0:00:01.388,0:00:03.574
I'm an MIT professor,

0:00:03.598,0:00:06.574
but I do not design buildings[br]or computer systems.

0:00:06.938,0:00:09.415
Rather, I build body parts:

0:00:10.133,0:00:13.157
bionic legs that augment[br]human walking and running.

0:00:13.812,0:00:16.745
In 1982, I was in[br]a mountain climbing accident,

0:00:16.769,0:00:20.403
and both of my legs had to be amputated[br]due to tissue damage from frostbite.

0:00:21.245,0:00:23.182
Here, you can see my legs:

0:00:23.206,0:00:28.643
24 sensors, six microprocessors,[br]and muscle-tendon-like actuators.

0:00:28.667,0:00:31.536
I'm basically a bunch of nuts[br]and bolts from the knee down.

0:00:31.846,0:00:34.202
But with this advanced bionic technology,

0:00:34.226,0:00:36.468
I can skip, dance, and run.

0:00:38.138,0:00:39.182
(Applause)

0:00:39.206,0:00:40.357
Thank you.

0:00:40.381,0:00:42.991
(Applause)

0:00:43.015,0:00:46.944
I'm a bionic man,[br]but I'm not yet a cyborg.

0:00:50.284,0:00:53.086
When I think about moving my legs,

0:00:53.110,0:00:56.229
neural signals from[br]my central nervous system

0:00:56.253,0:00:57.872
pass through my nerves

0:00:57.896,0:01:01.007
and activate muscles[br]within my residual limbs.

0:01:03.380,0:01:06.039
Artificial electrodes sense these signals,

0:01:06.063,0:01:08.528
and small computers in the bionic limb

0:01:08.552,0:01:12.575
decode my nerve pulses[br]into my intended movement patterns.

0:01:14.583,0:01:16.394
Stated simply,

0:01:16.418,0:01:19.665
when I think about moving,[br]that command is communicated

0:01:19.689,0:01:21.870
to the synthetic part of my body.

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However, those computers can't input[br]information into my nervous system.

0:01:26.838,0:01:29.727
When I touch and move my synthetic limbs,

0:01:29.751,0:01:33.004
I do not experience normal[br]touch and movement sensations.

0:01:34.108,0:01:38.144
If I were a cyborg and could feel my legs

0:01:39.255,0:01:43.081
via small computers inputting information[br]into my nervous system,

0:01:43.105,0:01:45.463
it would fundamentally change, I believe,

0:01:45.487,0:01:48.231
my relationship to my synthetic body.

0:01:48.605,0:01:52.470
Today, I can't feel my legs,[br]and because of that,

0:01:52.494,0:01:56.439
my legs are separate tools[br]from my mind and my body.

0:01:56.463,0:01:57.845
They're not part of me.

0:01:59.480,0:02:02.766
I believe that if I were a cyborg[br]and could feel my legs,

0:02:02.790,0:02:05.218
they would become[br]part of me, part of self.

0:02:05.923,0:02:10.068
At MIT, we're thinking about[br]neural and body design.

0:02:10.092,0:02:11.869
In this design process,

0:02:13.110,0:02:18.573
the designer designs human flesh and bone,[br]the biological body itself

0:02:18.597,0:02:23.534
along with synthetics to enhance[br]the bidirectional communication

0:02:23.558,0:02:26.040
between the nervous system[br]and the built world.

0:02:27.406,0:02:31.795
Neuron body design is a methodology[br]to create cyborg function.

0:02:33.843,0:02:38.194
In this design process,[br]designers contemplate a future

0:02:38.218,0:02:41.369
in which technology[br]no longer compromises separate,

0:02:41.393,0:02:44.321
lifeless tools from[br]our minds and our bodies,

0:02:44.345,0:02:48.171
a future in which technology[br]has been carefully integrated

0:02:48.195,0:02:49.766
within our nature,

0:02:49.790,0:02:52.965
a world in which[br]what is biological and what is not,

0:02:52.989,0:02:55.075
what is human and what is not,

0:02:55.099,0:02:57.156
what is nature and what is not

0:02:57.180,0:02:59.367
will be forever blurred.

0:02:59.391,0:03:02.867
That future will provide[br]humanity new bodies.

0:03:04.156,0:03:06.895
Neuron body design will extend[br]our nervous systems

0:03:06.919,0:03:08.593
into the synthetic world,

0:03:08.617,0:03:11.093
and the synthetic world into us,

0:03:11.117,0:03:13.767
fundamentally changing who we are.

0:03:14.994,0:03:18.048
By designing the biological body[br]to better communicate

0:03:18.072,0:03:19.859
with the built design world,

0:03:21.080,0:03:24.065
humanity will end disability[br]in this 21st century

0:03:24.089,0:03:27.639
and establish the scientific[br]and technological basis

0:03:27.663,0:03:28.964
for human augmentation,

0:03:29.937,0:03:34.394
extending human capability[br]beyond innate, physiological levels,

0:03:34.418,0:03:37.544
cognitively, emotionally, and physically.

0:03:38.218,0:03:42.450
There are many ways in which[br]to build new bodies across scale,

0:03:42.474,0:03:46.419
from the biomolecular[br]to the scale of tissues and organs.

0:03:46.443,0:03:49.649
Today, I want to talk about[br]one area of neural and body design

0:03:49.673,0:03:53.737
in which the body's tissues[br]are manipulated and sculpted

0:03:53.761,0:03:56.307
using surgical and regenerative processes.

0:03:58.331,0:04:01.990
The current amputation paradigm[br]hasn't changed fundamentally

0:04:02.014,0:04:04.058
since the US Civil War

0:04:04.082,0:04:07.836
and has grown obsolete[br]in light of dramatic advancements

0:04:07.860,0:04:11.796
in actuators, control systems,[br]and neural interfacing technologies.

0:04:13.058,0:04:17.336
A major deficiency is the lack[br]of dynamic muscle interactions

0:04:17.360,0:04:19.502
for control and proprioception.

0:04:20.682,0:04:22.532
What is proprioception?

0:04:22.556,0:04:25.794
When you flex your ankle,[br]muscles in the front of your leg contract,

0:04:25.818,0:04:28.794
simultaneously stressing muscles[br]in the back of your leg.

0:04:28.818,0:04:31.303
The opposite happens[br]when you extend your ankle.

0:04:31.327,0:04:33.559
Here, muscles in the back[br]of your leg contract,

0:04:33.583,0:04:35.304
stretching muscles in the front.

0:04:35.328,0:04:37.304
When these muscles flex and extend,

0:04:37.328,0:04:39.662
biological sensors[br]within the muscle tendons

0:04:39.686,0:04:42.162
send information[br]through nerves to the brain.

0:04:42.186,0:04:44.790
This is how we're able to feel[br]where our feet are

0:04:44.814,0:04:47.360
without seeing them with our eyes.

0:04:48.186,0:04:52.409
The current amputation paradigm[br]breaks these dynamic muscle relationships,

0:04:52.433,0:04:56.529
and in so doing eliminates[br]normal proprioceptive sensations.

0:04:56.553,0:04:59.292
Consequently, a standard artificial limb

0:04:59.316,0:05:01.991
cannot feed back information[br]into the nervous system

0:05:02.015,0:05:04.759
about where the prosthesis is in space.

0:05:04.783,0:05:07.940
The patient therefore[br]cannot sense and feel

0:05:07.964,0:05:10.931
the positions and movements[br]of the prosthetic joint

0:05:10.955,0:05:13.050
without seeing it with their eyes.

0:05:14.153,0:05:18.097
My legs were amputated[br]using a Civil War-era methodology.

0:05:18.626,0:05:21.182
I can feel my feet,[br]I can feel them right now

0:05:21.206,0:05:23.065
as a phantom awareness,

0:05:23.089,0:05:24.978
but when I try to move them, I cannot.

0:05:25.002,0:05:27.748
It feels like they're stuck[br]inside rigid ski boots.

0:05:28.730,0:05:30.622
To solve these problems at MIT,

0:05:30.646,0:05:34.948
we invented the Agonist-antagonist[br]Myoneural Interface,

0:05:34.972,0:05:36.805
or AMI, for short.

0:05:36.829,0:05:40.463
The AMI is a method to connect nerves[br]within the residuum

0:05:40.487,0:05:42.710
to an external, bionic prosthesis.

0:05:43.405,0:05:46.500
How is the AMI designed,[br]and how does it work?

0:05:47.508,0:05:51.017
The AMI comprises two muscles[br]that are surgically connected,

0:05:51.041,0:05:53.358
an agonist linked to an antagonist.

0:05:53.909,0:05:56.708
When the agonist contracts[br]upon electrical activation,

0:05:56.732,0:05:59.224
it stretches the antagonist.

0:05:59.248,0:06:02.019
This muscle dynamic interaction[br]causes biological sensors

0:06:02.043,0:06:04.586
within the muscle tendon

0:06:04.610,0:06:08.079
to send information through the nerve[br]to the central nervous system,

0:06:08.103,0:06:12.707
relating information on the muscle[br]tendon's length, speed and force.

0:06:12.731,0:06:15.049
This is how muscle tendon[br]proprioception works,

0:06:15.073,0:06:17.716
and it's the primary way we, as humans,

0:06:17.740,0:06:21.866
can feel and sense the positions,[br]movements and forces on our limbs.

0:06:22.386,0:06:23.688
When a limb is amputated,

0:06:23.712,0:06:27.832
the surgeon connects these opposing[br]muscles within the residuum

0:06:27.856,0:06:29.073
to create an AMI.

0:06:29.097,0:06:32.190
Now, multiple AMI[br]constructs can be created

0:06:32.214,0:06:36.175
for the control and sensation[br]of multiple prosthetic joints.

0:06:36.199,0:06:39.597
Artificial electrodes are then placed[br]on each AMI muscle,

0:06:39.621,0:06:43.272
and small computers within the bionic limb[br]decode those signals

0:06:43.296,0:06:46.208
to control powerful motors[br]on the bionic limb.

0:06:46.933,0:06:49.093
When the bionic limb moves,

0:06:49.117,0:06:50.974
the AMI muscles move back and forth,

0:06:50.998,0:06:53.190
sending signals through[br]the nerve to the brain,

0:06:53.214,0:06:57.356
enabling a person wearing the prosthesis[br]to experience natural sensations

0:06:57.380,0:06:59.864
of positions and movements[br]of the prosthesis.

0:07:00.492,0:07:04.626
Can these tissue design principles[br]be used in an actual human being?

0:07:05.786,0:07:09.595
A few years ago, my good friend[br]Jim Ewing -- of 34 years --

0:07:09.619,0:07:11.698
reached out to me for help.

0:07:12.272,0:07:14.328
Jim was in an a terrible[br]climbing accident.

0:07:14.352,0:07:17.050
He fell 50 feet in the Cayman Islands,

0:07:17.074,0:07:20.272
and his rope failed to catch him,[br]hitting the ground's surface.

0:07:21.339,0:07:23.809
He suffered many, many injuries:

0:07:23.833,0:07:27.047
punctured lungs and many broken bones.

0:07:28.060,0:07:31.790
After his accident, he dreamed[br]of returning to his chosen sport

0:07:31.814,0:07:33.118
of mountain climbing,

0:07:33.142,0:07:35.019
but how might this be possible?

0:07:37.322,0:07:39.544
The answer was Team Cyborg,

0:07:40.369,0:07:43.608
a team of surgeons,[br]scientists and engineers

0:07:43.632,0:07:48.474
assembled at MIT to rebuild Jim[br]back to his former climbing prowess.

0:07:48.498,0:07:52.554
Team member Dr. Matthew Carney[br]amputated Jim's badly damaged leg

0:07:52.578,0:07:54.690
at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston

0:07:54.714,0:07:56.786
using the AMI surgical procedure.

0:07:57.262,0:08:00.667
Tendon pulleys were created[br]and attached to Jim's tibia bone

0:08:00.691,0:08:02.730
to reconnect the opposing muscles.

0:08:03.460,0:08:06.365
The AMI procedure[br]reestablished the neural link

0:08:06.389,0:08:09.264
between Jim's ankle-foot[br]muscles and his brain.

0:08:09.854,0:08:12.418
When Jim moves his phantom limb,

0:08:12.442,0:08:15.450
the reconnected muscles move[br]in dynamic pairs,

0:08:15.474,0:08:19.911
causing signals to pass through nerves[br]of proprioception to the brain,

0:08:19.935,0:08:23.515
so Jim experiences normal sensations[br]with ankle-foot positions and movements

0:08:23.539,0:08:24.855
even when blindfolded.

0:08:25.842,0:08:29.279
Here's Jim at the MIT laboratory[br]after his surgeries.

0:08:29.303,0:08:31.589
We electrically linked Jim's AMI muscles

0:08:31.613,0:08:33.485
via the electrodes to a bionic limb,

0:08:33.509,0:08:36.390
and Jim quickly learned[br]how to move the bionic limb

0:08:36.414,0:08:39.318
in four distinct ankle-foot[br]movement directions.

0:08:40.000,0:08:43.063
We were excited by these results,[br]but then Jim stood up,

0:08:43.087,0:08:45.953
and what occurred was truly remarkable.

0:08:45.977,0:08:49.993
All the natural biomechanics[br]mediated by the central nervous system

0:08:50.017,0:08:53.366
emerged via the synthetic limb

0:08:53.390,0:08:56.905
as an involuntary, reflexive action.

0:08:56.929,0:09:00.826
All the intricacies of foot placement[br]during stair ascent --

0:09:00.850,0:09:04.348
(Applause)

0:09:04.372,0:09:06.276
emerged before our eyes.

0:09:07.644,0:09:09.469
Here's Jim descending steps,

0:09:09.493,0:09:12.485
reaching with his bionic toe[br]to the next stair tread,

0:09:12.509,0:09:15.025
automatically exhibiting natural motions

0:09:15.049,0:09:17.841
without him even trying to move his limb.

0:09:17.865,0:09:19.780
Because Jim's central nervous system

0:09:19.804,0:09:22.478
is receiving the proprioceptive signals,

0:09:22.502,0:09:26.549
it knows exactly how to control[br]the synthetic limb in a natural way.

0:09:27.635,0:09:33.222
Now, Jim moves and behaves[br]as if the synthetic limb is part of him.

0:09:33.746,0:09:35.706
For example, one day in lab,

0:09:35.730,0:09:38.826
he accidentally stepped[br]on a roll of electric tape.

0:09:38.850,0:09:41.477
Now, what do you do[br]when something's stuck to your shoe?

0:09:41.501,0:09:44.112
You don't reach down like this,[br]it's way too awkward.

0:09:44.136,0:09:45.430
Instead you shake it off,

0:09:45.454,0:09:47.279
and that's exactly what Jim did

0:09:47.303,0:09:50.469
after being neurally connected to the limb[br]for just a few hours.

0:09:51.436,0:09:53.413
What was most interesting to me

0:09:53.437,0:09:56.305
is what Jim was telling us[br]he was experiencing.

0:09:56.329,0:09:59.654
He said, "The robot became part of me."

0:10:00.217,0:10:04.003
Jim Ewing: The morning after the first[br]time I was attached to the robot,

0:10:04.027,0:10:05.615
my daughter came downstairs

0:10:05.639,0:10:09.393
and asked me how it felt to be a cyborg,

0:10:09.417,0:10:13.386
and my answer was that[br]I didn't feel like a cyborg.

0:10:13.410,0:10:17.236
I felt like I had my leg,

0:10:17.260,0:10:21.981
and it wasn't that I was[br]attached to the robot

0:10:22.005,0:10:24.626
so much as the robot was attached to me,

0:10:24.650,0:10:26.182
and the robot became part of me.

0:10:26.206,0:10:28.697
It became my leg, pretty quickly.

0:10:29.617,0:10:30.768
Hugh Herr: Thank you.

0:10:30.792,0:10:33.880
(Applause)

0:10:33.904,0:10:37.277
By connecting Jim's[br]nervous system bidirectionally

0:10:37.301,0:10:39.071
to his synthetic limb,

0:10:39.095,0:10:42.019
neurological embodiment was achieved.

0:10:42.043,0:10:47.520
I hypothesized that because Jim can think[br]and move his synthetic limb,

0:10:47.544,0:10:51.854
and because he can feel those movements[br]within his nervous system,

0:10:51.878,0:10:55.005
the prosthesis is no longer[br]a separate tool,

0:10:55.029,0:10:59.425
but an integral part of Jim,[br]an integral part of his body.

0:11:00.108,0:11:02.210
Because of this neurological embodiment,

0:11:02.234,0:11:04.106
Jim doesn't feel like a cyborg.

0:11:05.215,0:11:07.432
He feels like he just has his leg back,

0:11:07.456,0:11:09.003
that he has his body back.

0:11:09.580,0:11:10.731
Now I'm often asked

0:11:10.755,0:11:14.311
when I'm going to be neurally linked[br]to my synthetic limbs bidirectionally,

0:11:14.335,0:11:16.119
when I'm going to become a a cyborg.

0:11:16.143,0:11:18.906
The truth is, I'm hesitant[br]to become a cyborg.

0:11:19.966,0:11:23.173
Before my legs were amputated,[br]I was a terrible student.

0:11:23.197,0:11:26.020
I got D's and often F's in school.

0:11:26.044,0:11:28.773
And then, after my limbs were amputated,

0:11:28.797,0:11:30.896
I suddenly became an MIT professor.

0:11:31.353,0:11:33.520
(Laughter)

0:11:33.544,0:11:37.266
(Applause)

0:11:37.290,0:11:41.767
Now I'm worried that once I'm neurally[br]connected to my legs once again,

0:11:41.791,0:11:45.481
my brain will remap back[br]to its not-so-bright self.

0:11:45.505,0:11:46.807
(Laughter)

0:11:46.831,0:11:50.902
But you know what, that's OK,[br]because at MIT, I already have tenure.

0:11:50.926,0:11:52.554
(Laughter)

0:11:52.578,0:11:55.443
(Applause)

0:11:55.467,0:11:57.825
I believe the reach[br]of neural and body design

0:11:57.849,0:12:00.706
will extend far beyond limb replacement

0:12:00.730,0:12:03.434
and will carry humanity into realms

0:12:03.458,0:12:06.148
that fundamentally[br]redefine human potential.

0:12:06.866,0:12:08.585
In this 21st century,

0:12:08.609,0:12:10.681
designers will extend the nervous system

0:12:10.705,0:12:13.046
into powerfully strong exoskeletons

0:12:13.070,0:12:17.277
that humans can control[br]and feel with their minds.

0:12:18.139,0:12:21.282
Muscles within the body[br]can be reconfigured

0:12:21.306,0:12:24.219
for the control of powerful motors,

0:12:24.243,0:12:28.347
and to feel and sense[br]exoskeletal movements,

0:12:28.371,0:12:32.132
augmenting humans' strength,[br]jumping height and running speed.

0:12:32.807,0:12:37.457
In this 21st century, I believe humans[br]will become superheroes.

0:12:38.313,0:12:41.924
Humans may also extend their bodies

0:12:41.948,0:12:44.939
into non-anthropomorphic[br]structures, such as wings,

0:12:45.805,0:12:49.836
controlling and feeling each wing movement[br]within the nervous system.

0:12:50.716,0:12:54.110
Leonardo da Vinci said,[br]"When once you have tasted flight,

0:12:54.134,0:12:57.661
you will forever walk the earth[br]with your eyes turned skyward,

0:12:57.685,0:13:02.351
for there you have been[br]and there you will always long to return."

0:13:03.490,0:13:05.530
During the twilight years of this century,

0:13:05.554,0:13:09.784
I believe humans will be unrecognizable[br]in morphology and dynamics

0:13:09.808,0:13:11.761
from what we are today.

0:13:11.785,0:13:14.720
Humanity will take flight and soar.

0:13:15.695,0:13:18.997
Jim Ewing fell to earth[br]and was badly broken,

0:13:19.021,0:13:22.401
but his eyes turned skyward,[br]where he always longed to return.

0:13:23.281,0:13:25.837
After his accident, he not only[br]dreamed to walk again,

0:13:25.861,0:13:28.725
but also to return to his chosen sport[br]of mountain climbing.

0:13:29.657,0:13:34.395
At MIT, Team Cyborg built Jim[br]a specialized limb for the vertical world,

0:13:34.419,0:13:38.649
a brain-controlled leg with full position[br]and movement sensations.

0:13:40.065,0:13:43.288
Using this technology, Jim returned[br]to the Cayman Islands,

0:13:43.312,0:13:45.219
the site of his accident,

0:13:45.243,0:13:49.251
rebuilt as a cyborg[br]to climb skyward once again.

0:13:49.275,0:13:51.052
(Crashing waves)

0:14:15.727,0:14:22.727
(Applause)

0:14:31.578,0:14:32.729
Thank you.

0:14:32.753,0:14:36.334
(Applause)

0:14:36.358,0:14:39.819
Ladies and gentlemen, Jim Ewing,[br]the first cyborg rock climber.

0:14:39.843,0:14:46.843
(Applause)