Design and Test of a Tracked Personal Transportation Device

A rideable is a small, portable, electric vehicle used to transport an individual in an urban environment. This new class of electric vehicles are perfect for the urban commuter and are rapidly growing in popularity. This is particularly evident from the rapid rise of electric scooter rental companies. However, many available rideables have a number of disadvantages that may be curbing their growth. This has created an opening in the market for a new rideable, that excels in areas where current rideables have shortcomings. This paper presents a new rideable, the TracPerT, which, uniquely, uses tank style tracks rather than conventional wheels for traction and locomotion. This new rideable is designed to deal with the difficulties presented by currently available personal transport devices. Progress on the first powered prototype of the TracPerT is reported.