Natural disasters such as earthquake and Tsunami can strike at any time so it always pays off to be well prepared for any kind of precarious situations in such conditions. Keeping this in mind U.S. military has started testing the inflatable tank treads that will be capable of carrying supplies to troops from ship to shore and vice-versa in the harshest of conditions imaginable. They call this vehicle as the Captive Air Amphibious Transporter (CAAT) which can push forward on water like paddleboat and crawl on sandy beaches, mud, ice or sea walls courtesy its separable flat panels.
The moving tracks are driven forward by a sprocket or drive wheel and unlike the metal treads of a tank, CAAT has large treads that can be inflated with air or stuffed with lightweight foam. This project is a part of DARPA’s aid disaster relief operations division and the CAAT is a flexible technology that can be used for amphibious missions too. In the tests conducted with small scale prototype vehicle there were positive results and we can soon expect to see this develop into a routine vehicle for the U.S. army.
Via: Discovery
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