Most modern robotic vehicle manufacturers offer both tracked and wheeled models. Each unit has its particular advantages and disadvantages. Although wheeled vehicles are more familiar, tracked models are gaining more and more popularity. Maybe because tracked platforms solve one of the most severe problems - moving over rough terrain and delivery to hard-to-reach places.
Differences between tracked and wheeled robots Wheeled machines, due to their excellent speed performance, are more mobile, making it possible to move from one section to another quickly. Such trucks are used in various areas, including confined spaces, on the asphalt, and indoors. Due to their relatively light weight, wheeled vehicles can work only on level ground. Hills and slopes are unacceptable to them. On the other hand, tracked platforms are heavy. They make it possible to use machines in off-road conditions, on soft soils, where wheeled vehicles are useless. The large mass makes the technique stable. Tracked platforms offer the ability to move about light soil and maneuver between different types of obstacles. All-terrain tracked platforms easily navigate snow-covered areas, swampy terrains, forests, and mountainous areas. The listed differences indicate that wheeled vehicles are more suitable for work in urban and off-road conditions.
Benefits of the tracked platform:
- the ability to move on snow and any soil, incl. on asphalt;
- you can use it all year round;
- minimal stalled, contributing to increased efficiency;
- a large area of contact with the soil;
- no side punctures;
- reasonable tractive effort;
- lower cost, other things being equal;
- it is possible to use a remote control system.
The advantages of the tracked platform are apparent. That is why LeoTronics' design department chose to use it to develop their line of robotic mechanisms. For example, the firefighting robot TrackReitar FFL has already successfully passed tests with the Slovak fire service specialists. Its example showed the suspended all-terrain travel capacity and perfect reliability. Isn't this the main thing for robotic vehicles, intended for helping people in dangerous and life-threatening situations?