How do I prevent two VWAgent workers from deadlocking when they face each other after task assignment?

I’m working on a multi-agent grid environment using the VWAgent framework. I have three agents:

White: explores and broadcasts cleaning assignments Green & Orange: wait until assignments, then move to clean their tiles

White explores correctly, broadcasts once, and then both workers start moving. The problem begins after the assignments: Green and Orange end up facing each other on the same corridor and both freeze forever. Neither moves, neither backs off — complete deadlock.

Here is the relevant part of the worker decide() method:

def decide(self) -> Iterable[VWAction]: # Broadcast EXACTLY ONCE to avoid spamming workers if self.__sent_assignments and self.__broadcast_action: action = self.__broadcast_action self.__broadcast_action = None # Clear it so we don't send again return [cast(VWAction, action)] if self.__backoff > 0: return [VWIdleAction()] obs = self.get_latest_observation() appearance = self.get_own_appearance() collision_action = self.__handle_collision(obs) if collision_action is not None: return [collision_action] pos = self.get_own_position() if self.__heading_home: if (pos.get_x(), pos.get_y()) == self.__home_target: self.__heading_home = False else: return [self.__move_towards(target=self.__home_target)] White finishes mapping and broadcasts tasks (good). Green and Orange start moving (good). They meet in a corridor facing each other. __handle_collision() keeps returning “blocked” for both. Both agents idle forever → deadlock.

One worker should yield or back off so the other can pass.

Both freeze because their movement logic is symmetric and neither gives way.

Question

How can I modify my movement/collision logic so that two workers facing each other do not deadlock? Is there a common pattern for resolving head-on collisions in VWAgent / multi-agent grid systems?

I’m happy to share the __handle_collision method if needed.