'This gives some independence back': Unique wheelchair built for surfers with disabilities
College engineering students and a nonprofit organization are working on a high-tech helping hand that will allow people with disabilities to go surfing independently.
Dana Cummings, founder of California's AmpSurf, describes the unique wheelchair as a "mini tank."
"Everyone wants their independence," she told KSBY. "It doesn't matter who you are. When you're in a wheelchair, you lose some of that independence."
AmpSurf developed the wheelchair alongside students from the Cal Poly Engineering program.
"When we bring folks to the beach that are in wheelchairs and stuff, they usually have a ton of people helping them, get down to the water and everything else," Cummings said. "This gives some independence back to those surfers."
Lauren Knott is one of four of the engineering students who helped work on the self-propelled, all-terrain wheelchair as part of their senior projects.
"It's really making a difference for people," she said. "People with disabilities are able to go surfing and kind of experience surfing as a form of therapy and as a form of fun. We felt like doing a project like this was really going to make a difference."
The wheelchair can transport a surfer to the water and allow the surfboard to be unloaded. Smartphone technology sends the wheelchair back up the beach, where it waits until the user is done surfing and comes back to pick them up.
The project is still in the development stages, but those involved are excited about its potential.
Watch the video above to see how the wheelchair works.