Tracked robots
A ground robot on continuous tracks instead of wheels — built for grass, gravel, stairs and rubble, at the cost of speed and the state of your floors.
- tracked robot
- crawler robot
- tank robot
What it is
A tracked robot runs on continuous belts that spread its weight over a long contact patch. That gives it grip on soft, loose or broken ground that would stop a wheel, and a long enough chassis will climb stairs. The trade: tracks are slower, heavier and less efficient, every turn is a skid that scrubs the surface, and they chew carpet and lawns. Almost all of them steer like a tank, by driving the two tracks at different speeds.
It is also called a crawler or a tank robot. In this taxonomy it is the second child of Ground robot, and the one rule is that locomotion is by continuous tracks. Bomb disposal, pipe crawling and teaching are applications, not sub-categories.
What they are used for
- Education and hobby — the Sphero RVR+ is a tracked chassis for coding classes that also carries a Raspberry Pi or micro:bit on top.
- Hazardous environments — bomb disposal, firefighting and nuclear inspection, where the robot must climb debris and the operator must stay away.
- Outdoor work — mowers for rough paddocks, orchard carriers, construction-site layout robots.
- Inspection crawlers — flat tracked bodies that drive through pipes and ducts with a camera.
What to compare
| Attribute | Why it matters | In this catalogue |
|---|---|---|
mass |
Light enough to carry to the job, or heavy enough to push through debris | not yet in the catalogue |
payload |
Sensors and compute on a small platform; a water cannon or an arm on a large one | not yet in the catalogue |
max_speed |
Tracks are slow; walking pace is typical | not yet in the catalogue |
battery_runtime |
Hobby robots manage a couple of hours; industrial crawlers are built for a shift | 120 min (Sphero RVR+) |
ip_rating |
Mud, water and dust are the point of buying tracks | not yet in the catalogue |
has_arm |
An arm option turns an inspection crawler into something that can open a door | no entries yet |
sdk |
Python or ROS access decides whether it is a platform or a toy | python (1) |
autonomy |
Most tracked robots in dangerous places are still driven by a person | semi-autonomous (1) |
In the catalogue
Education, hobby & consumer: Sphero RVR+
Edge cases
- Tracked base with an arm sold as one product: a mobile manipulator — the arm decides.
- Swappable chassis (AgileX LIMO runs on tracks or wheels): classified by its default configuration (wheels), so a wheeled robot.
- Pool cleaners on treads (Aiper Scuba X1): aquatic — the medium wins over the drive.
- Tracked feet on a legged robot: still a legged robot.
Related
Rule of membership
Locomotion by continuous tracks.
Category rb-4-2 in the whatrobot taxonomy.