As Winter explains in today’s TED Talk, given at TEDxBoston, the majority of people who need wheelchairs live in rural communities, where rough terrain and long distances between buildings render a wheelchair unrealistic. Winter — a mechanical engineer at MIT — sought to create a chair that would cost less than $200, be easily repairable, be able to travel 5 kilometers easily, and still be nimble enough for use indoors.

To see how Winter created a chair that meets all these requirements by including a lever and getting lots of field testing from real users, give his talk a listen — it’s truly fascinating.

Above, Winter’s talk has been rendered in foam and marker by the design think tank Collective Next. For the past four years, the group has created looping visualizations of the talks given at TEDxBoston — showing the rich web of connections that emerge between assorted speakers and their ideas. After the jump, see more of their incredible designs, created for other speakers at TEDxBoston 2012 who have appeared on TED.com.

Caitria and Morgan O’Neil give the talk, “How to step up in the face of disaster.” Watch it »

Kent Larson shares his “Brilliant designs to fit more people in cities” »

Andrew McAfee asks, “Are droids taking our jobs?” See his talk »

Noah Wilson-Rich explains why “Every city needs healthy honey bees” »

Timothy Prestero gives the talk, “Design for people, not awards” »

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See the rest of these graphics, and how they fit together, at the Collective Next website.

Big cities across the globe will soon be getting much, much bigger. As architect Kent Larson shares in this future-focused talk from TEDxBoston, 90 percent of the world’s population growth is expected to happen in cities. But while newly established cities tend to sprawl to accommodate growth, Larson envisions that the metropolises of the future will look more like cities of the past — for example, Paris — with tight-knit neighborhoods offering residents everything they need within the radius of a 20-minute walk.

So how will we live comfortably with even more people crammed into even smaller areas?

Larson and his colleagues at the MIT Media Lab are working on several innovations to make city dwelling far more livable, though the Changing Places research group and City Science Initiative. To hear more of the lab’s plans, watch Larson’s talk. Below, take a closer look at five of their fascinating research projects.

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A tiny car that can be parked anywhere: Hiriko (originally CityCar)
Brief description: This tiny two-person vehicle not only spins and runs off a rapid-charging battery — it also physically folds in order to minimize its parking footprint. Three of these small vehicles can fit into one traditional parking space. But the idea here is potentially even bigger. The MIT Media Lab envisions that these vehicles would be available for shared use, on demand. When you need one, you head to your nearest charging station to pick one up, returning it when you’re done.

When will it be available? The MIT Media Lab has been working with Denokinn, an innovation lab which focuses on turning ideas into products, to manufacture and distribute this vehicle. The full-scale working prototype will be crash tested this year and, if it passes, will go into production by 2013. (Read the New York Times’ announcement of the vehicle’s production.)

Headlights that communicate with pedestrians: AEVITA
Brief description: The city of the future will no doubt be filled with autonomous cars. So how will pedestrians know they’ve been seen without a driver that can make eye contact? AEVITA (Autonomous Electric Vehicle Interaction Testing Array) is designed to allow autonomous cars to interact with the world around them, giving pedestrians cues of recognition, and making driving intentions obvious to others.

When will it be available? There are no current plans for commercialization.

Bikes for elderly and disabled: Persuasive Electric Vehicle (PEV)
Brief description: Bike lanes are generally the province of the young and fit. However, the MIT Media Lab is creating vehicles to allow the elderly and disabled to use them too. These three-wheeled electric vehicles are legal for bike lane use because they require pedaling, while giving the rider an electric boost of up to 20 mph. But the use here could be even further reaching — this vehicle would be perfect for the businesswoman who has to wear a suit to the office, but wants a workout on her way home.

When will it be available? At the moment, thereare no plans for commercialization.

An apartment that changes, thanks to robotic walls: CityHome and Robot Walls
Brief description: 850 square feet is not a lot to work with. But an apartment can be made to feel twice that size through a transformable wall system that morphs with the push of a button. With robotic walls, a bedroom can transform into an office, or open up into a party space. A living room can morph separate offices or become a larger meeting space. Each resident would work with a designer to figure out their needs, configuring the perfect system for their demands.

When will it be available? A full-scale working prototype has already been designed. While commercial production is not yet planned, fabrication and assembly is set for the fall of 2013.

Do-it-yourself sunlight for tiny apartments: Robotic Façade/Personalized Sunlight
Brief description: By placing a lot of small apartments within one large structure, many abodes sacrifice direct sunlight. This mass-customizable module combines solar control, heating, cooling and ventilation — while increasing energy efficiency — and allows residents to program a personalized sunlight plan for their apartment, using their cell phone.

When will it be available? There are not currently plans for commercialization.

Want some more ideas on how we’ll live in 20 years? Here, five fascinating cars of the future.

Designer Timothy Prestero loves a flashy concept car. But he would much rather create objects that will actually be of use to real people.

In an illuminating talk given at TEDxBoston, Timothy describes how he became interested in the problem of neonatal mortality upon hearing that 4 million babies die within 28 days of birth, especially in developing countries, often because of a lack of consistent heat. Thus, Timothy and his team designed the NeoNurture “car parts” infant incubator, a space-age looking device that landed in the pages of Time magazine as one of the “50 Best Inventions of 2010.”

Only, the design went nowhere from there.

Timothy and his team tried again, joining forces this time with manufacturers and hospital directors in developing countries, to tackle the problem of newborn jaundice, which is easily treated by bathing a baby in blue light. This time, Timothy thought about all the ways nurses in an overcrowded facility could use the device incorrectly by trying to treat more than one baby at a time, as well as how parents could accidentally undermine treatment by placing a blanket over their baby. This time, Timothy set to design a product that was hard to use the wrong way.

“There’s no such thing as a dumb user; there are only dumb products,” says Timothy. “Are we designing for the world that we want, are we designing for the world we have, or are we designing for the that’s coming, whether we’re ready or not?”

Timothy will probably be glad to hear about these four other designers, who are also working hard to create products to save the lives of newborns around the world.

A sleeping bag that saves lives
TED Fellow Jane Chen was also horrified by statistics on the number of premature babies who die, or grow up with severe health problems, because they cannot regulate their body temperature after birth. In this moving talk given at TEDIndia 2009, Jane reveals a $25 portable, electricity-free solution — Embrace, a sleeping bag that safely warms babies.

An infant respirator, designed by students
Respirators aren’t one size fits all, and when a sick baby or small child with pneumonia needs one, using a version created for adults can damage their lungs. A group of Stanford design students have crafted a genius solution — a small, flexible mask called AdaptAir. Now a graduate, designer Alejandro Palandjoglou is looking to have the product manufactured. [Fast Company Design]

Jaundice treatment for rural hospitals
At TEDxStanford, mechanical engineer Krista Donaldson spoke about the same problem Timothy Prestero confronted — bringing blue light treatment devices to hospitals in the developing world for babies with jaundice. In this talk, Krista describes how her nonprofit D-Rev created Brilliance, a phototherapy device that is hard to misuse, even in areas like rural India where power outages are frequent.

A sleep apnea monitor made from bike parts
Infants often experience disruptions in breathing while they sleep — but for premature babies, even small gaps can cause severe damage. While nurses in neonatal wards are tasked with monitoring breathing, staffs in overcrowded hospitals in the developing world are easily overwhelmed. A team of students at Rice University set out to create a cheap device to assist and came up with the Babalung Apnea Monitor, a device strapped to a baby’s waist. If a baby stops breathing for 20 seconds, a bicycle light goes off. It begins flashing if breathing doesn’t resume within five seconds. [GizMag]

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Every part of the world is susceptible to natural disaster, but somehow, the quiet western part of Massachusetts steered clear over the years. In fact, in 2005, Slate.com declared inland Massachusetts one of the top three places in the United States “to hide from Mother Nature.”

So imagine the surprise when a series of surprise tornados slammed through Western and Central Massachusetts in June 2011, killing four and causing $200 million in damage.

One of the towns hit was Monson, Massachusetts, the hometown of sisters Caitria and Morgan O’Neill. While Caitria had just moved home after graduating from college, on a pit stop before beginning a master’s program in Moscow, Morgan was in Boston, studying (as it happens) atmospheric science at MIT. The two felt helpless as they watched a tornado wreak havoc on their town, knocking the steeple clear off the church across the street.

In this touching talk given at TEDxBoston, Caitria and Morgan tell the harrowing story of the tornado — and the day after, when they discovered just how unprepared their community was to coordinate a local recovery. The sisters decided to take action, building systems to organize volunteers and donations using two laptops and an AirCard.

After a disaster, people around the country want to help with donations of money, food and more. But as Caitria points out, after any disaster, 50 percent of all web searches on that disaster happen within just seven days. Meaning that a community has just a week to organize — in the thick of survival and clean-up efforts — to maximize donations and support.

Having gathered plenty of knowledge through experience, Caitria and Morgan are hoping to help more communities hit by natural disaster. Their first step: the website Recovers.org, which they call a “recovery in the box.”

So what should one do if their community is hit by a natural disaster? Below, Caitria and Morgan share the first six steps.

1. Recovery begins before a disaster. You need to prepare yourself, your family, and your community to survive at least 72 hours before rescue in an emergency. You can also start planning at the community level right now, speaking with community leaders about recovery plans and familiarizing yourselves with organizing tools. You can also tap into the knowledge of towns who have been through the recovery process before.

2. In the immediate aftermath of a disaster, care for yourself and your family first. Use the Red Cross’s Safe and Well program or Google’s Person Finder to announce that you are unharmed. Don’t rush directly into the disaster area with a shovel trying to help — professional first responders need time to make sure the area is safe before volunteers can come in. Try to send text messages instead of placing calls whenever possible, since the phone networks will be strained and emergencies need priority access.

3. Get online as soon as possible. Make a clear plan as a community to decide where you’ll be getting and sharing information. It is important to have a way to accept offers of money, labor and donations immediately — people will be searching online to help you, far before you’re able to accept that help in person. Facebook is a decent place for this, but our organization built a platform to directly meet all the different needs you’ll have — check it out at Recovers.org. It’s essential that the wider public has a clear place to offer donations and volunteer help while your area has the attention of the media cycle.

4. Find a place to organize massive amounts of people and volunteers. Again — people want to help, and if you can manage their time, you can turn that goodwill into useful aid. Think school parking lot, church with large basement, or function hall. Get the local hardware store or a neighbor to lend a generator. Post a call for volunteers on your webpage and open the floodgates.

5. Database or record everything. First, find out where the damage is by sending crews of volunteers to visually assess damage. (As long as it’s deemed safe! No walking near downed power lines or sneaking into totaled houses!) Inform homeowners of the services they can get from your group. Then, deploy volunteers to help with the cleanup. Be sure to have everyone sign waivers for safety reasons, and track what hours are being worked at what worksite. FEMA needs this information to process federal disaster aid, and it can make a big difference for the community.

6. Train seven of yourself. Disaster recovery at the community level is a logistical circus. You will burn out, and it is important that you hand off the torch before doing so. As your area transitions into long-term recovery, often grants are available through the United Way and other organizations to pay your long-term volunteers.

As long as you are organized, you don’t need to wait for a large organization to come in. You’re not alone — at least a few people in every area affected by disaster will step up and start putting the community back together again. We’re assembling a community of these “local organizing” veterans to share their best practices with others. Are you doing this kind of organizing in your community? Please get in touch with us on Recovers.org — we want to learn from you!

Kemi Alabi: Unlovelies in the Key of C Major
Boston University student and slam poet Kemi Alabi takes us to the world of the unlovelies, where she discovers beauty in the ugly.

Franny Choi: POP!goesKOREA!
Writer and slam poet Franny Choi mixes up fast-flung words and Korean drinking games in an exploration of cute culture in Seoul.

Marlon Carey: About Time
And finally, spoken-word poet Marlon Carey ruminates on our clockwork existence — while solving a Rubik’s cube.