麻省理工研究者开发变速轮椅（在线收听）

麻省理工研究者开发变速轮椅

For many disabled people, the only way to move around is by using a wheelchair. Those who cannot afford powered wheelchairs propel themselves with their arms, which often leads to fatigue, pain, and even permanent damage to arms and shoulders.

对很多残疾人来说，行动的唯一办法就是使用轮椅。那些买不起机动轮椅的人只能使用手臂来推动自己，这通常会导致胳膊和肩膀疲倦、疼痛，甚至永久损伤。

In 2007, a group of mechanical engineering students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology decided that the wheelchair needed a new design.

2007年，麻省理工学院一群机械工程学生决定设计一款新轮椅。

Amos Winter, now an MIT professor, came up with an innovative idea for a wheelchair propelled by levers. The group formed a company called Global Research and Innovation Technology (GRIT) and started manufacturing what they call the Leveraged Freedom Chair.

麻省理工教授爱莫斯·温特想到用杠杆推动轮椅的新点子，这群人成立了名为全球研究和创新技术(GRIT)的公司，开始生产所谓的变速轮椅。

GRIT’s chief technology officer, Mario Bollini, said that "instead of grabbing on the wheels, like you would with the regular wheelchair, you grab these levers that you can push with either hand — kind of like a bench press. And it uses a bicycle drivetrain, very similar to what you have on your bike, to transfer power from these levers to the wheels.”

GRIT的首席技术官马里奥·博利尼说“与使用常规轮椅时抓住轮子不同，这种新轮椅要抓住这些控制杆，哪个手都可以，有点像举重练习凳。这种轮椅使用自行车传动系统，很像自行车，将力量从控制杆传送到轮子上。”

Other wheelchairs are also based on push-lever technology, but Bollini said GRIT's design is unique in at least two important areas.

其他的轮椅也有基于推杆式技术的，但博利尼说GRIT的设计至少在两个重要方面是独一无二的。

“Our core technology is this lever drivetrain that you’re able to make entirely out of bike parts," he said. "And so that lets us have a really low-cost design, especially compared to the other competitors in the U.S., for about half the price of the next closest chair on the market, with, I think, better performance in our drivetrain. In addition to that, we’re the only drivetrain that lets you change the mechanical advantage by where you grab the lever.”

“我们的核心技术是这种杠杆传动系统完全可以用自行车零件来制造，所以就实现了低成本的设计，尤其是与美国其他公司相比而言，我们的价格只有市场上轮椅的一半，但我们的传动系统性能更好。另外，只有我们的轮椅的传动系统能让使用者通过握着杠杆不同的位置来改变机械优势。”

Bollini said the leveraged wheelchairs are especially useful for moving over the rugged surfaces often encountered in developing countries.

博利尼说这种杠杆轮椅对于发展中国家那些经常遇到不平地面的使用者来说尤其有用。

“We’ve had chairs in India for multiple years that are still performing great, and chairs in sub-Saharan Africa that are also doing very well out in the field," he said. "And most importantly, we have designed the chair so that every part is easily found on the local markets.”

“我们的轮椅在印度使用多年，性能仍然非常好，我们的轮椅在撒哈拉南部非洲的田野里也很好用。最重要的是，我们设计这样的轮椅，这样各个地方的人都能在当地市场上买到。”

If a wheel or a chain breaks, it can be replaced with a regular bike wheel and regular bike chain.

一旦轮子或链条断裂，可用常规的自行车轮子或常规的自行车链条来替换。

The production started in 2011, and Bollini said that last year, GRIT shipped almost 1,200 Leveraged Freedom Chairs to 17 countries. They are mostly sold to aid agencies and NGOs, which distribute them free of charge.

这种轮椅是2011年开始生产的，博利尼说去年GRIT将近1200辆变速轮椅卖给17个国家，主要是卖给援助机构和非政府组织，这些机构和组织然后将轮椅免费发放。

The company plans to design an equally affordable folding model.

该公司计划设计一款同样便宜的折叠轮椅。