Boston , MA ( CNN ) -- Sometimes , implementing wide-reaching social change takes surprisingly few materials . With just a handful of bike gears , MIT professor Amos Winter is hoping to change the developing world forever . Winter is the inventor of the Leveraged Freedom Chair ( LFC ) . It is a low-cost wheelchair powered by two hand levers that function in a similar manner to gears on a bike . The higher you grab it , the more leverage you get when traversing over rough terrain like sand , mud , or unpaved road . Grab down lower , and the machine can cruise along tarmac at five miles-an-hour . It is one of the most versatile wheelchairs on the market , and for the time being , it is aimed solely for disabled communities in the developing world . `` If you are a wheelchair user who lives in a rural area , there 's not really a good mobility aid that allows you to travel a long distance on many types of terrains , but is also small and maneuverable to use indoors . `` That is kind of what set the stage for creating the LFC , '' says Winter , who forms part of the R & D team at GRIT , the socially enterprising design collective that brought the wheelchair to market . It may seem like a simple premise , but the LFC has the potential to empower a community that , in poorer countries , can often feel disenfranchised . `` 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 . What makes the LFC a truly invaluable tool in low income communities is its sheer value for money . Traditionally , wheelchairs with the capability to go off-road clock in somewhere between $ 4,500 and $ 6,500 , making them prohibitive to the rural communities that need them the most . The LFC , by comparison , costs $ 200 . The low price point , explains Winter , makes it a sexier sell to the non-profit organizations responsible for delivering these units to emerging markets . `` It had to be cheap enough to fit within the current provision and donation structures that already distribute wheelchairs , '' he says . Furthermore , Winter recognized that to be of use to the developing world , it had to be built from parts that were easily accessible . `` The chair not only had to be repairable , but we wanted it robust , '' he says . `` We wanted it to have minimal parts that could break in the field , but if the parts do need servicing , they 're made from bike parts and they 're easily available . '' Winter 's inspiration for the LFC came about in 2005 , when he spent a summer in Tanzania assessing wheelchair technology for a group of wheelchair organizations . He later started developing the technology as a graduate student at MIT . `` When we started the project , we were a team of gung-ho students who had this cool idea for the lever system . We made some prototypes and were excited about them and brought them abroad and people were like , 'these are terrible . What were you thinking ? You have no frame of reference of what it 's actually like to use a wheelchair everyday , ' '' he recalls . Over the next few years , he consulted continuously with wheelchair users , and went through several stages of trial and error before landing on the current model . Winter is currently working with design consultancy firm Continuum on a version of the LFC for the first-world . In all likelihood , it will have more features than the original . `` In the developed world , because there is more disposable income , it 's possible to add additional functionality , things that simply are nice to have but not essential to have , '' notes Gianfranco Zaccai , Continuum 's president . The more advanced ( and likely more expensive ) model , though , `` can help support the developing world wheelchair , '' he adds . For Winter , however , the greatest implication of his invention is the platform it has given him to enact even more , farther-reaching change . In a few years , Winter has gone from MIT graduate to assistant professor of mechanical engineering , and director of the University 's Global Engineering and Research ( GEAR ) Lab , an enterprise that couples engineering and product design to solve real-world problems . In addition to the LFC , he has delved into how to deliver low-cost prosthetics to poor countries , eco-efficient irrigation systems that enable small-scale farmers to get a higher crop yield and projects related to water purification . Video : Helping the disabled make music . `` I am a total geek , '' admits Winter . `` I love engineering , I love innovation , and I love being able to work on problems that nobody else has solved before . ''
An engineering team has developed an affordable all - terrain wheelchair for poor countries . The device has given disabled persons in poor countries more mobility . Winter continues to develop technology - based solutions to worldwide social issues .