Among three controllers
providing the same quality of yaw steering, OUC stabilizes the roll motion most
efficiently
Delay Robustness of Consensus Algorithms: Continuous-Time Theory
Consensus among autonomous agents is a key problem in multiagent control. In this article, we consider averaging consensus policies over time-varying graphs in presence of unknown but bounded communication delays. It is known that consensus is established (no matter how large the delays are) if the graph is periodically, or uniformly quasi-strongly connected (UQSC). The UQSC condition is often believed to be the weakest sufficient condition under which consensus can be proved. We show that the UQSC condition can actually be substantially relaxed and replaced by a condition that we call aperiodic quasi-strong connectivity, which, in some sense, proves to be very close to the necessary condition (the so-called integral connectivity). Under the assumption of reciprocity of interactions (e.g., for undirected or type-symmetric graphs), a necessary and sufficient condition for consensus in presence of bounded communication delays is established; the relevant results have been previously proved only in the undelayed case
Lyapunov Design for Event-Triggered Exponential Stabilization
Control Lyapunov Functions (CLF) method gives a constructive tool for
stabilization of nonlinear systems. To find a CLF, many methods have been
proposed in the literature, e.g. backstepping for cascaded systems and sum of
squares (SOS) programming for polynomial systems. Dealing with continuous-time
systems, the CLF-based controller is also continuous-time, whereas practical
implementation on a digital platform requires sampled-time control. In this
paper, we show that if the continuous-time controller provides exponential
stabilization, then an exponentially stabilizing event-triggered control
strategy exists with the convergence rate arbitrarily close to the rate of the
continuous-time system.Comment: accepted by ACM HSCC 2018 conferenc
Self-synchronization of unbalanced rotors and the swing equation
We consider a problem of self-synchronization in a system of vibro-exciters (rotors) installed on a common oscillating platform. This problem was studied by I.I. Blekhman and later by L. Sperling. Extending their approach, we derive the equations for a system of n rotors and show that, separating the slow and fast motions, the “slow” dynamics of this systems reduces to a special case of a so-called swing equation that is well studied in theory of power networks. On the other hand, the system may be considered as “pendulum-like” system with multidimensional periodic nonlinearities. Using the theory of such systems developed in our previous works, we derive an analytic criteria for synchronization of two rotors. Unlike synchronization criteria available in mechanical literature, our criterion ensures global convergence of every trajectory to the synchronous manifold
- …