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Hugh Herr: Will Humans Become Cyborgs In The Future?

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode Transformation

About Hugh Herr's Talk

As the head of the MIT Media Lab Biomechatronics group, Hugh Herr is building the next generation of bionic limbs, including ones that will help end disability and also extend our physical potential.

About Hugh Herr

Hugh Herr is a professor at the MIT Media Lab, where he heads the Biomechatronics research group at the MIT Media Lab and co-directs the MIT Center for Extreme Bionics. He focuses on creating bionic limbs that emulate natural limbs, as well as wearable robotic devices that can augment human physicality.

In 2011, TIME magazine coined Herr the "Leader of the Bionic Age" due to his work in the field of biomechatronics–technology that marries human physiology with electromechanics.

Herr's research group has developed gait-adaptive knee prostheses for amputees and ankle-foot exoskeletons. He also designed his own bionic legs, the world's first bionic foot-and-calf system, called the BiOM.

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NPR/TED Staff