How we'll become cyborgs and extend human potential | Hugh Herr
TED Talks Daily
TED
4.1 • 12.1K Ratings
🗓️ 30 May 2018
⏱️ 15 minutes
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Summary
Humans will soon have new bodies that forever blur the line between the natural and synthetic worlds, says bionics designer Hugh Herr. In an unforgettable talk, he details "NeuroEmbodied Design," a methodology for creating cyborg function that he's developing at MIT, and shows us a future where we've augmented our bodies in a way that will redefine human potential -- and, maybe, turn us into superheroes. "During the twilight years of this century, I believe humans will be unrecognizable in morphology and dynamics from what we are today," Herr says. "Humanity will take flight and soar."
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This TED Talk features bionics designer Hugh Heur recorded live at TED-2018. |
| 0:06.5 | This talk contains powerful visuals. Watch it now on TED.com. |
| 0:12.3 | I'm an MIT professor, but I do not design buildings or computer systems. |
| 0:18.4 | Rather, I build body parts, |
| 0:24.3 | bionic legs that augment human walking and running. |
| 0:28.1 | In 1982, I was in a mountain climbing accident, |
| 0:29.9 | and both of my legs had to be amputated due to tissue damage from frostbite. |
| 0:32.6 | Here you can see my legs. |
| 0:34.6 | 24 sensors, |
| 0:36.8 | six microprocessors, and muscle tendon-like actuators. |
| 0:40.3 | I'm basically a bunch of nuts and bolts from the knee down. |
| 0:43.3 | But with this advanced bionic technology, I can skip, dance and run. |
| 0:49.3 | Thank you. |
| 0:58.0 | I'm a bionic man, but I'm not yet a cyborg. |
| 1:04.0 | When I think about moving my legs, neural signals from my central nervous system |
| 1:07.0 | pass through my nerves |
| 1:09.0 | and activate muscles within my residual limbs. |
| 1:14.6 | Artificial electrodes sense these signals, and small computers on the bionic limb |
| 1:19.6 | decode my nerve pulses into my intended movement patterns. |
| 1:25.7 | Stated simply, when I think about moving, |
| 1:29.3 | that command is communicated to the synthetic part of my body. |
| 1:33.3 | However, those computers can't input information into my nervous system. |
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