v3.0

A lever powered wheelchair that can be built anywhere, fixed anywhere, and ridden anywhere!

The LFC has a variable mechanical advantage drivetrain

that enables its user to travel 10-20% faster on tarmac than a conventional wheelchair, and off road like no other mobility aid available.

The user changes gears by moving his hands on the levers: grasping high increases torque while grasping low increases angular velocity (infographic from Boston Globe about drivetrain). 

Human upper body force and power outputs were used to optimize the drivetrain geometry for optimal performance on a wide range of terrains.  The levers can also be removed and stored on the chair, allowing the LFC to perform like a standard wheelchair indoors where maneuverability is more important than power output.

All moving parts on the LFC are made from bicycle components,

making the chair manufacturable and repairable anywhere in the developing world.

The LFC has been in development since 2008,

when it won a first place prize in the MIT IDEAS competition.  That summer, first generation prototype chairs were constructed at the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK) in Nairobi, Kenya and at Kien Tuong Private Enterprise in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.

After a year of refinement, eight second generation chairs were fabricated at APDK and six were tested across East Africa.  After four months of testing, biometric performance data was collected from the LFC riders.  This data showed the LFC to be superior to existing mobility aids in terms of rider efficiency and off-road performance.

Rider input from the East African trial was used to improve the LFC with the help of our partners the Transitions Foundation of Guatemala.  This past summer was spent in the Transitions workshop in Antigua, Guatemala, refining the chair and its manufacturing process.  We produced a handful of new chair prototypes and jigs, and are preparing to implement a grant from the Inter-American Development Bank to produce and test 30 LFC’s all across Guatemala.

The LFC is just starting an extended pre-production clinical trial in India though a partnership with Jaipur Foot.

A first-world version of the LFC is being developed

through a partnership with the Design Continuum in Boston.  This is an exciting opportunity to use technology designed for the developing world right here at home.  We intend sales of the first-world chairs will help to fund donated chairs in developing countries.  Are you a first-world wheelchair user?  We would love your feedback on our designs.