The Boeing Company
Multi-tread vehicles and methods of operating thereof

Abstract:

Provided are multi-tread vehicles and methods of operating such vehicles to access small interior spaces. A multi-tread vehicle may include two or more tread sections such that each pair of adjacent tread sections is interconnected by a connector section. Furthermore, each pair may have one or more degrees of articulations, such as being pivotable with respect to each other around one or more axis and/or being bendable with respect to each other around one or more axis. These articulation degrees may be provided by the connector section and/or by couplings between the connector section and each tread section. In some embodiments, each tread section may include two portions detachably coupled to each other. This detachable coupling may be used for disassembly of the multi-tread vehicle after or even during its use, for example, when only a portion of the vehicle needs to be retrieved from an interior space.