Patent ID: 8007221

Claim:
A robotic vehicle comprising: a main chassis having two sides, a front end, and a differential drive system for maneuvering the robotic vehicle over a surface; a forward section comprising: at least one stair climbing arm having a proximal end and a distal end, the proximal end of the stair climbing arm being pivotally coupled to the main chassis near the front end of the main chassis about a transverse axis defined generally perpendicular to the sides of the main chassis, the stair climbing arm having a length less than a length of the sides of the main chassis, wherein the stair climbing arm articulates between positions to lift the front end of the vehicle to assist the robotic vehicle in climbing stairs and positions to traverse the front end of the vehicle over obstacles while moving about in a variety of environments; a lifting apparatus comprising: at least two pivoting members pivotably coupled to the main chassis; and at least one linkage arm pivotably connected to at least one of the pivoting members and to the at least one stair climbing arm; and an arm drive system disposed on the main chassis and coupled to the at least one stair climbing arm, the arm drive system pivoting the lifting apparatus relative to the main chassis by pivoting the stair climbing arm relative to the main chassis and the pivotally connected at least one linkage arm.