( CNN ) -- Craig Hutto lost his right leg in a shark attack when he was 16 years old . Bionic leg is the result of a nine - year research effort led by Michael Goldfarb at Vanderbilt . The world 's first fully robotic leg allows amputees to run and navigate inclines naturally . The technology was bought by Applied Mechanics and is slated to be released in 2018 . One of its first users is a young man who lost his leg in a shark attack in Florida .
Bionic leg is the result of a nine - year research effort led by Michael Goldfarb at Vanderbilt . The world 's first fully robotic leg allows amputees to run and navigate inclines naturally . The technology was bought by Applied Mechanics and is slated to be released in 2018 . One of its first users is a young man who lost his leg in a shark attack in Florida .