A robotic manipulator to assist children with disabilities and confined to wheelchairs has been developed. The multi-university design project was accomplished using concurrent engineering methodology through a joint venture between Cooper Union, Drexel University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Ohio State University, and University of Pennsylvania. Undergraduate engineering students integrated design and manufacturing processes in the fabrication of the manipulator from initial design conceptualization to a finished product. Phase I required each team to develop a conceptual design for the manipulator using common design criteria established at U Penn in October 1996. Following a critique of the five conceptual designs at Cooper Union in January 1997, the teams combined their engineering expertise and resources to implement key design features to manufacture a prototype manipulator. Each university was assigned a specific task in Phase II of the project. These five subsystems were presented and finalized at the University of Pennsylvania in March 1997. The final design was presented at Drexel University on May 17, 1997, along wit ha demonstration of the manipulator. This project can be used as a model to set up multiteam design projects.