Flexible distributed fencing control for Euler–Lagrange multi‐agent systems with moving target

Abstract In this paper, a flexible distributed fencing controller based on Euler–Lagrange dynamics is proposed, which could cooperatively fence a moving target with unknown but constant velocity within the convex hull formed by the agents while ensuring collision avoidance and stable formation. It is worth noting that we consider the nonlinear characteristics of complex systems and adopt Euler–Lagrangian dynamics instead of linear systems for modeling, while no label is predetermined for the agent. To enforce velocity matching between the agents and the target, a flexible distributed fencing control strategy accounting for unknown dynamic parameters is designed using only the relative position information of the target and the agents. The effectiveness of the controller is verified by rigorous theoretical analysis and extensive numerical simulations.