Multiconsensus of first-order multiagent systems with directed topologies

The multiconsensus problem of first-order multiagent systems with directed topologies is studied. A novel consensus problem is introduced in multiagent systems — multiconsensus. The states of multiple agents in each subnetwork asymptotically converge to an individual consistent value in the presence of information exchanges among subnetworks. Linear multiconsensus protocols are proposed to solve the multiconsensus problem, and the matrix corresponding to the protocol is designed. Necessary and sufficient conditions are derived based on matrix theory, under which the stationary multiconsensus and dynamic multiconsensus can be reached. Simulations are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.