While speaking with David Serlin on the phone in the middle of his stint at New York University, the UC San Diego-based disability historian and gender theorist briefly outlined the history of the concept of disability explaining how the creation of the idea of a body that's perfect or normal, or a body that's imperfect or abnormal, is a recent idea in recent history. The development of prosthetics and bionics over the course of the past century is one guided by the dual pursuits of improving the life of a person who does not fall in that broad “able bodied” categorization and negating that trait which makes the person different and, in the eyes of some, less able.

You can see the tension between these two ideals in the types of bionic apparatus which have been developed. While many of the technological innovations outlined below are truly spectacular, Serlin notes that these life-altering devices tend to have an inordinate cost for the layperson, citing the bustling prosthetics aftermarket on eBay. While marveling at the fact that the Argus II can restore something approximating vision to the blind, remember that its $150,000 price tag prevents such a technology from being as ubiquitous as the wheelchair for a good while.

Check out the rendering below for the latest in bionics and prosthetics. (Best experienced on desktop.)