US Patent 10000188 Robotic vehicle with integrated mobility enhancement and mast deployment

An unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) includes a mast attached to a UGV body at a base end. The mast extends a predetermined distance to a mast head which can include a mast-head device. A flipper assembly includes at least one flipper arm which is rotatably mounted to the UGV body to help facilitate UGV stability and/or mobility. A flipper actuator causes the flipper arm to rotate about a flipper rotation axis. Movement of the mast between a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration is selectively controlled by operation of the flipper assembly.