We’ve been intrigued by the Leveraged Freedom Chair since it was unveiled a couple years ago by an engineering team at MIT. We even took a chance to interview one of the team members, but have always wanted to see how the device compares to traditional wheelchairs.
Not a product in itself, the Leveraged Freedom Chair is really a blueprint for building a simple but very versatile wheelchair that’s powered by the user swinging levers back and forth. Here’s Amos Winter from MIT’s engineering team that worked on the chair explaining at TEDxBoston how their idea can transform the lives of thousands of handicapped people living in low income areas of the world:
Flashbacks: Open Minds Exhibition: Grit Leveraged Freedom Chair (interview); Leveraged Freedom Chair Brings Smart Mobility to Disabled Just About Anywhere in The World