Leveraged Freedom Chair
Rolling around a city in a wheelchair
is difficult enough without ramps and elevators. Toss in unpaved roads
full of rocks and mud, as found throughout the developing world, and it
becomes impracticable.
A new wheelchair created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mobility Lab could be the solution for millions of disabled people in
these countries, a large share of whom live in rural areas and travel
upwards of two to three miles to get to work or school, or simply stay
at home.
Built with bicycle parts found cheaply and abundantly in developing
countries, the Leveraged Freedom Chair costs only about $100 to
make—compared with a few thousand dollars for conventional push-rim
wheelchairs—and is designed with a special lever system that enables the
user to muscle over rough terrain and up steep hills.
After several years of testing, the chair will begin production early next year in India, with other countries likely following.
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