1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Lifestyle

Real Cyborgs

03:56

This browser does not support the video element.

August 6, 2013

Cyborgs are hybrid creatures, part human, part machine. Until now they've been known mainly from films such as the Star Trek and Terminator series, where they're taken for granted. But cyborgs exist in reality as well as on the silver screen.

Neil Harbisson is a cyborg. The Northern Ireland-born artist suffers from achromatopsia, a rare sensory disorder. Since his birth, he's been able to see the world only in black, white and shades of gray. But thanks to an electronic sensor on his head, he's found a way to perceive colors. Because he's wearing the device in his passport picture, Neil Harbisson is considered to be the first officially-recognized cyborg.

Skip next section DW's Top Story

DW's Top Story

Skip next section More stories from DW