Last fall, Winter travelled to India for a final, LFC pre-production trial. He partnered with Jaipur Foot, the world’s largest disability group and IIT Delhi, the Indian Institute of Technology.

“We’re going to be working together to make 100 chairs, distribute them throughout the country, probably in five distinct geographic areas that have different terrains and different cultures, so we can really test the limits of the chair,” says Winter. “We’ll run that trial for two months and then get the feedback from the users, tweak the design if necessary and then hopefully get Jaipur Foot up and running production.”


Winter is most excited about doing the LFC trial in India because of the country’s breadth of cultures and demographics.
“We’re not designing for the community, we’re designing with this community,” says Winter. “We’re sitting down and talking about the design. These partners have a much better knowledge of the terrain and the local culture than the white guy from a middle-class environment.”

Winter says the process of working on the wheelchair with numerous community partners has been an inspirational one. Feedback from users has made the chair 20 pounds lighter and drastically improved the overall design. “It’s really powerful for me to look back on the project now over a few years and just see that huge leap in the usability of the chair, its functionality, just everything about it and that all those changes were a direct result of our collaboration with either wheelchair users or wheelchair manufacturers in developing countries,” he says.

According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, 20 million people in developing countries are in need of wheelchairs. The group plans to share its design with any developing country wheelchair maker that wants it. A controlled release of the technology will ensure that all the chairs meet quality assurance and manufacturing standards. Winter estimates the worldwide average cost of the LFC to be about $200.

“It’s very country-dependent. We’re hoping in India, we’ll get that [cost] even lower. We’re actually looking into production in China right now to push it lower still,” he says.

As someone who is fascinated by the constraints and possibilities of particular environments, Winter looks forward to perfecting the LFC on India’s rough terrain and collaborating with its distinct community partners.

“I can’t stress that enough — how important it is to be involved with stakeholders, have them as a part of the creative process, have them test it and really work side by side,” he says.

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