Output Feedback Synthesis of Multiagent Systems With Jointly Connected Switching Networks: A Separation Principle Approach

The article presents distributed output feedback synthesis for both leaderless consensus and leader-follower consensus of linear multiagent systems subject to jointly connected switching networks. Luenberger type distributed observers are proposed based on the neighborhood output estimation error, and distributed output feedback controllers are developed according to the certainty equivalence principle. To show uniform global exponential stability of the switched closed-loop system, a separation principle for a class of switched linear systems with a cascaded structure is established employing weak Lyapunov function and checking weak zero-state detectability of its "diagonal" switched subsystems. It is shown that the weak zero-state detectability can be guaranteed by a generalized uniformly jointly connected condition of switching networks without any dwell-time constraints.