  We study group-testing algorithms for resolving broadcast conflicts on a
multiple access channel (MAC) and for identifying the dead sensors in a mobile
ad hoc wireless network. In group-testing algorithms, we are asked to identify
all the defective items in a set of items when we can test arbitrary subsets of
items. In the standard group-testing problem, the result of a test is
binary--the tested subset either contains defective items or not. In the more
generalized versions we study in this paper, the result of each test is
non-binary. For example, it may indicate whether the number of defective items
contained in the tested subset is zero, one, or at least two. We give adaptive
algorithms that are provably more efficient than previous group testing
algorithms. We also show how our algorithms can be applied to solve conflict
resolution on a MAC and dead sensor diagnosis. Dead sensor diagnosis poses an
interesting challenge compared to MAC resolution, because dead sensors are not
locally detectable, nor are they themselves active participants.
