Collision avoidance time-varying group formation tracking control for multi-agent systems

This study considers the time-varying group formation (TVGF) tracking control problem for general linear multi-agent systems (MASs) with collision avoidance, where the MAS is divided into multiple subgroups, enabling followers to form prescribed formations and track trajectories provided by their respective leaders without collisions. Firstly, a distributed TVGF tracking control protocol is introduced using only relative information among neighboring agents. Then, feasibility conditions under which MASs can successfully realize the TVGF tracking without collisions are put forward. Utilizing Lyapunov stability theory, the convergence of the TVGF tracking error systems is confirmed, ensuring the collision-free achievement of the desired formation. Finally, some simulation examples are provided to validate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.