Robust synchronization of arrays of uncertain nonlinear second-order dynamical systems

A technique to synchronize arrays of dynamical systems is presented. The arrays are formed by uncertain nonlinear second-order systems, called nodes, where only the generalized position is available. The synchronization technique can be applied to many array topologies where the connections can be unidirectional or bidirectional with different weights; this produces a connection matrix that it is not necessarily symmetric. The design of the coupling signals is based on a robust discontinuous controller and on an exact deriver that estimates the velocity of each node. We present experimental results to illustrate the performance of the synchronization technique.