Hugh Herr lost both his legs after a climbing expedition when he was a teenager. However, that has not stopped this inspirational guy from pursuing his passion in life: mountain climbing. Herr also runs a lab making bionic legs at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and insists artificial limbs “are an advantage”.
His latest adventure involved scaling a 61 metre cliff, with one of his prosthetic legs even falling off in the process, for the TV show Who Says I Can’t? He was joined by the show host, leg amputee Jothy Rosenberg, who lost his limb to cancer at the age of 16.
The series follows disabled people who’ve overcome their problems to take part in sports, and will be screened in the US next month. According to Herr, what we’ll see this century is more and more advanced human machine systems, human machine interaction, and better and better technology.
"We will eliminate disability. From that stepping stone actually go beyond and extend capability. At some point the prosthesis will be a transportation device, like a car. Amputees will be able to walk with less energy than a person with biological legs"
