Ideas change everything

The new bionics that let us run, climb and dance

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Hugh Herr |

TED2014

• March 2014

Hugh Herr is building the next generation of bionic limbs, robotic prosthetics inspired by nature's own designs. Herr lost both legs in a climbing accident 30 years ago; now, as the head of the MIT Media Lab's Biomechatronics group, he shows his incredible technology in a talk that's both technical and deeply personal — with the help of ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and performs again for the first time on the TED stage.

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Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

Hugh Herr is building the next generation of bionic limbs, robotic prosthetics inspired by nature's own designs. Herr lost both legs in a climbing accident 30 years ago; now, as the head of the MIT Media Lab's Biomechatronics group, he shows his incredible technology in a talk that's both technical and deeply personal — with the help of ballroom dancer Adrianne Haslet-Davis, who lost her left leg in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, and performs again for the first time on the TED stage.

Want to use TED Talks in your organization?

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

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About the speakers

Bionics designer

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At MIT, Hugh Herr builds prosthetic knees, legs and ankles that fuse biomechanics with microprocessors to restore (and perhaps enhance) normal gait, balance and speed.

Adrianne Haslet-Davis

Ballroom dancer

See speaker profile

When Adrianne Haslet-Davis lost her left foot in the Boston Marathon bombing, her left leg was amputated to the knee. Less than a year later, she's back on her feet and dancing again.

Learn more

How bionics will bring about the end of disability

Hugh Herr shares his vision for a world where there's no such thing as "disabled," and describes how that future might be closer than you think.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference.

Read our curation guidelines.