Abstract: Due to the inherent memory characteristics and non-local effects of the fractional-order Caputo and Riemann-Liouville (R-L) definitions, during topology switching, the integral bounds of the Caputo and R-L fractional orders cannot be updated to match the topology changes, preventing fractional derivatives from being directly applied over different intervals, thereby preserving historical information despite the topology switch. To overcome these difficulties, the Conformable fractional derivative is introduced, which is derived from the limited definition of integer-order derivatives. Utilizing the conformable fractional operator theory, along with the multiple Lyapunov function method and the average dwell-time technique, sufficient conditions are established to ensure the asymptotic leader-follower consensus of conformable fractional-order multi-agent systems under switching communication topologies. Furthermore, an appropriate switching signal is designed to satisfy the proposed conditions. Finally, two simulation examples are provided to verify the effectiveness and practicality of the theoretical results, and comparative analyses with corresponding integer-order systems are conducted to illustrate performance advantages of the proposed framework.

Key words: multi-agent systems, Conformable fractional, switching topologies, average dwell time, multiple Lyapunov function