6 Arms, 3 Thumbs: Exploring the Future of Robotic Limbs 🤖

WIRED Editor Amit Katwala traveled far and wide for a hands-on look at the future of robotic artificial limbs. Watch as he puts a wearable set of arms inspired by traditional Japanese puppetry through the paces with Dr. Masahiko Inami at the University of Tokyo. Can Amit intuitively manipulate his newly added arms to pick up objects or write with a marker? Then, we visit with Dani Clode and Tamar Makin at the University of Cambridge to get a grip on the technology behind a 3D-printed sixth digit designed to give you two working thumbs on one hand. Will these robotic augmentations be the path to superhuman performance?

Dani Clode Design / www.daniclodedesign.com / instagram: @dani_clode
The Plasticity Lab / www.plasticity-lab.com / @plasticity-lab.bsky.social
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, part of Cambridge University: Instagram:@mrccbu / @cambridgeuniversity


Director: Anna O'Donohue
Director of Photography: Thomas Beswick; Giles Cahalane
Editor: Matthew Colby; Anna O'Donohue
Host: Amit Katwala
Expert: Dani Clode; Masahiko Inami; Tamar Makin
Line Producer: Joseph Buscemi
Associate Producer: Paul Gulyas
Production Manager: Alexandra Dawson Herren
Production Coordinator: Ericka Gourgues-Lutran
Assistant Camera: Tokiomi (Toki) Tsuta
Sound Mixer: Skirmantas (Spider) Ivanauskas; Michael Panayiotis
Production Assistant: Grace O'Connor
Post Production Supervisor: Christian Olguin
Post Production Coordinator: Rachel Kim
Supervising Editor: Eduardo Araujo
Assistant Editor: Justin Symonds