Distributed averaging on digital erasure networks

Iterative distributed algorithms are studied for computing arithmetic averages over networks of agents connected through memoryless broadcast erasure channels. These algorithms do not require the agents to have any knowledge about the global network structure or size. Almost sure convergence to state agreement is proved, and the communication and computational complexities of the algorithms are analyzed. Both the number of transmissions and computations performed by each agent of the network are shown to grow not faster than poly-logarithmically in the desired precision. The impact of the graph topology on the algorithms’ performance is analyzed as well. Moreover, it is shown how, in the presence of noiseless communication feedback, one can modify the algorithms, significantly improving their performance vs complexity tradeoff. Key words: Distributed computation; distributed control; digital communications; control with communication constraints; average consensus.

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: AUTOMATICA
• Authors: Ruggero Carli, Giacomo Como, Paolo Frasca, Federica Garin
• Keywords: Algorithms, Artificial Intelligence, AUTOMATICA 2011, Communication, Iterative Distributed Algorithms