Asynchronous sampled-data synchronization with small communications delays

This study investigates the state synchronization of linear time-invariant (LTI) agents within a networked environment characterized by intermittent and asynchronous communication, alongside heterogeneous time-varying transmission delays. These delays are not assumed to be known a-priori but only time-stamped. A hybrid controller, augmented with a special kind of predictor, is proposed to compensate for the delays and guarantee synchronization. Notably, synchronization is achieved under comparable conditions to the delay-free case, provided that transmission delays are smaller than the corresponding sampling interval. This is independent of the agents' dynamics and requires no additional knowledge of the underlying communication topology. An algorithm is presented for implementing the required predictor buffer with a size of one, offering a straightforward and scalable implementation.