Hugh Herr, a bionic limb designer

First, please watch this video, it is amazing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDsNZJTWw0w

Biography of Hugh Herr

Hugh Herr is an American researcher of the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT), graduated in physics, with a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a PhD of biophysics. He is head of the mechatronics research group in Harvard, where he develops advanced legs and prosthesis for amputees. Hugh Herr is also considered one of the best rock climbers of America. When he was eighteen and he was descending into the Great Gulf, he got captured in a huge blizzard, where he had to stand temperatures of 26ºC. When he was rescued, he had suffered frostbite and he lost his both legs. Nevertheless, this was the beginning of his career as a prosthesis designer. He designed for himself various artificial legs that made him able to climb, and even to compete with totally able people. The purpose of Hugh Herr is to help disabled people like him with robotic limbs, and also to augment normal capabilities of the human body.

In addition, Hugh Herr has received many awards, like the Science magazine Next Wave (Best of 2003), the Heinz Award in Technology of 2007 or the R&D Magazine’s 2014 Innovator of the Year, among many others. His story has been told in many documentaries, including in the CNN channel and in Discovery Channel. Hugh Herr is considered as the “Leader of the Bionic Age”. Lately, he has been awarded with the Premio Princesa de Asturias in Science.