Christophe Debard is the leader of Toulouse ProtoSpace, a lab dedicated to innovation in Airbus, this is a place where new ideas take shape. He is also the founder of the Humanity Lab, an initiative that gives the opportunity to every Airbus employee to contribute to meaningful innovation to make a difference in areas such as disability, education, humanitarian and environment. The volunteers join self-organized teams and can use the ProtoSpace facilities (mostly digital fabrication tools) and Airbus emerging technologies to develop their projects in collaboration with the end-users: individuals, NGO or institutions.

As an amputee since 13 years old, Christophe wanted his prosthetic leg to become more than a “tool” and viewed it as an opportunity to display his differences proudly.

Now, humans can overcome and enhance their distinctions through art, design, mechanics and emerging technologies. And it is all his merit. Find out more about this  inspiring body hacker and his project at #TEDxBucharest11.

Glasses are made to correct people’s sight while being a must-have fashion accessory. Rappers also “pimp” their teeth by adding bling or gold plates. So what about prosthetics? Why not “pimp” your prosthetic and make it functional, beautiful and unique?

When I wore my first open-source aesthetic — illuminated with a swoosh of Lumilor electroluminescent paint that created a glowing, eye-catching aesthetic — I noticed that kids began to approach me with a warm curiosity, rather than fear and discomfort. This is how it should be for all amputees, but still today most prosthetic devices are manually fabricated and costly.