A fully distributed algorithm is presented, which when executed by each robot, collectively allows multiple autonomous mobile robots to travel through a discrete traffic network composed of passage segments, intersections, and terminals, all of which are of only finite capacity. Each robot may establish dynamically its own route not known to others. Treating passage segments, intersections and terminals as shared, discrete resources, the algorithm guarantees ordered traffic flow in a discrete network such that (i) finite capacity constrains of passage segments and terminals are always enforced; (ii) no collision occurs at any intersection; (iii) deadlocks are detected and resolved. The system operates under the model of Distributed Robotic Systems (DRS), assuming no centralized mechanism, synchronized clock, shared memory or ground support. Interrobot communication is only required among spatially adjacent robotic units. The algorithm is implementable with today's technology.

A media access protocol, CSMA/CD-W (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection for Wireless) is proposed to support broadcasting and point-to-point communication in mobile robot based distributed robotic systems (DRS). Distinct from many existing experimental systems built with off-the-shelf wireless communication products for computers, no centralized mechanism such as a communication server, or "ground support" is used, which is consistent with basic principles of DRS. The proposed protocol supports wireless data communication among mobile robots on a shared radio communication channel. It differs from CSMA and its variations with the capability of detecting, in a wireless network, collisions of broadcast (undesignated) messages without using any centralized devices. Satisfactory performance of the protocol is demonstrated with a rigorously designed discrete event simulation.

Resource sharing is crucial in any multi-agent systems, a distributed robotic system (DRS) is not an exception. A new, general strategy of sharing multiple, discrete resources with predetermined capacities under the model of distributed robotic systems (DRS) is proposed. It is based upon a media access protocol, CSMA/CD-W (Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection for Wireless), which supports wireless inter-robot communication among multiple autonomous mobile robots without using any centralized mechanism. This resource sharing strategy is derived based on the fact that with the single, time-multiplexed communication channel, asynchronous events for requesting and releasing resources are effectively serialized. It is shown that the control protocol is effective, efficient, reliable and robust.>