Treaded Robots for Everyone!

We are building a tank robot to climb a mountain. This robot is also a proof of concept for a set of modular treads that will let you turn anything into a tank. The money you donate will go directly toward the purchase of parts for our first prototype.

We want to enable everyone to make large, interesting robotic projects. We want to lower the barrier to entry to robotics for professionals, hobbyists--even kids! To do this, we propose a new type of project, something that no one's ever done before: a standardized, modular set of tank-like treads that you can simply bolt to a chassis and get going.

We want to start by going big

To prove that a modular track system works, we want to build an even bigger robot than our last one, a prototype large enough to test by having it climb a mountain (it's not going to be a couch :). Based on our current designs, this prototype will weigh between 600 and 900 pounds! (300-400kg). Using the lessons learned in building this prototype, we will go on to make a truly modular tread system that anyone can use. We already have the designs, tools, and experience; all we need are the materials: treads, motors, metal, and the parts to stick everything together. Your donation will go directly toward the purchase of these parts.

Who We Are and Our Track Record

We are Dan and Glen, two engineers that recently graduated from Northeastern University in Boston. For our senior engineering design project, we decided to build a rough-and-tumble tank, pictured below.

As you can see, this project turned out really well. Since we built it, our robot has been on SpikeTV, Engadget, Wired.com, Hackaday, and featured in several Maker Faires, including the New York World's Maker Faire. Overwhelmingly, the question everyone asks us is "How did you make the treads?" That's where this project comes in.



You can read more about our previous robot here.

But that's not all we've been up to. One member of our crew is also working on a team to design and build a 4000 pound, 6-legged rideable spider vehicle named Stompy, pictured below.



You can read more about that here.

Where we work

We work at a community workshop called Artisan's Asylum, the largest "maker space" in the world. Here we have access to an incredible array of tools and robotics experts, enabling us to solve tough engineering problems. Several huge projects are coming out of Artisan's Asylum, including

• Stompy, the 6-legged, 4000 pound spider vehicle
• Hexy, a cute hexapod kit aimed at children and teens
• 3Doodler, the 3D pen that lets you write on air

All these people are our friends!

Thank you!

Although we may or may not meet all you folks, any participation on your part will help us a lot, not only financially, but by giving us the encouragement to go on. There are a few really easy things you can do to help!

• like us on Facebook
• follow us on Twitter
• vote for us on the MAKE Magazine contest! MAKE will publish the results of the contest on their blog and award prizes to the top 3 most popular projects
• donate!

Anything you can do is greatly appreciated. We believe in our vision, to do the hard work in simplifying mobile robotics for professionals and amateurs alike and we hope you do, too! Tank you so much! :P