Node Task Expansion Based Finite-Time Formation-Containment Control for Ground–Air Collaboration Systems

This article investigates finite-time formation-containment control of ground-air collaboration systems. A “node task expansion based finite-time formation-containment control scheme” is proposed for the possibly disconnected leaders' communication subgraph and the heterogeneity of motion individuals. Concretely, both virtual formation and containment models are simultaneously established with appropriate dynamics at each communication node (i.e., motion individual), regardless of the original cooperative tasks undertaken by the moving individuals. In this way, based on the connected communication network of the global collaboration system, these virtual models can “achieve” the desired formation or containment control task of each motion individual in finite time. Then, some finite-time controllers are constructed to make the motion individuals track the outputs of the virtual models according to their coordination responsibilities, and further achieve the whole finite-time formation-containment control goal. Different from other formation-containment control methods, the proposed approach weakens the connectivity requirement of the communication topology subgraph between formation leaders, adequately contributes leaders' position information to the followers' containment results, and solves the order heterogeneity problem of the motion individuals in the finite-time coordination. Some simulations are given to validate the effects of the proposed approach.