People who have trouble walking or moving around often have a hard time enjoying the beach. But hundreds of beaches in Greece now offer a new way for people in wheelchairs to get into the water by themselves. It's called Seatrac.
Seatrac is basically a chair on a moving ramp (坡道) that can carry a disabled person into the sea. It is operated by remote (远程的) control. Once in the sea, the person can either remain in the chair, enjoying the water, or go for a swim. When the person is ready to get out of the water, the Seatrac system brings the chair back to the top the ramp.
Seatrac was invented and developed in Greece. When one of the inventors, Ignatios Fotiou, was talking with a friend who used a wheelchair, the friend said he enjoyed the sea, but didn't like having to be carried into the ocean. Mr Fotiou realized there must be a way to make it easier for wheelchair users to get into the water. Mr Fotiou worked with his partner and a professor at a Greek university to design the system. Finnally, they formed a company called TOBEA to build and sell the systems.
The company worked hard to make the system simple enough to be put in place and easy to run. A wooden walkway allows wheerchair users to reach the Seatrac. The system uses solar (太阳能的) power. It doesn't require outside power, and can continue to run even if the electricity goes out. The Seatrac system can easily be packed up and stored when the swimming season ends.
The Seatrac system is being used at over 220 beaches in Greece, Cypris, Italy, and Latvia. TOBEA hopes to offer Seatrac in other countries. TOBEA has created a website showing where beaches with these special services can be found. The Greek govenment hopes that Seatrac will help attract more tourists to the country.
