Single Tank Track Electric Scooter

Electric scooters are everywhere in my city. Not the hoards of rental scooters I've seen in San Diego etc. No, those would all get thrown in the river by angry Eagles fans. I'm talking about commuter and the occasional delivery person*. People zip around on roads, bike lanes, sidewalks, wherever really. This isn't the sort of city that enforces rules. Anyhow, as zippy and easily portable these scooters seem to be, their tiny wheels are somewhat outmatched by potholes, slight ripples in the surface, grit, snow etc.

So, let's add some off-road ability. To do this we're going with a single tank track. Scooter-type devices with dual tank tracks have been made <link> and Xiaomi have made a scooter with a small track in place of the rear wheel. Instead, this is a track running the full length of the scooter. This should give about 0.1 m2 of contact patch, about 10,000 fold more than a standard wheel. Plenty of grip. To reduce friction a little, the track will have a curved or possibly v-section, so balance will be required. This will be provided by the human in the usual way.

The obvious problem is steering. The most basic solution, for the bs0-co base model will rely heavily on the lightness of the scooter. If you watch anyone with a standard scooter when they need a major direction change, they just put their foot down, lift up the front and point the thing in the new direction.

The more advanced version will feature a track with sections linked only in the middle, so they can pivot. You can see this working in airport conveyor belts where the belts go straight and curve left or right. Inside the scooter, the ends of the track go around pulleys that are mounted with the same style pivots as skateboard trucks. These work using the lean of the passenger to turn the whole axle. With a flexible track wrapped around it, this would shorten the inside and lengthen the outside. Giving a turning effect.

Overall, the scooter would be slower and less efficient than one with wheels, this is inevitable. But, it would be a go-anywhere vehicle, popular in ski resorts I'd imagine.

*Although the electrically assisted mountain bike is king here.