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Amos Winter: How Do You Build An All-Terrain Wheelchair For The Developing World?

Part 5 of the TED Radio Hour episode Simple Solutions

About Amos Winter's TED Talk

In many countries, uneven and unpaved roads make it hard to get around in a standard wheelchair. MIT engineer Amos Winter describes his design for an affordable, lever-powered, all-terrain wheelchair.

About Amos Winter

Amos Winter is an Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. He is the Director of the Global Engineering and Research (GEAR) Lab, which creates technological solutions for emerging markets and developing countries.

Winter is the principal inventor of the Leveraged Freedom Chair, an all-terrain wheelchair designed for developing countries that was a winner of a 2010 R&D 100 award. He is a founder of Global Research Innovation and Technology (GRIT).

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story stated the cost of the Leveraged Freedom Chair was under 200 dollars. That figure was incorrect, and TED Radio Hour regrets the error.

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NPR/TED Staff