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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The Ferrolic clock designed by Zelf Koelman is nothing like the functional but wholly unentertaining ones most of us have on our walls. Instead of a digital or analog face, this clock is composed of ferrofluid, a liquid containing suspended magnetic particles. The front of the case is filled with fluid so the ferrofluid can move gracefully anywhere it is directed.

Behind-the-scenes electromagnets control the fluid’s movement, creating fascinating little animations or forming a display of the current time. The screen’s display is controlled by web-based software. The user can change the display to suit their own tastes, making the ferrofluid perform hypnotic dances or form a display of text or the time.

The ferrofluid naturally follows the changing positions of the embedded electromagnets – kind of like the Wooly Willy toy that gives you a magnetic “pen” to rearrange metal shavings on a drawing of a face. The movement of the ferrofluid seems so similar to the movement of living things that it’s hard to remember it’s actually tiny bits of metal floating around.

Koelman’s design came about after he “fell in love with the magical characteristics of a little black ‘blob’ in a bottle.” He studied ferrofluids for a year while working toward a masters degree in industrial design at the Eindhoven University of Technology. Ferrolic gives life to the “blobs,” letting them move and dance in their own environment. Koelman plans make small quantities of the product at $8,300 each after the design is perfected.

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So tiny it can fit on the tip of your finger, this remarkably agile and multifunctional little bot assembles not only assembles itself but also goes on to dive underwater, carry objects twice its weight, burrows into the ground and then degrades on demand, leaving only a magnet in its wake.

A just under two square centimeters, the Untethered Miniature Origami Robot is powered by a neodymium magnet and two pairs of electromagnetic coils that in turn create magnetic fields aiding the robot’s movements and transformations. Indeed, the magnet is not even dragging the robot around, but rather working with momentum and asymmetries to ‘walk’ the legs and create other actions from gravitational imbalances.

As such devices become ever smaller, as well as increasingly programmable and autonomous, there are many potential applications, including ultra-small medical devices that can target cancer cells or clean clogged arteries within the human body.

Via Spectrum: “From a flat sheet with a magnet on it, their robot folds itself up in just a few seconds, is immediately ready to zip around on land or water driven by magnetic fields, and then when you’ve run out of things to do with it, drive it into a tank of acetone and it’ll dissolve. This is the first time that a robot has been able to demonstrate a complete life cycle like this. The other advantages of using a folded robot instead of just a magnet include the ability to float, as well as the ability to more efficiently perform tasks like moving objects or digging. And this isn’t the only design that you can use, of course: you can optimize for whatever task you’re trying to accomplish. This particular one is more of a generalist.”

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Form meets function in this sleek water-saving faucet design that uses a system of turbines to create variegated flows of different kinds, each also reducing the water output at any given time. This so-called Swirl Faucet was designed Simin Qiu, a student at London’s Royal College of Art.

The design is meant to be both visually pleasing but also quite functional – a button-touch interface lets you change settings quickly and easily.

Meanwhile, each configuration creates a slightly different lattice-like pattern reminiscent of DNA or fractals – definitely well-suited to a semi-public space like a kitchen but equally useful in a bathroom.

An attractive alternative to traditional spouts, the sleek look was the product of a great deal of sketching and design development – it reduces water usage by 15% or more as currently conceived but could also be further optimized for additional savings.

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Gathering and recycling your aluminum cans is great for the environment, but not so much fun. YouTuber Grant Thompson, also known as The King of Random, experimented with more than 10 prototypes to come up with a simple, inexpensive (and super-duper dangerous) backyard foundry. He uses it to melt soda cans into make aluminum ingot, which he then pours into a sand mold to create a cool cast aluminum toy.

The foundry is composed of sand, plaster, and a galvanized steel bucket. It can be used the same day you make it, and all told the project will cost around $20. When it isn’t being used, it can be cleverly disguised as a flowerpot on your patio. Thompson plans to release a tutorial showing how to make the foundry.

In the meantime, this video shows the foundry in action melting soda cans like they’re ice cubes. Seeing the process in action is inspiring for extreme DIYers who want to make impressive things at home but want a slightly more hands-on approach than 3D printing. Thompson points out that aluminum cans are easy to use and readily available, but they’re one of the worst sources of aluminum to cast with. Major safety precautions should be taken if you’re planning to try building your own backyard soda can foundry.

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