Mountain Trike

Two engineers from the University of Bath have invented an off-road wheelchair - called the Mountain Trike - to enable disabled people to cover terrain that has previously been off limits to them.

"The idea came from my love of mountain biking and my passion for the great outdoors," Tim Morgan told the BBC.

He says that he realised that there was no "off-road" wheelchair on the market to take people to the sort of places that he likes to visit on his mountain bike.

"So I set about inventing the Mountain Trike - an all-terrain wheelchair that allows people to go anywhere."

The trike has two large wheels either side of the user and is steered by a small castor-type wheel at the rear.

It has fully-independent, air-sprung suspension to absorb some of the knocks encountered on rough ground in either a rural or an urban environment.

It is propelled by pushing forward on two levers connected to the front wheels - what Mr Morgan describes as "mechanical advantage".

Source: news.bbc.co.ukAdded: 17 May 2010