Within our lifetimes, we will see replacement limbs exceeding the capabilities of the ones humans are ordinarily born with – already they outperform in certain tasks, but soon they may well be better on all fronts.

In the video below for WIRED, MIT Media Lab’s Hugh Herr explains how he looks to nature when developing new bionic appendages. The amputee and avid rock climber discusses how his biomechatronics division is pioneering the technologies that aim to augment human physical capabilities.

Similar themes are also found in Herr’s TED Talk, in which he discusses 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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Superflex is not the first activity-bolstering exoskeleton, but this new design uses muscular-style actuation, is slim, comfortable and form-fitting. It does not limit normal joint motion and lends strength on demand with power selectively deploying to the limbs and back portion when needed rather than continuously.

The exosuit is being developed for multiple user groups, from elderly persons in need of support to heavy-load workers and soldiers carrying heavy packs. The wearable device uses motion sensors, accelerometers and gyroscopes to compute speed and angles of limbs and adjust around actions.

Part of the Warrior Web Program from DARPA, the design is intended to reduce stress and maintain physical endurance in harsh conditions, including combat zones. The smart suit even ‘learns’ from its user over time, adaptive in its understanding and responses to actions both live and anticipated and able to make adjustments around common motions.

Thanks to its energy-conserving design, the suit only uses energy when absolutely needed, allowing it a longer battery life as well. All in all, it is something Batman could sorely use, or perhaps already has tucked away in that magical bat belt of his.

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The Archelis is a ‘wearable chair’ designed for professionals who cannot afford to take a seat, unless they take it along with them, like surgeons working around an operating table.

Consider any job that involves a lot of standing or walking, like a barista at a coffee shop or bartender at the pub or painter at his easel. Even an everyday commuter on the busy subway could benefit.

The device wraps around a user’s legs, looking like an integrated pair of braces, but locking into position to provide support on demand, even while the user is effectively half-standing.

There are a lot of potential other applications as well, for elderly or infirm persons, but also perhaps, as they are further refined (less bulky), simply for everyday use, letting us all walk around and ‘sit’ whenever we want.

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When avid gamer James Young lost his arm, he became despondent, but, thanks to Konami, he has now been outfitted inspired by the game Metal Gear Solid and boasting a dazzling array of futuristic features.

This arm project was led by prosthetic artist Sophie De Oliveria Brata, founder of the Alternative Limb Project. Another prosthetics company named Open Bionics took care of 3D-printing the hand.

Costing around $100,00 the carbon-fiber replacement limb moves in response to muscle signals, allowing him to lift and carry objects but also employ its screen, flashlight, USB phone-charging port and (best of all) deploy a battery-powered drone attached to its side. The prosthesis weighs about ten pounds and is supported by a harness strapped to his body.

“Once I had read a great line which stuck in my head on a website where a prosthetic user said ‘I want to take off my limb and leave it in a room, and people will recognise it and know that belongs to me. It reflects part of my personality’. I totally connected with that idea as a biologist, knowing that all parts of our bodies can be recognised as being ours by our unique DNA, so why not add a personal stamp to our artificial limbs.”

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A wearable robotic framework, powered by a battery and available for around $40K, the Suit X is surprisingly unassuming for something that can allow people paralyzed from the waist down to walk again.

Small motors translate body motions and hand controls to hips and knees, allowing users to move at over a mile per hour. Moreover, the Suit X is just 27 points, very light and cheap as medical exoskeletons go, with modular adjustments enabling wearers to customize it for different conditions. A battery pack gives the device an impressive eight hours of run time, letting it be used all day.

Developed by the Robotics and Human Engineering Laboratory at the University of California, Berkeley, the main goal of its maker was to create something to help children with neurological disorders who may lose mobility without regular walking, assisted by a device like this. As costs come down, exoskeletons become increasingly price-competitive with wheelchairs, putting them in reach for people who could not otherwise afford them, and reasonable options for insurance companies. Ease of putting it on and taking it off is also a key factor, as well as noise reduction, all of which make this an increasingly appealing alternative to chairs on wheels.

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