17 cool gadgets that tease the future

BrainRobotics wants to build a new kind of prosthetic limb.

The device uses a band of eight electrodes to detect the electrical signals caused by contracting muscles -- called electromyography -- when the wearer moves. It collects that information and uses it in an algorithm that learns your habits over time.

When the wearer's muscles replicate the signal, the prosthetic will move accordingly.

But the real innovation of the device could be its price. It will cost $2,000 to $4,000, less than similar designs. And it will have a modular design that allows the wearer to replace any individual broken pieces instead of having to repair the entire limb.

The year-old company was started in Boston by MIT and Harvard graduates, and was originally part of the Harvard Innovation Lab. The prosthetic is still in the testing phases with with early users like Mincheng Ni (pictured). BrainRobotics hopes to have it in mass production by the end of 2018.