Collaborative Mobile Manipulators for Distributed Task Execution in Smart City Applications

Robotic technologies offer feasible solutions to address rising costs and labour shortages by automating physically demanding tasks. This paper explores the integration of collaborative dual-arm car-like mobile manipulators equipped with obstacle detection sensors as a multi-agent system to enhance efficiency in smart city applications such as material handling and load transportation. While multi-robot coordination has been investigated extensively in the literature, a critical research gap remains in achieving seamless collaboration and formation control among mobile manipulators for distributed task execution. This study addresses this gap by presenting a set of continuous acceleration-based controllers using the Lyapunov-based Control Scheme (LbCS) to enable collision-free navigation of the mobile manipulators operating as a coordinated team of leader-carrier pairs. Computer simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed method and ensure smooth navigation in obstacle-ridden environments. The findings demonstrate the potential of multi-agent robotic systems in addressing labour shortages and enhancing smart city operations, particularly in vulnerable Pacific Island nations like Fiji, where skilled workforce migration has led to significant labour shortages.