At least on stairs, I think this is a solvable problem: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601240/an-impressive-walking-google-robot-tries-to-vacuum-the-stairs/

At least on stairs, I think this is a solvable problem: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601240/an-impressive-walking-google-robot-tries-to-vacuum-the-stairs/ https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601240/an-impressive-walk... In terms of off-the-shelf: http://makezine.com/2015/05/01/meet-stair-bear-adorable-climbing-robot/ http://makezine.com/2015/05/01/meet-stair-bear-adorable-clim... I also vaguely recall seeing some demos of first responder robots and stairs. I don't know about the other issues you've raised...