Unmanned ground vehicle with compact manipulator stowing

1. An unmanned ground vehicle comprising:

a main body;

a drive system supported by the main body, the drive system comprising right and left driven track assemblies mounted on right and left sides of the main body; and

a manipulator arm pivotally coupled to the main body and configured to extend from a stowed position to an extended position, wherein the manipulator arm in the stowed position is contained entirely within a geometric volume of the right and left driven track assemblies;

wherein the manipulator arm comprises a first section pivotally coupled to the main body at a pivot end and a second section pivotally coupled to the first section at an end opposite the pivot end;

wherein the manipulator arm comprises a sensor suite mounted on a bridge between the first section and the second section.

2. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the manipulator arm comprises a gripper coupled to the second section.

3. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , comprising control electronics housed within one of the right and left driven track assemblies.

4. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the control electronics comprises a robot controllerconfigured to control the drive system and the manipulator arm by supplying control signals to one or more drive system motors and one or more manipulator motors.

5. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 3 , wherein the control electronics are housed within a sideplate of one of the right and left driven track assemblies, resulting in an open chassis tub spanning the right and left driven track assemblies, and wherein the manipulator arm is configured to fold, by pivoting first and second sections of the manipulator arm, into the open chassis tub.

6. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 5 , wherein the sideplate is formed of molded plastic, and wherein the sideplate includes one or more machined aluminum heatsinks bonded to the sideplate to dissipate heat from the control electronics.

7. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , comprising a radio antenna coupled to the main body next to a sideplate of one of the right and left driven track assemblies.

8. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , comprising right and left flippers extending beyond a front end of the main body.

9. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 8 , wherein each of the right and left flippers pivots about a drive axis of drive system.

10. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 9 , wherein each of the right and left flippers comprises a driven flipper track trained about a flipper drive wheel which is driven about the drive axis.

11. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , comprising a communication system configured to communicate with a remote operator control unit to receive commands to extend or stow the manipulator arm.

12. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , wherein in the stowed position the manipulator arm is contained entirely within a geometric envelope of the main body.

13. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sensor suit comprises a camera.

14. The unmanned ground vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the sensor suit comprises at least one of an ultrasound sensor and a radar.

15. A method for controlling an unmanned ground vehicle, the method comprising:

controlling, by a robot controller, a manipulator arm of the unmanned ground vehicle to stow the manipulator arm in a stowed position entirely within a geometric volume of right and left driven track assemblies of the unmanned ground vehicle;

controlling, by the robot controller, the manipulator arm to extend from the stowed position to as extended position outside of the geometric volume of the right and left drive track assemblies; and

controlling, by the robot controller, the unmanned ground vehicle to interact with an object using the manipulator arm;

wherein the manipulator arm comprises a first section pivotally coupled to the main body at a pivot end and a second section pivotally coupled to the first section at an end opposite the pivot end;

wherein the manipulator arm comprises a sensor suite mounted on a bridge between the first section and the second section.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein in the stowed position the manipulator arm is contained entirely within a geometric envelope of the main body.

17. The method of claim 15 , wherein the manipulator arm comprises a gripper coupled to the second section.

18. The method of claim 15 , wherein the unmanned ground vehicle comprises control electronics housed within one of the right and left driven track assemblies;

wherein the control electronics comprises a robot controller configured to control the drive system and the manipulator arm by supplying control signals to one or more drive system motors and one or more manipulator motors;

wherein the control electronics are housed within a sideplate of one of the right and left driven track assemblies, resulting in an open chassis tub spanning the right and left driven track assemblies, and wherein the manipulator arm is configured to fold, by pivoting first and second sections of the manipulator arm, into the open chassis tub.

19. The method of claim 18 , wherein the sideplate is formed of molded plastic, and wherein the sideplate includes one or more machined aluminum heatsinks bonded to the sideplate to dissipate heat from the control electronics.

20. The method of claim 15 , wherein the unmanned ground vehicle comprises a radio antenna coupled to the main body next to a sideplate of one of the right and left driven track assemblies.