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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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 step beyond conventional corrective eyewear, the Ocumetics Bionic Lens, invented by Dr. Garth Webb of Ocumetics Technology Corp, is a painless implant that can give patients the ability to see beyond the normal scope of 20/20 (perfect) vision.

The results were presented at a cataract and refractive surgery conference after years of research, experimentation and iteration, funded to the tune of $3,000,000 for research, patents, tests and trials. The procedure for implanting these, however, is much faster: just eight minutes in a chair.

The lens is not just an overlay but a surgical implant, attaching to the actual lens of the eye. Vision is completely corrected as soon as the installation is complete. Further, the implant helps protect eyes against future cataracts by defending it against decay and is touted to be safer than laser eye surgery. Its creators hope the lenses will be out and on the market by 2017.

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It may only be a matter of time before people begin replacing body parts with bionic alternatives that do all of the same things and more, and in a ay it has already begun: these three patients had their limbs severed and prosthetics added to increase their functionality.

The individuals in this case all had nerve damage between the nerves of their spines and hands, resulting in mostly or entirely paralyzed limbs – with no potential for recovery, the choice to replace simply made the most sense.

These ‘bionic reconstruction’ surgeries were executed by Oskar Aszmann at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria. Grafted muscle relays translate signals from the patients’ brains to their artificial limbs. The new hands need to be powered to function properly and are recharged each night. These bionic enhancements are still not as capable as ordinary hands, but it may not be too long before they are. For now, they can perform simple but powerful tasks, like picking up and holding objects, pressing buttons and gripping surfaces.

Per NewScientist: “Before the operation, Aszmann’s patients had to prepare their bodies and brains. First he transplanted leg muscle into their arms to boost the signal from the remaining nerve fibres. Three months later, after the nerves had grown into the new muscle, the men started training their brains. First they practised activating the muscle using an armband of sensors that picked up on the electrical activity. Then they moved on to controlling a virtual arm. Finally, Aszmann amputated their hands, and replaced them with a standard prosthesis under the control of the muscle and sensors.”

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It’s a rather widely-accepted fact that sitting all day isn’t great for your health, but standing all day won’t do your body any favors, either. People who stand at work for eight or nine hours a day are at risk for all kinds of musculoskeletal problems.

The Chairless Chair from Swiss company Noonee is a wearable chair of sorts. It attaches to the body at the waist, thighs, knees and shoes. The lightweight aluminum and carbon fiber exoskeleton allows for the full range of movement when it isn’t engaged, so workers can go about their regular business unimpeded.

When it’s time to stop moving and take some weight off of the legs, it’s as simple as settling into a comfortable sitting position and pushing a button that locks the Chairless Chair into that posture. All of the body weight is directed to the heel of the wearer’s shoes. The chair lets the user choose the position that’s most comfortable for them and encourages ergonomically correct posture, further reducing the risk for body stress-related injuries.

This wearable chair doesn’t give the user superpowers or increase their muscle strength in any way; it just takes the strain off of their lower extremities to combat muscle fatigue, poor posture, and long-term musculoskeletal damage. Noonee pictures the Chairless Chair being useful in a wide variety of settings, but for now their focus is on getting it into factories where workers have to perform various functions while standing for an entire shift.

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