I found this robot today but I can’t make out who makes the tank treads. Does anyone know anything about the snowflake symbol on the side of the robot?
Heres the link: robots.newcastle.edu.au/Images2005/2005_08.JPG
Have you tried to email any of the professors on thier contact page?
They may only be available in Oz.
Not only that but they could be from just about anything, not necessarily made for the toy robot market. For instance they could be part of a material handling system like a conveyor. BBlalock is probably right and the most direct route to an answer would be to contact someone at the school.
Perhaps the snowflake symbol would help to narrow down the search a bit - maybe think of search terms in terms of cold, snow, or ice?
It seems to say on it
???trac
continuous contact
independent suspension
Which is too generic to fine on google anything relevant. You should contact the university. And let use know what you find out.
Alex
looks to me like from a
snowmobile 8)
there not big enough to be from a snowmobile. Note the guys foot in the background compared to the robot.
im from Canada, I know about snowmobiles…and yes, we do have running water up here 
well what about a remote controll snowmobile 
true true…
hmmm, well, i cant identify the tracks for ya, but i do have similar looking things
except that all the little nubbies are as wide as the track itself, if anyone wants pictures ill be more than happy to provide some
I’d love to see them. Please provide details as to where you have gotten them from. Thanks.
But on the contrary, look at the way the tread itself is designed. My guess is someone had either an extra track or money, and cut them to that width. It almost looks like the track design off my Yamaha Bravo.
Hmmm… your absolutely correct. They could have cut them to the desired length to fit the robot. I’ve even heard of people making tracks by cutting up bike tires.
Using the parallel port of the onboard computer for scale, I’m guesstimating a length of about 24 inches, width of around 4 inches, and a height of maybe 6 inches. Figure 18 inches of running per flat side, plus a circumference of another 19 inches, you’ve got a total circumference of about 55 inches per track.
Then again, photogrammetric analysis isn’t my strong suit, either.
I couldn’t easily spot a seam in the tread, so I’m not really sure that it’s been hacked down from a longer belt. That approach could result in a weak spot anyway, and with the constant flexing of the track as it runs, that might lead to problems. My thinking would be for a continuous track of about 55 inches circumference.
My guess would be snowblower track system, but thats just me.
nick
hmm, a bit larger scale than realized me thinks 
but uh, well while not exactly what was picture it certainly sparks the imagination bits some. 
The tracks are from an MTD Snowblower, the 5hp tecumseh engine version. I found a few old pics on ebay but that’s it. Now MTD
just makes their 10 HP version with tracks adn they are much larger and bulkier. I beleive they stopped manufacturing the 28" track in 2005.
The set on the robot are 28" long.
http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q253/gfisher2002/robots/images.jpg
If the snow blowers are Craftsman, check with the Sears parts people to see if they have the tracks aavailable.
Check Toro’s website also. A local place that rents out bigger equipment had a machine driven by tracks with an auger attached to it. I forget how big the tracks were, but they would work for a bigger bot.