Robotic vehicle systems for inspecting remote locations

A vehicle comprising:

• a chassis supported above a terrain and having an upper deck and a generally opposing bottom surface;
• a motive system supported by said chassis and comprising at least one motor operative to propel said vehicle and one or more partially collapsible treads for frictionally engaging said terrain;
• a power system supported by said chassis and providing energy to power said vehicle;
• an imaging system supported by said chassis and comprising a driving camera having a lens assembly spaced apart from and above said chassis, an inspection camera mounted near a front end of said chassis;
• a sensor system supported by said chassis and comprising one or more positional sensors and a plurality of range sensors;
• a shingle lifter that is selectively attachable to said chassis, selectively connectable to said power system, and selectively in communication with said control system, said shingle lifter comprising (a) one or more elongated blades, each comprising a main body section having a first thickness and extending lengthwise to a tapered section, said tapered section having a gradually decreasing thickness from its juncture with said main body section to define a distal edge, and (b) a motor supported by a housing and operative to selectively rotate said one or more elongated blades between a lowermost position and an uppermost position;
• and
• a control system supported by said chassis and electrically connected to said motive system, said power system, said imaging system, said sensor system, and said shingle lifter system,
• wherein said control system comprises a wireless router and one or more microcontrollers dedicated to monitoring said sensor system, processing said camera images, activating said motive system, operating said shingle lifter system, and receiving signals from said remote console, wherein said remote console comprises a tablet computer having user interface controls, a memory, and a wireless transceiver.