Mobile robot with arm member

1. A mobile robot, comprising:

a body portion; and

at least one arm member operably connected to the body portion and at least capable of rapid, substantially instantaneous acceleration sufficient to generate a substantial force to act on another article or surface remote from the mobile robot.

2. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the force generated enables the mobile robot to rapidly lift an article that weighs at least as much as the mobile robot.

3. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the force generated enables the mobile robot to cause the remote surface to be altered.

4. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the remote surface is glass and the force generated enables the mobile robot to break the glass.

5. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the remote surface is the earth and the force generated enables the mobile robot to dig into the earth.

6. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the remote surface is a road surface and the force generated enables the mobile robot to dig into the road surface.

7. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the arm member is capable of providing rapid, substantially instantaneous deceleration.

8. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the mobile robot is capable of lifting a non-rigid article.

9. The mobile robot as defined in claim 1 , wherein the mobile robot can at least lift between two and seven times its own weight.

10. A method of transporting articles, comprising:

providing an autonomous robot;

providing a list of articles to be gathered to the robot;

gathering the articles via the robot from various points within an area without any intervention from outside the robot; and

having the robot place the gathered articles in a designated area.

11. The method as defined in claim 10 , wherein the articles are gathered on a platform carried by the robot.

12. The method as defined in claim 10 , wherein the robot is capable of gathering articles that may change shape.

13. The method as defined in claim 10 , wherein the robot includes at least two arm members for gathering articles.

14. A mobile robot, comprising:

a plurality of components; and

a power source having a predetermined, high power density in operable communication with each component and capable of delivering the full power density to any particular component at one time.

15. The mobile robot as defined in claim 14 , wherein the plurality of components includes at least two arm members.