Wireless real-time communication protocol for cooperating mobile units1

Advances in wireless communication technology allow the development of distributed robotic applications consisting of teams of autonomous mobile units that can cooperate to achieve a common goal. Real-time communication among mobile wireless units, however, requires a careful management of the shared channel in order to achieve a certain level of predictability in message exchanging. This paper proposes a new MAC level protocol that allows nodes to enter and leave the communication area, avoiding collisions due to simultaneous transmissions. The algorithm used for accessing the communication channel is based on EDF, which allows an optimal exploitation of the communication channel while guaranteeing timing constraints on real-time messages.