Neural network–based optimal fault compensation control of the nonlinear multi-agent system and its application to UAVs formation flight

This article investigates the optimal consensus problem for unmanned aerial vehicle formation systems with actuator faults based on nonlinear multi-agent systems. Initially, for fault-free multi-agent system, the distributed optimal controllers are constructed based on the adaptive dynamic programming technique. A critic neural network is applied to approximate the solution of the nonlinear Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equations, in which the weight updating laws are built to guarantee the weight vectors of the critic neural network convergence. Second, the fault compensators and corresponding tuning laws are proposed to compensate for actuator faults. Through a combination of optimal controllers and fault compensators, the distributed optimal fault-tolerant controllers are obtained. Then, according to Lyapunov extension theorem, some stability criteria for ensuring the stability of the aircraft and the normal flight of the unmanned aerial vehicle formation are established in the event of an actuator failure. Finally, an example of an unmanned aerial vehicle formation system is introduced to verify the efficiency and reliability of the designed optimal fault-tolerant control scheme.