Cooperative Parallel Operation of Multiple Actuators Over Switching Networks

The cooperative parallel operation problem was recently introduced to achieve output regulation of a linear plant with cooperation of multiple actuators. In addition to fulfilling the requirements of classical output regulation, this problem further requires an even distribution of the plant input among the actuators. However, the existing solution assumes a static and connected communication network for the actuators. This paper further addresses the cooperative parallel operation problem over a jointly connected switching communication network. We demonstrate that output regulation of the closed-loop system can be achieved by designing a distributed dynamic output feedback control law based on the feedforward control approach. To further ensure an even distribution of the plant input among the actuators, we show that applying a sufficiently large coupling gain to the distributed controllers results in exponential consensus for the controllers and, hence, for the actuators. Finally, we use a motor-driven system with six electrical motors driving a common shaft to validate the effectiveness of our design.