Name: The cheap all-terrain wheelchair
Uploaded: 2012-11-20T16:02:37Z
Duration: 10 min 57 s
Description: How do you build a wheelchair ready to blaze through mud and sand, all for under $200? MIT engineer Amos Winter guides us through the mechanics of an all-terrain wheelchair that's cheap and easy to build -- for true accessibility -- and gives us some lessons he learned along the road.

How do you build a wheelchair ready to blaze through mud and sand, all for under $200? MIT engineer Amos Winter guides us through the mechanics of an all-terrain wheelchair that's cheap and easy to build -- for true accessibility -- and gives us some lessons he learned along the road.

The cheap all-terrain wheelchair

Millions in the developing world lack access to wheelchairs that work on rugged terrain, leaving many isolated from jobs and education. Drawing inspiration from mountain bike mechanics and simple levers, a new all-terrain wheelchair was built for less than $200 and can be repaired with local bicycle parts. In field tests, users traveled 80 percent faster and navigated rough roads that once kept them homebound. A collaborative, user-driven design process turned a basic idea into a tool that restores independence and opportunity.