Example methods and systems may provide for a system that includes a control system communicatively coupled to a first robotic device and a second robotic device. The control system may identify a collaborative operation to be performed by a first robotic device and a second robotic device that is based on a relative positioning between the first robotic device and the second robotic device. The control system may also determine respective locations of the first robotic device and the second robotic device. The control system may further initiate a movement of the first robotic device along a path from the determined location of the first robotic device towards the determined location of the second robotic device. The first robotic device and the second robotic device may then establish a visual handshake that indicates the relative positioning between the first robotic device and the second robotic device for the collaborative operation.