A wheelchair for rough times

“There are over 40 million people living in developing countries who need a wheelchair but don’t have one.” According to Amos Winter in his opening statement of a TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) talk. He goes on to say that a good majority of these people live in rural areas where the only connections to community, employment and education are by traveling long distances on rough terrain, often under their own power. The Philippines isn’t exempted from this, just imagine how hard it is for the disabled and less fortunate to get on with their everyday lives in places yet to be touched by modern infrastructure. A solution was then designed by Winter (a Mechanical Engineer and Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor) to address that very issue, enter The Leveraged Freedom Chair or LFC.

It integrates the concept behind adjusting gears on a mountain bike where in a low gear would generate lower speeds but higher torque.  It is ideal on rough terrain like sand, mud and rocky roads. A high gear, on the other hand, would allow you to reach higher speeds with lower torque, which is then ideal on flat even pavement. Similar specially made wheelchairs are already existing in the market but cost around US$ 4,500 per unit and are extremely bulky; not exactly a feasible solution for developing countries. Amos Winter then made the trip to Tanzania to assess their technological capabilities and the general way of life for those with disabilities living in remote villages. He and his team were able to conclude that to maximize the impact of the project, wheelchair cost must only be around $200.  It should be capable of travelling an average of 5km per day on varied terrain, small and maneuverable enough to use indoors, and must be made from simple mechanical devices to be locally repairable.

Like most practical inventions, its fundamental design to be cost effective is ingeniously simple. A pair of hand levers is installed respectively per wheel that will enable the chair to accelerate under the user’s own power in a rapid series of push pull motions. For changing gears, physics dictates that you only have to grab towards the bottom part of the lever to get in high gear, and you would inversely need to grab it towards the top for increased leverage in an effective low gear. Add to that its three-wheeled frame (a small rubber wheel is attached in front) to ensure stability and balance. This system is also easy to maintain as the key parts used are same with that of standard bicycles, local manufacturers and repair shops would be more than capable to accommodate servicing given the proper orientation.

“As this technology has grown and become a product, it’s been very fulfilling to see that not only can people ride off-road, but having that capability also lets them have a job, or go to school or fully participate in their community,” says Winter in an article featured by CNN. A study conducted by his team shows that the LFC has an added 53% in peak torque capability and is 80% more efficient than the average wheelchair. This is strongly evidenced by the experiences of Ashok in Jaipur, India; he fell off a tree and suffered a serious spinal injury that has put him on a wheelchair. According to him, the conventional chair available was extremely difficult to use in his village. He was then forced to close up his tailoring shop a distance away from his home. But after switching to LFC, he was able to reopen and travel with significant ease to his business despite the terrain condition. A contract to tailor school uniforms came his way shortly thereafter enabling him to continue providing for his family. A high end version of the product called The Freedom Chair is now being developed by Global Research Innovation & Technology (GRIT), a social enterprise start-up founded by the original developers of LFC. They were successful in funding a recent venture on Kickstarter just before the new year of 2015 struck. It has been branded as the adaptive all-terrain mobility machine that pushes the design and ergonomics of its predecessor. According to Boston Magazine’s interview of Mario Bollini (GRIT’s Chief-Technology-Officer), “The Freedom Chair, which is currently marketed as a recreation device rather than an everyday chair, is projected to cost around $3,000, a price on-par with other high performance models and considerably less than other all-terrain wheelchairs, and will likely be available in early 2015.”