Patent ID: 8789631

Claim:
A vehicle adapted for traversing and inspecting an irregular terrain, comprising: a chassis supported above a terrain by a pair of substantially continuous tracks near opposing left and right sides of said chassis, each of said tracks engaged with at least one driven sprocket and at least one free sprocket, wherein said chassis has a front end and a rear end with a longitudinal axis extending therebetween, and an upper deck and a generally opposing bottom surface, wherein said bottom surface defines a first clearance near said ends and a second clearance along a substantially transverse axis extending between said sides and located intermediate said ends, wherein said second clearance is substantially greater than said first clearance when said chassis is positioned on a substantially planar surface; a motive system supported by said chassis and operative to propel said vehicle by engagement with one or more of said at least one driven sprockets, said motive system comprising said pair of tracks and at least one motor connected to and operative to propel said vehicle by engaging one or more of said at least one driven sprockets; a power system supported by said chassis and providing energy to power said vehicle; an imaging system supported by said chassis and comprising a main imaging assembly and a lens assembly; a sensor system supported by said chassis and comprising one or more positional sensors and a plurality of range sensors; and a control system supported by said chassis and electrically connected to said motive system, said power system, said imaging system, and said sensor system, wherein said control system comprises a guidance routine that, in cooperation with said imaging system and said sensor system, directs the motion of said vehicle in an autonomous mode across said terrain.