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.02FICTIONAL 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.03THE 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.04CYBORG 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.05CYBER 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
CYBERNETICSScrewing 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.[ WWW.TECHLIFE.NET ] [ 017 ]