0:00:00.790,0:00:03.598
I'm an MIT professor,

0:00:03.598,0:00:06.789
but I do not design buildings[br]or computer systems.

0:00:07.169,0:00:09.895
Rather, I build body parts:

0:00:10.269,0:00:13.868
bionic legs that augment[br]human walking and running.

0:00:14.035,0:00:16.892
In 1982, I was in[br]a mountain climbing accident,

0:00:16.892,0:00:21.180
and both of my legs had to be amputated[br]due to tissue damage from frostbite.

0:00:21.180,0:00:23.273
Here you can see my legs:

0:00:23.273,0:00:28.870
24 censors, six microprocessors,[br]and muscle-tendon-like actuators.

0:00:28.870,0:00:31.739
I'm basically a bunch of nuts[br]and bolts from the knee down.

0:00:32.092,0:00:34.417
But with this advanced bionic technology,

0:00:34.417,0:00:37.137
I can skip, dance, and run.

0:00:38.883,0:00:40.345
Thank you.

0:00:40.345,0:00:42.985
(Applause)

0:00:42.985,0:00:47.494
I'm a bionic man,[br]but I'm not yet a cyborg.

0:00:47.494,0:00:53.164
When I think about moving my legs,

0:00:53.164,0:00:56.413
neural signals from[br]my central nervous system

0:00:56.413,0:00:58.133
pass through my nerves

0:00:58.133,0:01:01.993
and activate muscles[br]within my residual limbs.

0:01:01.993,0:01:06.266
Artificial electrodes sense these signals,

0:01:06.266,0:01:08.754
and small computers in the bionic limb

0:01:08.754,0:01:13.140
decode my nerve pulses[br]into my intended movement patterns.

0:01:13.140,0:01:16.630
Stated simply,

0:01:16.630,0:01:20.015
when I think about moving,[br]that command is communicated

0:01:20.015,0:01:22.721
to the synthetic part of my body.

0:01:22.721,0:01:26.619
However, those computers can't input[br]information into my nervous system.

0:01:26.838,0:01:30.003
When I touch and move my synthetic limbs,

0:01:30.003,0:01:33.049
I do not experience normal[br]touch and movement sensations.

0:01:34.108,0:01:36.176
If I were a cyborg

0:01:36.176,0:01:38.599
and could feel my legs

0:01:38.599,0:01:43.502
via small computers inputting information[br]into my nervous system,

0:01:43.502,0:01:48.866
it would fundamentally change,[br]I believe, my relationship

0:01:48.866,0:01:49.550
to my synthetic body.

0:01:49.550,0:01:51.404
Today I can't feel my legs,

0:01:51.404,0:01:55.137
and because that, my legs[br]are separate tools

0:01:55.137,0:01:56.861
from my mind and my body.

0:01:56.861,0:01:59.279
They're not part of me.

0:01:59.279,0:02:03.035
I believe that if I were a cyborg[br]and could feel my legs,

0:02:03.035,0:02:06.202
they would become[br]part of me, part of self.

0:02:06.202,0:02:10.424
At MIT, we're thinking about[br]neural and body design.

0:02:10.424,0:02:13.468
In this design process,

0:02:13.468,0:02:16.756
the designer designs human flesh and bone,

0:02:16.756,0:02:18.851
the biological body itself

0:02:18.851,0:02:20.842
along with synthetics

0:02:20.842,0:02:23.844
to enhance the bidirectional communication

0:02:23.844,0:02:26.813
between the nervous system[br]and the built world.

0:02:27.621,0:02:31.935
Neuron body design is a methodology[br]to create cyborg function.

0:02:34.090,0:02:36.242
In this design process,

0:02:36.242,0:02:39.877
designers contemplate a future[br]in which technology

0:02:39.877,0:02:41.535
no longer compromises separate,

0:02:41.535,0:02:44.632
lifeless tools from[br]our minds and our bodies,

0:02:44.632,0:02:48.657
a future in which technology[br]has been carefully integrated

0:02:48.657,0:02:50.309
within our nature,

0:02:50.309,0:02:53.234
a world in which what[br]is biological and what is not,

0:02:53.234,0:02:55.343
what is human and what is not,

0:02:55.343,0:02:57.479
what is nature and what is not,

0:02:57.479,0:02:59.645
will be forever blurred.

0:02:59.645,0:03:04.458
That future will provide[br]humanity new bodies.

0:03:04.458,0:03:09.123
Neuron body design will extend[br]our nervous systems

0:03:09.123,0:03:09.713
into the synthetic world,

0:03:09.713,0:03:11.959
and the synthetic world into us,

0:03:11.959,0:03:15.177
fundamentally changing who we are.

0:03:15.177,0:03:18.254
By designing the biological body[br]to better communicate

0:03:18.254,0:03:21.104
with the built design world,

0:03:21.104,0:03:24.371
humanity will end disability[br]in this 21st century

0:03:24.371,0:03:27.944
and establish the scientific[br]and technological basis

0:03:27.944,0:03:30.351
for human augmentation,

0:03:30.351,0:03:34.751
extending human capability[br]beyond innate, physiological levels,

0:03:34.751,0:03:38.543
cognitively, emotionally, and physically.

0:03:38.543,0:03:42.665
There are many ways in which[br]to build new bodies across scale,

0:03:42.665,0:03:46.835
from the biomolecular[br]to the scale of tissues and organs.

0:03:46.835,0:03:50.003
Today, I want to talk about[br]one area of neural and body design

0:03:50.003,0:03:52.298
in which the body's tissues

0:03:52.298,0:03:54.226
are manipulated and sculpted

0:03:54.226,0:03:58.434
using surgical and regenerative processes.

0:03:58.434,0:04:02.422
The current amputation paradigm[br]hasn't changed fundamentally

0:04:02.422,0:04:04.709
since the US Civil War

0:04:04.709,0:04:08.131
and has grown obsolete[br]in light of dramatic advancements

0:04:08.131,0:04:10.672
in actuators, control systems,[br]and neural interfacing technologies.

0:04:10.672,0:04:17.644
A major deficiency is the lack[br]of dynamic muscle interactions

0:04:17.644,0:04:20.969
for control and proprioception.

0:04:20.969,0:04:22.914
What is proprioception?

0:04:22.914,0:04:26.320
When you flex your ankle,[br]muscles in the front of your leg contract,

0:04:26.320,0:04:29.105
simultaneously stressing muscles[br]in the back of your leg.

0:04:29.105,0:04:31.721
The opposite happens[br]when you extend your ankle.

0:04:31.721,0:04:35.626
Here, muscles in the back[br]of your leg contract,

0:04:35.626,0:04:35.893
stretching muscles in the front.

0:04:35.893,0:04:37.577
When these muscles flex and extend,

0:04:37.577,0:04:39.839
biological sensors[br]within the muscle tendons

0:04:39.839,0:04:42.458
send information[br]through nerves to the brain.

0:04:42.458,0:04:46.555
This is how we're able to feel[br]where our feet are without seeing them

0:04:46.555,0:04:48.266
with our eyes.

0:04:48.266,0:04:52.667
The current amputation paradigm[br]breaks these dynamic muscle relationships,

0:04:52.667,0:04:56.958
and in so doing eliminates[br]normal proprioceptive sensations.

0:04:56.958,0:04:59.664
Consequently, a standard artificial limb

0:04:59.664,0:05:02.362
cannot feed back information[br]into the nervous system

0:05:02.362,0:05:05.129
about where the prosthesis is in space.

0:05:05.129,0:05:06.441
The patient therefore

0:05:06.441,0:05:11.210
cannot sense and feel the positions[br]and movements of the prosthetic joint

0:05:11.210,0:05:14.068
without seeing it with their eyes.

0:05:14.068,0:05:18.888
My legs were amputated[br]using a Civil War-era methodology.

0:05:18.888,0:05:21.405
I can feel my feet,[br]I can feel them right now

0:05:21.405,0:05:23.287
as a phantom awareness,

0:05:23.287,0:05:25.199
but when I try to move them, I cannot.

0:05:25.199,0:05:29.056
It feels like they're stuck[br]inside rigid ski boots.

0:05:29.056,0:05:31.363
To solve these problems at MIT,

0:05:31.363,0:05:35.296
we invented the Agonist-antagonist[br]Myoneural Interface,

0:05:35.296,0:05:37.092
or AMI for short.

0:05:37.092,0:05:40.293
The AMI is a method to connect nerves[br]within the residuum

0:05:40.293,0:05:43.405
to an external, bionic prosthesis.

0:05:43.405,0:05:47.184
How is the AMI designed,[br]and how does it work?

0:05:47.184,0:05:51.338
The AMI comprises two muscles[br]that are surgically connected,

0:05:51.338,0:05:54.203
an agonist linked to an antagonist.

0:05:54.203,0:05:57.146
When the agonist contracts[br]upon electrical activation,

0:05:57.146,0:05:59.574
it stretches the antagonist.

0:05:59.574,0:06:02.224
This muscle dynamic interaction[br]causes biological sensors

0:06:02.224,0:06:04.610
within the muscle tendon

0:06:04.610,0:06:08.700
to send information through the nerve[br]to the central nervous system,

0:06:08.700,0:06:13.074
relating information[br]on the muscle tendon's

0:06:13.074,0:06:15.226
length, speed and force.

0:06:15.226,0:06:15.987
This is how muscle tendon[br]proprioception works,

0:06:15.987,0:06:17.825
and it's the primary way we, as humans,

0:06:17.825,0:06:22.609
can feel and sense the positions,[br]movements and forces on our limbs.

0:06:22.609,0:06:26.900
When a limb is amputated, the surgeon[br]connects these opposing muscles

0:06:26.900,0:06:29.487
within the residuum to create an AMI.

0:06:29.487,0:06:32.121
Now, multiple AMI[br]constructs can be created

0:06:32.121,0:06:36.516
for the control and sensation[br]of multiple prosthetic joints.

0:06:36.516,0:06:39.937
Artificial electrodes are then placed[br]on each AMI muscle,

0:06:39.937,0:06:42.297
and small computers within the bionic limb

0:06:42.297,0:06:43.475
decode those signals

0:06:43.475,0:06:47.212
to control powerful motors[br]on the bionic limb.

0:06:47.212,0:06:49.203
When the bionic limb moves,

0:06:49.203,0:06:51.217
the AMI muscles move back and forth,

0:06:51.217,0:06:53.213
sending signals through[br]the nerve to the brain,

0:06:53.213,0:06:56.085
enabling a person wearing the prosthesis

0:06:56.085,0:06:58.856
to experience natural sensations

0:06:58.856,0:07:00.819
of positions and movements[br]of the prosthesis.

0:07:00.819,0:07:05.310
Can these tissue design principles[br]be used in an actual human being?

0:07:05.310,0:07:08.865
A few years ago, my good friend Jim Ewing

0:07:08.865,0:07:11.991
of 34 years reached out to me for help.

0:07:11.991,0:07:14.931
Jim was in an a terrible[br]climbing accident.

0:07:14.931,0:07:17.346
He fell 50 feet in the Cayman Islands,

0:07:17.346,0:07:21.705
and his rope failed to catch him,[br]hitting the ground's surface.

0:07:21.705,0:07:24.095
He suffered many, many injuries:

0:07:24.095,0:07:28.497
punctured lungs and many broken bones.

0:07:28.497,0:07:32.325
After his accident, he dreamed[br]of returning to his chosen sport

0:07:32.325,0:07:33.611
of mountain climbing,

0:07:33.611,0:07:36.219
but how might this be possible?

0:07:36.219,0:07:40.226
The answer was Team Cyborg,

0:07:40.226,0:07:43.759
a team of surgeons,[br]scientists and engineers

0:07:43.759,0:07:48.878
assembled at MIT to rebuild Jim[br]back to his former climbing prowess.

0:07:48.878,0:07:52.698
Team member Dr. Matthew Carney[br]amputated Jim's badly damaged leg

0:07:52.698,0:07:55.374
Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston[br]using the AMI surgical procedure.

0:07:55.374,0:08:01.310
Tendon pulleys were created[br]and attached to Jim's tibia bone

0:08:01.310,0:08:03.786
to reconnect the opposing muscles.

0:08:03.786,0:08:07.392
The AMI procedure[br]reestablished the neural link

0:08:07.392,0:08:10.291
between Jim's ankle-foot[br]muscles and his brain.

0:08:10.291,0:08:12.945
When Jim moves his phantom limb,

0:08:12.945,0:08:15.675
the reconnected muscles move[br]in dynamic pairs,

0:08:15.675,0:08:20.284
causing signals to pass through nerves[br]of proprioception to the brain,

0:08:20.284,0:08:23.264
so Jim experiences normal sensations[br]with ankle-foot positions and movements

0:08:23.264,0:08:25.842
even when blindfolded.

0:08:25.842,0:08:29.492
Here's Jim at the MIT laboratory[br]after his surgeries.

0:08:29.492,0:08:31.930
We electrically linked Jim's AMI muscles

0:08:31.930,0:08:33.902
via the electrodes to a bionic limb,

0:08:33.902,0:08:36.927
and Jim quickly learned[br]how to move the bionic limb

0:08:36.927,0:08:40.326
in four distinct ankle-foot[br]movement directions.

0:08:40.326,0:08:42.358
We were excited by these results,[br]but then Jim stood up,

0:08:42.358,0:08:46.243
and what occurred was truly remarkable.

0:08:46.243,0:08:50.230
All the natural biomechanics[br]mediated by the central nervous system

0:08:50.230,0:08:53.830
emerged via the synthetic limb

0:08:53.830,0:08:57.286
as an involuntary, reflexive action.

0:08:57.286,0:08:59.374
All the intricacies of foot placement,

0:08:59.374,0:09:01.092
thank you, during stair ascent

0:09:01.092,0:09:04.613
(Applause)

0:09:04.613,0:09:07.708
emerged before our eyes.

0:09:07.708,0:09:10.152
Here's Jim descending steps,

0:09:10.152,0:09:12.866
reaching with his bionic toe[br]to the next stair tread,

0:09:12.866,0:09:15.337
automatically exhibiting natural motions

0:09:15.337,0:09:18.095
without him even trying to move his limb.

0:09:18.095,0:09:20.665
Because Jim's central nervous system

0:09:20.665,0:09:22.695
is receiving the proprioceptive signals,

0:09:22.695,0:09:27.635
it knows exactly how to control[br]the synthetic limb in a natural way.

0:09:27.635,0:09:32.425
Now, Jim moves and behaves[br]as if the synthetic limb is part of him.

0:09:32.425,0:09:35.571
For example, one day in lab,

0:09:35.571,0:09:39.082
he accidentally stepped[br]on a roll of electric tape.

0:09:39.082,0:09:41.520
Now, what do you do[br]when something's stuck to your shoe?

0:09:41.520,0:09:44.480
You don't reach down like this.[br]It's way too awkward.

0:09:44.480,0:09:45.919
Instead you shake it off,

0:09:45.919,0:09:47.632
and that's exactly what Jim did[br]after being neurally connected to the limb

0:09:47.632,0:09:51.548
for just a few hours.

0:09:51.548,0:09:55.256
What was most interesting to me[br]is what Jim was telling us

0:09:55.256,0:09:56.592
he was experiencing.

0:09:56.592,0:10:00.544
He said, "The robot became part of me."

0:10:00.544,0:10:03.956
Jim Ewing: The morning after the first[br]time I was attached to the robot,

0:10:03.956,0:10:05.912
my daughter came downstairs

0:10:05.912,0:10:09.843
and asked me how it felt to be a cyborg,

0:10:09.843,0:10:13.681
and my answer was that[br]I didn't feel like a cyborg.

0:10:13.681,0:10:17.636
I felt like I had my leg,

0:10:17.636,0:10:22.380
and it wasn't that I was[br]attached to the robot

0:10:22.380,0:10:24.943
so much as the robot was attached to me,

0:10:24.943,0:10:26.766
and the robot became a part of me.

0:10:26.766,0:10:29.617
It became my leg pretty quickly.

0:10:29.617,0:10:31.210
Hugh Herr: Thank you.

0:10:31.210,0:10:34.425
(Applause)

0:10:34.425,0:10:37.512
By connecting Jim's[br]nervous system bidirectionally

0:10:37.512,0:10:39.356
to his synthetic limb,

0:10:39.356,0:10:42.303
neurological embodiment was achieved.

0:10:42.303,0:10:47.859
I hypothesized that because Jim can think[br]and move his synthetic limb,

0:10:47.859,0:10:52.057
and because he can feel those movements[br]within his nervous system,

0:10:52.057,0:10:55.293
the prosthesis is no longer[br]a separate tool

0:10:55.293,0:10:57.730
but an integral part of Jim,

0:10:57.730,0:11:00.410
an integral part of his body.

0:11:00.410,0:11:02.535
Because of this neurological embodiment,

0:11:02.535,0:11:05.541
Jim doesn't feel like a cyborg.

0:11:05.541,0:11:07.871
He feels like he just has his leg back,

0:11:07.871,0:11:09.875
that he has his body back.

0:11:09.875,0:11:13.580
Now I'm often asked when I'm[br]going to be neurally linked

0:11:13.580,0:11:14.667
to my synthetic limbs bidirectionally,

0:11:14.667,0:11:16.383
when I'm going to become a a cyborg.

0:11:16.383,0:11:20.174
The truth is, I'm hesitant[br]to become a cyborg.

0:11:20.174,0:11:23.497
Before my legs were amputated,[br]I was a terrible student.

0:11:23.497,0:11:26.343
I got D's and often F's in school.

0:11:26.343,0:11:28.238
And then after my limbs were amputated,

0:11:28.238,0:11:30.920
I suddenly became an MIT professor.

0:11:30.920,0:11:34.181
(Laughter)

0:11:34.181,0:11:37.527
(Applause)

0:11:37.527,0:11:42.530
Now I'm worried that once I'm neurally[br]connected to my legs once again,

0:11:42.530,0:11:46.958
my brain will remap back[br]to its not-so-bright self.

0:11:46.958,0:11:51.432
But you know what, that's okay,[br]because at MIT I already have tenure.

0:11:51.432,0:11:53.868
(Laughter)[br](Applause)

0:11:53.868,0:11:58.683
I believe the reach[br]of neural and body design

0:11:58.683,0:12:00.994
will extend far beyond limb replacement

0:12:00.994,0:12:02.816
and will carry humanity

0:12:02.816,0:12:07.041
into realms that fundamentally[br]redefine human potential.

0:12:07.041,0:12:09.005
In this 21st century,

0:12:09.005,0:12:13.288
designers will extend the nervous system

0:12:13.288,0:12:14.313
into powerfully strong exoskeletons

0:12:14.313,0:12:18.544
that humans can control[br]and feel with their minds.

0:12:18.544,0:12:21.795
Muscles within the body[br]can be reconfigured

0:12:21.795,0:12:25.213
for the control of powerful motors,

0:12:25.213,0:12:28.732
and to feel and sense[br]exoskeletal movements,

0:12:28.732,0:12:33.173
augmenting humans' strength,[br]jumping height, and running speed.

0:12:33.173,0:12:36.016
In this 21st century, I believe humans

0:12:36.016,0:12:38.511
will become superheroes.

0:12:38.511,0:12:42.401
Humans may also extend their bodies

0:12:42.401,0:12:45.980
into non-anthropomorphic[br]structures, such as wings,

0:12:45.980,0:12:51.050
controlling and feeling each wing movement[br]within the nervous system.

0:12:51.050,0:12:54.467
Leonardo da Vinci said,[br]"When once you have tasted flight,

0:12:54.467,0:12:57.721
you will forever walk the earth[br]with your eyes turned skyward,

0:12:57.721,0:13:03.554
for then you have been[br]and there you will always long to return."

0:13:03.554,0:13:07.173
During the twilight years of this century,

0:13:07.173,0:13:10.095
I believe humans will be unrecognizable[br]in morphology and dynamics

0:13:10.095,0:13:12.179
from what we are today.

0:13:12.179,0:13:16.021
Humanity will take flight and soar.

0:13:16.021,0:13:19.135
Jim Ewing fell to earth[br]and was badly broken,

0:13:19.135,0:13:23.544
but his eyes turned skyward[br]where he always longed to return.

0:13:23.544,0:13:26.264
After his accident, he not only[br]dreamed to walk again,

0:13:26.264,0:13:30.014
but also to return to his chosen sport[br]of mountain climbing.

0:13:30.014,0:13:34.675
At MIT, Team Cyborg built Jim[br]a specialized limb for the vertical world,

0:13:34.675,0:13:40.129
a brain-controlled leg with full position[br]and movement sensations.

0:13:40.129,0:13:43.584
Using this technology, Jim returned[br]to the Cayman Islands,

0:13:43.584,0:13:45.514
the site of his accident,

0:13:45.514,0:13:47.645
rebuilt as a cyborg

0:13:47.645,0:13:50.659
to climb skyward once again.

0:13:52.243,0:13:55.930
(Crashing waves)

0:14:17.260,0:14:25.832
(Applause)

0:14:31.801,0:14:33.614
Thank you.

0:14:33.614,0:14:36.358
(Applause)

0:14:36.358,0:14:40.292
Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Ewing,[br]the first cyborg rock climber.

0:14:40.292,0:14:44.368
(Applause)