Rowing wheelchairs make appearance at Michigan Tech trials

From The AP. In the picture from Michigan Tech, The Human Powered Off-Road Wheelchair team, left to right: Heather Robertson, Brad Szkrybalo, Josh Door, and Michael Lecureux (seated).

HOUGHTON, Mich. - Wheelchair users will be rowing their way around the trails at Michigan Technological University, thanks to a team of senior engineering students.

For $3,000, the five built a prototype Human-Powered Off-Road Wheelchair.

The operator pulls back on the handlebars in a rowing motion to propel it at up to 4 miles per hour.

"The team had to overcome some challenges," associate professor and project director John Beard said in a statement. "They had to keep it fairly lightweight, since it was going to be self-propelled. And it had to stop before rolling backwards. They accomplished both. It can even go up a 28-degree slope."

A key goal was to make the school's outdoor Tech Trails system accessible to those with disabilities.

"Much of the wheelchair was machined, and the metal is coated to protect against the elements," Michigan Tech staff writer Dennis Walikainen said on the school's Web site.

"Other features included one-way bearings for zero rollback, a total weight of 55 pounds, a consistent color scheme for aesthetics, a suspension seat to minimize pressure points (and) the ability to accommodate a range of heights," he wrote.

Each student worked about 140 hours on the project. They said it taught them aspects of engineering they hadn't encountered before.

"I learned about design problems, mountain bikes and fabrication," said Heather Robertson, a December graduate in mechanical engineering.

Participant Josh Dorr said the design "definitely" has wider applications.

"It could be produced more cheaply, and it would work for getting people out hiking, hunting and fishing," Dorr said.

"And downhill racing," added fellow designer Brad Szkrybalo.