--- description: Double amputee Les Baugh is the first person in history to control two mechanical limbs simultaneously with his mind. title: This Double Amuptee Can Control Robot Arms With His Mind image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Double Amuptee Can Control Robot Arms With His Mind  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 20, 2015 8:33 PM CUT  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 20, 2015 8:33 PM CUT Mind-controlled robotic limbs are old news — [four years](http://healthland.time.com/2011/10/06/monkey-brain-control-the-future-of-robotic-prostheses/ "undefined") old, to be precise — but who cares? Each new demonstration of the technology seems to be as mind blowing as the last one. The latest mind-blower comes [compliments](http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/21/technology/a-bionic-approach-to-prosthetics-controlled-by-thought.html "undefined") of the New York _Times_, which captured striking footage of double amputee Les Baugh testing out a pair of prosthetic arms. Engineers at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab [unveiled](http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2014/141216.asp "undefined") the robotic arms last December, declaring Baugh the first person in history to control two mechanical limbs simultaneously. “Maybe for once I’ll be able to put change in the pop machine and get pop out of it,” Baugh [said](http://www.jhuapl.edu/newscenter/pressreleases/2014/141216.asp "undefined") at the time. For further proof that mind-controlled limbs are the stuff of the present. See this [bionic leg](http://healthland.time.com/2013/09/26/the-first-mind-controlled-bionic-leg-steps-into-reality/ "undefined"), this [bionic arm](http://time.com/98265/see-the-bionic-luke-arm-in-action/ "undefined") and this [exoskeleton](http://time.com/2865040/paralyzed-brain-world-cup-opening-ceremony/ "undefined") — and good luck believing any of it. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3891018/robotic-limbs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3891018/robotic-limbs/"},"headline":"This Double Amuptee Can Control Robot Arms With His Mind","datePublished":"2015-05-20T20:33:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:05:25.603Z","description":"Watch the test run here","url":"https://time.com/3891018/robotic-limbs/","keywords":["Tech","Innovation"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3891018/robotic-limbs/","name":"This Double Amuptee Can Control Robot Arms With His Mind"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"See The Unique Way Amazon Ships This Teddy Bear","description":"Go Behind the Scenes at Amazon to see how the products you buy make it to the shipping truck","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/IY8KG0y3/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-01T04:19:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/IY8KG0y3.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3891018/robotic-limbs/","duration":"PT2M54S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3891018/robotic-limbs/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```