PBS documentary chronicles the personal journey of Hugh Herr, a biophysicist working to create brain-controlled robotic limbs.

Silhouette of Hugh Herr

Augmented: The journey of Hugh Herr


PBS documentary chronicles the personal journey of Hugh Herr, a biophysicist working to create brain-controlled robotic limbs.

Silhouette of Hugh Herr
Augmented is a PBS documentary featuring McGovern Associate Investigator Hugh Herr. Image: PBS

Augmented is a Nova PBS documentary that premiered in February 2022, featuring Hugh Herr, the co-director of the K. Lisa Yang Center for Bionics at MIT.

Follow the dramatic personal journey of Hugh Herr, a biophysicist working to create brain-controlled robotic limbs. At age 17, Herr’s legs were amputated after a climbing accident. Frustrated by the crude prosthetic limbs he was given, Herr set out to remedy their design, leading him to a career as an inventor of innovative prosthetic devices. Now, Herr is teaming up with an injured climber and a surgeon at a leading Boston hospital to test a new approach to surgical amputation that allows prosthetic limbs to move and feel like the real thing. Herr’s journey is a powerful tale of innovation and the inspiring story of a personal tragedy transformed into a life-long quest to help others.

Read more at PBS.org.