Finite-Time Unknown Input Observer-Based Distributed Fault Diagnosis for Multi-agent Systems with Disturbances

In this study, based on the finite-time unknown input observer (FT-UIO), the problem of distributed fault diagnosis (FD) for multi-agent systems (MAS) with actuator faults and disturbances is investigated. Firstly, using the communication topology and local information, the global multi-agent system dynamics are represented with respect to a certain agent. Then, in order to construct a FT-UIO at the selected agent, the system will be decomposed into three subsystems after coordinate transformation. Furthermore, constituted by two distinct observers, the FT-UIO is designed to converge in a pre-assigned finite time, which is chosen as the time delay of the observers. With the state estimation obtained from the FT-UIO in the selected agent, a FD algorithm is also proposed to diagnose the faults occurred in its neighbor agents. Finally, simulation results are presented to illustrate the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed FT-UIO-based distributed FD scheme for MAS.