Robotic Prosthetics

I was searching around TED Talks, as I often do, trying to find inspirational ideas about teaching and learning in social networking environments. As I searched, I soon found myself sightly distracted but totally enthralled by Hugh Herr's story. You see Hugh was once a very talented rock climber.  In fact he was considered a child prodigy and by age 17, was one of the best in the United States. Sadly, some thirty years ago during one of his climbing expeditions, Hugh and a fellow climber were caught in a blizzard which rendered them stranded in -20 degree weather for more than three days. They both suffered severe frostbite by the time they were rescued and as a result both of Hugh's legs had to be amputated from below the knees. His colleague also lost a leg and much of the other foot.

Of course Hugh's doctors advised him that he'd never climb again but against the odds, he helped to design prosthetic limbs that helped him relive his dreams of climbing once again.  During a TED Talks presentation, Hugh explains the incredible and innovative designs of his robotic prosthetics.  He currently heads the MIT Media Lab’s Biomechatronics group and through his designs he is viewed as an architect for the next generation of bionic limbs and robotic prosthetics.

Hugh's story is so incredibly touching that I began wondering if it had any impact on social media. Though I'd expected some traction, I was surprised that by March of this year, his TED Talks presentation had received more than 2.2 million views from the TED Talks website. To date, Youtube shows that there have been over 750,000 views, 6,450 shares and almost 18,000 likes. Hugh's story is truly inspiring and I encourage you to take some time to check it out. I think you too will be amazed at where technology is headed.