Predictive Triggering for Distributed Control of Resource Constrained Multi-agent Systems

Abstract: A predictive triggering (PT) framework for the distributed control of resource constrained multi-agent systems is proposed. By predicting future communication demands and deriving a probabilistic priority measure, the PT framework is able to allocate limited communication resources in advance. The framework is evaluated through simulations of a cooperative adaptive cruise control system and experiments on multi-agent cart-pole systems. The results of these studies show its effectiveness over other event-triggered designs at reducing network utilization, while also improving the control error of the system.