Observability of Multi-Agent Systems with Switching Topology

This brief studies the observability of multi-agent systems with switching topology. First, we consider the first-order multi-agent systems. Then, we prove that the multi-agent system with switching topology is observable if each subgraph is weakly connected. It is shown that the multi-agent system with switching topology can be observable even if each of its subsystems is not observable. Second, we establish graphical conditions for the observability of multi-agent systems with general linear dynamics. Finally, an example is given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the theoretical result.