Review on the Reconfigurable Wheel-Tracked System

Reconfigurable wheel-tracked system, which enables a vehicle to have the high speed of wheels and the increased mobility of tracks, is one of the key technologies on improving the off-road performance of vehicles in extreme environment. A series of such systems has already been developed and equipped on robots and medium or heavy ground vehicles. The paper reviews the research work, prototypes and applications of reconfigurable wheel-tracked systems. To start with, different systems are classified according to their mechanical structures. Development and current research interests are then reviewed. Triangle track configuration is the most popular layout of the wheel-tracked system, so this paper highlights its structure characteristics, research contents and applications. Following the review, key technologies, including design of power transmission system and elastic track, are analyzed. Finally, prospective of the reconfigurable wheel-tracked locomotion system is discussed in terms of transformation principle innovation, depth of research and width of application.