Track kit for two wheeled balancing ground vehicle

A kit for converting a dynamically balanced wheeled robot to a dynamically balanced tracked robot, said dynamically balanced robot having a vertical reference vector, a body and at least one wheel mounted to an axis that is rotatably mounted to said body, said kit comprising:

• at least one strut having a first end fixed to said body and a second end;
• at least one idler wheel fixed to said second end;
• a track slipped over said at least one wheel and said at least one idler wheel, said track frictionally engaging said at least one wheel and said at least one idler wheel;
• said robot having a revised center of gravity and being switchable between wheeled operation and tracked operation during operation once said at least one strut, said at least one idler wheel and said at least one track are installed;
• and,
• a processor, said processor containing non-transitory written instructions that, when accomplished, maintain said vertical reference vector parallel to a vector defined by said axis and said revised center of gravity during wheeled operation of said robot;
• wherein said second end of said at least one strut is u-shaped, said at least one idler wheel is fixed inside said second end of said at least one strut, and the kit further comprises at least one other idler wheel fixed outside said second end of said at least one strut.

A method for converting a dynamically balanced, wheeled robot to a tracked robot, said robot having a chassis, an axis rotatably mounted to said chassis, at least one wheel mounted to said axis, a pre-installation center of gravity and a vertical reference vector, said method comprising the steps of:

• A) providing a strut having a proximal end and a u-shaped distal end;
• B) rotatably attaching at least one idler inside said u-shaped strut distal end and rotatably attaching at least one other idler outside said u-shaped strut distal end;
• C) attaching said proximal end of said strut to the original chassis of said robot;
• D) deflating the tires of said robot;
• E) slipping a track over said strut and said wheel so that said track frictionally engages said tire and said idler, said robot having a revised center of gravity once said step E) is accomplished;
• F) inflating said tires;
• and,
• G) aligning said vertical reference vector that said vertical reference vector is coincident with a vector defined by said axis and said revised center of gravity, wherein said robot, such that said robot is switchable between wheeled operation and tracked operation during operation of said robot.