TechLife Australia – September 2019

Could we

have wings?

Imagine being able to soar

high above the clouds with

your very own wings, or

having four arms so you can

become skilled at table tennis

or the drums. Bionics designer

Hugh Herr at the MIT Media

Lab claims the future will see

‘augmented’ human bodies

that will change what it means

to be ‘human’ – we could even

have cybernetic wings

implanted into our bodies we

can control with our minds,

just like we do our arms and

legs, allowing us to fly.

He said: “During the

twilight years of this century, I

believe humans will be

unrecognisable in morphology

and dynamics from what we

are today. Humanity will take

flight and soar.”

AnMITbionicsexpert

believeshumanswilloneday

havecyberneticwings.

01 IT’SANOLDCONCEPT

Theideaofa human-machine

hybridconceptgoesbackquitea while.

The 1839shortstoryTheManThatWas

Used UpbyEdgarAllanPoedescribesa

manwithextensiveprostheses.

02

FICTIONAL FAN FAVOURITES

Cyborgs have been some of the

most popular characters in film and T V

history, ranging from Darth Vader and

Robocop to the Terminator and

theCybermen.

03

THE FIRST-EVER CYBORG

The first human cyborg was

created in 1997 by Dr Philip Kennedy. He

successfully implanted an electrode into

the brain of Vietnam veteran Johnny

Ray, who was suffering from locked-in

syndrome.

04

CYBORG FOUNDATION

In 2010 the Cyborg Foundation

was founded to help humans become

cyborgs. Moon Ribas and Neil

Harbisson started the organisation after

receiving numerous requests from

peoplewhowantedtobeone.

05

CYBER TROOPERS

The US military has been

working on a chip that can be implanted

in a soldier’s brain to connect it directly

tocomputersthatcandeliverdataonan

enemy’sposition,mapsand

battleinstructions.

CYBORGS AND

CYBERNETICS

Screwing in a lightbulb with an

artificial arm was one of the tasks

at the Cyber Olympics.

Left: A paraplegic participant

walks using a powered

exoskeleton at the Cyborg

Olympics.

Cyber Olympics participants harnessed

artificial limbs to complete tasks.

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