this post was submitted on 19 Mar 2026
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Tracks are the "wheels" solution to bad terrain, which also includes soft surfaces (e.g. snow, mud). Even an excavator can climb ~35 degrees, and a lighter less top-heavy tracked vehicle should be able to do a bit better. Compared to legs, tracked vehicles are faster, more efficient, and more durable.
Goats are exceptional climbers, but animals use legs as part of a full-body motion. Slapping legs onto a box isn't the same as putting legs on a torso that also bends, twists, and flexes.
I mean I guess it's part of the iterative process of improving quadruped robots, but at this stage of development it still seems gimmicky.
Have you seen these dogs move? It seems like you're not very familiar with them. They can jump fences and outrun a human, they're also remarkably stable for the body and can have a higher center of gravity which sensors appreciate... The tech works prettywell
And tracks take a lot of maintenance and tend to tear up floors if they're tough enough to handle the outdoors. They're also very heavy and expensive, and far less efficient or fast as wheels. They're uncommon for a reason, they're an even more specialized version of the wheel
I've watched videos on them. I stand by my original statement.
Note that I didn't say that they are "junk" or "useless." Just gimmicky.
Well you should probably let the engineers at Boston dynamics know your views. Maybe they just aren't familiar with wheels. They'd probably feel very silly having spent all that time on an inferior tech tree
Seriously though, these are being used for a reason. Have you ever once seen a video of one of these stuck out in the wild? Because I've seen plenty of compilations of wheeled bots stuck on curbs or sign posts
Nah, it's good to have diversity in tech development. Just because it isn't the path that I personally would have chosen doesn't mean that it's a bad idea. Tech is an iterative process. Yes, even tech like this that is gimmicky.
Now you're just acting childish. My entire comment chain is based on opinion, and you will just have to live with that. I think we're done here.