Distributed average computation for multiple time-varying signals with output measurements

This paper studies the distributed average computation problem for multiple time-varying signals with bounded inputs. Based only on relative output measurements, a pair of continuous algorithms with, respectively, static and adaptive coupling strengths are designed and utilized. From the concept of boundary layer approach, the proposed continuous algorithm with static coupling strengths can asymptotically obtain the average value of the multiple reference signals without chattering phenomenon. Furthermore, for the case of algorithms with adaptive coupling strengths, the calculation errors are uniformly ultimately bounded and exponentially converge to a small adjustable bounded set. Finally, a simulation example is presented to show the validity of the theoretical results. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.