Local open- and closed-loop manipulation of multi-agent networks

Abstract

We explore the manipulation of networked cyber-physical devices via external actuation or feedback control at a single location, in the context of a canonical multi-agent system model known as the double integrator network. One main focus is to understand whether or not, and how easily, a stakeholder can manipulate network's full dynamics by designing the actuation signal for one agent (in an open-loop sense). Additionally, we investigate the ability of the stakeholder to manipulate the multi-agent system, and achieve control objectives, via local feedback control. For both problems, we find that manipulation of the dynamics is crucially dependent on the network's graph and associated spectrum.