Mobile manipulator
Related papers: 20
About
A mobile manipulator is a robotic system that combines a mobile base — such as a wheeled platform, underwater vehicle, or aerial drone — with one or more robotic arms, enabling both locomotion and dexterous manipulation within the same platform. Unlike stationary robotic arms fixed to a workbench, mobile manipulators can navigate through environments to reach objects, perform assembly tasks, fetch items, or interact with infrastructure across large workspaces. In robotics and AI, mobile manipulators are used in applications ranging from domestic assistance and warehouse automation to construction, space servicing, and hazardous environment operations. Key technical challenges include coordinating the motion of the mobile base with the arm, avoiding obstacles in real time, managing redundant degrees of freedom, and planning grasps for previously unseen objects. Techniques such as potential field methods, reinforcement learning, and unified motion control frameworks are commonly applied to address these challenges. Mobile manipulators matter because they dramatically expand what robots can accomplish autonomously in unstructured, human-centered environments. By combining mobility with manipulation, they move robotics beyond fixed-installation tasks toward flexible, general-purpose systems capable of meaningful physical work in everyday settings.
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Top Cited Papers
Real-Time Obstacle Avoidance for Manipulators and Mobile Robots
Oussama Khatib
Citations: 7533 • 1986
Real-time obstacle avoidance for manipulators and mobile robots
Oussama Khatib
Citations: 1684 • 2005
Real-Time Obstacle Avoidance for Manipulators and Mobile Robots
Oussama Khatib
Citations: 1557 • 1986
Mechanics and Planning of Manipulator Pushing Operations
Matthew T. Mason
Citations: 574 • 1986
High-speed navigation using the global dynamic window approach
Oliver Brock, Oussama Khatib
Citations: 536 • 2003
Robot Manipulator Control
Frank L. Lewis, D.M. Dawson, Chaouki T. Abdallah
Citations: 481 • 2003
Playing it safe
Michael Zinn, Oussama Khatib, Bernard Roth, J. Kenneth Salisbury
Citations: 405 • 2004
HERB: a home exploring robotic butler
Siddhartha S Srinivasa, Dave Ferguson, Casey J. Helfrich, Dmitry Berenson, Alvaro Collet, Rosen Diankov, Garratt Gallagher, Geoffrey A. Hollinger, James Kuffner, Michael Vande Weghe
Citations: 310 • 2009
On the dynamics of manipulators in space using the virtual manipulator approach
Z. Vafa, Steven Dubowsky
Citations: 268 • 2005
Capturing robot workspace structure: representing robot capabilities
Franziska Zacharias, Christoph Borst, Gerd Hirzinger
Citations: 267 • 2007
Observer-based boundary control for an asymmetric output-constrained flexible robotic manipulator
Yu Liu, Xiongbin Chen, Yanfang Mei, Yilin Wu
Citations: 260 • 2021
Development of Human Support Robot as the research platform of a domestic mobile manipulator
Takashi Yamamoto, Koji Terada, Akiyoshi Ochiai, Fuminori Saito, Yoshiaki Asahara, Kazuto Murase
Citations: 231 • 2019
A Unified Approach to Motion Control of Mobile Manipulators
H. Seraji
Citations: 199 • 1998
Reinforcement Learning of Manipulation and Grasping Using Dynamical Movement Primitives for a Humanoidlike Mobile Manipulator
Zhijun Li, Ting Zhao, Fei Chen, Yingbai Hu, Chun‐Yi Su, Toshio Fukuda
Citations: 198 • 2017
Vehicle/arm coordination and multiple mobile manipulator decentralized cooperation
Oussama Khatib, Kazuhito Yokoi, Kyung Won Chang, D. Ruspini, Mats Holmberg
Citations: 188 • 2002
Development and Control of a Holonomic Mobile Robot for Mobile Manipulation Tasks
Robert Holmberg, Oussama Khatib
Citations: 182 • 2000
EL-E: an assistive mobile manipulator that autonomously fetches objects from flat surfaces
Advait Jain, Charles C. Kemp
Citations: 170 • 2009
Developing an Aerial Manipulator Prototype: Physical Interaction with the Environment
Matteo Fumagalli, Roberto Naldi, Alessandro Macchelli, Francesco Forte, Arvid Q. L. Keemink, Stefano Stramigioli, Raffaella Carloni, Lorenzo Marconi
Citations: 164 • 2014
Efficient dynamic simulation of an underwater vehicle with a robotic manipulator
Scott McMillan, David E. Orin, Robert B. McGhee
Citations: 160 • 1995
Autonomous generation of complete 3D object models using next best view manipulation planning
Michael Krainin, Brian Curless, Dieter Fox
Citations: 158 • 2011